how to analyse a music video

Andrew Goodwin writing in DAcing in the Distraction factory (Routledge 1992)

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dancing routine for boy/girl band) is the video generic?
High energy
Costume changes
Dance routines
Glamorous
High production values
Upfront
Performance based

There is a relationship between lyrics and the visual ( either illustrated, amplifying, contradicting)
she was singing to a man
she sings about fashion-costume
Baths- no relationship- not things you would associate with love
Reference to bad roman of the smoking skeleton
she wears red which portrays romans
she crawlying to him, singing i want your love


 There is a relationship between music and visual (either illustrated, amplifying or contradicting)The dancers come alive with the music
the quick edit reflect on the music
she's center based
the pace of the video changes at various points
the visual image changed everything there a bridge, chorous and etc

Selling the Artist. the demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists and the artist may develop  motifs which recur across their work ( a visual style)
alot of close of of her
she's usually in the middle of the frame
she's dressed different to everyone else so she stand out
her own brand of headphones (Dr. Dre Beats)


there is frequently to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristics treatment of the female body.
she had on glasses
always looking into the camera
all the men were looking at her
its all about looking. she's looking at us, we looking at people looking at her
she's in her underwear- sexual attention
the crawl is pretty key saying she wants her love

There is often intertextual reference ( to films, tv programmes other music videos etc )