Andrew Goodwin's Theory

After researching I have looked at Andrew Goodwin's theory from Andrew Goodwin, Dancing In The Distraction Factory 1992, in relation to music videos. There a key conventions that music promos follow to be successful and Goodwin's theory explains these codes and conventions clearly.

Andrew Goodwin's theory has six different conventions:

- There is a relationship between the music and visuals; either amplifies, illustrates or contradicts.
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals; either amplifies, illustrates or contradicts.
- Specifically in performance videos there are many close ups of a band or artist, this may be due to the record label and promoting the band itself or may be used to develop motifs used in other work.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part in videos. The notion of looking at something which commonly is at the female body.
- Genre characteristics are presented in music videos, a pop music video may feature dance routines and a rock may feature the artist performing on stage. These tend to be very stereotypical.
- Intertextual reference to other media may occur, such as songs from film soundtracks will feature clips of that film within the video.


Andrew Goodwin's theory can be seen in most music videos. For example, in the Arctic Monkeys music promo for 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High' shows about 5 of the 6 conventions from Goodwin's theory. This illustrates how it is key to have these 6 conventions in a music promo to make it successful.

There are certain characteristics that are in music promos due to the genre of the music. For example many alternative rock || pop rock || pop punk music proms may have similar features which come from the genre. 
There tends to be at least some performance elements within the videos showing the whole band, with close ups of each member but it may focus on the lead singer. 
Narratives may be more movie like, for example in Against The Currents video for 'Running With The Wild Things' the band goes on a mission, this looks like it may have been inspired by films.
There are not many videos which are concept but if they are the idea may come from a certain lyric and relate to the song, like Panic! At The Disco's 'This Is Gospel' where the video idea may have come from the lyrics 'The fear of falling apart' and 'If you love me let me go'

Genre

Genre
noun

A style or category of art, music, or literature.
"the spy thriller is a very masculine genre"

In today's music industry there are a vast number of different genres and new genres of music being created. These different genres tend to all have different styles of music promos to suit the style/genre of music; a dark music promo would suit a song from a punk genre more than pop.

The most common genres are: Indie, Pop, Rock, Rap. Each of these genres have very different music promos, for example Eminem's music promo for 'Lose Yourself' is contrasty different to David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'.

Many genres have stereotypical feature/elements in their videos which make the genre more identifiable to an audience. Stereotypically most pop music promos will feature a dance routine in the video, an example of this would be Ariana Grande's music promo for 'Focus'

Contrasty this would not happen in a rock genre music video as pop dance routines would be very unusual with the genre. An example could be Green Day's 'American Idiot', this music video is performance based and the style of dance (seen above) would not fit with the punk genre.

Website Homepage Analysis || Hey Violet

Synergy can be seen across Hey Violet's website homepage and their EP cover. Their new logo is what is seen first by the viewer, introducing the band, the bands logo can also give the viewer some clue to the genre of music the band makes.

Their social media links are also at the very top of the page, meaning a viewer can instantly follow them and find out more information about the band in what way they choose.

The viewer immediately sees the bands latest music video for their single 'Brand New Moves'. This promotes their new single and their YouTube channel as the viewer may then click on other music videos the band has made. In turn the viewer may buy more of the bands music as they discover more of it through YouTube.

The bands instagram posts go onto their homepage, this creates an artistic look to their website making it more interesting for the viewer, it also gives the viewer easy access to their instagram page and can see what the band have been doing. This can then lead to the viewer following the band on their instagram. 

By promoting themselves this way, they can get more followers more easily because it is all easy access and easy to find.

Digipak Anaylsis || Hey Violet - Brand New Moves - EP

Hey Violet are yet to release a full studio album and Brand New Moves is their latest EP. 
The cover for this EP has changed and has more of a pop punk/rock feel which is the genre of music on this EP. 

Their EP cover has changed in its style compared to their previous cover for their old EP, this could be representing the change in their music style. The bands old cover is more pop punk and punk rock which is their genre of music. But as the band has diversified their music genre to alternative and electronic with the punk rock and pop rock, the band has evolved and this evolution is shown through the EP cover.

The typeface used for the EP title adds to the edgy feel of the EP cover and fits synergistically with the alternative genre.

The Brand New Moves EP cover is much brighter with a mix of blue and pink and their band logo in glittery gold shows they're maturing as a band.

By having the band in the EP cover it introduces the listener to the band making the listening experience more enjoyable. It is also easy to identify who the lead singer is because she is out in front, like how in concerts the lead singer is always front and centre.

The cover leaves large amounts space at the top for the band name, by making the logo bigger and brighter it instantly draws the viewers eyes to it and sticks in their mind, therefore promoting the band.

Music Promo Analysis - Brand New Moves by Hey Violet

Hey Violet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, the members are Rena Lovelis (bass/lead vocals), Nia Lovelis (drums/vocals), Miranda Miller (keyboard/rhythm guitar/vocals) and Casey Moreta (lead guitar).

The band formed in 2008 as Cherrie Bomb but after the departure of then lead vocalist Julia Pierce in 2013 she was replaced by Casey Moreta. In 2015 they changed their name to Hey Violet and were signed to Hi or Hey Records.

Record Label
Hi or Hey Records is a label created by the Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, they explained that they would not be realising music through the label in conjunction with Capitol Records and Universal Music, but would be signing a new roster of new bands and releasing them through the label.
Hey Violet was signed to Hi or Hey Records on March 24, 2015

Lyrics
I'm the lock and you're the key
So open me, come on open me
You can have me anyway you like, yeah
I'm right here so pour yourself all over me, all over me
Treat me wrongly baby, it feels so right, yeah

Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Don't it feel like it's been a while?
Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Been forever? Been forever?

Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves, uh!
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two, uh!
Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you

I'm the lock and you're the key
Won't you come and open me
You can find anything that you like, yeah
I've been waiting patiently
Pull yourself all over me
When you treat me wrong it's so right

Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Don't it feel like it's been a while?
Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Been forever? Been forever?

Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves, uh!
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two, uh!
Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you
Lyrics and Visuals
Throughout the music promo for 'Brand New Moves' there are no key links between the lyrics and the visuals. There is one vague link in the lyric 'Pull yourself all over me' and the visuals in some way reference each other.

Music and Visuals
The music promo has a pop art feel throughout which coincides with the very up beat 80s style track. Stopmotion has also been used in different ways during the video, which adds to the pop art feel along with the bright colours used.

Narrative/Concept/Performance
The Brand New Moves music promo is a mix between concept and performance, there is no definitive narrative to the video. With the video being concept and performance based it means there is a bigger link between the music and the visuals. Lead vocalist Rena Lovelis said "We mixed the tracks a bit '80s style with more synths and drums that sound really fat and big with a groove" this can be seen during the promo through the bright pop art colours and style used. By choosing to film the video in this way, it makes the performance element far more interesting as it provides the audience with more than just a band playing music, but mixes it up.
The 80s style appears to have more link with the visuals than the lyrics and people may stereotypically think of the 80s as bright and colourful, which may be where they took inspiration from.

Mise en Scene
Location
There isn't a set location for the video, except a blank screen in which lead vocalist Rena Lovelis dances in front of. The video has been heavily transformed in post production editing.

Costume and Makeup Props
The costumes and make are quite basic as each member seems to be wearing very casual clothing. In the first scene in the promo Lovelis puts on some big sunglasses which may be a reference to the 80's style track.

Again there is basic use of make up such as winged eyeliner. However in one clip black lipstick has been added on to Lovelis during editing, adding to the pop art style of video.

The only props used in the music promo are the band members instruments, as it is a very performance based video each member has been filmed playing their instrument before being edited in post production and made to look like stop motion or given a pop art style.

Lighting
Due to the video being heavily edited in such a way there is very little use of lighting. During one part of the video, Rena Lovelis is in front of a black screen, the lighting illuminates her,making her stand out in front of the black.

Focus Group

"The stop motion and and editing of the video is really capturing. The bright colours are really eye catching. I had to watch it again to check I didn't miss anything" - Alexia 16

Lyrics and Music Vs Visuals

Lyrics and Visuals
- a lyric poem or verse.
- the words of a popular song.

The lyrics of a song work injunction with the music, they help to establish the general mood and feeling of a song.
Key lines may play a part in the visuals but rarely will a music promo simply illustrate the lyrics wholesale. For example in the Arctic Monkeys song Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High the key word is 'High' and the theme of being high/drunk is played through the video.
The lyrics can be the start of a narrative video, as there may be a stray within the lyrics or a narrative can be adapted from certain lyrics.

Music promos may also contradict what the lyrics are saying, making a narrative which is either opposite or nothing like the story told in a song. They may also be contradicting if the narrative idea is taken from a certain lyric in the track.

Music
Music links to visuals of a music promo in a different way compared to lyrics, for example a storyline can not be made from the music solely, but can add emotion and set the feel of a narrative video. A slower song may influence a sadder music promo.
The tempo of a track can drive the editing, a fast paced song will have more quick cuts compared to a slow track.
Many promos emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding instruments such as a guitar, keyboard or drum solo.
Genre can also influence the type of music promo created, a pop song will be far more up beat with bright colours and dance numbers, compared to a rock video; which may be more performance based than concept.