Theorists- Andrew Goodwin "Dancing in the distraction factory"

Andrew Goodwin came up with his theory after research into music videos, he came up with codes and conventions in music videos and elements which music videos have in common.

• Music videos have certain genre characteristics e.g. dance routines in girl/boy bands. An example is Fifth Harmony in their music video "work from home"
• A relationship between lyrics and visuals- plays a role in conveying the theme or message of the song
• Matching the visuals to the music- Matching the overall look and feel e.g. If the song has a fast beat the editing will usually contain fast paced editing with short takes
• The artist may develop motifs and iconography- When you see particular conventions you should expect a genre
• There can be inter-textual references- this is done through the reference to the theme or style of another media text
• Star representation- Generally the singer is presented the most, this can be created with close up's so it seems like the singer is singing directly to the audience. This means that there is more audience interaction. An example of star representation is in Drake's music video "One Dance". The audience focus on Drake as he is the "star" of the video performing.
• Technical aspects- Camera shots, editing, sound, mise-en-scene

Goodwin states "As consumers, we make up our own meaning of a song in our minds: a music video can anchor meaning and gives the artist a method of anchoring meaning"

Theorists-Richard Dyer`s "Star theory"

Richard Dyer`s theory can be split into 3 parts- The star as a commodity, construction and ideology.

Dyer states that the star is a construction and not a real person. The commodity generates money through creating stars and making profit.The stars sell albums and make the institutions money.Stars create certain ideologies by representing different views and social groups. As a result fans begin to copy styles and views created by the stars. The star as a construction means we have certain expectations which we consume, male solo artists are expected to be well groomed and fun loving whereas female solo artists are expected to be pretty and girly. Therefore the audience live up to these stereotypical expectations and the star gains a fan base.

As the stars shape ideologies they have an influence on our culture because of how they influence the audience. Therefore the stars have to maintain a positive influence on the audience. This theory can be applied to different music videos and artists which represent the commodity, construction and ideology. Stars such as Lady Gaga maintain ideologies by using social networking sites such as Twitter to express her views to her audience. Gaga sends out Tweets and expects her little monsters (fans) to engage with the tweets as well as listen to her music.

This theory could be applied to our music video production because as our music video is narrative it would carry a message. Therefore the star would create certain views which the audience would engage with. Also the star would start to form an ideology.

Theorists- Laura Mulvey and the "male gaze"

Laura Mulvey`s theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, referring to them as the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. The term male gaze was given from Mulvey`s essay, however in film the male gaze occurs when the audience are put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. The scene may focus on the curves of a women's body putting the viewers in the eyes of a man. The male gaze creates hegemonic ideologies in society at times women take over the male gaze. Women begin to gaze at other women the same way a man would and end up objectifying other women.

Many music videos in today's society can be applied to Mulvey's theory because they represent the 'male gaze'. A music video that represents this is Robin Thicke's "Blurred lines". In the video the men are seen gazing at the women and their bodies; with the women having no problem with it. The women are seen as objects as they are dancing and performing for the men whilst they admire the women. The women in the music video are also represented as objects for entertainment purposes. The mise-en-scene represents the male gaze because of the outfits the women wear and the red lipstick; as the colour red can sometimes have "sexual" connotations.

Mulvey`s theory supports the idea of scopophilia -gaining visual pleasure often admiring erotic objects. For our coursework production we won`t be applying the theory to our music video so therefore we will be challenging the male gaze as we will be creating the music video without using sexual based elements for entertainment.
Laura Mulvey`s theory suggests that the male gaze denies women human identity, referring to them as the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. The term male gaze was given from Mulvey`s essay, however in film the male gaze occurs when the audience are put into the perspective of a heterosexual man. The scene may focus on the curves of a women's body putting the viewers in the eyes of a man. The male gaze creates hegemonic ideologies in society at times women take over the male gaze. Women begin to gaze at other women the same way a man would and end up objectifying other women.

Many music videos in today's society can be applied to Mulvey's theory because they represent the 'male gaze'. A music video that represents this is Robin Thicke's "Blurred lines". In the video the men are seen gazing at the women and their bodies; with the women having no problem with it. The women are seen as objects as they are dancing and performing for the men whilst they admire the women. The women in the music video are also represented as objects for entertainment purposes. The mise-en-scene represents the male gaze because of the outfits the women wear and the red lipstick; as the colour red can sometimes have "sexual" connotations.

Mulvey`s theory supports the idea of scopophilia -gaining visual pleasure often admiring erotic objects. For our coursework production we won`t be applying the theory to our music video so therefore we will be challenging the male gaze as we will be creating the music video without using sexual based elements for entertainment.

Copyright request

This image shows an email we sent to RCA records to request us using the song "Don`t judge me" by Chris Brown, we sent this email so that we can use the song for our coursework production and are awaiting their response.