Andrew Goodwin Theory and Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin was the creator of the Theory of Music Videos. Goodwin claimed that there are five main aspects of a music video that viewers focus on whilst watching them. These are essentially the main areas that music producers focus on when creating a music video as it will increase the chance of the music video being popular. The areas that the producer will focus on are;

• Technical aspects of the music video
• Relationship of visuals to the song
• Star Image
• Narrative and Performance
• Thought beats - seeing the sound/beat in your mind

Technical Aspects hold the music video together (these include camera angles, shots, movement, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects)

The use of camera covers a lot of areas within the music video, this includes the speed at which the camera moves, the way in which the camera moves (camera movement) editing, cutting and also post production are all forms of camera use.

The mise-en-scene is the setting, this is key to producing a good music video. Having a music video that is created with huge amounts of editing and looks entirely fake is going to put the viewer off watching or listening to more of the artists music. Videos need to look realistic this is why mise-en-scene is so important within creating a music video.

Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory

Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory is about the visual pleasure and narrative cinema. The theory was created in 1975 and then went on to become a very famous theory within the music video industry. The male gaze theory is essentially when the audience is put into perspective of a hetrosexual man. For example a scene within a music video may focus on the curves of a womans body, putting the audience in perspective of the mans view. The male gaze theory is only put into place if the correct conventions are used such as deliberate camera movements, cuts away and slow motion. The theory that Laura Mulvey created suggests that women are objects to admire for their physical appearance.

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