Research into Goodwins theory - Miss Georgiou

Andrew Goodwin is a theorist that has identified a number of key features within music videos:

1) Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics, this can be seen by a various iconography which will relate to the artist or genre that the video belongs to and also it could be through dancers or a stage performance.
2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals this can either be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting. The lyrics in the song should match the narrative in the video being related or the complete opposite of what is being sung by the artist.
3) There is a relationship between music and visuals, this can be shown by the beat of the song matching how the footage is edited by the producer. The beat will match how the frames of the video fit into each other. i.e. Every time the beat is heard the frame will change etc.
4) The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which occur across their work. This will help in the process of making them more prominent to the audience and easier to remember so they will listen to their future music when release, more profit for the record labels from sales and advertising.
5) There if frequent reference to notion of looking, examples of this would be screens within screens or telescopes, and a particular treatment of the female body.    
6) There is often inter-textual reference to films, TV programmes or other music videos etc. They can be real or fake.
7) Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based. Usually music videos have a combination of 2 or all 3 of the elements i.e. performance and narrative which is most commonly used by artists/ record labels.

Throughout Little mix's video Little Me it is easy to see that all these elements of Goodwin's Theory exist. For example throughout the video we can clearly see that the genre of the music is clearly defined. The genre of the song is Pop, throughout the video we see the group performing in an abandon house which also creates a narrative alongside the song. We see the girls dancing and singing which represents the type of group they are and the type of genre the music is. This appeals to the audience because they can clearly identify the group and the genre that they represent and begin to build a connection with the group due to them recognising the bands key focus. 

Again Throughout the video there is a directly link between the lyrics of the song and there meaning/ what they represent in what is visually seen by the audience as part of the narrative element of the video. Little Me focuses on trying to show the younger generation that they should live life with limits and shouldn't feel worthless. The video, with a concept by Greg Francis, sees the band take a more adult approach as they perform in a broken environment with some gripping emotional moments as ordinary people strive for a better life. Little Mix has addressed these themes in the past but Little Me does seem to be a more explicit acknowledgment of insecurity, self-doubt, and struggling with confidence. Jade sings at the beginning: “Always talking but she can’t be heard”. This relates to the visuals as the video is set in black and white and in a abandoned building which suggests the group cannot get out of a bad place and don't have many luxuries but make the most of what they have. In the next verse, Leigh-Anne sings “I know she’s brave but it’s trapped inside”. The possibility of bravery as a concealed trait is an interesting and important concept - Leigh-Anne is saying that girls don’t have to be as overly confident to be brave and valuable.This relates to the visuals as we can see women crying over the troubles they go through and Leigh is out to help people like this to be brave and to forget about their problems. 

Similarly there is also a distinct relationship between music and visuals. Watching the video and listening to the music beside the actual content of the lyrics, every time a prominent beat occurs and is heard by the audience it is clear the the camera angle, focus or setting is changed. At the start of the music video we see really quick editing which is used to create a relationship between the music and the visuals as the beat of the music turns fast, the images shown switch quickly until the singing starts and the camera focuses on the group for the first time in a series of close ups, this symbolises to the audience that the main body of the song has started. This allows the audience to engage into the video which makes them want to continue to watch the video which is good for both advertising and profit purposes. 

Throughout the music video we see many different camera shots and camera angles but we see a lot of close ups due to the demands of the record label which include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which occur across their work to promote themselves as an artist. Using close ups allows the artist to act and look in a way which will promote themselves further which will increase the amount of people follwoing them and therefore buying there products. This will help in the process of making them more prominent to the audience and easier to remember so they will listen to their future music when release, more profit for the record labels from sales and advertising.