Andrew Goodwin's definition of a music video

1) Thought through beat - what the song means or represents. To do this, you have to analyse the music structure and understand the choruses and verses. The voice of the artist gives them identification that also relates to the star image. The meaning of the song is aided by the music video which allows a visual understanding of what the artist is trying to express through their song.

2) Relationship between the music and the visuals. There are three ways visuals are used to promote a song:
a. illustrate - music videos use certain images/shots to illustrate the meaning of the song and genre.
b. disjunture - music videos sometimes ignore the meaning of the song completely. e.g. We Are The Ocean - Chin Up Son - the meaning of the song is ignored in the video:

c. amplify - the images and shots are constantly shown throughout the music video in order for them to be drummed into the audience's vision. e.g. The 1975 - Girls - this shot is shown repeatedly throughout the video:

3) Narrative and performance of the song - The artist should be involved in the music video as acting out a role as the main character and singer in order for the video to look more realistic. This also helps well with the understanding of the song. This is very common in music videos, done by certain artists such as Katy Perry's ROAR and Marina and the Diamonds's Primadonna: 

 

4) Star image - this is very important as it makes the music video look more appealing to the audience. The star image is very unique in the way in which he/she are presented through their costume, moves and appearence. This also helps promote the artist as well as the video while creating a public reputation for the artist. This is seen often in Michael Jackson's videos and Beyoncé's: 

 

5) Notion of looking and voyerurism - there are many references to the notion of looking and the references of props to support this such as mirrors, screens and cameras etc. There is also particular voyeurism portaying women as seductive and wearing limited clothing in music videos. Voyeurism sells the music through sex appeal, and this is seen with artists such as Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Rihanna.