Analysing a Professional Music Video using Goodwins Theory

JLS - She Makes Me Wanna

I have chosen this example as although the concept is unlike the one that we used within our project, the song is of a pop genre and quite upbeat and fun which is something that we explored within our video.

Genre characteristics
This pop genre music video by a young boy group demonstrates clear genre characteristics. The music video shows the young and attractive boy group performing a dance routine whilst singing in all of the video. There are also shots of the band members close-up and also topless in order to appeal to the target audience of teenage girls who adore the band. The video also contains lots of lively visuals including bright coloured clothing and a crowded beach location in order to portray the pop genre.

Music and visuals

There is a really strong relationship between the music and visuals in this music video which is really effective. The video is set in a beach location where we see the four group members and lots of people partying/having a good time which is shown by the energetic dancing etc of everyone. We see the four group members dancing on different raised surfaces (e.g. rocks, dance platforms) in the most of the video in order to make them clear to the viewer. They dance a routine which has been specifically co-ordinated to the song and the lyrics in it so that the band members move along with the song. This is effective in making the song more memorable for the audience and also providing them with the upbeat feel and atmosphere from the song and video. Also, the dancing people in the background of the video are jumping and moving in a specific pattern in order to emphasise the lively music and general atmosphere of the video. The editing of the shots in the video also links the music and visuals together strongly. Quite a lot of the cuts and fades in the video, which transfer us from shot to shot, cut on the beat of the music and therefore give the video a more professional look and make the video run more smoothly.

Lyrics and visuals

There is also quite a strong relationship between the lyrics and visuals in this video. Firstly, as the video starts and the song is introduced we see the artist and song name appear on screen. The song name ‘She Makes Me Wanna’ is typically one of the main lyrics in the song and is repeated four times within the chorus. Secondly, the lyrics for the song generally talk about how the band members are intrigued and interested in a (not specified) female who is referred to as ‘she’ in the song. The video shows a variety of shots of young attractive females which are partying in the video, and not wearing a lot of clothes. The use of these shots emphasises the point of the song and that the singers are talking about a girl.

Demands of the record label

There are also clear demands of the record label with in this music video. The video features lots of close-ups of each band member in the group as well as long and mid-shots of the band together. There are also shots which feature a couple of the band members shirtless in order to appeal to stereotypical female teenage fans.

Objectification of women

The video also demonstrates objectification of women. Like previously said the band talks about a female within the lyrics and due to the band members being young and attractive the video features young and attractive females too. As the location used in the video is a beach these females wear hardly any clothing e.g. bikini’s/shorts and t-shirts which show off their feminine features. Some of the shots used emphasise this objectification of them e.g. close-ups, and low angle views which allow the viewer to focus on the body of the woman. This is used to highlight the theme and narrative in the video.