TF: Goodwin Essay

Writing frame - Goodwin

When considering the key features of a music video, Andrew Goodwin, Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992) identified a number of conventions which can be applied to the music video Celestine by Spector directed by Jed Cullen in 2012.

Firstly he stated that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. This video could be categorised as being in the indie rock genre.  It is conventional in that the misé en scene present is typical in indie rock videos. Indie Clothes, tend to be eccentric and outdated, and it is no different in this video with the shirts being very colourful, with the singer wearing glasses without the lenses. Another part of the conventional misé-en-scene is the location of the desert, as with Indie essentially meaning different, the location is the same.

The Narrative is very conventional, as it is performance based, with disjunctive material. Examples of disjuncture in the music video is the use of the dog and the European Union Flag, where no lyric refers to this.

Throughout the start of the music video, there has been post-production effects, especially titles. These titles are once again in no relation to the narrative of the song with titles such as €10,787.04. This is conventional once again as the post production effects bare no reference to the song itself and that titles such as these wouldn’t be seen in music videos of any other genre.

The song is very performance based, with little snippets of montage editing later in the song. Many Indie Rock music videos, are performance based with guitars and drums present. These two instruments are related to music videos, and with altering the appearance of them in this video, they are conventional to this genre.

Goodwin discussed the relationship between lyrics and visuals.  In relation to Celestine by Spector it is clear that there is no relation between lyrics and visuals, as whatever is mentioned, is not prevalent in the opening. An example of this is when a band member is drinking from a glass, however the lyric of ‘When the Curtain Falls, It’s Time to Leave the Stage’ doesn’t connote drinking out of a glass of water. However in the song, there is small examples of a relation between these two factors, as when the lyric of ‘If I could turn back time’ is mentioned a reversal shot with the water happens, which bares some relation between the lyric and visuals.

He also considered the relationship between music and visuals to be an important convention.  In Celestine by Spector we can see examples of this relationship. The cutting rate is synchronous with the beat, as it increases when it gets closer to the chorus, the highest tempo part of the song. A further example of this relationship is when the freeze frame shot occurs. Freeze frame shots tend to connote a pause, and when the singer of the group holds a note, a freeze frame shot of the band in the air happens.

He made reference to the notion of looking in his film. There are many examples of where this happens throughout the song. There are numerous shots in the video, of one of the band members singing into a mirror which refers to the notion of looking.

Importantly he talked about the voyeuristic treatment of the body.  With reference to this video there isn’t much of this as all the people shown in the video are male.

Music videos are a postmodern form which implies that they often borrow and rework ideas from other texts and forms. Celestine by Spector uses intertextuality in the form of pastiche. Pastiche in the music industry, is re-working a previous artists work for satire. This happens in the video, through the clothing. The band members are imitating what they believe people back in the time wore, and as this song is talking about turning back time, the costume is effective. Parody is present by the artists imitating what they believe happened back in the day. For example drinking out of a cup with a thermometer in, and slicking back their hair