Apply Goodwin's theory to a music video of your choice

The music video i have chosen to analyse is “Foundations” by Kate Nash. It was released in 2007 and directed by Kinga Burza. Most of Kate Nash’s music is indie/pop or indie/rock and this one being indie/pop. Kate Nash has had a very successful career with two very successful studio albums and a third one on the way in 2012 working with artists such as Mark Ronson. She also won a Brit Award in 2008 for best female artist which shows how popular she has become over the years.

The music video for Foundations is very arty and in a way original; this is noticed through the editing, the camera shots, and the colours used. The mise en scene is set in one house and has a vintage feel to it as though its meant to be the 60s or 70s. For example in the first few seconds of the video we see old house essentials such as a telephone, watches and old books radios in the background. The clothing also represents the time of the late 60s early 70s, especially the dresses she wears and the scene at 2:06 shot in the living room has the 70s written all over it with the clothing and all the little bits and bobs in the background.
The colourful props used for the mise en scene give a very happy feel to the video in contrast to the lyrics which are about two people breaking up. Having said that, throughout the video the lyrics are literally illustrated – even the words which have a figurative meaning have been depicted in a literal way. Examples of the lyrics being illustrated literally are seen at 0:41, 1:03 and 1:21, at 1:21 the lyrics are: “you said i should eat so many lemons cause i am so bitter” and we see her eating a dozen lemons; or at 0:41 it says “why don’t you have another beer then?” she opens the fridge and shows all the beers. When the song hits the chorus - “my fingertips are holding onto the cracks in our foundations” at 1:03 - we see the character and her partner holding hands but slowly letting go and at other parts of the video the camera moves from her face to her hands, so either way it is taking the lyrics literally. Another point is at 0:58, when they are in bed, there is a teddy bear in between them, as though it is keeping them apart and shows that their relationship is on the rocks and that they may not be communicating as much as before.
In my opinion it is as though the producer and creators of the music video are trying to portray her character as being very happy, innocent, gullable and a push over through the atmosphere and the clothing, when really she is tough and someone who knows what she wants and not one to mess around with.

There are also one or two double meanings discreetly shown such as at 0:30 when the character is talking about her friends but the shot is of a fish tank and she is in the background, which could suggest that her friends are not really real friends and that she may not deserve them or it could be a witty shot.

The editing of this music video is very well done with a few still shots and slow motion animation. At certain times in the video there are cuts in time to the beat, for example, whenever the piano and drums start to play there are very frequent and fast montage edits.
With that said it is as though the record company are trying to portray the singer as being a serious but at the same time quite a fun and quirky type – and comes across as though she has fun in her videos and through her songs however the serious side to her shows that she’s fierce, strong and not one one can mess around with.

In terms of camerawork, close-ups and mid-shots are often used to give the viewer a chance to get to know the characters well, especially the main character through the close-ups of her face. These close-ups clearly show the character’s feelings, as well as enabling the viewer to have a connection with the video and the music. With mid shots, we do not only see the character but also her surroundings; this allows us to get to know that little extra detail about what she is like and what environment she is in – the apparently colourful and happy environment portrayed in the video is a total contrast to the sadness, anger and frustration the character is experiencing. It is almost as if she is hiding the truth behind all the appearences – something which many people can relate to.

This video allows the viewer to have access to a couple’s personal life and their relationship. Although it focuses mainly on the woman, it is easy to get a feel of the problems the couple are having in their relationship. The despair the young woman feels because the love has gone out of the relationship – but how they are still together pretending to be happy – the couple live in a neat, tidy and orderly house where the woman feels that it is the only thing she is in control of as she doesn’t seem to have any control over her relationship with the man. Many people can relate to this type of situation; therefore, the target audience could be quite wide ranging – young and old, regardless of age, race or gender. There are references in the lyrics to verbal and physical abuse, but from the visuals it is not clear to understand which of the two is the victim. This shows how certain people who find themselves in abusive relationships still hold on even though they are hurting – as if they enjoy being hurt (“Yes it was childish and you got aggressive, and I must admit that I got a bit scared but it gives me thrills to wind you up”). It seems to be a vicious circle. It gives an insight into why they do it – maybe to try and fix things, or they just can’t seem to get away.

The music in this video is very uplifting and upbeat; something which automatically inspires you to get up and dance. However, watching the video, and listening to the lyrics, the viewer realises how contradictory the two things are.

The couple in this video are also represented as objects. In the opening scene, we see two toothbrushes together which automatically imply that there are two people in the house. Later on, we see a pair of watches, and two odd socks which don’t seem to stay together

This video is a good example of Goodwin’s theory as there is strong relationship between the video and the lyrics. The lyrics are cleary illustrated and sometimes exaggerated in the video. At times, the lyrics contradict what we see – as though the lyrics could have a double meaning. A good example of this is when she sings about the man “being aggressive, and her being scared”, what we are actually seeing is the couple are-wrestling, and the woman winning! There is a definite relationship between the music and the visual. The camera shots concentrate a great deal on the young woman – this could mean the video is directed at a female audience.
Unlike other pop videos, this one has an edge to it as it is a very different style to songs in the charts at the present time. The theme of voyeurism is depicted in a completely different way to the typical female artist such as Rhianna. The female in this video is shown dressed in a conservative way, she is seen as a typical “housewife”,doing chores in the house such as dusting, baking and looking after the house. However, she also comes across as a fierce, strong young woman that no one one can mess around with.