Goodwin's Analysis

I have chosen to look at a music video by the artist Noah and The Whale called Our Window. I shall be looking to see if the video demonstrates any of the key features shown in Goodwins Analysis. The main aspects I will be looking for are...

• If the lyrics and visuals link
• Notions of looking
• Structure
• Demands of the label
• Genre characteristics
• Intertextual references

Structure: The structure of the video is narrative linear. It tells a story from start to finish of a man who wants to break up with his girlfriend. It is very obvious and clear what is happening in the visuals even though it may not entirely link with the verbal. Not only is this video a narrative linear, but all the songs from the album 'First Day Of Spring' were made into a video which links together to make a small film. As you can see in the image below, the same man has been used as the main character to show the contingentcy of the storyline (Top left - Our Window, top right - bottom left - Stranger, bottom right - Blue Skies).



Genre Characteristics: Noah and The Whale would be classed under the genre of folk/indie. They are commonly linked with other musical artists such as Laura Marling and Mumford and Sons, etc. Although this genre of music is not as mainstream as other genres, they do still have signature characteristics. Generally, these types of music videos are simplistic, have a calm feel to them, a lot of close up shots of the artist and objects, plain colour schemes and the location of the video is normally a quiet area.

Mumford And Sons - The Cave

Laura Marling - Devil's Spoke

As you can see in both of these screenshots from the same genre of Noah And The Whale, they both include natural, quiet surroundings. This can be linked with their music with is also quite natural and quiet sounding.

Intertextual Reference: Within the song Our Window, the lyrics also link in with another song by Noah and The Whale called 'Blue Skies'.

Link between visuals and lyrics:

I didn't notice any clear links between visuals and lyrics. However, I did take note that the lyrics were very calming and not dramatic at all. This was conveyed in the visuals, which were also very calming. For example the locations outside in a field which is natural, and also the mellow use of  colours with mid/high key lighting.