MUSIC VIDEO THEORY

• The relationship between your music video treatment and the lyrics (Andrew Goodwin 1993 Dancing In The Distraction Factory)
• Semiotics: the creation of meaning though symbolic codes (Barthes).
• Narrative:taking Julian McDougall's suggestion that classical narrative frameworks can be reductive and Barthes' assertion that the reader is the key negociator of meaning, we think about our own texts and how we used images and meanings that tap into already-held oppositions and responses to symbols.
• Identify your singer's grain of voice (Roland Barthes) Roland Barthes describes a concept known as the “Grain of Voice”, which is essentially the way that the voice provides itself as an expressive instrument to the singer, something which is personal and unique. It is like a trademark or a fingerprint, being able to make associations in itself, and the voice itself may have a unique piece to it which expresses an artist’s individuality. This means that the singer is the most important person in the band in terms of the grain of voice, and as such a concept for music videos is that the singer should be the main focal point throughout the video, with close-up shots of them performing the song.
• The role of the video in promoting the singer or band (Richard Dyer 1979Stars)
• How narrative is handled (Heidi Peters  article on image and narrative (semiotics) here) 2004 The Semiotics of Music Videos: It Must Be Written in the Stars
• The audience's attempts to understand meaning through recognising structures (Todorov, Propp)