Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

The media theorist Andrew Goodwin invented a list of conventions which all music videos seem to follow. 

The first one is that music video's characteristics suit the genre of the song itself. For example, a pop video would have to be colourful, contain a kind of cheeky rebellion, contains dancing, humorous, stylish, and possibly have an urban setting. These can all be seen in the video for Olly Murs's "Heart Skips A Beat":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5dFe-WKuPs  (I couldn't find the video on the blogger youtube)

However, with a rock music video there is likely to be: dark colours, a stage performance, a strong sense of rebellion, a unity with the audience and heavy use of instruments. These can all be seen in 30 Seconds To Mars's video for "Closer To The Edge":

The second one is that there is a relationship between lyrics/music and visuals. This can be done in three ways: to illustrate, to amplify or to contradict. Illustrating means that the video follows the lyrics/music completely. This is seen in the video for Taylor Swift's music video for "Love Story":

The video follows the lyrics of the song completely, particularly when she sings: 'I'm standing there/on the balcony in summer air' and she is physically where she is singing about. 

Amplifying means that the lyrics aren't really followed, but the overall meaning of the song is kept in the video. This can be seen in Muse's "HYSTERIA":

The overall meaning of the song is about somebody with hysteria and desperately wanting someone. This is conveyed very well in the video, even if the lyrics are not followed to the letter.

A contradictory video is one that ignores the meaning and the lyrics of the song completely. This isn't done often because it veers away from the audience's expectations, particularly if the music itself is ignored. A good example of this is the video for "FAKE PLASTIC TREES" by Radiohead:

The lyrics and even the rhythm of the music is ignored. The only relationship to the song it has is the lip synching from the lead singer. 

The third one is that music videos have plenty of close-ups of band members so the audience can recognise who is playing. This is a way to easily commercialise the video for music companies. The video must also have recurring motifs which suit the band's style. This can be seen in the videos for 30 Seconds To Mars, which are often done like short films with preludes and dialogue on top of their music:

This is probably because audiences will know of Jared Leto's film acting career.

The fourth one is the notion of looking. Band artists are constantly seen looking in the distance or looking straight at us. This can be seen in "THE KILL (BURY ME)", where Jared Leto looks up at the camera as if he were addressing a dominant presence.

This also contains voyeurism, which is the second half of this point. The video contains a woman walking out of the shower with just a bath towel on and two lesbians kissing one another. There are no female protagonists. This video also suits the final point, which is intertextuality. This video makes heavy references to the 1980 film The Shining, with its copying of plot-lines, character actions and editing style.