- As a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings
- To allow artists to become instantly recognizable by the general public
- To allow the listener to relate to and understand the music
- To allow the listener to interpret the music visually, allowing a large group of listeners to respond to the same visual ideas, and to articulate their own feelings towards the music
- To put imagery to music
We think of the music video as being a fairly modern
invention, but in fact it had its beginnings as early as 1895.
In 1895, Thomas Edison combined his talents with William
Dickson to produce the kinetophone with sound from the phonograph. The first
picture showed a man playing a violin while two men danced.
The project was fraught with difficulties and little more was
done for several years.
It was in the 1920s that the first motion pictures were made
that were accompanied by sound.
Oskar Fischinger, a German-American, was an abstract animator
and filmmaker. He worked in the 1920s to produce abstract musical animation, a
long time before the advent of music videos as we now know them. He produced videos
accompanied by musical scores known then as visual music.
In 1925 Max Fleischer, an animation artist, introduced a
series of cartoons where the audience were invited to sing along by following
the bouncing ball which hopped over the lyrics.
From 1929 onwards, Walt Disney produced the ‘silly
symphonies’, which were a series of short animated films made around specific
songs from Warner Brother’s films.
The phrase ‘music video’ was first used in 1959 by a
singer/songwriter called Jiles Perry Richardson, who had the nickname Big
Bopper. He used it when he was talking on an interview for a magazine.
In 1960 the Scopitone was invented. This was a type of
jukebox with a 16mm film included. They showed ‘soundies’ which were three
minute musical films. They were coin operated and were the forerunner of music
videos as we know them.
Bob Dylan produced a two and a half minute film clip of
‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ in 1965. This is often considered to be the
forerunner of modern music videos. It shows Dylan standing in an alley
shuffling cue cards.
It was however the Beatles who really laid the foundations
for the modern music video. They used the power of film to promote their
records and show themselves as artists. They made a series of promotional films
specifically designed to be broadcast by TV companies throughout the world. Their
films were made in black and white and later on in colour, and they included
films of ‘We Can Work It Out’, ‘Day Tripper’, ‘Help’ and ‘I feel Fine’. Throughout their career the Beatles continued
to develop the music video. Their videos of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and
‘Penny Lane’ included many new techniques such as reversed filming, using
dramatic lighting and unusual camera angles. The songs are illustrated in a
very creative and imaginative way using rhythmic editing.
This led the way for many bands of the 60s and the 70s to
follow their lead, and they produced increasingly sophisticated promotional
films to promote their music. A flood of new film makers came out of art
school, and music videos became a serious medium. Videos began to use very
experimental and surreal ideas. One ground breaking video in terms of content
was ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (the first ever music video to ever be aired) by Queen
in 1975. Another was David Bowie with ‘Life on Mars’.
It was TV that really brought about the era of the music
video. Australian shows such as Countdown and sounds did a great deal to
popularise music videos. Music videos became a very real part of music TV shows
like Top of the Pops and 6:5 specials.
By 1980 it was standard practice to produce a video to
accompany a new single. Ground breaking videos include Devo ‘The Truth about
Devolution’ and David Bowie ‘Ashes to Ashes’.
This paved the way for the launch of MTV in 1981 which aired
The Buggles ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ its first music video. As a result of
MTV many pop stars were shot into prominence. An example would be Madonna
‘Material Girl’. This very much contains the narrative of the music. Big budget
music videos came into being such as ‘Thriller’ by Michael Jackson. This is one
of the most iconic music videos of all time and lasted for 14 minutes. Other
pop stars producing big budget videos were George Michael and Duran Duran.
Michael Jacksons’ budget for ‘Scream’ hit was $7,000,000.
In 1985 Dire Straits used computer animation in their music
video of ‘Money For Nothing’.
In recent years the internet has become the place to air
music videos and TV has taken a back seat. Many artists have promoted themselves
through YouTube, Myspace and ITunes. Lily Allen is a famous artist established
via the internet. Vevo, a music video website, was launched in 2009.
Cheap technology has also made it increasingly possible to
create a music video on a very low budget.
Each genre of music video has particular characteristics
associated with it
Heavy Metal
Often include close ups of stage performances of
the band. The band is often portrayed in an angry, emotional way, drawing the
viewer in to the video.Often include close ups of the instruments of each member of the band
Very little link between lyrics and visuals
Often set in night clubs to connote a heavy dance influence. The shots include a lot of fast movements, moshing and a lot of emotion. The movements are often harsh and violent connoting anger.
Editing is often fast and frantic and frequently changes shots. This indicates the energy of the music. There is a lot of use of fast cuts and pans, often showing the target audience of teenage angst based crowds. The music is aimed at rebellious teenagers, particularly pubescent teenage boys, trying to rebel and possibly feeling self destructive.
Shots often include the fans waving, stage diving, moshing which replicates a live performance and draws the viewer in to the experience.
- There is a lot of shouted lyrics
- The lyrics are often sad
- There is often a rather creepy atmosphere
Hip hop / Rap
Rap or hip hop music is believed to originate from African /
American inner city street culture. It is usually spoken rather than sung. The
words are spoken against a background of music. Hip hop has very complex
rhyming lyrics. It is rapid and slangy. It often deals with the hardships of
inner city life. Lots of low angle, close up shots of the artist. This connotes power over the audience and shows how they can look down on the audience
Full frame shots show the importance of the artist over the audience. These close up shots help to establish them as artists. The viewer will remember them and they give the artist power. Often the shots are of the artist on a television screen which gives them a star quality. The videos are very much to promote the artist and give him status and reputation.
Male hip hop artists often have beautiful women standing adoringly at his side. This shows his status and sex appeal. There is a sense of desire.
The women are often shown as meaningless and inferior and are often cast aside. They are portrayed as an object of lust and men are shown to have the real power
Crowd are often shown dancing and waving their arms in time to the beat of the music. This shows how they are absorbed into the song and gives both the song and the artist real status. It emphasises the message that we are meant to party, get drunk and have a good time.
The costume of the artist is often sporty, often connected with basketball. This shows strength and a sporty prowess. There are often scenes of workouts in the gym
There are often many shots of expensive cars and jewellery. This connotes wealth and status.
It is a very male dominated genre. The male artist is often depicted with other gangs to show power and status as part of a group
Narrative is not a big thing in hip hop videos but there are often specific links between the lyrics and a particular item which is shown as an image in the video.
There is a real element of voyeurism as there are many shots of beautiful girls scantily clad. This keeps the attention of males watching the video.
Rock
The video often centres on the performance of
the band who are dressed in dark clothing, often leather trousers and tight
tops. A typical rock look incorporates long hair on the male rock stars. There
are lots of close ups of the band and the instruments they are playingHardly any link between visual and lyrics as it focuses on the band
Lyrics often speak of insane behaviour of people and shots often show crowds possibly with guns
Editing is in time with the beat of the music
Many videos have commanded a massive budget. These are some of the most expensive videos ever made.
Michael Jackson / Janet Jackson – Scream - $7,000,000 - 1995
Madonna – Die Another Day - $6,100,000 - 2002
Madonna – Express Yourself - $5,000,000 - 1989
Madonna – Bedtime Story - $5,000,000 - 1995
Michael Jackson – Black or White - $4,000,000 - 1991
Guns N’ Roses – Estranged - $4,000,000 - 1993
Puff Daddy – Victory - $2,700,000 - 1998
MC Hammer – Too Legit to Quit - $2,500,000 - 1991
Mariah Carey – Heartbreaker - $2,500,000 – 1999
Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Ayumi Hamasaki, Madonna,
Britney Spears all feature heavily in the list of artists making the most
expensive videos, as do Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Mylene Farmer, Guns N’ Roses
and MC Hammer.
Most Popular Music Videos from Each Decade
1960s The Beatles – Help!
The video would help to engage the audience and draw them
closer to the band members who at the time were idolized. Also this was one of
the first music videos ever to be aired so would immediately fascinate the
viewer and introduce them to the genre.
1970s Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
This song was popular in the 1970s as it was one of the most
expensive every made and has been named as an elaborate recording due to its
mix between guitar solo and ballad segment with no chorus.
1980s Michael Jackson - Bad / Thriller
Thriller was voted the most influential pop music video as
it had combined both filmmaking and music, and was voted as the most successful
music video ever made.
1990s Britney Spears – Baby One More Time
This has become a pop classic, and shows her dancing in her
high school uniform. It displays her prominently as the artist. It was a very
influential video and was voted best music video of the 90s.
2000s Beyoncé –
Single Ladies
The attraction of this video is that it is very simplistic
and incorporates some of the best choreography of the decade. It also speaks
out to the younger generations and creates an idol/role model.
Most watched music videos
- · PSY - Gangnam Style
- · Justin Beiber-Baby
- · Jennifer Lopez-On the Floor
- · Eminem-love the way you are
- · 6 LMFAO Part Rock Anthems
- · PSY-Gentleman
- · Shakira-Waka Waka
- · Miley Cyrus-Wrecking Ball
- · Lady Gaga-Bad Romance
- · Michael Telo-Ai Se Eu Te Pego
- · Carly Rae Tepson-Call me Maybe
- · Don Omar-Danza Kudoro
- · Macklemore + Ryan Lewis-Thrift shop
- · One Direction-What make you beautiful
- · Eminem-Not Afraid
- · Gotye-somebody that i used to know
- · Katy Perry-Roar
- · Adele-Rolling in The Deep
- · Bruno Mars-The Lazy song
- · Pitbull-Rain over Me
- · Katy Perry-Firework
- · Rhianna-Diuamonds
- · The Gummy Bear song
- · Justin Beiber-Never Say Never
- · Ylvis-the fox
- · Nicki Minaj-Super Bass
- · Bruno Mars-Just the way you are
- · Miley Cyrus-We Can’t Stop
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