Music Video History

Music Video History

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“Motion Painting No.1”

Oskar Fischinger, 1947 Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg

Concerto no. 3, BWV 1048 Animation process took 9 months of filming

each brushstroke

Hard Day's Night The Beatles, 1964 Dir. Richard Lester Full length film, but opening sequence, helped

to define the visual grammar of music video Metric editing Quick cutting Hand-held cameras British Free Cinema French New Wave

“Subterranean Homesick Blues”

• 1966, Bob Dylan's Don't Look Back

• Dir. DA Pennebaker

• Promo film clip

• Use of graphic/text

• Google Instant

• INXS “Mediate”

“Strawberry Fields Forever”

• The Beatles,1967

• Dir. Peter Goldman

• Model for concept video)

• Film effects

• Stop motion animation

• Jump-cuts from daytime to night-time

• “Penny Lane”

“Pas de Deux”

• Norman McLaren, 1968

• Part 2

• Used visual effects

• Layering

• Neighbors (1952)

– Extreme “Rest In Peace”

– Pixilation

“Bohemian Rhapsody”

• Queen,1975

• Dir. Bruce Gowers

• First notable “pop promo”

• Top of the Pops

• In camera special effects

• Ushered in “MTV Age”

• “Killer Queen”(1974)

• “Under Pressure” (1981)

“Whip It”

• Devo, 1980

• Dir. Jerry Casale

• Self-funded, $15K

• Postmodern bricolage

• Subversive

• Major rotation at MTV

“Girls on Film”

• Duran Duran, 1981

• Dir. Godley & Crème

– Herbie Hancock “Rockit”

• Playboy Channel, PPV, clubs

• Glamorous portrayal of the band.

• The “lifestyle” music video

• Video Controversy=Sales

• 1984, Short Form MV Grammy

Elephant Parts

• Michael Nesmith, 1981

• “Rio”

• “Cruisin'”

• PopClips

“Billie Jean”

• Michael Jackson, 1983

• Dir. Steve Barron

– Dire Straits “Money for Nothing” (1986)

– Human League “Don't You Want Me” (1981)

• Redefined the direction of MTV

• Brought MTV into mainstream attention

• Early popular video by a black artist

• White glove

“Take on Me”

• A-ha, 1985

• Dir. Steve Barron

• Animation/live action hybrid

• Rotoscoping....3000 frames

• 6 1986 VMAs

• Making of...

“Thriller”• Michael Jackson, 1983

• Dir. John Landis

– An American Werwolf in London

– Animal House

• First blockbuster MV

• Cost $500K

• Sold over 10 million units

• Making Michael Jackson's Thriller

• Fan Versions

“Justify My Love”

• Madonna, 1990

• Dir. Jean-Baptiste Mondino

• Fashion world collides w/ music video

• '60 Euro art/film noir

• Banned on MTV/controversy

• 1st VHS “video single”/1M

• Nightline

• SNL Parody

“Blue Monday '88”

• 1988, New World Order

• Dirs. Robert Breer & William Wegman

• Combines modern art/photography

• “Blue Monday” (1983)

Other Early Promo Film Clips• The Who “Happy Jack” (1966)

• Rolling Stones “We Love You” (1967), Dir. Peter Whitehead

– Play on 1895 trials of Oscar Wilde

• Pink Floyd “Instellar Overdrive” (1967), Dir. Peter Whitehead

– From Tonite Lets All Make Love in London

• Rolling Stones One+One (1968), Dir. Jean-Luc Godard

• The Velvet Underground & Nico (1966), Dir. Andy Warhol