Music video introduction

MUSIC VIDEO

INTRODUCTION

DEFINITION

A music video is a short video for marketing merchandise to promote the artist and sell its product.

The origins of music go back into the 1980s.

The trend of music video started in the early 1980s and at that time this type of music video was known as

Filmed insert Promotional film

Film clip

EXAMPLES OF MUSIC VIDEO

House of cards– Madina lake Red – Taylor swift Work it out – Beyonce When i am gone - Eminem

PURPOSE OF MUSIC VIDEO

The purpose of a music video is: To sell the song and invoke a reaction so it leaves you

remembering the song. To give the listener a better understanding of the song. To entertain the audience To sell CDs and DVDs to viewers and to create a

memorable visual for the song which increase its chances to sell.

Marketing for the purpose of exposure and expansion of the artist’s profile.

HISTORY OF MUSIC VIDEO

“Musicals” was a new film genre which came out in the very early 1930s.

It is where several songs were interworn into the plotline of the story and are performed in line with the narrative.

Some of the first ever musicals are The Vegabond King

Golden Dawn

SOUNDIES

These were an early version of the music video

They were three minute musical produced in New York,Chicago and Hollywood in the 1940s.

Soundies were displayed on the Panoram– a coin operated film jukebox in nightclubs,bars and amusement centers e.t.c.

RISE OF TELEVISION

The first short musical film in the USA which was made precisely for television was the Snader Telescriptions over 1000 musical films were produced and filmed for television between 1950 – 54.

In 1956 Tony Bennett was filmed walking along The Serpentine in Hyde Park London in his recording of “Stranger in Paradise”.This film was distributed and played in the USA and UK television stations thus Bennett claiming he made the first ever music video.

THE BEATLES

Music videos began to gain attention of a wider audience which then lead videos to be made for specific programmes such as Top of the Pops in UK and Hallubaloi in USA.

The Beatles as their music video “a hard days night” was the first major motion picture which was released in 1964.

The Beatles further work such as “Strawberry Fields Foreever”and “penny lane” were made in 1967 and were successful films which enhanced the music videos scene as they used film techniques,effects,lighting and unusual camera angles.

MODERN ERA

The modern era of music videos is all the rebirth of music and videos as the audience have been introduced to colour screening and many more effects.

The equipment became more precise and easier to use such as hand held cameras and this made it easier for artists to produce , release and market their videos more quickly and swiftly.

MTV

In 1981 America launched a music channel called MTV which was a 24 hour a day music station for all to view.This allowed anyone to see and watch a music video any time of the day.

The first music video on the channel was Buggles”Video killed the radio star”.

In the 1980s artists started to use more storylines and plots to their music videos an example being Michael Jackson as he was the first artist to create a concept of a short film

Music videos are now central for the marketing of an artist.MTV continues to be a force on the television as more than 230 million Tv sets in 90 countries over 5 continents tune in to watch music.

Now music videos can be see on youtube,mobiles and game consoles e.t.c

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC VIDEO

Performance Narrative Thematic Symbolic Cameo

PERFORMANCE

In a performance based music video there is a performance of the artists as part of the video.

It was from clips of performances that music videos developed.

NARRATIVE

In a narrative based music videos there is a story which is either featured in the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics.

The narrative can be like a mini film with a beggining,middle and end.

THEMATIC

In a thematic based music video there is a certain theme which is being represented in the music video.

The theme depends on the genre of the film. For example; Heavy metal bands are used for performance

dominated clips. Rap has lots of street images.

SYMBOLIC

The symbolic element uses alot of symbols to build up meaning e.g rain is a symbol of sorrow.

There is a lot of use of montage -- lots of images to creat meaning .

Lighting is often used to suggest mood.

CAMEO

In cameo the musician features in the narrative but is not part of the storyline and doesnot perform in it.

IDEA OF SPECTACLE

This means that the performer looks directly at the audience

The End