Music Video History

A music video known as a short film or just a video  to promote an artist. It is usually the length or longer than the actual song, if longer the video is known as a short film.
The video has to be visually memorable and have specific conventions to be effective to the audience.

The said to be the first music video was 'St Louis Blues - Bessie Smith' in 1929. This was shown in theatres until 1932.


Some people don't count this as the first 'Music Video' because it doesn't follow Andrew Goodwins Seven Conventions. The video is just her singing the song looking drunk.

In 1940, Walt Disney released fantasia. This was the first video/film which was made to fit with music. The animation was made around the music to portray the story the sound is making.




In the 1950-60's Disney and looney toons started to make cartoons to music. But the main thing was Cab Calloway who introduced live action videos with famous artists.


Also Scopitone Jukeboxes where introduced. These where jukeboxes that also showed the music video to the song on a screen. These where popular but rarely seen due to them being really expensive.

Beetles - Strawberry Fields Forever + Penny Lane was their first attempt of a music video.
This is really simple due to its time, it doesn't have any narrative but it has relations between music and visuals and some to lyrics but not much.

In 1966 Bob Dylan released the video to 'Subteranean Homesick Blues' This is a simple lyric video.
You can tell this was don't with one continuous shot because of the mistakes made by the man holding the signs. This was a clever attempt of a unique video which has now been copied many times.

As time went on better quality videos and colour was introduced as well as 35mm castes.
In 1975 Queen Released Bohemian Rhapsody. This is considered the first proper music video.
You can tell this was purposely filmed to the music and to promote the song and band. They use a few of the conventions as well making this one of the first proper videos.

Top of the pops and the top 40s was then introduced making videos really important. But when top of the pops couldn't get a band or the video they had dancers which was filmed dancing to the songs. This attracted a male audience to something which would be classed as more of a female programme.

In 1981 MTV, the first 24hour music video channel, was introduced. This made having good videos really important to get airtime to promote themselves. There where more sophisticated effects and transitions added and videos got better stories and plots.
Buggles released Video Killed the Radio Star.
Which had more of a plot to the video even though its a little abstract and surreal.

Michael Jackson then introduced the first short film videos such as Beat it and Thriller. Thriller is the best example.


This cost $500,000 which at its time was expensive. This is classed as a short film because it had characteristics like a film such as: a voice over, a strong narrative, closing credits, quote at the beginning and the song was cut up with acting and speaking. This became an iconic video which was copied and reproduced many times.

In 1985 more music channels where introduced such as VH1 for softer music and the Chart show in 1986.

Dire Straits-Money for Nothing was the first computer animated video.


This compared to now obviously is really poor quality but it introduced something that many hadn’t thought of doing and is now used all the time.

In 1986 Peter Gabriels video Sledge Hammer, filmed with stop motion and special effects, got 9 MTV awards.



This was a really creative way of making a video which promoted them well.

Bands started to purposely produce controversial videos to gain more publicity this caused issues due to Top of the Pops being aired before the water shed.

Duran Duran's 'Girl on Film'

Frankie Goes To Hollywood 'Relax'

and Grandmaster Flash 'White Lines' where all band and over cleaner videos where created.

Martin Scorsese directed 'Bad' by Michael Jackson.



And Duran Duran's 'Wild Boys' cost 4 million due to them having to build the set.


In 1992 the directors of videos started to credited on MTV.

Michael Jacksons Video 'Scream' is still the most expensive video of all time. This cost 7 million to make and was directed by Romanek in 1995.




MTV started to go worldwide over the 90's and MTV2 came out in 1996.

in 2002 Madonna's song Die Another Day cost 6 million.



After 2005 Napster allowed you to show video files to people making music videos more accessible and MTV and other music channels stopped showing so many music videos.
YouTube also came along in 2005 and artists started to get fame through it. Ok Go for example with 'A Million Ways' in 2005 and then 'Here It Goes Again' in 2006.


In 2007 RIAA issued cease-and-desist loyalty and copy right came about on YouTube. This is why there are adverts at the beginning of music videos to pay record labels.

ITunes came about making CDs slowing stop being as important and being able to download music videos online.

MTV dropped their music TV tag line.

Top 3 music videos of 2012 according to MTV UK

3.
2.
1.

Stone Sour - Bother

The first shot is a close up of Corey Taylor's hand with rings, one of them being a spider-man ring which is a reference to the song being featured on the soundtrack of the film. The eight ring is his number in the band slipknot, this shows he is playing himself in the video not a character.
The video consists of Corey Taylor singing the song to himself. One copy rapidly growing old throughout the video and ends up dying and turning to dust at the end, only leaving bones and the spider-man ring.
The lyrics can be interpreted in many ways, for example:
'Never had a voice to protest,
So you fed me **** to digest.
I wish I had a reason, my flaws are open season.
For this, I gave up trying,
One good turn deserves my dying'
This connotes to religion and how he never had a voice because of always striving to be good all the time. His flaws became so apparent due to trying to change them all the time and can made him not want to try anymore.
Also the verse 'Stones to throw at my creator' and about how he keeps slipping further is about how his own morality, or past teachings of how he should behave in gods favor. He sing: 'You don't need to bother, i don't need to be, I'll keep slipping further' it sounds like he's saying he can't keep his ways clean so god doesn't need to bother keeping him going, he doesn't need to be cause he'll keep slipping further, further away from god or how he was taught he was supposed to be.
Or this song could be about depression and the video seems to get along these lines to.
'Wish I was to dead to cry'
Striving to not feel emotion so he can move on with his life and not feel the pain.
'My self affliction fades'
How his self harm/abuse fades as they heal.
'Stones to throw at my creator'
Throwing the blame onto someone else either god or his parents. Trying to find someone to blame for his misery.
'Masochists to which i cater'
Masochist means the gratification from being physically or emotionally abused, so self harm supposedly makes him feel better.
'You don't need to bother, I don't need to be'
Telling people not to bother to try and help and that he doesn't feel he needs to be here, He wants to leave.
'I'll keep slipping further, but once I hold on I won't let go till it bleeds'
He will keep slipping towards the edge, but if there's any hope to hold onto he will hold on tillhe can't anymore.
'Wish I was to dead to care, if indeed I cared at all'
He wishes he didn't have to act like he cared about himself and others because he never cared in the first place
'Never had a voice to protest, so you fed me **** to digest'
He never had a chance to voice his problems so they just kept building up making it harder.
'I wish i had a reason, my flaws are open season'
He feels his flaws are easy to see so he always feel self conscious and depressed about something.
'For this I gave up trying, one good turn deserves my dying'
He pretends to be someone he isn't to try and hide who he really is but wishes he just died instead.
'Shell forgotten with it's memories, diaries left with cryptic entries'
He feels if he kills himself or dies he will be forgotten. I think he uses the word shell because he feels there is nothing left of himself. The diaries would be his suicide note that he feels no one but him will truly understand.
'Once I hold on I'll never live down my deceit'
Once he finds something to hold onto and keep him living, he will never forgot how he felt and he will always be burdened by the memories.
The video shows this by showing him singing to his dying self, it's like he is singing to the part of himself that can't cope. So when he dies and the other him puts the ring on it connotes that even though that part of himself is over he will always have a reminder of it.
The black and white of the video shows the contrast of light and dark really well. So when there is a close up of Corey's face the background looks really dark showing how he is in a dark place within himself.
The setting itself seems to be a large empty ware house, this could connote the emptiness he is feeling and he only has him and himself. Until the rest of the band comes in at the end, this shows how he isn't really alone.
The way that the camera pans around the two Corey's as he sings shows how they are fighting for power. When the camera is behind the younger and stronger Corey, he looks bigger then the older dying side of himself. But at times it's the other way round connoting the shift in power.
At the start. as the camera tilts up from his hand to a close up of his face, his eyes are focused away from the camera but as he starts singing his eyes lock straight onto the camera. This gives the impression he is singing the song to you, instantly catching your attention and engaging you into the video.
The editing is low paced and the transitions are all either fades or cuts. This makes the video smooth and fit the tempo of the song.
The zoom in through the bands members eye connotes how the band see him as the stronger Corey not the one who is struggling and dying.
Throughout the video the lighting is quiet dark and only really highlighting on faces but at the end after the double dies the shots brighten with the close up of the rings rolling on the white floor and the bright contrast of his hand against this black coat. It connotes how things are now better and brighter now that that side of himself is gone.
The line 'Masochist to which I cater' both Corey's sing showing how he is hurting himself.

Specific Knowledge of music videos

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Mind Map on Target Audience

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