Research: History of Music Videos by Jemar

How have modern day music videos changed from traditional music videos?

Modern day music videos compared to traditional music videos back in the 90’s has changed drastically due to the improvements in modern day technology which allows artist to add further elements in their videos in order to appeal to their target audience. These elements range from lighting, different edit styles to the ways in which camera shots are taken. These changes also allow artist of the modern day to be more artistic and creative with their music video as they use it to enhance or even reinvent their star image in hopes to appeal to their target audience.

How important are music videos today?

• ·         Marketing tool.
• ·         Entertainment purposes.
• ·         Builds, loyal fan base.
• ·         Exposure.
• ·         Share values & ideas.

Music History Timeline:

1929: Bessie Smith featured in ‘’Saint Louis blues’’ which was the first musical film ever released at the time. Although it features a narrative based dramatized performance of a hit song, it was not and still isn’t regarded as a music video due to the minimal use of elements used in which would make it conventional to a music video. These elements varied from the little use of editing to no lighting at all due to the film being recorded in black and white.

1940: Walt Disney released an animated film called Fantasia which was based mostly around famous segmented pieces of classical music which was visually match as the use of moving images was introduced within this time period.  Although this film does follow the general conventions of a music video due to the edits used, it isn’t classed as a music video as during the production process the film wasn’t produced to be a music video.

From 1930-40 the use of moving images was used by many films around this time especially animation, as this was seen as a big and popular genre during this time period.

1956: In 1956 Tony Bennet performed a song called ‘Stranger in paradise’ as he walked through Hyde Park singing it. Due to the UK and US distribution he had, He later claimed due to this he created the first ever music video. However, this statement is viewed as undone as he’s intentions weren’t to create a music video. In addition, the elements used in this video didn’t match those of a conventional music video

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1964: The Beatles were a part of the first major motion picture music video called ‘’ Hard day’s night’’, this music video is seen as a concept based video due to the lack of meaning and relations between the visuals and the lyrics. This music video has the basic visual elements in which you’d see in today’s music videos. From then the Beatles began to produce and merge moving images with their music in order to appeal to the audience.

1966-1968: The monkey’s was a TV show in which at the end of each episode had a short film segment created in order to accompany their song which was used in their TV series. However, these short films weren’t seen as a music video due to the lack of conventional conventions used.

1966: The birth of Pop of the pop (TOPT’s) was made announced as they were created to promote different singles for different artist. TOPT was seen as a promotional benefit as provided exposure to an artist as it meant they were advertised to a large variety of different audiences with different taste and interest. In addition, This also created competitive videos by artist as they all competed for air time.

1967: The Beatles begin to develop different techniques from films such as film effects, dramatic lighting and different camera angles in order to make their music video more conventional and appealing to the audience.

1975: in 1975 the music video ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ became the first ever video to be created specifically for that song to be played on TV in order to replace a live performance on TV. This song was created by Queens and was the first ever song to be made on a video format.

From the years from the 1970 to the 1980 the introduction of high quality videotape recorders and portable video cameras allowed artist to produce promos cheaply and efficiently rather than filming the whole thing as it was very expensive.

1980’s: During this time period, the launch of MTV was revealed as they later became musical success. By the Mid 80’s their music videos would grow to become a central role in the music industry. The like of Madonna owes a great deal of her success due to the advancements in the music industry which allowed her to construct a seductive appeal towards her audience.

1981: This was the official launch of MTV and the development of music videos, the first video to be aired was called Buggies which is known as the video that killed the radio star. This quote refers to the saying of technology enhancements in music videos killed the popularity of the radio which at one point was seen as a major distributor in the music business. There are other quotes such as ‘’Picture came and broke our hearts’’.  Artist in the 1980’s began to create more of a sophisticated effect in their music video in order to appeal and stand out against others. In addition, storylines and plots were also added in order to make them more appealing.

1984: In 1984 Michael Jacksons music video, Thriller was seen as breathe taking to the modern age as it took music video format to a whole another level. This was due to the conventional elements used in this video which made it very appealing and entertaining to its target audience. These elements varied from the intellectual references made to make the video look more like a film to even the voice overs used in order to create suspense amongst the audience.

TOTP’S also began to censor video contents as Duran Duran become the first ever video to be censored due to the use of sexual contents which is featured.

How have music video changed over time?

Music Videos have changed drastically over time due to the forever new changes to technology. Music videos now compared to a long time ago use conventional elements such as Editing, lighting and cinematography in the videos in order to make them appealing to the target audience. In addition, compared to a few years ago music videos are now able to be consumed through many different sources compared to the early 90’s where videos were seen in Films or on the radio.

Ways videos are currently consumed?

• ·         Youtube
• ·         Vevo
• ·         Laptops
• ·         Social media websites
• ·         iTunes
• ·         Consoles
• ·         TV Channels
• ·         Advertisments

Conclusion

This post has allowed me to learn and understand about the early years of music and how developments and changes in technology have influenced the major change in how music is produced and consumed. This post has allowed me to see the importance of music videos to present day and see through the use of conventional elements the impact music videos have on the audience.