Music videos have become a vital part of the media and music industry since the mid 1980’s. These videos allow the director (as well as the artist) to express their understanding of the lyrics being sung. However, the main purpose of a music video is to engage the audience and promote the bands or artists new release. Nearly all artists create a video to accompany their song. Many music videos became popular through the very successful British BBC TV show, Top Of The Pops. As this show focused mainly on chart music, many viewers would watch the show just to listen to their favourite song but also find many new songs too. However, music videos have been around a lot longer than the 1980’s.
One of the first music videos ever created was St Louis Blues – Bessie Smith. This video was mainly scenes from a film that the song was composed for meaning that the music video itself had no narrative and was filmed on set of the movie. The majority of the songs’ video is focused around the Blues singer, Bessie Smith. This is also what many music videos are based around during this time period. These videos were very simple but still very effective to promote the single or film it was being shown in. During the 20’s there were also no special effects or fancy editing involved it is purely consisted of jump cuts with the artist the main focus.
Similar to all other forms of media during the 1930-40’s, the Second World War hit causing a decline in the entertainment industries. People tended not to listen to music but instead worry about the on-going war and what was going to come of it. Although people still listened to music they lent more towards their top priorities instead of enjoying themselves. They would listen out for the latest news and announcements. Although music was still popular the process of making music videos for them weren’t. Music tended to be for propaganda purposes instead. However, after the war finished music started to become a part of everyone’s lives again, even more so than before. So much that films started to include music and became very music-based; this led to the main focus of fairytales and fantasy films/ lyrics to be produced.
The 1950’s saw a whole new style and genre of music videos. During this period it was heavily based on rock and roll music, creating a rebellious era after the war. One of the most popular videos of all time was The Beatles’ Hard Day’s Night. This short film was the defining work for many popular music videos from then on. From this point on it was normal to make a small film or narrative to accompany the music video. Another example of an artist following this is Elvis Presley with his Jailhouse Rock single.
Through to the 1970’s music videos started to become a lot more popular. This time period started a new movement for music videos as a whole. These music videos involved more editing and special effects. An example of this is one of the most iconic videos of all time – Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. Videos similar to these have influenced many music videos we see on a day-to-day basis today. Although these music videos have no narrative unlike today they are still extremely popular and influential. The main focus is the band or artist themselves showcasing their talents; holding many of the conventions that a music video today holds. For example, there is heavy use of close ups and long shots. These shots show the emotion and words coming off the artist’s lips.
1980’s were also another turning point for music videos and music video directors. During 1981 MTV was launched, however the channel was launched purely to showcase the artists talents through the use of music videos. The audience of this channel could access their favourite music videos and songs 24/7 as they are put into a playlist for each show. Music videos during this period tended to lean towards having a narrative and telling a story rather than focusing on the artist all the time. For instance, in Michael Jackson’s Beat It music video it has intertextual references to the Broadway musical West Side Story with the two gangs wanting fighting each other.
During the 1990’s music videos were at their most popular. They were also defined by genre by having their own conventions. This is when Pop and Indie cultures became very popular as well as intertextuality within other music videos. A clear example of this is Blur’s Country House; this video was influenced by Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. This can be seen through the special effects that have been used. There is one shot where the whole band is filmed in very similar positions that Queen were placed in with the same footage circling around them. This is exactly the same shot that Queen previously used in the 1970’s. Also during this time many pop music videos had elements of choreographed dance to it. For instance, I Want It That Way By The Backstreet Boys or Hit Me Baby One More Time By Britney Spears.
From the 2000’s up until the present day anyone can create and produce a music video. During this time period music videos split into many well-known genres, now including Hip Hop. Hip Hop music videos tend to have the following conventions: heavy use of alcohol, expensive cars and houses, no narrative and long, establishing camera shots to show money and wealth. An example of a typical Hip Hop music video is Marcus Butler’s I’m Famous. This music video follows Marcus and Conor Maynard while they are walking around a big house showing off their money and jewellery. Another genre of music video is Pop. Pop music videos tend to be bright and colourful, aimed at teenagers and the songs they are for tend to be very upbeat and feel-good. These music video shows the artists’/ protagonist’s purity through the use of close ups and extreme close ups which are edited rhythmically. A good example of a Pop video is Fancy by Iggy Azalea. The Fancy music video is primarily focused on the 1995 teen hit movie – Clueless. There are many intertextual references throughout the video. For instance, the opening shot of Iggy choosing her outfit through a tablet is also one of the first scenes within ‘Clueless’. The narrative of the music video is also the narrative of the film. This is shown through Iggy taking on the protagonist’s (Cher) personality – confident and loves to be with her friends. Cher’s personality in the music video is shown through Iggy’s laid-back performance and her outfits. The music video shows all the typical conventions of a pop video without any special effects. Overall, it is very bright, colourful and upbeat.
The last popular genre is Indie. Many Indie videos are in black and white or have a grainy filter on them with the band or artist in the main focus of the whole video. The use of dark locations adds to the black and white/ dingy feel of the genre. The main shots that are used within this genre is extreme close ups and long shots. However, during the editing process there is a very little and basic use of special locations. Mumford and sons’ video Little Lion Man is an example of the use of all of these conventions. Another example of an Indie video is Twenty One Pilots’ Guns For Hands. The main focus of this video is Josh and Tyler (Band members). The silent dialogue before the song shows that it is ok to not be in the limelight all the time and to take time out. This is also shown through the blue and white masks that they both wear throughout half of the video (mostly Tyler). Both band members perform passionately, connecting with the lyrics and the music they have composed; you can also hear this through Tyler’s vocals. Although there is no narrative throughout the whole video, it does carry many conventions of an Indie music video. There is a frequent use of close ups, long shots and extreme close ups. However the video does also carry a few conventions of a pop music video – bright and upbeat.
Intertextuality has become very popular within the last decade or so. This doesn’t just include music videos to promote movies such as All Of The Stars by Ed Sheeran for The Fault In Our Stars or My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion from Titanic. Another way music videos have intertextual references is through a parody. The Hillywood Show has created many parodies for different shows and movies. Examples of this include parodies of the television shows Supernatural and Sherlock. Every shot is relevant to the shows. For instance, the opening shot of Sherlock parody is the same shot used in many Sherlock episodes when Benedict Cumberbatch plays the violin. Another example of this is during the Supernatural Parody using the shot of Dean, Sam and Castiel in the Impala.
Overall, music videos have come a far way and developed a lot. They have proven to be a successful way to promote either music or a film. Sometimes they may even be successful in promote a product. They are also all very entertaining. Music videos are also a way to build a strong connection with the artists’ fan base as the fan has unlimited view of their idol at a touch of a button.