Music videos are short videos that accompany a song, they are used primarily as a marketing device, to promote the sale of music recordings often called ‘promos’. Music videos have evolved over time due to the enhancement of technology like video recordings and editing and the inventions of different codes and conventions. In the early 1900’s animators such as Oskar Fischinger, created short films accompanied by musical scores labelled ‘visual music’. The first video was released in 1923 by Man Ray ‘Le Retour a La Raison’. Man Ray experimented with photogram; he placed objects on photosensitive paper and exposed it to light. This music video is very powerful as the song has no words therefore the video is interpretive, this means that from the series of shots, the audience decide the story the artist is trying to get across and make their own judgement. In 1929 Bessie Smith advanced these visuals by using a dramatized performance, of a woman left alone by her roving man for her hit song ‘St Louis Blue’s. In 1940, Walt Disney created Fantasia, this was an animated film that used a famous piece of classic music in the background. However, other developments were in the 1956 when Tony Bennett was filmed walking along the serpentine as his recording of “Strangers in Paradise”. This film was played on television stations all over the world. In 1960 a visual jukebox was invented in France and short films started to be produced by French artists but it wasn’t long until the rest of the world started to use this machines including Cinebox and Colour- Sonic. I believe the Beatles developed the modern world of music videos as they created the first major motion picture in 1964 and in 1967 they started to use reversed film effects, lighting and rhythmic editing which illustrated the song which is what every artist attempted to do after the Beatles video “Strawberry Fields Forever”, they set out the simple visuals of todays videos and influenced many musicians. By the 1970 Top of the pops created an environment for record labels to promote their singles and boosted the increase of song sales as viewers waiting to see a certain music video again. In 1981, MTV was launched which urged artists to start using more sophisticated effects and build a storyline in the video as they knew over from around the world would be able to access the video and the number of sales would grow and popularity of the song. Michael Jackson was the first person to give a video a concept and made sure that all his singles music videos; Billie Jean, Thriller and Beat it had a beginning, middle and an end presenting different narratives. However, it wasn’t until the 1980’s when music videos breakthrough. 1981 MTV launched airing “Video Killed the Radio Star”, this was the beginning of an era with this new outlet for music video material as it an artform played a central role in popular music marketing. Music videos are still used in the same way; MTV is still a massive media platform with millions of viewers every day as it increases audience reactions to a song, as musicians like Michael Jackson’s music videos are still spoken about today and expands income as music videos can now be approached on any different podiums like ITunes and DVD. Music videos main purpose is for promotion, when a new song is released normally a few weeks after or at the same time a video is released too. The video normally represents what message the song is trying to get across or showing what is otherwise not said in the video therefore the audience gain a better understanding of the song. Music videos are a great promotional tool as it is used to sell a song as they have a massive influence on streaming charts and making the audience remember the song through the visuals. For example, PSY ‘Gangnam Style’ video has received over two billion views and made over eight million pounds from
YouTube viewings alone. This video invoked a reaction from the general public, as in the video PSY is preforming the same dance every time the chorus is repeated, therefore the dance used in the video are copied by the public and are now used and known worldwide by everyone. Promotion is very powerful implement as demonstrated by Gangnam Style as even though the lyrics of the song are in Korean, the music video has made everyone remember the lyrics, this is the main aim of any artists as if people remember the lyrics they will buy the song this then expands profits and the artists profile as companies like YouTube and MTV not only get people to view your video but they advertise new album releases and tour date. Media synergy is the interaction of two or more elements collaborating together to promote products this is also known as cross media. For example, the song ‘Boom Clap by Charli XCX’ was produced for MTV’S movie of the year ‘The Fault in Our Stars’. The music video for this song featured scenes from the movie therefore this helps to promote the film and also the artist as their song is featured in the film. The synergy enables Charli XCX, to reach a wide range audience which gave her a number 1 breakthrough song and over 238 million views on her music video. It helps both the movie and the song represent ideas and make them memorable. Synergy is used in many different ways to gain more income for example including branded products in media without explicating referencing it, this is called product placement it has been used in many music videos like in Britney Spears ‘hold It against me’ it had $500,000 worth of product placement in it. Overall 25% of the production costs can be paid with product deals. Ultimately, I believe one of the main purposes for making a music video with a song apart from promotion is to extend the income amount. In 1983, Michael Jackson released a music video to the song ‘Thriller’ it was a fourteen-minute short film directed by John Landis. This was seen as an advance in the industry as it was the first music video that told a story (beginning, middle and end). The video cost $800,000 to produce, at the time it was the most expensive video ever made, however a profit was made from the amount of copies sold on DVD and downloaded on ITunes. The music video received over 282 million views on YouTube and is still one of the most popular videos ever made. This video was seen as being controversial at the time as, Michael Jackson was trying to get a message across, indulging his monster fantasies. The video was very graphic and again made history through the illustrative story that was being told along with the dance and costumes included. The video made a lot of royalties from TV for example, they got MTV and Showtime to pay $250,000 to show the 45-minute backstage video called ‘The Making of Thriller’. Music videos set the tone of the music video straight away. Different genes of music present different types of music videos for example in rock and heavy metal we would normally expect to see dark colors, fire, blood as the visuals add to the narrative of the song which is usually very deep and meaningful trying to send out a message. Whereas pop songs are more fun generally about love and living life, very child/family orientated. They use choreography that the audience can copy (therefore the video is not only visual). In contrast to the heavy metal category the colors used are very bright, this is also reflected on the image of the musicians as they are dressed in stylish trends. I believe this is done as it grabs the viewer’s attention and adds realism to the video as the younger generation will be able to buy the same
style as the artist. Generally, the most controversial genre of music is rap due the the representation of the the people in the videos, women are normally half dressed using very proactive dance moves and the subjects they sing about for example: the opposite sex, drugs and violence. The codes and conventions of music videos use a variety of skills to get a certain message across to the audience when they are watching the music video. Music videos can be illustrative or interpretive or in some cases both, all depending on what information the producer wants to get across to the public. An example of an illustrative music video is ‘Stan’ by Eminem, throughout the video every action that is song about is represented in the video. Therefore, there is a strong relationship between the lyrics and visuals of the song this foreshadows the idea that this relationship will connect the audience with the lyrics/ visuals to create a story. On the other hand, videos can be interpretative which is when the topic of the song is not related to what’s being shown in the video. We make our own interpretation of what the song and video signifies. Mars Volta is a song by Televators the video really grabs the audience attention as the artists isn’t present in the video and is replaced with a tarsier. This makes the viewer think and makes video become extraordinary as we have to determined the story of the video. Surrealism is an unnatural or imaginative effect can also be embedded into interpretative music videos like Mars Volta this video is surrealist due to the key events that take place throughout the video, for example then the trees formulate into a monster type creature this isn’t reality as this can’t actually occur. In my opinion this is done as it adds to the story and gives the video another character, as the artist isn’t shown it connects the song with the tarsier and the tree monster so it becomes memorable. Justin Timberlake’s ‘Mirrors’ is both illustrative and interpretative. I believe some bits are illustrative as the video matches what the lyrics are saying for example: there is mirrors everywhere representing ‘reflection’. He is also singing about love therefore the tone and mood is revealed through the video. However, the there is a deeper meaning that flows throughout; as the narrative of the video is that it’s a reflection of the actor’s life. They use flashbacks from when the couple first met, to getting married and then it ends when the women is left of her own and takes of the wedding ring illustrating the death of her husband she then drops the ring and Justin Timberlake catches it I believe this is to present that it’s someone else’s turn to love and have their same journey (been pasts down a generation, could be related). This is a very effective technique as it brings meaning to the song. Another convention used in music videos to create a story or a certain reaction from the audience is making a homage or parody. A homage is when you affectionately reference someone or something during the video. A recent 2013 song by Iggy Azalea ' Fancy' is an example of a homage as her whole video is in reference to the 1996 MTV best movie winner 'Clueless' directed by Amy Heckerling the film is a teenage rom-com, the narrative is based on a rich student trying to gain popularity but ends up falling in love and this changes her whole perspective on life. In Iggy's music video they wear exactly the same outfits as the cast and copy all the main
scenarios. I believe artists do this as it makes the video stand out straight away. Clueless was a big film in 1995 and still is now, therefore it makes the audience want to view the music video as its exciting to see such a popular celebrity perform and recreate such a classic film. The video has 652 million views I believe this is also due to the fact there by using an old film it attracts a wider range audience as the older generation have grown up with the movie and the younger generation are being introduced to it, this could also be seen as media scenery as if teenagers what the music video they will want to watch the film. In contrast to homage an artist can create a parody this is an imitation of a particular piece with deliberate exaggeration to create humour. A representative of this is ' Blink 182- All the small things' as it features many different well known music artists from over the years like Britney Spears. Blink 182 decided to copy a shot from Britney’s music video ‘Sometimes’, however as the video is a parody they emphasised Britney’s movements, therefore it is a parody as they didn’t only feature the scene but they were mocking the artist. I believe this has a massive effect of the audience and adds to the popularity of the video as it adds humour to the video, the audience can relate to what is going on and brings realism to the video as it includes some of the best known music videos from some of the best known singers like the back street boys and Christina Aguilera. This adds popularity to the video as people who like and dislike the original video will want to watch the parody version. It’s also becomes memorable as its funny and grabs the audience attention as suspense is built throughout the video as you don’t know what artists are going to appear next next and what blink 182 are going to do to imamate it. The artist of a music video gets to decide the type of genre and message the video that complements the song is trying to get across. In most videos the artist chooses to be shown, this is done so when the song is played the audience can make the connection between the song and the artist. A strategy used in almost every music video is lip syncing; this is when the artist moves their lips silently in synchronization with the pre- recorded soundtrack. This is generally used by pop artists like Demi Lovato’s ‘Heart Attack’ this gives the effect of a live performance. However, some artist prefers not to be shown during their videos, commonly more well known artist use this technique, like for example the band ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ this band is so popular and have such a unique style of music that they don’t need to be shown in their music videos for people to know who sings the song. Some artist chose to replace themselves/ location with graphic images as the video hooks the audience attention and gets them thinking. A wide range of special effects are used for example CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), this was a major breakthrough in the music industry as this kind of technology not only added publicity and money to videos but it made them come alive. The first video to use CGI was “Money for Nothing” a single by a British rock band Dire Straits. The graphics illustrate the narrative and opened a new concept to music videos as in the late 1900’s all video was the same, MTV loved Dire Straits new video as generated images were featured on the singers as well as the characters, it was very eye catching therefore made the lyrics of the song more interesting too. As a result, MTV aired it when the network first started on the 1st of August 1987 and won MTV’s video of the year award in 1986. Some artists decide they want to add in concert footage and “as live” footage to their music video this is due to promotional reasons, as the audience get to witness what
the atmosphere is like at the artist’s/bands concert. As we watch the video it makes us want to buy tickets to their concert and adds authenticity to the song. Twenty one piolets use live footage in their videos like in the linked example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92XVwY54h5k. I believe generally bands use this more than solo artists as their aim is to get young people to go to there gigs as they are always on tour and are trying to gain popularity, whereas most main stream solo artists only tour for a few days and already have a high status. I believe the indie/ rock genre use this archival footage whereas rappers would never use this as they are less likely to tour and it’s not what their genre signifies. To conclude, over time music videos ‘promos’ have developed from experimenting with photograms to creating ‘visual music’ to animated films generating dramatized performances to build a narrative. Music platforms started to develop in the late 1900’s the visual jukebox was invented along with Cinebox and colour-sonic. Furthermore, Top of the Pops and MTV was aired; these music channels created an environment for record labels to promote their singles and boost their sales, music videos became very popular in this era as it became easy for the public to view certain videos. Music videos are used to promote a certain song, the visuals make the song become memorable for example Michael Jackson’s thriller is still viewed and spoken about today due to the 7-million-pound controversial video made at the time. They are also produced to increase income this is through video sales on platforms like ITunes and DVD’s. Drake’s number 1 song ‘Hotline bling’ used choreography and become one the most talked about/used dances all over the world. Many different techniques were used to keep the audience interested while watching music videos for example effects like CGI, making a homage or parody or by making a video illustrative, this meant that the images shown followed the song however artists also chose to made there videos interpretative or surrealist by letting the audience determined the narrative. Music videos have become extremely poplar in the industry of music as it sets the tone and mood of the song and gives the viewers messages that are otherwise not said in the song.