History of medium

Music videos became popular around the 1980's however they date back much further. Prior to the 1980's music videos were described as various terms such as 'Illustrated song', 'promotional film' or 'song video, this is because they were part of a film so the only way you could see your favourite artist or band was to watch them in a movie at the cinema, therefore access to watching music videos was very limited.

I watched a music video, "We're all going n a summer holiday" by Cliff Richard, which was in colour and part of a film. It was released in February 1963 and was the second most popular video at the British box office. The video portrays that Cliff Richard is a bubbly and fun family man which gives him a good image in the media. We can see this because he is smiling and waving at the children as he drives past, He is also going on a trip to France to go to the seaside which shows he is family orientated.

         I then watched a music video by 'The Beatles' called 'Hard days night'. It was filmed in black and white which is cheaper to produce and create. This video was the first music video to be filmed as an original song written by The Beatles themselves which was unusual as most artists and bands did covers of songs. This was appealing to the public which gave them good media coverage and a good image. This video also represents what the band are like since they are portrayed as being cheeky and mischievous as they try to get away from the women.

 

 

The Australian TV shows countdown sounds both premiered in 1974 and was significant in developing music videos. Former DJ Graham Webb launched a weekly TV music show for teens which screened popular songs on a Sunday. It was later shortened to be called ‘Sounds’. The company approached Russel Mulcahy and asked him to film footage to accompany the songs. The British TV show ‘Top of the pops’ began playing music videos in the late 1970’s. Sales for songs started to become big as many people wanted to see the video again the next week.

     In 1975 music videos had become increasingly popular and technology had advanced. Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen was released in 1975 and was the first video to be filmed in video rather than film, which made the quality much better. The video is over 6 minutes long and uses a range of techniques, conventions and affects such as varied camera shots, locations and costumes. By this time music videos had become more conventional and appealing to an audience. The video for 'Another brick in the wall' by Pink Floyed was released in 1979 and reached number one due to its abstract qualities. The video was about a protest of boarding schools.They used masks to represent the children and had them walk like robots to show that they are being controlled. Using different techniques made the video really interesting to watch.

 

     Video concert hall, created by Jerry Crowe and Charles Henderson, launched the first nationwide music video programme on American television, predating MTV by three years.

   In 1981 MTV launched ‘Video killed the radio star’ which started an era of 24/7 music on television. Many popular acts such as Adam and the Ants, Duran Duran and Madonna became very successful through their seductive appeal of their videos. One of the reasons music videos became successful is through the development of recording and editing equipment and the use of visual effects such as image compositioning. Directors began to explore different forms and style of genre using effects, mixing film and video and adding a narrative to the music video.

    In 1983 the most successful and influential music video of all time was released. Micheal Jacksons ‘Thriller’ cost around $800,000 to make. Around this time, many more music channels had been created which played different genres of music 24 hours a day which was beneficial to the public since they could choose what music they wanted to listen too.  

      In just a few years music videos advanced even more and so did access to them. There are now many more channels showing different genres of music such as 4Music, VIVA, Scuzz and Kerrang.  In 2005 a website called ‘YouTube’ was launched which made the viewing of online video much faster and easier. Yahoo, FaceBook and MySpace use similar technology. Some artists began to see success as a result. For example the band ‘OK go’ achieved fame through two of their songs ‘A million ways’ and ‘Here it goes again’ both of which became well known online. In 2009 Thirty Seconds To Mars music video ‘Kings and Queens’ was uploaded to YouTube and generated over 40 million views on the same day.

    Various independent filmmakers began recording live sessions to present on the web and are made with minimal budgets and share similar techniques as the lo-fi music movement of the early nineties. This helped independent artists and bands to present themselves to a wider audience.

     The transition from the first music video to music videos now is huge since the technology has advanced majorly through the use of camera skills and accessibility. The hypodermic needle theory can be applied here since when music videos first came about we didnt have a choice what we watched, we had to watch whatever was on the TV at that time. The channels also went off at a certain time on the night so there was nothing to watch on the TV until the morning. The music channel by Graham Webb showed the popular artists and songs of that time and because it was the only music channel people didnt have a choice, if they wanted to listen to music thye would have to watch whatever Graham was playing. This creates a mass audience because they are essentially 'forced' into watching it. However since the development of technology and communication we have a much wider variety of ways we can consume music therefore we can choose what genre/ band/ song we listen to.
      Music videos are continuing to develop and improve to make them more visually appealing. 'Chandelier' by Sia was released in 2014 and became popular very quickly. The song details the demoralisation and rationalism of alcoholism through the use of contemprary dance therefore has a lyrical narrative whilst being visually appealing.