Music videos have changed immensely over the years and become more diverse, recognizable and enhanced. The videos have improved digitally, visually, and concept wise. Music videos today portray different themes and ideologies than they used to. In today's society creating something controversial or something that will attract audiences is more important than the themes put across by the audience. Also the visuals don't necessarily have to match the lyrics anymore as audiences now watch videos for visual pleasure as well as for the song, as the video may be something they idolize, relate to, or want. Moreover, old music videos had simple and basic editing with star appeal as the star would appear in the video, however no narrative. However over time This changed and music videos became more and more supplemented to match audience demand and time line.
1929
Bessie Smith appeared in a two reeled short film called 'Saint Louis Blues' in 1929
It featured a dramatized performance of the Hit song
Although it is far off from the music videos today, it can still be regarded as one of the first atempts of creating a music video.
1940
Walt Disney released 'Fantasia'
Fantasia was an animated film based around famous classical music pieces.
The film consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopard Stokowski
Between 1920-1940 many films were accompanied by moving images, especially animations, However some may say these weren't considered as music videos as it was only a series basic editing of images to films and musicals which had a massive demand at the time.
1956
Tony Bennett- Stranger in Paradise
Tony Bennett is filmed walking in Hyde Park London for his single 'Stranger in Paradise'
The video was distributed on US and UK television which then made its mark as the first ever music video made.
1964
Key moment in Music History and The Beatles carrier
Their music video based the basic conventions and structure of today's music videos
This influenced a vast number of musicians to similarly create moving images/videos to accompany their music
1966-1968
The Monkees was a boy band which was active between the 1965-1971
They had their own TV show on NBC called 'The Monkees'
Each episode include a short film like segment to accompany their songs.
1966
The birth of Top Of The Pops
Top Of The Pops is a music charts television show originally made by BBC
Every week new music singles would be aired live, however places on the show were limited which meant groups and artists had to compete for a place.
MODERN ERA OF MUSIC VIDEOS
1975
Queen created a music video to replace a live performance for their hit song 'Bohimian Rhapsody'
Queen were the first people to create a video specifically for a song to be played on TV.
Bohimian Rhapsody was the first official video made in the typical video format artists use today.
1970 to 1980 was the era of songs and moving images combination. The key development of modern music videos was video recording and the editing process. High quality video tape recorders and portable video cameras enabled most artists to produce promotional videos. However by the mid 80's releasing a video to accompany a new single had become popular and a standard. Artists were using high budgets to create these videos to attracts audiences, for example 'The Jackson 5'.
1981
MTV is launched and the first video to be aired is 'Buggles- Video Killed The Radio Star'
In the mid 80's artists started to use more sophisticated editing and effects. Also most videos had a storyline to it which made them a narrative based video.
1984
Michael Jackson-Thriller was released
It was in the concept of a short film, which means it had a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Michael Jackson's thriller was one of the first of its type which is why it took the music video concept to another level and intrigued audiences.
Top Of The Pops started to censor certain videos which meant a new alternative had to be made so an edited version was released due to demands.
1980
By the mid 80's, music videos were a popular way of distributing and marketing the artists new single
Huge artists today owe their success to the release of their appealing video. For instance 'Madonna' owed her enormous success to the well constructed and seductive appeal of her videos along side her singles.
Although most people see MTV as the golden era of music videos, some may disagree as it made audiences depend on physical aspects visual pleasure to enjoy a song, rather than the sole sound of the music.
A genre is a category that things with the
same characteristics fit under. For example a similar type of music, film,
literature, art etc. Within the music industry, genre refers to the style of
music and its targeted audience. Music is produced dependent of different
factors to give it success, for example, it considers who the artist is, who
the song and the audience targets, but most importantly it takes encounter the
popular themes and genres for successful marketing techniques. Music with the
same genre are likely to fall under the same category video wise as well. There
are Traditional genres such as POP, Rock, R&B, Blues, however, not all
music videos can be categorized under the classic genres which is why there are
sub genres such as alternative R&B or Indie Rock etc. This is due to the
fact music is changing over time as audiences want something more original and
different, and for the artist to market their product smartly, they need to
conform to what the audiences like. Fresh interpretations and perspectives are
being born each year, so artists need to alter their style - or entirely new
artists need to come forth/ be discovered - to keep audiences interested and
satisfied. Audience demand is the biggest impact on the creation of music and
the artist, which is why there is a huge range of genres to choose from, as if
there wasn't such a huge range of genres the product wouldn't sell at the same
huge rate as it does today as not all audiences would be interested in the
product.
Examples of Genres AND common conventions within them:
Hip-Hop & R&B:
Key Conventions:
Low angle shots to imply the artist has power over the audience and is more superior. Close up shots to show their importance within the frame.
Women in the videos to show how desirable the hip-hop and R&B artists are. Also the fact that there is more than one female in most of the music videos shows how irrelevant they are as the camera hardly concentrates on them for more than a few seconds, showing this genre of music objectifies women.
A crowd dancing showing the song is a hit and everyone's enjoying it which gives credibility to the song
Mainly features Men as the artist. The men are also often from a black background (conventionally)
Glamourised lifestyle and expensive jeweler/clothing showing the wealth of the artist through the use of mise en scene. Wealth signifies status which is what Hip Hop artist supposudly have in the videos.
The Men in the video are usually pictured with his 'clique or group' to again show their status and highlight that their not a social outcast.
POP:
Key Conventions:
Often has high key lighting and an eye catching costume or object with vibrant colours to attract younger/youth audience which are the target audience.
Costume used is generally up to date and fashionable, as fashion is important to teenagers and younger audiences as well as the artist it self to keep their look attractive and desirable.
The videos can often include a love narrative as teenagers are obsessed with the thought of falling in love, however pop songs can be about anything as long as it attracts audiences.
The pop genre doesn't have a conventional gender as there is a range of female, male, and group pop artists
The artists and other characters in the music video are commonly young and good looking as they can sell their music through their appearance which the audience is immediately attracted to
Pop artists often choose an item of clothing, a symbol, or a dance move which makes them distinct and helps audiences recognize them through it.
Rock: Key conventions:
Music is often produced by a band of 4 members, however could be a smaller or bigger group as well as solo rock artists.
Artists in the music videos commonly wear similar costumes which is often black clothing, and they will wear black clothing in most occasions.
Male/female Rock artists can be seen wearing dark makeup accompanied by their depressed and pissed off facial expressions, along with piercings and tattoos (conventionally not always)
Often the music videos will have a low key lighting to represent the mood of the song, however if the song is upbeat, humorous, or energetic, it can be high key lighting.
Setting for the video will usually be kept simple and it would include the band/artist performing in the video. This is so audiences concentrate more on the music and performance rather than whats going on in the background.
Some Rock Music videos may be narrative based.
While singing or performing artists in the music video commonly use their facial expressions effectively to portray their emotions in the song.
Editing is used often depends on the pace of the song
many closeups to the artist or characters faces are used to show their emotions aswell as long shots to show what going on around them and to show band performing.
Country: Key conventions:
Commonly country music videos follow a narrative to portray the story-line behind the lyrics.
The story line usually runs through the lyrics.
The Country artist conventionally features in the music video as the main character
The videos are usually set in Western America including Cow-boys and Cow-girls, and some sort of nature involved whether in a farm or just including nature.
Often has a romantic element to the narrative and may involve a love story
Country artists usually have live performances within the video
Medium shots are used to show the setting of the video as well as the narrative and the characters facial expressions.
Jazz:
Key conventions:
Often live instuments played within video, i.e. drums, trumpets, or chello
Close up shots on the artists face to show them expressing their emotions within the song
Editing could be more classic and slow, or black and white
Setting is usually on stage in a bar or cafe, however may change to a more crowded setting like streets or rundown places, or even houses.
Old Jazz artist Costumes are often sophisticated attire, so men mainly wear suits and women wear dresses, however modern jazz has changed so the clothing they wear is commonly comfortable attire depending on the song and setting.
However due to Jazz being an old genre, famous and highly respected artist such as Frank Sinatra don't have videos, but the audience are still able to hear the different instruments played in the background and here the positive vibes in his voice.
Target audience usually older generations
Latin/Spanish: Key conventions:
Salsa dancing/ Dancing
An exotic holiday setting, or a club with a crowd of people, however may be in an isolated place, or a house depending on the mood of the song
The narrative may include a love interest especially if it is a slow song
It is a globally recognized genre with huge target audiences around the world, however its main audience is Spanish and Latino people,
Includes classic Spanish music n the background
Attracts both genders
Can be classed as holiday music due to the positive vibes and fast pace beat
Costumes are often revealing for the women, may even be a swim suit, however male characters usually wear a various stylish outfits.
Camera is usually concentrated on the female characters in the video which objectifies them and attracts more audiences as the females are all good looking along with the males
It is important to follow generic conventions within the music industry and videos as it helps audiences recognise the genre faster and stick with it if they enjoy it. Moreover if the audience enjoy one type of song and video in a certain genre, they will be a demand for similar music types
This has helped me with my research as i now know what typical conventions to follow while filming the music video for my genre of music which will help audiences identify the genre immediately
