Wednesday 28 September 2016

Task 1a - The History of Music Videos

Timeline: The History of music videos: 1920s-2000s.


The 1920s-60s


Bessie Smith - St Louis Blues: 1929:




What was innovative/important?


This music video is important because this is one of the earliest music videos as music videos began around the 1930s. It was shown in theatre in 1932. This music video was from a American two-reel short film, St. Louis Blues, which starred Bessie Smith as it is based on her song.


How is it recognizable as a music video?

Even though it's a short film, you can see a live performance of a band which make the music video into a performance-based music video, likely in a restaurant or a bar as you can see waiters walking around and the bartender serving alcoholic beverages at the bar etc. You can see the artist lip-syncing to the lyrics, you could also see the audience lip-syncing as well. No dialogue. As this is one of the earliest music video, it is one of the first music video to do lip-syncing. They used camera shots such as, long shot and medium close up.

What technological or cultural change happened during this time?

At the time, this music video only could be seen in theatre/cinema back in 1932. We are now able to access almost any music almost anywhere now (2016), that shows how much technology has changed. This music video is very different to modern day music videos because it is in black and white, you can tell it is old.







BatCat Jetpack:

What was innovation/ important about this music video?
Batcat was band that recorded instruments such electric guitars - jetpack 1932 was innovation because it was the first video ever made where television was invented in the 1925. Also the video was famous for their experiment with electromagnetism. Also the music video was animation and was first aircraft. This was recorded produced by gramophone. Jetpack composes, records, and performs the guitar dominated instrumental music known as surf or surf rock, that was a music industry phenomenon of the early 1960s. Although it had retained a following, especially in Southern California, surf experienced a world-wide revival in the 1990s. This means that they perform live as was also known surf rock. In that time surf rock was quite popular. In the music video you see you see footage from out of space but however the band which was shown few time throughout the music video.

How is this recognisable as a music video?

This is recognisable as a music video because it was relatable to a genre which is surf rock even though there was no lip syncing there was story behind it which is space and aircrafts. It shows footage of different shots relating to the music also the music video has effects and uses close ups. It shows that it is a music video has no dialog and shows animation and music stick over it. During the video at 2:15 it has some text which is advertising space making young ages see this and what to experience it.

What technological or cultural change happened during this time?
 
There were various changes happen during this period of time for example in the 1932 they were more music video being made. Also lip syncing is being is being more occurred and live performance are being as a music video. However, music we develop over time as we go down the 1930-1960s music videos were in colour.





Marilyn Monroe - Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend 1953:

 This video incorporates colour and settings. They use a piece from the film and turn it into a music video, this is done to highlight her performing the song. 20 years later we can see that this has inspired Madonna as she made her own music called Material Girl. This is very significant as it was inter-textual for future music videos. Also there are performers dancing, this also means it is a music video because it incorporates choreography. one thing I find really interesting is that, they took out it out from a film and made it seem like it was a brand new music video, it was almost as if they were experimenting. They also used different types of shots, we can see that close up is used here multiple times to state the fact that the music video all evolves around Marilyn.





















Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walkin' 1966:





It was one of the first music videos to actually feature colour. There are many ways this video is different, it uses sexualisation a lot more as it focuses on their legs and all the other women in the background. This also has a very good dance and rhythm to the video. This is one of the first music videos to actually spark an era of female sexualised themes.

It has a very interesting video as it is set in a studio with just a group of girls dancing but follows a genre specific theme it uses Mise En scene to its effect and it also uses a wide range of dance themes and expressions. This dance sequence is known as a Choreography which really translates to a dance sequence that draws in the viewer in fact Choreography is probably one of the most effective uses in music videos as it allows the artist to get publicly noticed due to the dance.

Mise En Scene is not recognized on the set but the costume design for the girls is much sexualized in other words Voyeurism. Voyeurism is how people are sexually themed and presented in front of the audience.

One huge costume design in this is the boots, the boots are the main theme of this music video this is what made it successful in the first place. They use this to give off a not only sexy but a cool vibe which gives the audience something to enjoy as they view the music video.
 




The 1970s-80s:
Prince I wanna be your lover:


Videos are started to be considered too salacious. this is because music video makes were under the impression that sex sells, this was favourable as these videos were not expensive to producer but could generate a lot of attention. This was the case for Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover. This music video still follows conventions, with used of of lips synching , the artist performing the song with their band.


David Bowie - Life on Mars?



 This video is effective due to the fact that it is a basic lip sync but the shots and effective props can create conventions for example, his appearance is associated with his stage persona called "Ziggy Stardust" which was Bowie's way of showing Iconography towards his fans so they could act like him and dress like him.

How is it recognisable as a music video?

This is recognizable as a music video because it includes the convention of the 1970's which was the era of experimental video which change the way that people view videos.
Mise en scene is used in this music video because it shows how you can experiment with different costumes and being edgy or weird with your image to sell and promote yourself through visualisation.
visualisation is where the music video is important than the track,this is used to convey meaning

Cultural change in the 1980s.
The style and form of music video had changed as artists were re branding themselves ton suit the new era and how being more creative with their video and using multi camera set up to shoot from different angles and using more narrative to show the story easier.


Video Killed the Radio Star

This music video was the first ever music video to be played on MTV. The name of the song is self explanatory in the sense that music videos actually ruined the radio star, Artists werent being credited for the way their music sounded but for the way there music video looked. for example Radio was dying out and the only way to gain popularity was to create a music video and become a Movie star
for your music.

























Michael Jackson - Thriller:




In 1983, Michael Jackson, Epic Records and Vestron Video, released the music video for thriller. The video itself, had a running time of 13 mins and was loosely based on the horror film "An American Werewolf in London". Micheal Jackson's Thriller video was unprecedented. This was because it was the first ever music video (By a mainstream artist) to create and use the concept of a short film.








The Police - Every Breath You Take:




What was important about the 1980s?
In the 1980’s, MTV was launched. MTV was the first music channel to broadcast many different artist’s music videos. The first ever music video which was played on MTV was The Buggles’: Video Killed the Radio Star. The 1980’s was also the era of where short films were introduced in music videos. Michael Jackson was the first artist to have a short film music video, Thriller, which was 13 minutes.

How is it recognisable as a music video?
This music video was released in 1983, which has a total of 299 million views. As the lyrics sound romantic, the song is somewhat disturbing. “Every breath you take I’ll be watching you”. This song is about a hooking stalker. It is always interpreted because of the way it sounds but people do not choose to listen to the lyrics properly. The main artist in the band, Sting wrote this song after divorcing his wife. He personally things the song is “a nasty little song”, “evil” and “about jealousy and surveillance and ownership”. P Diddy sampled this song and named it as I’ll Be Missing You. He wrote this song for the late The Notorious B.I.G Wallace, who was murdered in 1997. 
In the music video for The Police, it is hyper-reality because the music lives within the ash tray. There are effects such as fade ins, and outs and it is in black and white. There is also lip-syncing, for the majority of the video because it is a live performance where you see the band playing instruments and one of the members, Sting singing the song. 




Cultural change in the 1980s. 
The 1980’s was the beginning of globalization, the AIDS epidemic killed 39 million people and the United Kingdom and United States moved closer to the laissez faire. However, this track hit US's Number One and was there consecutive for 8 weeks. 



The 1990s-2000s:

Lucas - Lucas with the lid off: 1994:

What was innovative/ Important?
this was a ground breaking music video which was released in the year 1994, they were faking the opening sequence of a TV show which was popular at the time called sabotage which is actually related to the title of the song, Also we do not see the artist throughout the whole video either lip syncing or performing to the song. What was innovative about this music video was that it was the first of its kind to have this sort of inter textuallity where the music video is actually paying homage to the actually TV show.

How was it recognized as a music video?
It can be seen as a music video because it conveys the conventions of a music video such as using inter textuallity as it makes reference to a TV show and also there is a a bit of hyper reality going on as usually a cops day life wont really be like what was in the music video and to some extent the music video cut to the beat of the song.

What Technological/ cultural Change happened in this time?
Music videos at this time started to use more artist form of making their videos bending more towards the use of abstract art in their videos while others used things such as TV shows and movies that were already famous in other to appeal not only to their target audience but also to the movies target audience.
 



Beastie Boys - Sabotage : 1994:


1. What was innovative/ Important
this was a ground breaking music video which was released in the year 1994, they were faking the opening sequence of a TV show which was popular at the time called sabotage which is actually related to the title of the song, Also we do not see the artist throughout the whole video either lip syncing or performing to the song. What was innovative about this music video was that it was the first of its kind to have this sort of inter textuallity where the music video is actually paying homage to the actually TV show.

2. How was it recognized as a music video.
It can be seen as a music video because it conveys the conventions of a music video such as using inter textuallity as it makes reference to a TV show and also there is a a bit of hyper reality going on as usually a cops day life wont really be like what was in the music video and to some extent the music video cut to the beat of the song.

3. What Technological/ cultural Change happened in this time.
Music videos at this time started to use more artist form of making their videos bending more towards the use of abstract art in their videos while others used things such as Tv shiows and movies that were already famous in other to appeal not only to their target audience but also to the movies target audience.



Brandy & Monica - The boy is mine (1998)



The boy is mind is a composition between Brandy and Monica that was release in 1998. I't an innovative by its unique use of mise en scene. It features two different girls fighting over a guy and uses a wall in the middle of the scene to divide them. This symbolises their two houses and helps the person watching to see the two different lives of these girls that share the same man. It also helps to create realism by showing things in real time. This, therefore, make the video more reliable to us at home. This is furthered by the fact that the girls are having a conversation with each other and at one point it even shows them having a telephone conversation that coheres with the lyrics.

It is considered a typical music video because although it features a story, this story only progresses slightly and is more leaned towards the performance of the girls who are singing in their houses. They also use other conventions of music videos. For example, the two singers are lip syncing which is commonly used. However, to make a change the lyrics at some point turn into diegetic when they begin to talk on the phone.

Despite the video being quite contemporary, music videos have still changed hugely since then. In terms of the camera work, this consists mostly one shots which, although cut to the beat, goes at a slower pace to what would have been these days. Another thing changed is the mise en scene and the clothing. The props in the scene have clearly been updated as technology had updated with time. In terms of the clothing. The girls are wearing a lot less revealing clothes in comparison to music videos now days which aim to sexualise  the characters in order to sell the music.  
They have made a lot of progress from earlier on. There are some transitions such as wipes and fades which help create excitement in the video. Also, about half way through the video, there features a lot of canted angles which haven't been done a lot.

They have made a lot of progress from earlier on. There are some transitions such as wipes and fades which help create excitement in the video. Also, about half way through the video, there features a lot of canted angles which haven't been done a lot. Another thing they have played around with in the beginning of the video is depth of field. One of the girls are positioned in front of the couch but behind the fish bowl and we can see clearly the change from the three different places in the room. This makes it more realistic for the views.



Post 2003's era:

Rihanna - Disturbia: 2007



The lyrically the song reflect moods and emotion that surround anxiety and confusion.   
The songs starts with a fade to create suspension as it is like a horror story which creates tension and could create isolation as the location looks abandoned and she is mental hospital because every scene is different in her actions and costume to show that she has split personality disorder.
This can challenge how society see women because she is experimenting with her personality which could she is not her at the times but someone else to show insecurity and issues to make relationships which could it make it hard to trust anyone.

 In one of the scenes she is seen imprisoned wearing lenses that make look as if her eyes have rolled into the back of her head. Rihanna stays in the prison with two men watching on her from the both sides. Other scenes include sitting on a throne chair and singing the song, while two strange women are around her.
This could suggest that her safe is at risk and she may self risk if she is not watched at all times.
The beat is uptempo because it suggests that the song is happening so quickly because every seconds she is a different personality; the time signature 4/4 represents it is fast paced which no breaks and every verse is different to show how she lives in the prison.

Sia - Elastic Heart:

A music video is a visual representation of the artist in order to promote the track and the artist but it is used to create a fake image of the artist mainly sometimes as performance of narrative.. In music videos they have conventions so people know that it is a music video such as: narrative, choreography, hypo reality, lip-syncing and montage. However some videos in recent era’s challenges conventions, such as a song made by Sia called ‘Elastic Heart’ that was made in 2015 doesn’t have narrative because the music video is a man and a child dancing in a cage using a dance choreography. In this music video there is rhythmic editing because they’re dancing to the beat of the music and they’re dance was telling a story through body language. The reason why this video uses hypo reality is because the girl not actually is there; it could be in the man’s imagination.






















psy-gangman style: 2012:


The song was going viral through social media and it had spread worldwide mainly due to the dancing that the artist was doing so people would copy the same dance when the song did come on but not only that, it allowed people to get to know the genre of K-Pop more than did because they were little known about it until this video blew up onto the internet.

the genre conventions of the song are k-pop such as lip sync and choreography with the use of bright neon colours, this is used for visual representation and no narrative structure to promote himself and re inventing his image with the use of the young women who are used for sex appeal.
the song is cut to the beat and fast paced editing has been used to make it look hyper reality and vagerism which is gender pleasure.

What was important/innovative?

The thing that was innovative within this modern music video of Gangnam Style by Korean-Pop artist PSY is that he was promoting himself instead of the visuals representation of the video because when this video came out in 2012, it was going viral through social media and it had spread worldwide mainly due to the dancing that the artist was doing so people would copy the same dance when the song did come on but not only that, it allowed people to get to know the genre of Korean-Pop more than did because they were little known about it until this video blew up onto the internet.

How it is recognized as a music video?

This is very recognizable music video because it fits with the genre conventions of the song which is Korean-Pop which there was lip-syncing within this music video but the visual representation is not telling no narrative or story being told at all as he is promoting himself and dancing which it is showing that he is having fun rather than being creative.There is a use of editing and effects where for example: when it was about to go the hook of the song, its use of editing was used which was cutting of the beat around 1.06 to 1.10 and 2.25 to 2.30 minutes within the video.


Rihanna - If its lovin you want:

Rhianna is portrayed as someone who had a soft and innocent image. In the music video her image at the time is portrayed as herself doing a live performance in a tropical type setting e.g. the beach. This shows that she comes from the Caribbean or a tropical country.

Also,there is no much sex appeal in this video because she is promoting her true self and having to put an act to become someone that is not.However, over time she does re invent herself and loses some of the tradition reggae style and she started to sig with the genre of RnB and hip hop.

This type of styling would appeal to an audience that enjoy listening to up beat tempo songs and instruments that would be played in reggae songs and R&B. This was a type of performance video that shows Rhianna being very expressive.




2006: In 2006, it was said that Rhianna was starting to experiment and play with her image. She was portrayed as a sex symbol and changed up her image e.g. cutting her hair short to a signature pixie cut from the long bouncy hair she had before. This also influenced a change in her music as she started to move away from the reggae and dance hall and move into pop music. This was also the reason to the tittle of her album in 2007 'Good girl gone bad'.
This could also be the reason why Rhianna was making music videos e.g. creating a fake image to appeal to the audience and keep them engaged as times were changing as women are starting to be seen as to being provocative and seen as a sex symbol e.g. voyeurism.

In this music video, we notice that Rhianna has had a massive change of appearance. This illustrated the fact that her image had change dramatically and was seen to the audience as a sex symbol. Her image in this music video shows her to be wearing a lot of dark clothes e.g. black leather. The color black can have connotations to being bad and non pure or a sense of evil. To add to this, the leather clothing that she is wearing in one part of the video can be seen as seductive and appealing to the opposite sex. This also relates to the style of her and the music video as it is very conceptual because there is many artistic conventions included e.g. when she is in silver pain or the lighting effect used which is supposed to symbolize rain.
In other words, the intended audience for this music video is aimed at males. The reason i think this is, is because her image has changed since then as she is becoming more provocative.  This adds a sense of voyeurism and why it appeals to that intended audience.



2010: What's my name- Rhianna ft Drake:

 After the abusive break up with Chris Brown and the Rated R album which changed her style of music, Rhianna came back in 2010 with her breakout album Loud. It was apparent from the name of the album and the image change to red hair that Rhianna was back in full force and was ready to promote her music with the use of pop songs such as 'Whats my name', 'Only girl' etc. In this music video Rhianna has clearly had a dramatic image change from how she last looked. This can also be known because she claimed that the new 'fiery' red hair set a vibrating shade which gave her a crazy image. To add to this her look was also because she wanted something loud and expressive. This represents the meaning and message shown across this music video because she is shown to be expressive within the video and with other men e.g. suggesting she has moved on as Drake is featured in the song as well.


















2011- Unapologetic album:
In 2011 Rhianna had again changed her image and made a new album called 'Unapologetic'. The album is clearly about the title and how she is unapologetic. However she had a variety of image changes in many songs of her music video e.g. Diamonds, which is a ballad which shows her depth and growth. It also resonates honesty. However other songs were the opposite e,g. 'Pour it Up' which have a more upbeat and electro-pop style to it.



Rihanna - Diamonds - 2012:

Diamonds:
In this music video her image is more innocent and more intense to how she used to look. The reason behind this could be because she is trying to be more truthful. Most of the images used in the music video resonate hyper reality which are things that are not real but to recreate an image to make it seem more appealing to the audience. Furthermore, in this music video she is not seen as a sex symbol or trying to attract any attention. This relates back to her image and how she looks in the music video as she seems lifeless.

In conclusion, it clear to see that Rhianna has gone through many image changes some being drastic in order to keep up and appeal the eye of the audience since in the modern era music focuses more on visuals as well as the music which is why she may have went through her change in 2007 and being seen as more sexual. This could be an example of a post modern trait because most music video conventions include women being sexualised and portrayed in a provocative and seductive way. Furthermore, most of Rhianna's image changes related back to her actual music and the changes she was going through at stages in her life. In other word, we can say that Rhianna is expressive in the way she changes her image and have meaning to most of them.








Budgets for Music Videos:

Range of budgets for music videos



Higher end budgets have a better creative idea for the audiences which will make the music video more interesting and enjoyable for viewers. Higher end budgets consist of complex visual effects and more expensive locations.

The budgets for music videos are there to cover the costs of creating the video such as storyboards,props, location fees and more. The lower the budget the less amount
of money is used to create visual effects which help to engage the audience.

100k budget music videos
An example music video created on budgets of 100k would be the song stay by the artist Rihanna.The genre of the song is R and B. The genre R and B generally used a higher budget for the productions music videos as the want to create a more powerful visual effects for the audiences.

The video includes both artists, who both take apart in the narrative of the video. In order of this the music video is able to seems more realistic and relatable to viewers,
inferring that they can feel
engage to the artist and get an understanding from the visual effects. The use of the budget enables the music video to be effective to promoting the artist. The editing of the video helps to create a mood  including camera shots such as close
ups and mid shots, making the audience get the sense of the video being based on the artist emotions.
Therefore the audience feel more interactive with the artist feelings a connection with them during the video.

200k music videos - BeyoncĂ© single ladies 

The higher range for budget on music videos are likely to get more viewers that may repeatably watch the video. The music video for single ladies became popular mostly to the target audience of women mainly cos of the meaning of the song talking about single ladies also the fact the artist was a female. The choreography of the video became very popular to viewers where everyone would copy the dance and doing exactly as the artist did in the video making the video seem more enjoyable to viewing and entertaining as well as a well known dance track which went viral to audiences around the world.







How music videos are Monitised

Method A: Youtube
Method B: Product Placement


Youtube:
There are many ways to monitise a music video, using Youtube is one of them. Youtube is global and world wide, meaning that when a music video is put on there, then anyone can see it.  By placing it on Youtube, it immediately makes the video global and when it gains further popularity, it will become viral.

As the video becomes viral, it makes more money, the more views that the video gets, the more money it gains in profit. If the song has an advert before it, this means that the song will make $2 for every thousand views it gets.

For example, when taking a successful viral music video, such as 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams.


This is the amount of views the video gained.
The artist will only receive 10% of the total earning and the remaining 90% will be for the label that funded the song.

This is also the case for Indie music videos. They are owned and funded by a label and therefore must pay them.

                                                        This is not the case for Self Producers, as they have made and funded for the video themselves, they will keep 100% of all earning and profits made.





Product Placement:
Product Placement is another way of broadcasting and advertising/ presenting an artists music video via promotional mediums, these are mediums such as Television, billboards in the street, Youtube (As already mentioned) and also apps on tablets and phone ect.

It is also a way of advertising other products within a music video, for instance, using a brand of something, such as headphones, this advertises the brand and the product, the label may be paid by the companay of the product to use their product in the video.




  • Monitisation:


Refers to the giving of permission to authorise advertisement to be present in your music videos in which you will be charged for. An example is Youtube, YouTube charges advitiser for the advertisement while they share the fees with you, this allows you to make more money in your pocket. however it has some bad points to it as if you add adverts to your video it's more likely to steal, distract and make your consumers sway away from your video causing you to lose consumers and money.
So if you decide to have adverts present in your music video your likely to make $2 per 1,000 views on YouTube.

examples:


 

This music video by PSY - Gangnam style went viral due to the song and accompanying music video that gather a huge amount of views. This what you have to do to find out how much the record label he is signed to earned and how much the artist himself earned: 
2,646,913,867 divide 1,000 x 2 = 5,293,827.734
(this sum shows how much the Universal music group the label he's was signed to earned from the YouTube views while on the other hand the artist PSY will get 10% of that cut.
This is all because the visual side of the music video is more appreciated more than the actual song as music has become devalued.



In this image it shows an ad (advertising google) that appeared when i started watching the video which like i said will cost $2 per 1,000 views.
Because Youtube is worldwide it allows music videos when uploaded to be seen all over the world giving the video a wide/broad audience gaining the music video and the artist more awareness and popularity. Therefore the more known and viral the video goes it makes more money for the record label and the artist gaining more money in there pockets.

  • product placement: 


Product Placement is designed to sell and promote the products of the individual companies in which is usually embedded into a music video. Product placement is basically seen everywhere not just in music videos but on TV, billboards, newspapers, magazines etc. Its known as an advertising technique used by companies to insure the promotion of their own products allowing more awareness of that product.
However there is also another type of Product Placement called:

  • Paid Product Placement:


Paid product Placement is when your are given an incentive (money) for you to mention that companies product or brand into your music video, Tv show, film etc...

An example of Product Placement:



In this music video the product placement= is beats which has clearly been placed to advertise the beats pill xl

An example of Paid Product Placement:

In the beginning you have the artist talking about her new sony phone and giving hints to how good it is or some interesting features it has to it.



Monetising Music Videos

Which the birth of the internet and video streaming services, monetising music videos has become even more easier to gain money from videos.
Youtube is one of the key platforms to promote music videos and monetise them. This is because Youtube is a global video streaming platform where things can and have easily go.



Product placement is often used to monetise music videos, this is where big company (such as beats) may pay the artist to have their product in the music video, for example beats headphones is a Miley Cyrus video. This is done because they know that the video will generally bring in big views and it is a good chance to subtly promote their product without being too full on and having to spend mass amounts of money on actual adverts.
It creates more awareness of the product meaning that is not only used in music videos but other media outlets/platforms as well such as news papers, billboards and TV adverts.

In general, monetisation is granting permission for an advertisement to be shown in a music video whether it's a independent or major video. Youtube plays a key factor in this because money can be generated through viewers. For example every 1000 views, equates to $2 if your video has advertisements.

Also annotations are used as a form of pop ups in youtube videos to advertise certain products or events. These are most commonly used to advertise products because they can easily be accessed and directly take you to the actual product.

This is why viral videos are often most successful because they generate views and often have annotations to link them to the artists product, so they have two different sources of income from the video.
An example of this would be Pharrell Happy as it went viral and had 886,126,725 views and also had product placement from beats in the video.

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