Research: History of Music video

Music videos have developed over years in the music industry. The concept of the music video has been within the media industry for about 90 years, but they were initially referred to as 'video promos' or 'short films' rather than music videos. This concept is explored by the likes of The Beatles, however it wasn't until Queens video in 1975 (Bohemian Rhapsody) that give birth to the music video. From this moment on, it has been essential that all artists in the industry have a music video to accompany their music in order to keep with demands and be successful. Artists have been influenced by each other to keep creating these original ideas that will appeal to the audience.  Perhaps the biggest influence in our history comes from the 80's with the like of Michael Jackson. Madonna and Duran Duran. This post will explore the development of music videos within our history.



The music video timeline


1929: Songs and moving images
Bessie appeared in a two-real short film called saint Louis blues

1940:walt Disney released Fantasia, animated film based around famous pieces of classical music

1956:Tony Bennett is filmed walking in Hyde park London for his song "stranger in paradise". Bennett claims he made the first ever music video which can be argued.

1964:This video arguably set out the basic visual vocabulary of todays music video, influencing a huge number of contemporary musicians at the time to produce there own music video to represent their music.

1966-1968:'The Monkees' was a TV show back in its time. within each episode there was a specially made film segment that was created to accompany their songs used in their TV series.

1966:Top of the pop was born, this show was created to promote artists and their singles. This was done competitively in order for their videos to get air time.

1967:Videos in this time used techniques that the film world used such as dramatic lighting, film effects, camera angles and rhythmic.

1975: Queen 'Bohemian Rhapsody' was created by Queen the band to replace a live performance for TV  they were unable to attend. It was the first video made for TV therefore arguably the first music video would be accurate, as long as it isn't confused with the first promo film.

1970-1980: In the mid 80s releasing a video to accompany an artists music was the norm. Artists were using high budgets to create their videos for example the Jackson 5. In this time artists started adding plots and stories to their videos.

1981: MTV was launched and the first music video to be shown is 'Video killed the radio star' by the Boggles.

1984: Michael Jacksons thriller is a short film made for a music video with a beginning, middle and end. This video inspired a generation and took the music video format to another level.

Top Of The PoPs (TOTP) started to censor video content, so another approach was to produce a video that would cause controversy and publicity to promote the release.

1980: Madonna owned a great deal of her success to the skilful seductive appeal of her video.
New people waste true musical talent because they are so focused on making a great sexy video.

How has music videos developed over time?

Music videos have developed over time by introducing new technology such as green screen and CGI  as artists and directors grow and create new ideas. As the industry developed the audience demanded more from artists so they had to make sure their latest video was better that the last. However the purpose of creating a music video changed too as artists used it as an opportunity to be controversial and political about what they wear, do or say in their videos. which obviously creates a buzz around the artists and their music.

Conclusion: 

It is important to know about the history of music videos and how it came about because when creating my music video I will have basic knowledge on what things may be successful and what may not be. I have gathered a lot of knowledge and I hope I can use it to create a great music video.