Commentary for Music Video

Above is the commentary which I have made as a brief run through of the decisions I made for the music video and reasons why.

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?


Overall my various forms of media I have chosen to do does generally follow the forms and conventions of real media products. However, in the music video there is usually a small peice of narrative where as I chose not to include a story narrative becasue I felt it would not fit with the style of song and may seem out of place. I also chose to not follow this forms and conventions because although most rock music do not include a large peice of narrative there is normally a small amount of narrative however in mine I got rid of this completely. I think this challanges and prehaps develop the forms and conventions of real media products because I think within the rock genre the audience which they attract and follow the music and because I have asserted all of the attention on to the band and there performance the audience which they perform for and who I have made the video for would appreciate watching the band live rather then not watching what they're doing and following a narrative story. On the other hand although I have challenged the forms and conventions of real media products in this way I have also used them in the video. For example I chose to shoot the film in a open place like they shoot in an abandoned warehouse, I couldn't use one so opted to use an empty drama studio which I think uses the forms and conventions of real media products because it is in a similar location.


I think for my ancillary texts they use the forms and conventions of real media products rather than challenge them because I stuck to the methods usually used. For example, on the CD i used a similar colour scheme such as dark, angry colours used to give a representation of the music across to the audience from the rock genre. I have also done this on the website. I have also used the forms and conventions of real media products on the CD cover because like real CD's in the same genre I have featured a picture of the group on the back and kept the front as simple as possible.


How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?


The combination of my main product and the ancillary texts are extremely effective as they all link together. For example the the music video easily links with the CD cover as the album includes the song of which I have made a music video for. The CD can then be effectively connected to the website as the website can be used to promote the album if it was a infact a real product. The music video can then be interlinked with the website also the video could be released through that specific site. This is an effective combination of my pain product and ancillary texts because by stretching the product over various forms of media attracting a larger and prehaps a larger variety of ages for example rather then just the audience you were producing the product for therefore being effective.


What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I have learnt from the audience feedback that the video was generally well recieved by the audience because some mention that it fits in with the type of music and genre and matches some of the frequently used forms and conventions.

I have also learnt that it is well edited as some have mentioned this in comments on YouTube aswell as verbal feedback saying that the use of shots that have been edited has been well done as they are cut in time to the music and when the music is chaotic the shots are cut well to match this atmosphere.

I have also learnt from verbal feedback that although there was not a story or narration in the video it still worked well as a live performance video and fit in well with the music, as some felt that adding a story to the video would not have fit well and may seem out of place.

How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?


I have used media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation firstly by using YouTube. I used YouTube mostly in the research and planning stages in order to look up various forms of music videos within the music genre I was going to create a video for. I also used YouTube in my research and planning to watch music videos in order to understand and acknowledge the forms and conventions used and how audiences and instituitons are used and targeted by music videos.


YouTube was also used in the evaluation stages of my work because I used the site to share my music video in order to receive feedback so that I could learn from what I had done and how I could improve in targeting an specific audience or how I edited and put the video together for example.


The internet was used in my constriction and research, planning and evaluation stages as I used google images to look up various CD covers to plan how I would produce my own cover and how I could go about doing so. I also used internet sites to look up well known artists in the rock genre so I could see what forms and conventions were used to create their websites to promote themselves as well as how they attract the audiences and institutions.


Lastly I used chat sites such as MSN and peer-peer sites such as Facebook and MySpace in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages to share the song to people and asking them what they would expect to see as the music video for the specific song. I also used these sites to ask people to leave feedback on the completed video. By doing this I was able to use the responses I received in order to imrove and make changes to my planning to suit the audience whom I was hoping to target the peice of work too.

Completed website for Stage Exit

For the website for Stage Exit to promote the music video I made and for the CD cover I decided to do 3 pages on a site. I chose to do the home page, the news page and also the photo of the group and will later up load the video onto the site. The link for my website is shown below:

http://stageexitmediacw.webs.com

For the front page I decided to keep the same colour scheme which I have used for the album which is red and black as this will show the audience consistancy in the band and will be recognizable and the fans will be able to follow the colour scheme by showing support through trends. I have also kept the introduction short and simple as I do not feel like it is as significant as other pages because visitors to the site would just be wanting to look up the band such as lyrics, photos or events they are doing. I enlarged the band logo as I want this to be well known to the audience who buy the music as this will also be used to promote and help sell the video and the album.

For the events page I kept the colour scheme the same here aswell. I gave a list of all the events that would take place (though aren't actually real) and will use the News page to post about the music video to create a hype and a 'buzz' for the single 'Hate' which will also debute on the album which I have made a cover for.

For the photos I decided to have a couple of the band in order to let the audience familiarise themselves with the group and get an undestanding of what they are like. I have done this because this will also help to promote the group and help get more supporters and followers. This is also the reason why I have included a copy of the bands logo so that the audiences and fans can use the logo as profile pictures on sites such as MySpace and Facebook as this will also help spread the popularity and how well known the band are.

Research and Planning for the Website

After completing the music video and the album cover for the band I decided to research and plan the website that I would expect to see and use to promote the band.

I started off looking at some well known bands within the rock genre to get an idea and understanding of what is typically used on webistes such as the forms and conventions. Below is a list of websites which I looked at:

http://www.nickelback.com/

http://www.nirvana-music.com/

http://www.redhotchilipeppers.com/

www.modlife.com/korn

http://www.aerosmith.com/

http://www.bowlingforsoup.com/

http://www.foofighters.com/

http://www.greenday.com/

www.interscope.com/gunsnroses

http://www.metallica.com/

http://www.billytalent.com/

http://www.systemofadown.com/

From looking at these webistes I found the tyical forms and conventions which I shall use for my own. I will be including pictures of the band, news and events and the home page.

Completed Album Cover

Above is the completed version of the album cover I would use to sell my product. I have chosen this style as it uses most of the forms and conventions that you would normally find in the rock music genre. For example, I have chosen to highlight the logo of the band for the audiences purposes as this will be recognizable and could be used in other branches that have broken off from rock music such as the trends that follow it such as fashion, where this band logo could appear.

I have also chosen to use dark colours such as Black, grey, white and red as these colours are normally used to represent the music content, for example if some tracks are aggressive it would be out of place to have a happy and upbeat album cover as this can be misconceived by the audiences as it does not fit in with the forms and conventions or the audiences and institutions.

The album cover which I have produced has the bands name bigger then the actual name of the album because in rock music the band is the most important thing to the audience as it is the band that they follow. By knowing this, the album name is much smaller on the cover because it is of less significance in attracting an audience as it is not the name of the album which will make it sell it is the band and their content.

Above is a completed version of what the back cover will look like. On the back I have included a barcode, details of issued license and copyright for Hi- Fidelity Records. I have done this not only because it ould appear on real CD's as it is done to keep the album protected from being copied as it has been copyrighted but I have also done this as it will promote the label 'Hi- Fidelity Records' as the audience that purchase the album might look at what label it has been released on. I have also done this as a promoting tool because I have included the website for the record lable.

I chose to stick with the forms and conventions used in this music genre for the album back cover because I have included a massive picture of the band on the back because this will attract the audiences as the band will or should be recognizable to them. I have also done this because once again they are the main focus and they appear to be having fun in the picture so the audience could have previously just seen the serious side of them performing but now understand what they are like so they have been represented to the audience in a positive light.

The song listing appears on the right hand side and features the song 'Hate' which I created a music video for. The listing appears on the right hand side of the cover as it is parallel to the picture and it is bold and stands out to the audeince aswell as the picture because it is extremely important for the audience to see the content of the band and what they are releasing on that particular CD.

I have kept the colour scheme the same for example the colour of the text and also the background colour as the colours used are the typical forms and conventions that are frequently used in the rock genre. I have used it to show consistany also.

Representations Used in Covers

Rebellion is usually portrayed and a common feature used on Rock music covers. From the CD covers I researched I found that rebellion was usually represented by references to death or twisting what is usually shown in religion and society.

Rebellion is also used in covers by turning something that was seen as peaceful and good such as flowers and then used the wraped around a gun which is connected to anger and violence. This attracts the audiences as they follow their own trends rather then what society want them to follow and this is a way of being able to rebell. For example they can follow goths or punks which is a sub genre that has been created from the introduction and the expanding of the rock genre itself.

Dark colouring and shading such as black/ white and greys frequently used.

Rebellion - skulls bones - crosses over to warning labels and is associated with warnings or dangours.

Trends - Rockers and goths

Dark clothing, cult like, rebellion agianst society.

Rock stars, known for 'Drugs, Sex and Rock 'n Roll'.

I will be using this on my album cover to attract audiences and institutions by using the forms and converntions of the rock genre.

Impact of Research and Planning for CD Cover

For my CD cover I will choose a font for the title that will be constantly used for the bands name and title over a range of CD's that could be released. I will do this as the writing and style font will constanlty be recognized and associated with the band thus promoting the band aswell as the CD's.

Below are some of the font styles which I may choose to use for the title:

The bands (Stage Exits) logo will be the main characteristic and focus of the cover. This way consumers will always recognize this and will be used and familiar with it. This can prehaps be seen that the audience will stay confertable if the band doesnt constantly change their logos or branding so it easier for fans to show support or consideration for the artists and they can still be appreciated becasue the band has not changed since the latest releases.

Stage Exits logo.

The background that I will use for the background will may twist the forms and conventions like the Bowling for Soup album did by havving the band are shown on the front cover and they are also located in Las Vegas by the welcome sign.

Location - Link back to the title and highlight the 'Stage' and 'Exit'. I may decide to use a photograph of a stage door, with a sign on it saying 'Stage Exit'. This can always be used to include the title within the picture for the front cover. On the back of the case, the back page on the booklet, have a hall with a door in the distancw whilst picture or records are hung on a wall with the picture of the band in each one. Out line of bands shadow at the bottom of the CD whilst the name songs are listed on the floor of the corridor moving uptowards the top of the CD.

Another idea which I had for the front cover of the CD was to have it plain black with just the heart logo appearing on the cover. I will use this idea as I thought that this will be a simple and not over complicated as the band will be recognized by the audiences and the consumers. I have also chosen to keep this idea as it is the debut album and first single that would be released to promote the single as well as video. This will also be time in which the audience will be able to get to know the band as they will be able to know what their logo is and also the inside of the booklet from the CD will include pictures of the band on the inside. I will also be following the forms and conventions unlike the other idea I had as the band will be featured on the rest of the album rather then just the front cover.

Colour Scheme - Dark - Black and Red as these are the bands colours which they always use on other products to promote the bands such as MySpace, posters and other websites.

Inside the Cover/booklet

• Pictures of the band, some in black and white and some in colour. Shots of band in live performance, rehearsals and some of just the band mucking around - shows the audience fun side and also serious sides of the bands performance and their work.


• Lyrics from the band - if not enough room then just use the lyrics from the single used in music video to publicise the album.


• Thank you's from the group.


• Production, publishing, copyrighting details.


• Continue some of the artwork (if any is on the front) some in black and white.


• ringtones for phones, download links for mp3 etc, upcoming gigs listings, clothing ware, collectables etc. (maybe just include this on the website)


• One side of leaflet features lyrics other side a large expanded picture of the band.

Back of CD cover

picture of band on the back with song titles over the top of the picture

Barcode and numbers, record company and also copyright.

Song listings either on the top, far rightor centered. In the same font used throughout the cover to show consitancy.

Front of CD continued...

The title of the band will be placed at the top of the CD. The name 'Stage Exit' text will be a bigger size and in bold as this will then be the first thing which the audience will see at fist glance aswell as the logo. This will be agian using the usual forms and conventions as this is used on many CD's for example:

Nickelback is used rather than the actual name for the actual album such as 'Curb'.

White, Black, Yellow and Red are the usual colours of the text used on album covers, I will therefore be using red as this will stick to the typical forms and conventions but will also be used as this is one of the colours used by the group as representation to their audiences and instituitions.

Measurements for the CD cover is 12cm x 12cm.

Research and Planning for CD Cover for Stage Exit

After completing the music video I decided to move on to looking at album artwork used on artits CD covers for their bands within the Alternative Rock/ Punk Rock/ Rock genre. I looked at a number of albums to help get an understanding of the forms and conventions that I would have to use to attract the audience I would be selling to using representations and audience institutions. I chose to make a album cover that would be with the CD which was to promote the single in which the music video I created would promote.

I began to look at the CD covers for other artists and bands in the genre. The artist(s) album covers which stood out to me the most were:

Aerosmith
Bowling for Soup
Foo Fighters
Green Day
Guns N Roses
KoRn
Metallica
Nickelback
Nirvana
Billy Talent
and System of the Down

Below are some of the front covers that were most influential to me:

After randomly choosing each artist and the artwork used for their CD covers, I began to take notes and look at the details, forms and conventions generally used.

General Forms and Conventions

I found that usually dark colours are used such as Greys, Blacks, White, Reds and Dark Blues rather then bright or upbeat colours such as Yellow, Orange or green. This can be used in my own cover as it would attract the right audience using the colours as representations for my product.

Most covers also use religion. For example, Crosses, Angels and Doves are frequently used in the artwork in the image. These are also used as things that are usually seen as peaceful or gentle are twisted into a different picture or meaning. For example, on the Guns N Roses cover roses are shown around a gun so taking something that is peaceful and loving and interwinding them around a gun which represents violence and anger.

This form and convention is also used on other CD covers by showing tombstones, graveyards and an album cover by KoRn shows a little girl on a swing however, the top of her head and shadow and her shadow connects with the title "KoRn" and looks as if the small girl is being hung.

Death is also represented on album covers in the genre as tombstones, grave yards and skulls are included in the art work.

Violence is another form of representation used to target the specific target audience by including images of guns lying on the floor, images of combat soldiers, bombs and also sleign people on a pavement.

Feelings are also presented on the front covers of albums by using images of tears which have been made into silver, just an eye is seen, aswell as a modern age portrayel of feelings such as a couple embracing eachother.

After looking at the overall artwork and its characteristics for CD cover albums, I looked at that each CD uses.

Album titles of bands e.g. Nirvana, Nickelback and Metallica usually keep the same style and font of writing like a branding and trademark of the band so consumers and their audiences which they attract and provide music for recogize the band and the branding on each CD which they release.

Art work on covers usually consist of the layout format of having art as the front cover and displaying the band on the back of the cover. This occurs on albums for Red Hot Chillie Peppers and Nickelback. However, Bowling for Soup feature a picture of the band on the front cover rather then just the back. This can be used on my own cover as twisting the usual forms and conventions.

Final Version of Music Video and Feedback

Below is the completed music video for Stage Exit's - 'Hate':



Below is the feedback I have recieved on YouTube:

"I like this.
its very creative
and fits in with the forms and conventions of this type of music"

"nice work this is a great video"

"really well done a good video :)"

"Nice work and well edited!"

"Awesomeee video clem and really good setting :)"

"Really good shots, and a good song too. Well edited, I'd give 5*'s"

"Good Video Two Thumbs Up To The Good Work Here"

"this is absolutely brilliant
how compellingly amazing"

"this is great! nice work man!!good luck on ur project :)"

"Great work :PI think the people who did the editing are awesome ;-)AWESOME CLIP TWO! :P Lol!"

Planning for the Music Video

After discovering and understanding the forms and conventions used in Alternative Rock/ Rock/ and Punk Rock genre I ackknowledged and used them in the planning for the music video. I completed a spider diagram of the most popular that I will try to include, this is shown below:

Below are the copies of the story boards I designed for the video:

Sheet 1

Sheet 2

Sheet 3

Audiences and Institutions for the Alternative Rock Genre

Alternative rock consists of many various sub genres, such as:

• Grunge





• Britpop





• Gothic Rock





• Punk Rock

Although all these have existed in the 1980's they did not reach the hight of their popularity until the 1990's.

In the 1980's, rock artists recorded on Independent record labels and used college radio and word of mouth to promote themselves. Within recent times, up and coming bands have been able to use peer-peer sites to share their music, such as YouTube, MySpace and Twitter to gain recognition in the underground scene in the UK and across the world. I will be therefore be posting my completed version of Stage Exits music video on YouTube to promote the video with their specific target audiences.

Alternative rock has been recognised as rejection to the commercialism of mainstream culture.

Many bands during the 1980's played in small clubs. For example The Beetles used to play in their basement and performed to crowds. I have taken this into consideration whilst planning and shooting my music video as I have stuck to the forms and conventions of rock videos being shot in empty places but the space in which I filmed was in a small area, therefore this will be considered acceptable by the Audiences and Institutions for the video.

The lyrics from rock songs tend to address social concern like drug use and depression. By using these lyrics they will be able to connect with an audience which are also using drugs or depressed. Although in the song which I have produced a video for do not address these concerns I shall consider using the social issue in other media areas such as the CD artwork on the cover or the website.

Many trends have tooken place with the Alternative Rock Genre. Below are just some of the most popular that I will address:

Gothic Rock - late 1970's/ early 80's was post-punk. The representation of the sub genre was that of a dark and gloomy underground from of rock. Lyrics often addressed:

• Romanticism





• Morbidity





• Religious Symbolism





• and Supernatural Mysticism

As the band I filmed had a punk feeling to it I decided that I would concentrate on said genre to see what I could include in the video.

I firstly, found that within the Punk Rock genre which was popular in the 70's, punk rockers produced there own recordings of songs. I felt this was a great form and convention when making my music video as I filmed with hand held camera it would never get a well polished look like with cameras used to film bands in the mainstream because this would fit in great with the genre as this would be able to target the audience.

Youthfull rebellion and outrages styles of clothing was connected to the Punk Rockers. I have chosen to use these audience and Institutions in the range of media I am using by portaying these images such as fashion and rebellion in the artwork for the album cover and music video to attract the audience who would purchase the bands CD.

Forms and Conventions used in Alternative Rock Videos

In researching the forms and conventions of my chosen music video genre, I chosen to analyse many different videos across a range of subgenres within the Rock genre. I wanted to form some theories about conventions of techniques, issues regarding narrative, and of course representation. I firstly, hoped to find an easy pattern to decide on who the target audiences were. As a supplementary activity, I research the institutional motives and personnel behind the production most similar to my own plan.

After looking up videos on sites such as YouTube I found that the most frequent and common forms and conventions used are:

• 
  
  Filmed in a big open space


• 
  
  Focus alot on the band itself


• 
  
  Effects (scratched or black and white)


• 
  
  Grungey feel


• 
  
  Sense of rebellion

After finding these forms and conventions I started to think and put these ideas together that would match the song and also would fit in with the forms and conventions of the genre.

I then looked up popular bands within the alternative rock/ punk rock genre.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXO3OMGKPpw

In this video the director (Samuel Bayer) decided to have the main focus on the bands performance, especially Kurt Kobain. This also proves that the form and convention of having shots of a performance by the band is very important to include in the video which I will be making as that is how the video targets and captures their audience as the audience is wanting to watch basicallywhat they do best.

The video has a dark and grungey feel as a smoke machine seems to have been used whilst filming to create such atmosphere, as this makes the video feel that it is not polished. This therefore, uses the forms and conventions used by the early punks as they went through the Li-fo period which seems to have been applied to the video.

The music video also shows a sense of rebellion and connects and ties in with the song as the video is set in a schools gym with a huge crowd of students which cheerleaders, as well as the band, are performing to. This has the rebellion convention as this would not occur in a school gym normally and shows the rush and excitement.

Research on Rock Music Videos

Below are some of the best rock music videos listed:

• Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine


• Aerosmith - Janies Got A Gun
  
• Aerosmith - The otherside


• Metallica - Enter Sandman

• Pearl Jam - Jeremy

• Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun


• White Zombie - More Human Than Human


• Metallica - Until It Sleeps


• Aerosmith - Falling in Love


• Aerosmith - Pink


• KoRn - Freak on a Leash


• Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff


• Limp Bizkit - Rollin


• Linkin Park - In the End


• Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong


• Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl


• Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams


• AFI - Miss Murder


• Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day

Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine



The video shows the band rehearsing in an abandoned theatre surrounded by crew member. This is regularly used in most rock videos. The original idea for the video was rejected as it was about drug-trafficing. The video was going to feature an Asian women carrying a baby into a foreign land, where she then discovers at the end that the child was dead and was actually filled with heroine. This idea was rejected by Griffin Records.

Metallica - Enter Sandman



The music video combines images of a child having a nightmare with images of an old man as well as shots of Metallica performing. The child is shown having a nightmare of drowning, falling from the top of a building, being chased by a truck and finally falling from a mountain. Throughout the video the images are constantly flickering. In this it shows that rock videos usually have an underlyning story which is dark as well as shots of the band performing, this may become useful when filming my music video.

Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day





The music video takes place in what seems to be America where there is unrest as it seems the world is war-torn. There is a lot of violence involving police, soldiers and rioting police are shown detaining civilians. Plumes of smoke can be seen in the background in the sky. Near the end of the video a car is set on fire while mobs are throwing molotov cocktails at the police, resulting in the police and SWAT teams opening fire on the mobs while they are retreating. Chester then stands in front of the burning car while looking at the carnage that surrounds him. He then turns towards the flames and the video fades to black. In the background the mob can be heard chanting "We Want Freedom". The area bears some resemblance to Downing Street in London.



In the video it uses some forms and conventions used by the genre alternative rock such as punk. This is shown as it is anti -war which is one of the ideologies which Punks follow.



Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams





The music video shows the band breaking down in a desert, who then begin to walk down a dusty road. This is then followed by images in LA showing homeless people and other sad sights. The band are also shown performing in a abandoened warehouse.



The director Samuel Bayer used unorthordox techniques to get the aged look of the video. he scratched the film with razor blades, poured coffee on it and smudged cigarettes on it.

Influential Music Video Directors.

After researching some of the history behind music videos, I decided to look up some of the directors. I found a few directors that were commonly mentioned. The music video directors I found were:

• Michael Gondry
• Spike Jonze
• Hype Williams
• and Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallstrom

All the directors listed above were known for their unique style.

Michael Gondry

He is a French music video director and has also directed films and commercials. He has been a director from 1988- present day. He is well known for his visual style and use of Mise-en-scene. Below is a music video Hyperballad which he made for Bjork.

Amazingly, no post-production or editing was used on the video, except for colour correction transfer to video.

He also directed a music video called Dance Tonight for Paul McCartney in 2007 (shown below).




The song was also used for iPod and iTunes advertisements.




The video shows a black and white Paul Mccartney walking down a street which is animated and coulourful whilst performing the song.

Spike Jonze


He is an American music director of music videos, commercials and advertisements. He has co-founded Directors Label with Chris Cunningham and Michael Gondry. He has directed a music video for the rapper Biggie Smalls, Puff Daddy, Lil Kim and Faith Evans (shown below). It was shot in a mansion in the U.S.



Hype Williams

He is an American music and film director. He displayed his work by tagging billboards, the fronts of shops and playgrounds using the name HYPE. Many of his videos he has directed use multi - coloured settings due to his artistic roots. He has worked with artists such as:

• The Notorios B.I.G
• Craig Mack
• LL Cool J
• Nas
• Missy Elliott
• Busta Rhymes
• TLC
• Kelis
• and Jay-z

Williams style which is icluded in some videos but not all, is shots placed in regular widescreen frame whilst spaces which are usually left blank are filled of other shots.

He has won numerous awards for his work. These include:

MTV Music Award in the Best Rap video for Will Smiths Getting Jiggy With It in 1998.

He has also gone on to win a BET for Best Director for Kanye Wests Gold Digger in 2006. He was also awarded with a Video Vanguard Award for his acheivements. He has also directed:






Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallstrom

He is a Swedish film director. He made many music videos for the group Abba. After the international success of My Life as a Dog he has been working on American movies. Almost all of Abbas music videos were directed and shot by him.

The Internet Becomes Video Friendly: 1992- Present

"The internet has become the primary growth income market for record companies produced music videos.

IRC was the earliest form of internet sites which provided music videos. The videos were recorded off the televison and then changed them to .mpg files via IRC channels.



iFilm hosted short videos and music videos was launched in 1997 shortly followed by Napster which was a file sharing website. The site ran between 1991 and 2001. The site enabled people to access their favourite music videos and also to share them.



In 2005 YouTube was released. The site made it faster and easier to view. Some artists such as Soulja Boy have found success due to the site. Myspace's videos (launched in 2007) has also helped artists become well known and brought them success.



In 2007, The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) tried to prevent YouTube users from sharing videos due to royalties and becuase the songs were the property of music labels. Afeter YouTube merged with Google they assured the RIAA that they would be able to pay royalties to the major record labels.

iTunes provided music videos in high quality to be watched via the iTunes application. They have also begun selling music videos for iPods that have video playback capability.

Music Videos Go Mainstream: 1981- 91

The U.S video channel launched in 1981, showing the song Video Killed the Radio Star. This began an era of 24/7 music on television. Artists used this to their advantage because of the seductive appeal of their videos. Most notably for this were:

• Madonna


• Adam and the Ants


• and Mylene Farmer.
  

In this period, directors and artists began to explore and expand the form and style of their videos. They added a storyline, a plot or mixed film.

The most successful videos of this era was Michael Jacksons, Thriller. It set a new standard for productions. It cost $500,000 to film.

VH-1 (now known as VH1) was launched in 1985. MTV Europe was launched in 1987 and MTV Asia in 1991.

In 1986, Peter Gabriel's song Sledgehammer used special effects and animation. The video went on to be a success and win 9 MTV Video Music Awards.

Hip Hop music was brought to focus in 1988 when Yo! MTV Raps debuted.

Beginning of Music Television 1974-80

United Kingdom

Top of the Pops (TOTP) began showing music videos in the late 1970's. A good video would increase a song's sales as viewers hoped to see it again the next following week. In 1980 David Bowie scored his first UK number one with David Mallets promo for Ashes to Ashes.

In 1975, Queen made a promo video for their single Bohemian Rhapsody to show it on TOTP.

Pink Floyd The Wall transformed the group's 1979 double LP of the same title into a "confrontational and apocalyptic audio-visual labyrinth of stylized, expressionistic images, sounds, melodies and lyrics."

Impact of The Beatles

Musical sequences have influenced many templates on which promo clips and music video which have been modelled. It has exerted a huge influence on the style and visual voabulary of the genre. It was infact, the direct model for the successful US TV series The Monkees (1966-68).

In 1965, The Beatles made promo clips for distribution and broadcast in other countries in order to produce wider recognition so that they could promote their new releases without having to make appearances. This strategy was also used by other bands such as the Byrds.

In 1967, the colour promo clips Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane changed and took the promo film format to a new level.





They used reversed film and slow motion, dramatic lighting, unusual camera angles and colour filtering and added in post-production.

Their psychedelic mini-films illustrated the songs in an artful manner rather than an idealised performance or a narrative plot.

History of Music Video

Music videos kicked of in the 1980's when MTV and later were on VH1. Modern music videos are mainly used to market and promote the sale if music or a song recording. Before the term music video came into usage in the 1980's, they could be known as "filmed insert , promotional (promo) clip or film clip."

Music videos are made out of various styles of film making techniques. This can include:

• Animation,
• Live action filming,
• Documentaries and
• Abstract film.

Some music videos have chosen to blend different styles such as using both animation and live action filming.

1910-50's

Lee De Forest made musical short films between 1923 and 24. This was followed by thousands of vita phone (a short film process used on features) from 1926-30. Nearly 2,000 were produced by Warner Bros. Many featured bands, vocalists and dancers.

Oskar Fischinger produced animated films (also known as visual music) in the 1920's. They were supplied with ochestral scores. Some were also made and used to advertise Electra Records' new releases.

In 1929, the Russian Dziga Vertov made a 40 minute, Man with the Movie Camera. It was an experiment on filming real, actual events.

Sergei Einstein's 1938 film Alexandra Nevsky, used extended scenes of battle chorography that had been composed before shooting began, so that the scene could be edited in accordance with the music.

Max Fleischer was an animation artist who introduced a series of sing a long cartoons which invited audiences to sing along following a "bouncing ball". The Warner Bros. cartoons Loony Tunes and Merrie melodies were initially for upcoming Warner Bros. Musical films.

In the mid 1940's musician, Louis Jordan made short films for his songs. According to music historian, Donald Clarke, these were known as "the ancestors of music videos".

Promotional clips were made in the 1940's for the Panoram visual jukebox. They were usually just a band on a movie-set bandstand. Thousands of soundries were made, mostly by Jazz musicians. Even some movies had musical intervals. Jukeboxes were popular at pubs and nightspots.

Some music videos have imitated the style of classic Hollywood musicals from the 1930's-50's. One of the best known examples in Madonna's 1985 video Material Girl.

This music video was closely modelled to Diamonds are Girls Best Friend from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Severall Michael Jackson video show dance sequences influenced by classical Hollywood musicalls. This included the famous Thriller video which at the time the most expensive video ever made.