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.