What is a music video?
- Last the length of a song but sometimes longer
- Features the artist of the song
- It can tell a story
- Needs to be visually memorable so people want watch it again
Experimenting with film in the 1930s
Colour Box - Len Lye
- Music is being shown through the visuals
- Quick movement
- Funding from GPO
- Following the rhythm of the music
Experimenting with music in the 1940s
Soundies
- Juke Box were installed in 4,000 diners in the USA
- The song was withdrawn because it was to sexy straight after the war
- FRIM FRAM SAUCE
- Black + White
- Performance based
- Performer watching themselves on screen
- Ladies legs shown (The Male Gaze)
Scopitones
- Colour Images
- Performance
- Feature the artist
- Tells a mini story
- Low budget
- Feature dancing
The Beetle's - Hard Days Night
- Wacky
- Showcase for song
- Give band an image
- 60's bands made promotional videos for tours
Queen
- Band have small film for latest release
- Wacky
- Speeded up footage
- Song relates to the visuals
- Performed in a house
History of MTV
- Created in 1981
- Was dominated by British acts
- 1st song played on MTV was Video Killed the Radio Star
- Madonna broke through as the first female artist on MTV
- Set a new level
- No market for black music
- Michael Jackson only black act on MTV
- First black song was Thriller which made millions
- Then MTV decide to make different channels for different genres of music
- All a dream
- Displays sexuality
- Features a Big house, Bling and Super Models
- Characteristics for MTV
Jay-Z 99 Problems
- Pushed things to the edge
- Displayed violence
- Sexual display
Genre Characteristics
Boy Bands- Dress the same, include a dance routine, keep to the characteristics
Rock - Live Performance (sometimes made up)
Country Western - Video Outdoors, in the sunlight
Star Image
- The star features again and again
- Demand to have a lot of close ups of the star
- 75% of the video should be of the star
- Male point of view
- Female on display looked at by males
- Screens within screens
- Madonna watching herself on display
- Madonna as Marylin Monroe
- Robbie Williams as James Bond
Youtube
Started to show mash up of videos example Footage from Hard Days Night with Jay Z music
Machinima
Telephone - video made using the sims
Lego videos - videos made with Lego characters
Homemade videos - Thriller video made by inmates in a prison (people sometimes prefer watching them more than the actual video)
Also homemade videos are made with a very ow budget but can be very funny
Summing Up
- A long history of music videos
- Technology + money are big inputs
- Conventions + Characteristics
- Where and how we watch (Viewing Contexts)
Tip 0
- Do some exercise with 'found footage'
- Lipsync with old student footage
- Do a karaoke using different angles
- Choose a track
- Can be a mistake choosing a well known track
- Pitch for the material
- Have a clear concept
- Be realistic
- Storyboard your video
- Plan people, places, props and costumes
- Get every ones mobile numbers
- Shoot early
- Know the words
- Link ideas
- Photos of location
- Animatic of storyboard
- Test shots
- Make sure you have tripod
- Is the tape loaded
- Do you know the edit program
- Need music with you
- 10 performances shoot from different set ups
- Plenty of cutaways
- Experiment with angles
- Close ups
- Much more than you think you need
- Label all the shots
- Cut and cut again
- Do any effects last
- Get feedback
- Big screen premiere
- Get feedback
- Upload to blog + YouTube
- Get artist to look and give feedback
- Analysis
People pay money to advertise their product in the video
In Britney's video she sprayed her own perfume
She also has a brand watch on
These are other ways to fund for a music video
