Friday, February 6, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Star Image
Star Image
Summary of this session
Aims
· To identify the purpose of a stars image in music video/industry
· To link the importance of audience's relationship with a stars profile
· To enable you to write about the role that star image has in your examples
The following slides list methods for analysing both the importance of star image to the industry as well as the audience connection with that star image.
Method 1 taken from
Andrew Goodwin –
‘Dancing in the distraction factory’
University of Minnesota Press
Published: Nov 1992
Method 2 taken from
Richard Dyer – “Stars”
British Film InstitutePublished: April 1998
Andrew Goodwin – ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’
· The creation of character for stars provides a point of identification for the audience/spectator which is especially important when lyrics often lack depth.
· The construction of stars is central to the economics of the music industry – only stars guarantee sales and long careers
· Star loyalty is a key ingredient – fans to star
· The audience knows its own tastes but the music industry has long been able to work around this – The construction of stars is one of the ways they do this.
· The record industry is very dependent on stars – many record companies rely on a few big stars (or even just one) to provide stability
Richard Dyer – “Stars” (originally writing about cinematic stars)
· Stars are a phenomenon of consumption
· There are a range of audience -> star relationships
EMOTIONAL AFFINITY
· Most common, where ‘audience feels a loose attachment’
SELF IDENTIFICATION
· When the audience member places themselves in the same situation and persona of the star
IMITATION
· This is apparently most common among the young and takes it beyond the ordinary. The audience -> star relationship acts as a sort of model
PROJECTION
· This is when imitation ends up when it becomes extreme – it doesn’t happen often and it is when the fan’s behaviour becomes more than simple mimicking of clothing, hairstyle etc.
Star vehicle
· The image is constructed (Star Vehicle) by the Video and the publicity surrounding the artist, i.e. Newspaper publicity, Live performance, album art etc. This construction forms a product to sell to the audience (consumer).
· The star vehicle also enables the artist to change from one type of image to another ie Beyonce form Destiny's Child member to individual artist.
Star Power
· Economic Power through earnings generated
· Artistic Power (ie creative control of their own image and how it is used or appears to the media.
· Ideological power in terms of their influence upon the audience, which may take the form style (influence on fashion) or Attitude (influence on audience opinions). Madonna as a good example of the former, U2’s Bono attempts to be an example of the latter.
Summary of this session
Aims
· To identify the purpose of a stars image in music video/industry
· To link the importance of audience's relationship with a stars profile
· To enable you to write about the role that star image has in your examples
The following slides list methods for analysing both the importance of star image to the industry as well as the audience connection with that star image.
Method 1 taken from
Andrew Goodwin –
‘Dancing in the distraction factory’
University of Minnesota Press
Published: Nov 1992
Method 2 taken from
Richard Dyer – “Stars”
British Film InstitutePublished: April 1998
Andrew Goodwin – ‘Dancing in the distraction factory’
· The creation of character for stars provides a point of identification for the audience/spectator which is especially important when lyrics often lack depth.
· The construction of stars is central to the economics of the music industry – only stars guarantee sales and long careers
· Star loyalty is a key ingredient – fans to star
· The audience knows its own tastes but the music industry has long been able to work around this – The construction of stars is one of the ways they do this.
· The record industry is very dependent on stars – many record companies rely on a few big stars (or even just one) to provide stability
Richard Dyer – “Stars” (originally writing about cinematic stars)
· Stars are a phenomenon of consumption
· There are a range of audience -> star relationships
EMOTIONAL AFFINITY
· Most common, where ‘audience feels a loose attachment’
SELF IDENTIFICATION
· When the audience member places themselves in the same situation and persona of the star
IMITATION
· This is apparently most common among the young and takes it beyond the ordinary. The audience -> star relationship acts as a sort of model
PROJECTION
· This is when imitation ends up when it becomes extreme – it doesn’t happen often and it is when the fan’s behaviour becomes more than simple mimicking of clothing, hairstyle etc.
Star vehicle
· The image is constructed (Star Vehicle) by the Video and the publicity surrounding the artist, i.e. Newspaper publicity, Live performance, album art etc. This construction forms a product to sell to the audience (consumer).
· The star vehicle also enables the artist to change from one type of image to another ie Beyonce form Destiny's Child member to individual artist.
Star Power
· Economic Power through earnings generated
· Artistic Power (ie creative control of their own image and how it is used or appears to the media.
· Ideological power in terms of their influence upon the audience, which may take the form style (influence on fashion) or Attitude (influence on audience opinions). Madonna as a good example of the former, U2’s Bono attempts to be an example of the latter.
Task
· Can you identify the purpose of a stars image in one of your choosen examples
· Can you define the diffrent audience relationships with a stars profile
· Summerise the power that a star portrays in their career or your example video.
· Can you identify the purpose of a stars image in one of your choosen examples
· Can you define the diffrent audience relationships with a stars profile
· Summerise the power that a star portrays in their career or your example video.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Genre
Genre
Craig Davis’ Approach to Analysing Music Videos:
Genre Categories:
* Illustration – either a straightforward performance video or a simple narrative video (or mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a straightforward way. It could be called music video ‘denotation’. A good example of a classic mixed narrative/performance video is Pulp’s ‘Babies’.
* Amplification – the conventions demonstrated by the music video ‘auteur’ or creative director. S/he may use both performance and narrative, however, rather than simply illustrate the lyrics or sounds this director will ‘amplify’ both with creative interpretation, unusual ideas and surrealistic approaches. There is still a direct link to the song, whether it be the beat, sound or ‘connotative’ link to part of the lyrics or song title. See Spike Jones’ video for Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ or Michel Gondry’s video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My Life’.
* Disjuncture – also created by ‘auteur’ directors these videos are completely abstract and have no obvious link to the music, lyrics, song title or artisit. In this sense they are a point of ‘disjuncture’ from the song. See Spike Jones’ video for Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ or any Radiohead video.
MOR (Middle of the road)
Middle of the road or MOR is a broad term encompassing a number of musical styles. Not technically a genre in its own right, it was, and in some places still is, a popular radio format. Music classed as MOR is broadly popular in outlook, but not cutting edge; it is generally strongly melodic and frequently uses vocal harmony techniques and arrangements involving orchestral instruments. Such music is rarely (if ever) aggressive or abrasive. The Beautiful Music stations of the 1960s and 1970s can be regarded as a form of MOR radio, as could today's Smooth Jazz and Soft AC formats.
* Easy listening
* Traditional pop music of the pre-rock & roll era, or later recordings imitative of that style
* Orchestral ballads
* Songs from musical theater
* Smooth jazz
* Soft rock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_of_the_road_(music)
Hip hop
Hip hop is a music genre and cultural movement which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans.[1][2] Hip Hop's four main elements are Mc'ing (often called rapping), DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdancing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx and Harlem, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.
Rock
Rock is a loosely defined genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, which themselves evolved from rhythm and blues, country music and other influences. In addition, rock music drew on a number of other musical influences, including folk music, jazz, and classical music.
* 1 1950s-early 1960s
Rock and roll, Early British rock, Garage rock, Surf music
* 2 Counterculture movement (1963–1974)
Folk rock, Psychedelic rock, Glam rock, Progressive rock
* 3 Mid to late 1970s
Hard rock and heavy metal, Arena rock, Punk rock, New Wave, Post-punk
* 4 1980s
New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Glam metal, The emergence of alternative rock
* 5 Alternative goes mainstream (early–mid 1990s)
Grunge, Britpop, Indie rock,
* 6 Hybrid genres (mid-late 1990s)
Pop punk, Post-grunge, Nu metal and rap rock
* 7 2000s
Internet Influence and Decline In Popularity, Emo, Garage rock revival, Post-punk revival, Metalcore and contemporary heavy metal.
Pop Music
Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hooks, a mainstream style, and conventional structure.
The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" (see Popular music), but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternative to rock and roll.[1][2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music
Dance Music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music.
By 1981, a new form of electronic dance music was developing which would gradually take the place of disco. This music, made using electronics, is a style of popular music commonly played in dance music nightclubs, radio stations, shows and raves. During its gradual decline in the late 1970s, disco became influenced by computerization. Looping, sampling and seguing as found in disco continued to be used as creative techniques within Trance music, Techno music, and House music.
Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B, R'n'B or RnB) is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music, originally created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s but which has subsequently had a number of shifts of meaning. The term was originally used by record companies to refer to recordings bought predominantly by African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat"[1] was becoming more popular. After this style of music contributed substantially to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" was then used from the 1960s particularly by white groups to refer to musical styles which developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" was being used as a blanket term to describe soul and funk. Since the 1990s, the term "Contemporary R&B" is now mainly used to refer to a modern version of soul and funk-influenced pop music.
Craig Davis’ Approach to Analysing Music Videos:
Genre Categories:
* Illustration – either a straightforward performance video or a simple narrative video (or mixture of the two) that illustrates the meaning of the lyrics and visualizes the music in a straightforward way. It could be called music video ‘denotation’. A good example of a classic mixed narrative/performance video is Pulp’s ‘Babies’.
* Amplification – the conventions demonstrated by the music video ‘auteur’ or creative director. S/he may use both performance and narrative, however, rather than simply illustrate the lyrics or sounds this director will ‘amplify’ both with creative interpretation, unusual ideas and surrealistic approaches. There is still a direct link to the song, whether it be the beat, sound or ‘connotative’ link to part of the lyrics or song title. See Spike Jones’ video for Fat Boy Slim’s ‘Praise You’ or Michel Gondry’s video for Kylie Minogue’s ‘Come Into My Life’.
* Disjuncture – also created by ‘auteur’ directors these videos are completely abstract and have no obvious link to the music, lyrics, song title or artisit. In this sense they are a point of ‘disjuncture’ from the song. See Spike Jones’ video for Daft Punk’s ‘Da Funk’ or any Radiohead video.
MOR (Middle of the road)
Middle of the road or MOR is a broad term encompassing a number of musical styles. Not technically a genre in its own right, it was, and in some places still is, a popular radio format. Music classed as MOR is broadly popular in outlook, but not cutting edge; it is generally strongly melodic and frequently uses vocal harmony techniques and arrangements involving orchestral instruments. Such music is rarely (if ever) aggressive or abrasive. The Beautiful Music stations of the 1960s and 1970s can be regarded as a form of MOR radio, as could today's Smooth Jazz and Soft AC formats.
* Easy listening
* Traditional pop music of the pre-rock & roll era, or later recordings imitative of that style
* Orchestral ballads
* Songs from musical theater
* Smooth jazz
* Soft rock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_of_the_road_(music)
Hip hop
Hip hop is a music genre and cultural movement which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Hispanic and Latino Americans.[1][2] Hip Hop's four main elements are Mc'ing (often called rapping), DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdancing. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx and Harlem, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.
Rock
Rock is a loosely defined genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll and rockabilly, which themselves evolved from rhythm and blues, country music and other influences. In addition, rock music drew on a number of other musical influences, including folk music, jazz, and classical music.
* 1 1950s-early 1960s
Rock and roll, Early British rock, Garage rock, Surf music
* 2 Counterculture movement (1963–1974)
Folk rock, Psychedelic rock, Glam rock, Progressive rock
* 3 Mid to late 1970s
Hard rock and heavy metal, Arena rock, Punk rock, New Wave, Post-punk
* 4 1980s
New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Glam metal, The emergence of alternative rock
* 5 Alternative goes mainstream (early–mid 1990s)
Grunge, Britpop, Indie rock,
* 6 Hybrid genres (mid-late 1990s)
Pop punk, Post-grunge, Nu metal and rap rock
* 7 2000s
Internet Influence and Decline In Popularity, Emo, Garage rock revival, Post-punk revival, Metalcore and contemporary heavy metal.
Pop Music
Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hooks, a mainstream style, and conventional structure.
The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" (see Popular music), but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternative to rock and roll.[1][2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_music
Dance Music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance music.
By 1981, a new form of electronic dance music was developing which would gradually take the place of disco. This music, made using electronics, is a style of popular music commonly played in dance music nightclubs, radio stations, shows and raves. During its gradual decline in the late 1970s, disco became influenced by computerization. Looping, sampling and seguing as found in disco continued to be used as creative techniques within Trance music, Techno music, and House music.
Rhythm and Blues
Rhythm and blues (also known as R&B, R'n'B or RnB) is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music, originally created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s but which has subsequently had a number of shifts of meaning. The term was originally used by record companies to refer to recordings bought predominantly by African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a heavy, insistent beat"[1] was becoming more popular. After this style of music contributed substantially to the development of rock and roll, the term "R&B" was then used from the 1960s particularly by white groups to refer to musical styles which developed from and incorporated electric blues, as well as gospel and soul music. By the 1970s, the term "rhythm and blues" was being used as a blanket term to describe soul and funk. Since the 1990s, the term "Contemporary R&B" is now mainly used to refer to a modern version of soul and funk-influenced pop music.
Target Audience
The Audience and The Text
Every media text is produced with the intended reader in the mind. It is important therefore that the producer considers both the;
Content of the text – is it suitable/appropriate for the audience?
Style of presentation - is it attractive to the audience and will the content be understood by them.
For example boy bands videos and rock videos will differ in content and style.
Expectation and Pleasure
Repetition
Audiences play an active part in media texts by demanding repetition and difference. We learn from an early age how image relates to music making genre conventions seem natural to us.
We reject anything that is not convincing to that type of video, so we play an active role in agreeing structures and conventions.
Repetition of familiar conventions ensures the return of core fans.
Targeting the audience
Media producers need to be aware of a target audience – the ideal or preferred audience for the text they are producing.
There is a difference between the targeted audience and the actual audience. For example cartoons in the day may also be watched by university students.
Advertisers need to know their target group when placing ads on T.V, in magazines or the cinema. One of the ways to identify audience groups is to break them down statistically into 3 groups – age, gender and social class
Gender: the different interests of men and women are the most obvious factor in considering audiences, by advertisers. Women are still assumed to buy most grocery items, whereas technology is assumed to interest men.
There are still references to women’s magazines and films (chick flicks) without the same reference to men’s mags & films.
Social class: Advertisers have not been persuaded by the ‘classless society’ in the UK. The social classes are categorised as:
ABC1 – the middle class market
C2DE - the working class market
These categories are based on the occupational groupings developed for the govt census every ten years.
A- higher managerial and professional;
B- middle management
C1- office workers
C2- skilled manual workers
D- unskilled workers
E- unemployed, unwaged
Monday, January 12, 2009
Music Videos: Brief History (Notes)
Early History
1960's Promos
1970's Promos
Beginnings of MTV
Multi-channel Music TV and Beyond
- Music and Moving image has long gone together.
- In cinemas, live music was played to accompany moving images.
- 20's/30's Experimental Film.
- Musical Film Genres. (See Link 1)
- Soundies. (Early U.S made video-jukebox)
1960's Promos
- "Hard Days Night" and other rock films.
- Lots of musical artists made little films to accompany their track, or vice-versa.
- Many films were drug influenced.
- Use of big, chunky cameras hindered camera movement and so the shot
1970's Promos
- Top Of The Pops started to use promos (See Link 10)
- These were used as substitutes for if a band was on tour / unavailable.
- At this stage, these promos were still very experimental.
Beginnings of MTV
- Artists began to take the need for promo videos very seriously.
- Changes in technology, including the introduction and availability of cable television increases the availability of free TV air-time.
- Boom in promos in the 80's. (See Link 22)
Multi-channel Music TV and Beyond
- Growth in number of genre based channels.
- Black music videos broke into the market at last.
- Other companies set-up spin-off channels, such as "Smash Hits" and "Q".
- Growth on-line of non-professional music videos, such as those available on "Youtube" and "Myspace". (See Links 38 & 39)
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Music Videos: A Timeline
Timeline taken from Wikipedia:
1941: A new invention hits clubs and bars in the USA: The Panoram Soundie is a jukebox that plays short videoclips along with the music.
1956: Hollywood discovers the genre of music-centered films. A wave of rock 'n' roll films begins including Rock Around the Clock (See Link 1), Don't Knock the Rock, Shake, Rattle and Rock, Rock Pretty Baby, The Girl Can't Help It, and the famous Elvis Presley movies (See Link 2). Some of these films integrate musical performances into a story, others are simply revues.
1960: In France a re-invention of the Soundie, the Scopitone, gains limited success.
1961: Ricky Nelson's Travelin' Man video is shown on television (See Link 3).
1962: British Television invents a new form of music television. Shows like Top Of The Pops (See Link 4), Ready! Steady! Go! and Oh, Boy start as band vehicles and become huge hits.
1964: The US-Television market adapts the format. Hullabaloo (See Link 5)is one of the first US shows of this kind, followed by Shindig! (NBC) and American Bandstand; The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night
1965: Bob Dylan films Subterranean Homesick Blues (See link 6) as a segment for D. A. Pennebaker's film, Dont Look Back, with two alternate takes.
1966: The first conceptual promos are aired, for the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and "Rain". (See Link 7)
1967: The Beatles ground-breaking promotional films for for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" are released. (See Link 8)
1968: The Rolling Stones collaborate with Jean-Luc Godard on Sympathy for the Devil
1969: Easy Rider features one of the first uses of rock music to accompany sequences in a dramatic film. (See Link 9)
1970: The record industry discovers these TV-Shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists. They focus on producing short "Promos" (See Link 10), early music videos which started to replace the live performance of the artist on the TV-stage. Also, the Atlanta-produced Now Explosion starts a 26-week run in syndication.
1973: The first of forty-six different Schoolhouse Rock music videos begin airing during Saturday morning cartoons on ABC.
1974: the pop shows Sounds and Countdown premiere on Australian television; Russell Mulcahy makes his first music videos for Sounds.
Swedish group ABBA pioneer the use of "Promos" with their clips, directed by Lasse Hallström. These contain innovative effects, camera angles, and a less static look than is the norm at the time. The band continue using such videos throughout the 1970s. (See Link 11)
1975: "Bohemian Rhapsody", a groundbreaking video released by Queen, marks the beginning of the video era and sets the language for the modern music video. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced video effects. (See Link 12)
Tommy, the Ken Russell film adaptation of The Who's rock opera is released. (See Link 13)
1979: Devo releases "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise", which is the first music video to include computer animation, as well as traditional animation. (See Link 14)
Another 1979 video with computer animation is "Computer Games", by New Zealand band MiSex.
UK filmmakers Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton direct the innovative animated clip for the single "Accidents Will Happen" by Elvis Costello & The Atttractions. (See Link 15)
1980: "Ashes to Ashes", considered a groundbreaking video, is released by David Bowie. (See Link 16)
1980: "Coming Up" All instruments on the video are played by either Paul McCartney or Linda McCartney.
1981: MTV, the first 24-hour satellite music channel, launches in August. Initially few cable TV operators carry it, but it rapidly becomes a major hit and cultural icon.
"Shock Treatment" is released in theatres.
1981: Michael Nesmith wins the first ever music video Grammy, for Elephant Parts.
1982: Pink Floyd The Wall is released in theatres. (See Link 17)
1983: Night Tracks debuts on Superstation WTBS (later known as TBS) with up to 14 hours of music videos each weekend by 1985. This allows nearly all U.S. households with Cable TV to view music videos regularly, as MTV still isn't widely available at this point in time compared to WTBS.
1983: Friday Night Videos debuts on the NBC television network, allowing nearly all U.S. households to view music videos regularly. Michael Jackson's Billie Jean video is released on TV (See Link 18), and for the first time a black artist's video is featured in heavy rotation on MTV with the video for his Beat It hit single.
1984: Laura Branigan's video for her hit song "Self Control" is refused airplay by MTV, who demand certain cuts be made to remove content they find objectionable. (See Link 19)
1984: Prince releases the movie Purple Rain, and its soundtrack is nominated for an Oscar. The soundtrack album sells 15 million copies.
1984: Michael Jackson's short film Thriller is released, changing the concept of music videos forever (See Link 20). The Making of Thriller home video is also released in 1984. It is the first ever video about the making of a music video and it becomes the best selling VHS to date.
1984: Van Halen's 1984 album comes out with famous video hit like "Hot For Teacher", "Jump", and "Panama".
MTV presents its first Video Music Awards, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.
The Grammys award Best Short Form Music Video, as well as Best Long Form Music Video.
1985: a-ha find instant stardom with their hit song "Take On Me", significantly due to heavy rotation play of the song's video, which features a combination of live action and rotoscoping animation. The groundbreaking video wins several awards and is consistently rated as one of the best for decades to come. (See Link 21)
Madonna's video for her hit single "Material Girl" is released. It is largely based on Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes A huge storm of interest explodes for the video. The video is considered one of the most memorable and always comes up in "The Best Videos" lists.
1986: "Sledgehammer", the groundbreaking video from Peter Gabriel, furthers the revival of animation in music video, utilizing stop-motion photography and winning several awards. (See Link 22)
1989: MTV renames its "Video Vanguard Award" the "Michael Jackson Vanguard Award" in honor of the pop star's contributions to the art of music video.
1989: Madonna's controversial video for "Like a Prayer" is released.
1990: MTV bans Madonna's "Justify My Love" video. It is released as a video single, the first of its kind. (See Link 23)
1991: Nirvana release the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video, catapulting Kurt Cobain - and the grunge genre - into the American and Worldwide mainstream. (See Link 24)
First use of the now-familiar morphing special effect in a music video, with Michael Jackson's "Black or White" (directed by John Landis), from his album Dangerous.
1992: MTV begins to credit music video directors.
1995: Release of the most expensive music video ever "Scream", from Michael Jackson's HIStory album, a duet with his sister Janet. (See Link 25)
TLC's video for their hit song Waterfalls becomes a groundbreaking video for Girl groups and received massive airplay on MTV.
1996: Pop-up Video is first aired on VH1.
Smashing Pumpkins releases the video for their song "Tonight, Tonight", based upon Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon (See Link 26). This video was one of the first to be based upon an early film.
M2 is launched as a 24-hour music video channel, as MTV has largely replaced videos with other content.
1999: M2 is renamed to MTV2.
Making the Video, a series chronicling the production of a music video, premieres on MTV.
2001: Björk releases the video for Pagan Poetry which was controversial for its depictions of sexual acts and body piercings. (See Link 27)
2002: MTV Hits is launched, as MTV2 is gradually showing fewer music videos (now virtually non-existent on MTV).
2005: Grandaddy fan Stewart Smith releases unofficial "Jed's Other Poem" music video online along with the source code that created it. It is the first open source music video and is later sanctioned by Grandaddy's label, V2 Records.
2007: Musicbox (URL: musicbox.sonybmg.com) is launched by Sony BMG. This online portal signifies the first free streaming effort owned and operated by a major label.
2008: The first 3D video ever is made by Dave Meyers and Missy Elliott for her single Ching-a-Ling. Björk also makes one for Wanderlust.
1941: A new invention hits clubs and bars in the USA: The Panoram Soundie is a jukebox that plays short videoclips along with the music.
1956: Hollywood discovers the genre of music-centered films. A wave of rock 'n' roll films begins including Rock Around the Clock (See Link 1), Don't Knock the Rock, Shake, Rattle and Rock, Rock Pretty Baby, The Girl Can't Help It, and the famous Elvis Presley movies (See Link 2). Some of these films integrate musical performances into a story, others are simply revues.
1960: In France a re-invention of the Soundie, the Scopitone, gains limited success.
1961: Ricky Nelson's Travelin' Man video is shown on television (See Link 3).
1962: British Television invents a new form of music television. Shows like Top Of The Pops (See Link 4), Ready! Steady! Go! and Oh, Boy start as band vehicles and become huge hits.
1964: The US-Television market adapts the format. Hullabaloo (See Link 5)is one of the first US shows of this kind, followed by Shindig! (NBC) and American Bandstand; The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night
1965: Bob Dylan films Subterranean Homesick Blues (See link 6) as a segment for D. A. Pennebaker's film, Dont Look Back, with two alternate takes.
1966: The first conceptual promos are aired, for the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and "Rain". (See Link 7)
1967: The Beatles ground-breaking promotional films for for "Penny Lane" and "Strawberry Fields Forever" are released. (See Link 8)
1968: The Rolling Stones collaborate with Jean-Luc Godard on Sympathy for the Devil
1969: Easy Rider features one of the first uses of rock music to accompany sequences in a dramatic film. (See Link 9)
1970: The record industry discovers these TV-Shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists. They focus on producing short "Promos" (See Link 10), early music videos which started to replace the live performance of the artist on the TV-stage. Also, the Atlanta-produced Now Explosion starts a 26-week run in syndication.
1973: The first of forty-six different Schoolhouse Rock music videos begin airing during Saturday morning cartoons on ABC.
1974: the pop shows Sounds and Countdown premiere on Australian television; Russell Mulcahy makes his first music videos for Sounds.
Swedish group ABBA pioneer the use of "Promos" with their clips, directed by Lasse Hallström. These contain innovative effects, camera angles, and a less static look than is the norm at the time. The band continue using such videos throughout the 1970s. (See Link 11)
1975: "Bohemian Rhapsody", a groundbreaking video released by Queen, marks the beginning of the video era and sets the language for the modern music video. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced video effects. (See Link 12)
Tommy, the Ken Russell film adaptation of The Who's rock opera is released. (See Link 13)
1979: Devo releases "The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise", which is the first music video to include computer animation, as well as traditional animation. (See Link 14)
Another 1979 video with computer animation is "Computer Games", by New Zealand band MiSex.
UK filmmakers Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton direct the innovative animated clip for the single "Accidents Will Happen" by Elvis Costello & The Atttractions. (See Link 15)
1980: "Ashes to Ashes", considered a groundbreaking video, is released by David Bowie. (See Link 16)
1980: "Coming Up" All instruments on the video are played by either Paul McCartney or Linda McCartney.
1981: MTV, the first 24-hour satellite music channel, launches in August. Initially few cable TV operators carry it, but it rapidly becomes a major hit and cultural icon.
"Shock Treatment" is released in theatres.
1981: Michael Nesmith wins the first ever music video Grammy, for Elephant Parts.
1982: Pink Floyd The Wall is released in theatres. (See Link 17)
1983: Night Tracks debuts on Superstation WTBS (later known as TBS) with up to 14 hours of music videos each weekend by 1985. This allows nearly all U.S. households with Cable TV to view music videos regularly, as MTV still isn't widely available at this point in time compared to WTBS.
1983: Friday Night Videos debuts on the NBC television network, allowing nearly all U.S. households to view music videos regularly. Michael Jackson's Billie Jean video is released on TV (See Link 18), and for the first time a black artist's video is featured in heavy rotation on MTV with the video for his Beat It hit single.
1984: Laura Branigan's video for her hit song "Self Control" is refused airplay by MTV, who demand certain cuts be made to remove content they find objectionable. (See Link 19)
1984: Prince releases the movie Purple Rain, and its soundtrack is nominated for an Oscar. The soundtrack album sells 15 million copies.
1984: Michael Jackson's short film Thriller is released, changing the concept of music videos forever (See Link 20). The Making of Thriller home video is also released in 1984. It is the first ever video about the making of a music video and it becomes the best selling VHS to date.
1984: Van Halen's 1984 album comes out with famous video hit like "Hot For Teacher", "Jump", and "Panama".
MTV presents its first Video Music Awards, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.
The Grammys award Best Short Form Music Video, as well as Best Long Form Music Video.
1985: a-ha find instant stardom with their hit song "Take On Me", significantly due to heavy rotation play of the song's video, which features a combination of live action and rotoscoping animation. The groundbreaking video wins several awards and is consistently rated as one of the best for decades to come. (See Link 21)
Madonna's video for her hit single "Material Girl" is released. It is largely based on Marilyn Monroe's performance of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes A huge storm of interest explodes for the video. The video is considered one of the most memorable and always comes up in "The Best Videos" lists.
1986: "Sledgehammer", the groundbreaking video from Peter Gabriel, furthers the revival of animation in music video, utilizing stop-motion photography and winning several awards. (See Link 22)
1989: MTV renames its "Video Vanguard Award" the "Michael Jackson Vanguard Award" in honor of the pop star's contributions to the art of music video.
1989: Madonna's controversial video for "Like a Prayer" is released.
1990: MTV bans Madonna's "Justify My Love" video. It is released as a video single, the first of its kind. (See Link 23)
1991: Nirvana release the "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video, catapulting Kurt Cobain - and the grunge genre - into the American and Worldwide mainstream. (See Link 24)
First use of the now-familiar morphing special effect in a music video, with Michael Jackson's "Black or White" (directed by John Landis), from his album Dangerous.
1992: MTV begins to credit music video directors.
1995: Release of the most expensive music video ever "Scream", from Michael Jackson's HIStory album, a duet with his sister Janet. (See Link 25)
TLC's video for their hit song Waterfalls becomes a groundbreaking video for Girl groups and received massive airplay on MTV.
1996: Pop-up Video is first aired on VH1.
Smashing Pumpkins releases the video for their song "Tonight, Tonight", based upon Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon (See Link 26). This video was one of the first to be based upon an early film.
M2 is launched as a 24-hour music video channel, as MTV has largely replaced videos with other content.
1999: M2 is renamed to MTV2.
Making the Video, a series chronicling the production of a music video, premieres on MTV.
2001: Björk releases the video for Pagan Poetry which was controversial for its depictions of sexual acts and body piercings. (See Link 27)
2002: MTV Hits is launched, as MTV2 is gradually showing fewer music videos (now virtually non-existent on MTV).
2005: Grandaddy fan Stewart Smith releases unofficial "Jed's Other Poem" music video online along with the source code that created it. It is the first open source music video and is later sanctioned by Grandaddy's label, V2 Records.
2007: Musicbox (URL: musicbox.sonybmg.com) is launched by Sony BMG. This online portal signifies the first free streaming effort owned and operated by a major label.
2008: The first 3D video ever is made by Dave Meyers and Missy Elliott for her single Ching-a-Ling. Björk also makes one for Wanderlust.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Music Videos of Interest
Over the Years I have come across many music videos which interest me. I will go into some of these in greater detail in my presentation, but for the moment here is a quick round up of which videos interest me and why:
Link 28: Bjork - All is Full of Love: Concept based, robot voyeurism.
Link 29: Dirty Vegas - Days Go By: Narrative, Concept and Performance based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 30: Superman Lovers - Starlight: Narrative and concept based. 3D-CGI video. Synchronised cuts.
Link 31: Ash - Burn Baby Burn. Performance Based with synchronised cuts.
Link 32: Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off: Concept, Narrative and Performance based. Shot in a single synchronised take.
Link 33: Bustah Rhymes ft. O.D.B. - Woo Ha! (Remix): Concept and Performance Based. Stylistically original. Purpose made music video for a remix of a song.
Link 34: Air - All I Need: Non-fiction Narrative, beautiful concept.
Link 35: Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now: Concept and Narrative Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 36: Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice: Concept, Narrative and Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 37: Fatboy Slim - Gangster Tripping: Concept and Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 38: Tactilbox - Example of small french production promo on Myspace.com which can reach the masses without being professionaly produced. Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 39: C2C (DMC Champs) - Example of un-official performance based online "music video".
Link 40: Muse - Knights of Cydonia - Example of a video that is Concept, Narrative AND Performance based. Also a good example of a music video influenced by the music, rather than the lyrics.
Link 28: Bjork - All is Full of Love: Concept based, robot voyeurism.
Link 29: Dirty Vegas - Days Go By: Narrative, Concept and Performance based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 30: Superman Lovers - Starlight: Narrative and concept based. 3D-CGI video. Synchronised cuts.
Link 31: Ash - Burn Baby Burn. Performance Based with synchronised cuts.
Link 32: Lucas - Lucas With The Lid Off: Concept, Narrative and Performance based. Shot in a single synchronised take.
Link 33: Bustah Rhymes ft. O.D.B. - Woo Ha! (Remix): Concept and Performance Based. Stylistically original. Purpose made music video for a remix of a song.
Link 34: Air - All I Need: Non-fiction Narrative, beautiful concept.
Link 35: Fatboy Slim - Right Here, Right Now: Concept and Narrative Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 36: Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice: Concept, Narrative and Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 37: Fatboy Slim - Gangster Tripping: Concept and Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 38: Tactilbox - Example of small french production promo on Myspace.com which can reach the masses without being professionaly produced. Performance Based. Synchronised cuts.
Link 39: C2C (DMC Champs) - Example of un-official performance based online "music video".
Link 40: Muse - Knights of Cydonia - Example of a video that is Concept, Narrative AND Performance based. Also a good example of a music video influenced by the music, rather than the lyrics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)