1. What was innovative/important?
This music video is important because this is one of the
earliest music videos as music videos began around the 1930s. It was shown in
theatre in 1932. This music video was from a American two-reel short film, St.
Louis Blues, which starred Bessie Smith as it is based on her song.
2. How is it recognizable as a music video?
Even though it's a short film, you can see a live
performance of a band which make the music video into a performance-based music
video, likely in a restaurant or a bar as you can see waiters walking around
and the bartender serving alcoholic beverages at the bar etc. You can see the
artist lip-syncing to the lyrics, you could also see the audience lip-syncing
as well. No dialogue. As this is one of the earliest music video, it is one of
the first music video to do lip-syncing. They used camera shots such as, long
shot and medium close up.
3.What technological or cultural change happened during this
time?
At the time, this music video only could be seen in theatre/cinema
back in 1932. We are now able to access almost any music almost anywhere now
(2016), that shows how much technology has changed. This music video is very
different to modern day music videos because it is in black and white, you can
tell it is old.
Batcap - Jetpack (1932)
1. What was innovation/ important about this music video?
Batcat was band that recorded instruments such electric
guitars - jetpack 1932 was innovation because it was the first video ever made
where television was invented in the 1925. Also the video was famous for their
experiment with electromagnetism. Also the music video was animation and was
first aircraft. This was recorded produced by gramophone. Jetpack composes,
records, and performs the guitar dominated instrumental music known as surf or
surf rock, that was a music industry phenomenon of the early 1960s. Although it
had retained a following, especially in Southern California, surf experienced a
world-wide revival in the 1990s. This means that they perform live as was also
known surf rock. In that time surf rock was quite popular. In the music video
you see you see footage from out of space but however the band which was shown
few time throughout the music video.
2. How is this recognisable as a music video?
This is recognisable as a music video because it was
relatable to a genre which is surf rock even though there was no lip syncing
there was story behind it which is space and aircrafts. It shows footage of
different shots relating to the music also the music video has effects and uses
close ups. It shows that it is a music video has no dialog and shows animation
and music stick over it. During the video at 2:15 it has some text which is
advertising space making young ages see this and what to experience it.
3. What technological or cultural change happened during this
time?
There were various changes happen during this period of time
for example in the 1932 they were more music video being made. Also lip syncing
is being is being more occurred and live performance are being as a music
video. However, music we develop over time as we go down the 1930-1960s music
videos were in colour.
Marilyn Monroe - Diamonds are a girl's best friend (1953)
This video incorporates colour and settings. They use a piece from the film and turn it into a music video, this is done to highlight her performing the song. 20 years later we can see that this has inspired Madonna as she made her own music called Material Girl. This is very significant as it was inter-textual for future music videos. Also there are performers dancing, this also means it is a music video because it incorporates choreography. one thing I find really interesting is that, they took out it out from a film and made it seem like it was a brand new music video, it was almost as if they were experimenting. They also used different types of shots, we can see that close up is used here multiple times to state the fact that the music video all evolves around Marilyn.
Nancy Sinatra - These boots are made for walking (1966)
It was one of the first music videos to actually feature
colour. There are many ways this video is different, it uses sexualisation a
lot more as it focuses on their legs and all the other women in the background.
This also has a very good dance and rhythm to the video. This is one of the
first music videos to actually spark an era of female sexualised themes.
It has a very interesting video as it is set in a studio
with just a group of girls dancing but follows a genre specific theme it uses
Mise En scene to its effect and it also uses a wide range of dance themes and
expressions. This dance sequence is known as a Choreography which really
translates to a dance sequence that draws in the viewer in fact Choreography is
probably one of the most effective uses in music videos as it allows the artist
to get publicly noticed due to the dance.
Mise En Scene is not recognized on the set but the costume
design for the girls is much sexualized in other words Voyeurism. Voyeurism is
how people are sexually themed and presented in front of the audience.
One huge costume design in this is the boots, the boots are
the main theme of this music video this is what made it successful in the first
place. They use this to give off a not only sexy but a cool vibe which gives
the audience something to enjoy as they view the music video.
1970s and 1980s
Technological and Cultural changes
One of the most well known Cultural and technological
changes that happened during the 1970-1980s period of music videos was MTV. MTV
(Music Television) launched in 1981. The launch of MTV spurred the evolution of
music videos in the 80s. Artists started to include narratives/stories and
eye-catching visual effects in their videos. The birth of MTV also allowed
Artists and musicians to create their own "Star image", A fake
persona that the audience could relate to or aspire to be. MTV became a
platform that paved the way for more unconventional music videos.
1970s
Videos are started to be considered too salacious. this is
because music video makes were under the impression that sex sells, this was
favourable as these videos were not expensive to producer but could generate a
lot of attention. This was the case for Prince - I Wanna Be Your Lover. This
music video still follows conventions, with used of of lips synching , the
artist performing the song with their band.
David Bowie-Life On Mars(1971)
This video is effective due to the fact that it is a basic
lip sync but the shots and effective props can create conventions for example,
his appearance is associated with his stage persona called "Ziggy
Stardust" which was Bowie's way of showing Iconography towards his fans so
they could act like him and dress like him.
The Buggles: Video killed the radio star (1981)
Michael Jackson: Thriller (1983)
in 1983, Michael Jackson, Epic Records and Vestron Video, released the music video for thriller. The video itself, had a running time of 13 mins and was loosely based on the horror film "An American Werewolf in London". Micheal Jackson's Thriller video was unprecedented. This was because it was the first ever music video (By a mainstream artist) to create and use the concept of a short film. The video uses conventions of a normal music video. For example there is lip syncing and the artist is performing in the video.
The Police: Every breath you take (1983)
This music video is one of the many recognisable music videos in the 1980s.
The video was released in 1983, It has a total of 299 million views. As the lyrics sound romantic, the song is somewhat disturbing. “Every breath you take I’ll be watching you”. This song is about a hooking stalker. It is always interpreted because of the way it sounds but people do not choose to listen to the lyrics properly. The main artist in the band, Sting wrote this song after divorcing his wife. He personally things the song is “a nasty little song”, “evil” and “about jealousy and surveillance and ownership”. P Diddy sampled this song and named it as I’ll Be Missing You. He wrote this song for the late The Notorious B.I.G Wallace, who was murdered in 1997. In the music video for The Police, it is hyper-reality because the music lives within the ash tray. There are effects such as fade ins, and outs and it is in black and white. There is also lip-syncing, for the majority of the video because it is a live performance where you see the band playing instruments and one of the members, Sting singing the song.
Beastie Boys - Sabotage
1. What was innovative/ Important
this was a ground breaking music video which was released in
the year 1994, they were faking the opening sequence of a TV show which was
popular at the time called sabotage which is actually related to the title of
the song, Also we do not see the artist throughout the whole video either lip
syncing or performing to the song. What was innovative about this music video
was that it was the first of its kind to have this sort of inter textuallity
where the music video is actually paying homage to the actually TV show.
2. How was it recognized as a music video.
It can be seen as a music video because it conveys the
conventions of a music video such as using inter textuallity as it makes
reference to a TV show and also there is a a bit of hyper reality going on as
usually a cops day life wont really be like what was in the music video and to
some extent the music video cut to the beat of the song.
3. What Technological/ cultural Change happened in this time.
Music videos at this time started to use more artist form of
making their videos bending more towards the use of abstract art in their
videos while others used things such as Tv shiows and movies that were already
famous in other to appeal not only to their target audience but also to the
movies target audience.
Lucas - Lucas with the lid off
This music video was released in 1994 close to the mid 90's.
What was innovative about the music video is that it is the first music video
that was shot in one take you could tell that it was shot in one take because
he ran out of breath in some scenes.
This is recognizable as a music video because it has hyper
reality to create a fake representation to give the audience the impression
that he can travel through time. Intertextuality was included in the music
video since you can see the lip-syncing artist through the television.
The technological change in the 1990's is when music videos
were becoming more and more expensive and this is when rock, and the use of
abstract art and intertextuality in order to cater to the audience.
Multi-channels
Whitney Huston - I will always love you
Whitney Huston - I will always love you
This involves intertextuality and performance, these are the
two conventions that are used in music videos. This is a music video that is
iconic as this became one of the biggest single in the history, spending 14
weeks at the top of the Billboard charts. There is a base track involved. This
is innovative due to the fact that it was around this time that music videos
had started to do crossovers with films. This can also be seen as synergy due
to the fact that there is a music video about the film.
Brandy & Monica - The boy is mine (1998)
The boy is mind is a composition between Brandy and Monica
that was release in 1998. I't an innovative by its unique use of mise en scene.
It features two different girls fighting over a guy and uses a wall in the
middle of the scene to divide them. This symbolises their two houses and helps
the person watching to see the two different lives of these girls that share
the same man. It also helps to create realism by showing things in real time.
This, therefore, make the video more reliable to us at home. This is furthered
by the fact that the girls are having a conversation with each other and at one
point it even shows them having a telephone conversation that coheres with the
lyrics.
It is considered a typical music video because although it
features a story, this story only progresses slightly and is more leaned
towards the performance of the girls who are singing in their houses. They also
use other conventions of music videos. For example, the two singers are lip
syncing which is commonly used. However, to make a change the lyrics at some
point turn into diegetic when they begin to talk on the phone.
Despite the video being quite contemporary, music videos
have still changed hugely since then. In terms of the camera work, this consists
mostly one shots which, although cut to the beat, goes at a slower pace to what
would have been these days. Another thing changed is the mise en scene and the
clothing. The props in the scene have clearly been updated as technology had
updated with time. In terms of the clothing. The girls are wearing a lot less
revealing clothes in comparison to music videos now days which aim to
sexualise the characters in order to
sell the music.
They have made a lot of progress from earlier on. There are
some transitions such as wipes and fades which help create excitement in the
video. Also, about half way through the video, there features a lot of canted
angles which haven't been done a lot. Another thing they have played around
with in the beginning of the video is depth of field. One of the girls are
positioned in front of the couch but behind the fish bowl and we can see
clearly the change from the three different places in the room. This makes it
more realistic for the views.
Beyonce:
Brief background:
Beyonce Knowles was born on September 4th in 1981 in Houston. Beyonce also known as 'Queen B' is a singer, actress, writer and performer. Beyonce started singing when she was very young. Beyonce started her career in 1997 and that is when she formed a group called 'Destiny Child' with Kelly Rowland, Nina Taylor, Nikki Taylor and Latavia Roberson. Before Beyonce's father, 'Mathew Knowles', created this group Beyonce would compete in different events and win them because of her talented abilities of dancing and singing.
Her image:
'No, no, no' - 1998
In this music video, which was Destiny Child's first single, has a narrative at the beginning of the song introducing Destiny Child to the stage to sing 'No, no, no'. This music video also has choreography, and also they're close up on the girls then there will be a close up of the men around watching them, this is called sexualising women and this has been going from the early times when music videos started. The setting in is in a club with people dancing around them and people watching them. The body language reflects the lyrics to the song. The meaning of the song is that they know the guys want them but they will be saying no but they are really saying yes, and the reason why the body language resembles this is because the men are constantly staring at the women and in different shots the men are really close to the women. This reflected on their image because the looked innocent and sexy and to prove that a lot of men want them.
This type of style of music would relate to a young adults 18+ and an audience thhat likes to listen to slow R&B.
Her image:
'No, no, no' - 1998
In this music video, which was Destiny Child's first single, has a narrative at the beginning of the song introducing Destiny Child to the stage to sing 'No, no, no'. This music video also has choreography, and also they're close up on the girls then there will be a close up of the men around watching them, this is called sexualising women and this has been going from the early times when music videos started. The setting in is in a club with people dancing around them and people watching them. The body language reflects the lyrics to the song. The meaning of the song is that they know the guys want them but they will be saying no but they are really saying yes, and the reason why the body language resembles this is because the men are constantly staring at the women and in different shots the men are really close to the women. This reflected on their image because the looked innocent and sexy and to prove that a lot of men want them.
This type of style of music would relate to a young adults 18+ and an audience thhat likes to listen to slow R&B.
In 2006 the group Destiny Child broke up and Beyonce became a solo artist. However made her first track as a solo artist before the group split up. The track was called 'Dangerously in love' and this was made in 2006. Her other two major solo hits were 'Crazy in love' and 'Baby boy' and with these songs Beyonce won 5 Grammy awards. Beyonce did become depressed after the group broke up because of how they broke up and this lasted for 2 years. Throughout Beyonce's life she has been doing interesting things, such as she performed for the Obama's family on 6th February in 2009. She met her husband, Jay Z who she is now happily married too with a daughter named Blue Ivy. She released a document called 'Life is but a dream', in this documentary it reveals her personal life and what she went through giving birth.
In the music video 'Crazy in love' portrays Beyonce from being to a good, kinky girl to a bad fierce girl. In the middle of the music video she is trapped in a car that she sets on fire and walks into the scene a different person because of the fact she was wearing more innocent clothing and colours such as white which represents innocence therefore she was an innocent girl, but after she sets the car on fire she comes out a more bad fierce women and now she calls herself 'Sasha Fierce'. She transformed from young teenager to a grown woman. This music video also sexualises women because of how they are dressed and portrayed and this will attract male audiences. This music video has the conventions of lip-syncing, choreography and montage.
People started to say that Beyonce, Sasha Fierce is a demon possession. Beyonce quoted saying 'When i see video of myself on stage or TV i'm like "who is that girl". That's not me, i wouldn't dare to do that' here she is saying that she is not Sasha fierce of stage but when on stage she is. She also said 'I created my stage persona to protect myself, so that when i go home, i don't have to think about what it is i do. Sasha isn't me' here she is saying that Sasha Fierce is her shield and protects her from what she does. The song 'Diva' which was made in 2008 portrays Sasha Fierce. It has narrative at the beginning of her smoking and walking then the track starts with her lip-syncing and there is also choreography. The song is show that she is a Diva and shes explaining how far she has gone get where she is now.
Beyonce's recent album called 'Lemonade' 2016, this album portrays on how her husband Jay Z cheated on her. This album sold so quickly because it related to so many women around the world. It had over 500,000 sales. This re[resents the affair because in the track 'sorry' she says 'looking at my watch he should have been home, today i regret that night i put that ring on, he always got the fucking excuses', This relates to her other album named 'Beyonce' when rumors went around that Jay Z cheated on Beyonce and this was when Beyonce's sister 'Solange Knowles' attacked Jay Z in the elevator and 2 years later she makes another album representing the same thing. In this music video there is a narrative at the beginning as like she is talking to Jay Z because she say 'So now what you going today now that you've killed me' this is a metaphor for trying to say he's hurt her so badly it's like he has killed her. This video is different because it has been made in an modern era but the whole music video is black and white like old music videos e.g.Nat King Cole - Firm fram sauce.
In conclusion it is very clear that Beyonce has gone through drastic image change from being a good innocent kinky girl, to being Sasha Fierce woman. The reason why she has done this is to keep up with her audience's and her fans because of the fact the modern era focuses more on visual image rather than the soundtrack. When she went through her image stage in 2008 people started to see her has more sexy, more fierce and more like a diva. This is an example of women being sexualised and portrayed in a provocative way for the men's appeal therefore this relates to the modern trait. Furthermore Beyonce's image changes reflected on what was actually going on in her personal life as well as to please the audience.
The lyrically the song reflect moods and emotion that
surround anxiety and confusion.
The songs starts with a fade to create suspension as it is
like a horror story which creates tension and could create isolation as the
location looks abandoned and she is mental hospital because every scene is
different in her actions and costume to show that she has split personality
disorder.
This can challenge how society see women because she is
experimenting with her personality which could she is not her at the times but
someone else to show insecurity and issues to make relationships which could it
make it hard to trust anyone.
In one of the scenes
she is seen imprisoned wearing lenses that make look as if her eyes have rolled
into the back of her head. Rihanna stays in the prison with two men watching on
her from the both sides. Other scenes include sitting on a throne chair and
singing the song, while two strange women are around her.
This could suggest that her safe is at risk and she may self
risk if she is not watched at all times.
The beat is uptempo because it suggests that the song is
happening so quickly because every seconds she is a different personality; the
time signature 4/4 represents it is fast paced which no breaks and every verse
is different to show how she lives in the prison.
the genre is electro-pop and dance pop which represents the
style of the song but it doesn't suit the video.
Lady Gaga- Marry the night
There is an 8 minute narrative scene which is hyper reality
and the story begins as a brunette Gaga is taken through a clinic on a
stretcher, while an inner monologue about her past memories is heard.
During to the post 2003 era, music video are more important
than the song because it
is the music video
convey the singer's public image ,but also the video is an narrative which can be used to suggest that Lady Gaga is an
music video actor who makes video to sell her image.
Lip sync and choreography is used to suggest to express her
emotion and show how hard her life was.
In the modern era;2000's music videos are extremely
different to music videos in 1945.Lady gaga made a song called 'Marry the night
in 2011 and the reason why it is different to other videos is because the
narrative is longer than the actual song. The narrative is 8 minutes long
talking about her life and the song is 5 minutes 50 seconds. This is very
different because a lot of artist tent to not talk about their personal life,
they tend to present a fake image to their audience and to give the audience
what they want to see. This proves that time has changed because the artist
focuses more on their music video. The music video has become more important
than the actual song and the song has become the soundtrack of the music video.
This video has conventions such as lip-syncing, choreography, abstract and it
has hyporeality. The reason why it is hypo reality is because hospitals are not
like that in reality. The reason why this music video is abstract and unusual
is because it has a lot of unusual scenes that doesn't relate with the song and
also at the end she is in red not showing her face, surrounded by fire. This
music video is a performance, the artist doesn't want to just present herself
as a pop star, she wants to show that she is artistic and an actor.
A music video is a visual representation of the artist in
order to promote the track and the artist but it is used to create a fake image
of the artist mainly sometimes as performance of narrative.. In music videos
they have conventions so people know that it is a music video such as:
narrative, choreography, hypo reality, lip-syncing and montage. However some
videos in recent era’s challenges conventions, such as a song made by Sia
called ‘Elastic Heart’ that was made in 2015 doesn’t have narrative because the
music video is a man and a child dancing in a cage using a dance choreography.
In this music video there is rhythmic editing because they’re dancing to the
beat of the music and they’re dance was telling a story through body language.
The reason why this video uses hypo reality is because the girl not actually is
there; it could be in the man’s imagination.
psy-gangman style
it was going viral
through social media and it had spread worldwide mainly due to the dancing that
the artist was doing so people would copy the same dance when the song did come
on but not only that, it allowed people to get to know the genre of K-Pop more
than did because they were little known about it until this video blew up onto
the internet.
the genre conventions of the song are k-pop such as lip sync
and choreography with the use of bright neon colours, this is used for visual
representation and no narrative structure to promote himself and re inventing
his image with the use of the young women who are used for sex appeal.
the song is cut to the beat and fast paced editing has been
used to make it look hyper reality and vagerism which is gender pleasure.
What was important/innovative?
The thing that was innovative within this modern music video
of Gangnam Style by Korean-Pop artist PSY is that he was promoting himself
instead of the visuals representation of the video because when this video came
out in 2012, it was going viral through social media and it had spread
worldwide mainly due to the dancing that the artist was doing so people would
copy the same dance when the song did come on but not only that, it allowed
people to get to know the genre of Korean-Pop more than did because they were
little known about it until this video blew up onto the internet.
How it is recognized as a music video?
This is very recognizable music video because it fits with
the genre conventions of the song which is Korean-Pop which there was
lip-syncing within this music video but the visual representation is not
telling no narrative or story being told at all as he is promoting himself and
dancing which it is showing that he is having fun rather than being
creative.There is a use of editing and effects where for example: when it was
about to go the hook of the song, its use of editing was used which was cutting
of the beat around 1.06 to 1.10 and 2.25 to 2.30 minutes within the video.
What technological or cultural change happened during this
time?
In the post-2003 era within the history of music videos, the
artists would be able to make music videos and able to put on video-sharing
website like for example: YouTube. Although the reason why is that the artist
does this because it is one of the ways to make more money by promoting the
single of the song so they can carry on making money through going on tour or
sell merchandise but today, the money that is being devalued by people as they
are interested in the visual representation of the video rather than the actual
song that was used as a backing track . Dej
'If its lovin that you want'- 2005
Rhianna is portrayed as someone who had a soft and innocent
image. In the music video her image at the time is portrayed as herself doing a
live performance in a tropical type setting e.g. the beach. This shows that she
comes from the Caribbean or a tropical country.
Also,there is no much sex appeal in this video because she
is promoting her true self and having to put an act to become someone that is
not.However, over time she does re invent herself and loses some of the
tradition reggae style and she started to sig with the genre of RnB and hip
hop.
This type of styling would appeal to an audience that enjoy
listening to up beat tempo songs and instruments that would be played in reggae
songs and R&B. This was a type of performance video that shows Rhianna
being very expressive.
2006: In 2006, it was said that Rhianna was starting to
experiment and play with her image. She was portrayed as a sex symbol and changed
up her image e.g. cutting her hair short to a signature pixie cut from the long
bouncy hair she had before. This also influenced a change in her music as she
started to move away from the reggae and dance hall and move into pop music.
This was also the reason to the tittle of her album in 2007 'Good girl gone
bad'.
This could also be the reason why Rhianna was making music
videos e.g. creating a fake image to appeal to the audience and keep them
engaged as times were changing as women are starting to be seen as to being
provocative and seen as a sex symbol e.g. voyeurism.
In this music video, we notice that Rhianna has had a
massive change of appearance. This illustrated the fact that her image had
change dramatically and was seen to the audience as a sex symbol. Her image in
this music video shows her to be wearing a lot of dark clothes e.g. black
leather. The color black can have connotations to being bad and non pure or a
sense of evil. To add to this, the leather clothing that she is wearing in one part
of the video can be seen as seductive and appealing to the opposite sex. This
also relates to the style of her and the music video as it is very conceptual
because there is many artistic conventions included e.g. when she is in silver
pain or the lighting effect used which is supposed to symbolize rain.
In other words, the intended audience for this music video
is aimed at males. The reason i think this is, is because her image has changed
since then as she is becoming more provocative.
This adds a sense of voyeurism and why it appeals to that intended
audience.
2010: What's my name- Rhianna ft Drake
After the abusive
break up with Chris Brown and the Rated R album which changed her style of
music, Rhianna came back in 2010 with her breakout album Loud. It was apparent
from the name of the album and the image change to red hair that Rhianna was
back in full force and was ready to promote her music with the use of pop songs
such as 'Whats my name', 'Only girl' etc. In this music video Rhianna has
clearly had a dramatic image change from how she last looked. This can also be
known because she claimed that the new 'fiery' red hair set a vibrating shade
which gave her a crazy image. To add to this her look was also because she
wanted something loud and expressive. This represents the meaning and message
shown across this music video because she is shown to be expressive within the
video and with other men e.g. suggesting she has moved on as Drake is featured
in the song as well.
2011- Unapologetic album:
In 2011 Rhianna had again changed her image and made a new
album called 'Unapologetic'. The album is clearly about the title and how she
is unapologetic. However she had a variety of image changes in many songs of
her music video e.g. Diamonds, which is a ballad which shows her depth and
growth. It also resonates honesty. However other songs were the opposite e,g.
'Pour it Up' which have a more upbeat and electro-pop style to it.
Diamonds:
In this music video her image is more innocent and more
intense to how she used to look. The reason behind this could be because she is
trying to be more truthful. Most of the images used in the music video resonate
hyper reality which are things that are not real but to recreate an image to
make it seem more appealing to the audience. Furthermore, in this music video
she is not seen as a sex symbol or trying to attract any attention. This
relates back to her image and how she looks in the music video as she seems
lifeless.
In conclusion, it clear to see that Rhianna has gone through
many image changes some being drastic in order to keep up and appeal the eye of
the audience since in the modern era music focuses more on visuals as well as
the music which is why she may have went through her change in 2007 and being
seen as more sexual. This could be an example of a post modern trait because
most music video conventions include women being sexualised and portrayed in a
provocative and seductive way. Furthermore, most of Rhianna's image changes
related back to her actual music and the changes she was going through at
stages in her life. In other word, we can say that Rhianna is expressive in the
way she changes her image and have meaning to most of them.
