Task One
What is a music video?
A music video is a short film or imagery that is accompanied by music. They are produced for many reasons for example promoting artists or their songs. Also, some music videos tell a story also known as a narrative, the artist/artists act out the message they are trying to convey. Music videos are termed short- form music videos so that they are not classed as full-length movies and are known for being linked to music.
History of music videos
The very first music video was aired in the1920’s. An example of an early music video is Bessie smith’s video St. Louis blues. It was produced in 1929. The video is in black and white and is filmed in the same location. The video was shown in theatres until 1932. The reason why Bessie Smith released a video was to express the meaning of the lyrics. Another example of an early video is a Beatles video called ‘a hard day’s night’. It was aired in 1964. It was one of the first music videos in the motion pictures.The Beatles set the stage for what later became music videos. Another very famous music video is by Queen called ‘bohemian rhapsody’. The song consisted of no chorus but instead was made up of four main parts: a ballad section, a guitar solo, an opera section and a hard rock section. The song was released in January 1976 and was at the top of the UK Singles Chart for nine weeks. It was one of the most expensive single ever made and is very popular in music history.
Purpose of music videos
There are many purposes for music videos. The most common reason for producing a music video is for promoting,the artist/artists would appear in a music video to primarily sell the song they have released and them self. Also, an artist or artists would use a music video to build up a fan base as they could appear however they want to in order to appeal to a wide audience. Another purpose for music videos is to tell a story, to give the audience a better understanding of the song. Some songs have very in depth lyrics; a music video gives the artist a chance to present the lyrics in a way they would want it to appear. There are big demands for music videos as some artists have talents, music videos give the artist/artists a chance to showcase their talents for example it could be their dancing skills or acting skills. Also, music videos give the audience some excitement as they want to see how the artist/artists have been portrayed. Music videos also give the fun factor to music as while you enjoying the music you have something interesting to watch as well.
MTV which stands for music television, is an American music channel which is based in New York City. It was launched on 1st August, 1981. The purpose of the music channel was to play music videos which were guided by air-hosts called video jockeys. The channel also broad casted reality TV shows. The channel would play music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. MTV was one of the main channels watched just for music videos.
MTV which stands for music television, is an American music channel which is based in New York City. It was launched on 1st August, 1981. The purpose of the music channel was to play music videos which were guided by air-hosts called video jockeys. The channel also broad casted reality TV shows. The channel would play music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. MTV was one of the main channels watched just for music videos.
Concept based video
A concept video is a video that portrays a message. A concept music video would carry out the theme or message throughout the video.
The music video I have chosen to analyses Kelly Clarkson’s video for the song ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. The video is a concept based video. The artist is trying to put a message across to the audience. The artist is very popular and is known worldwide for winning American idol on the 4thSeptember 2002. The main character in the video is Kelly Clarkson. Kelly is visible in most shots. The lyrics of the song are very inspirational; Kelly is trying to portray a message throughout the video. The song stresses on being independent and that you shouldn’t let anyone put you down instead you should feel stronger. The lyrics are very realistic and relate to people of all ages. Everyone has a rough patch in their life and listening to a song like this gives people hope and encouragement. The video main focus is on people being united regardless of their image or background. The video showcases choreography, which relates to the chorus of the song. Groups of people from different places are shown taking part in the dance. At the end of the video you see all people uniting together taking part in the dance. Kelly Clarkson comes across as very casual and likable as there are no gimmicky affects that make her look like a diva. She is presenting herself as a music lover as she is seen in an editing studio and is also seen singing with a band. The music video was a success because of Kelly Clarkson herself. She is perceived as an inspirational artist and has a likable nature. The meaning behind the lyrics captures wide audience as the song made them feel good.
The music video I have chosen to analyses Kelly Clarkson’s video for the song ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. The video is a concept based video. The artist is trying to put a message across to the audience. The artist is very popular and is known worldwide for winning American idol on the 4thSeptember 2002. The main character in the video is Kelly Clarkson. Kelly is visible in most shots. The lyrics of the song are very inspirational; Kelly is trying to portray a message throughout the video. The song stresses on being independent and that you shouldn’t let anyone put you down instead you should feel stronger. The lyrics are very realistic and relate to people of all ages. Everyone has a rough patch in their life and listening to a song like this gives people hope and encouragement. The video main focus is on people being united regardless of their image or background. The video showcases choreography, which relates to the chorus of the song. Groups of people from different places are shown taking part in the dance. At the end of the video you see all people uniting together taking part in the dance. Kelly Clarkson comes across as very casual and likable as there are no gimmicky affects that make her look like a diva. She is presenting herself as a music lover as she is seen in an editing studio and is also seen singing with a band. The music video was a success because of Kelly Clarkson herself. She is perceived as an inspirational artist and has a likable nature. The meaning behind the lyrics captures wide audience as the song made them feel good.
Narrative based video
A narrative video is video that contains a story. The music video visualises the message in the lyrics. I have decided to analyse the music video by The Script called ‘For the First Time’. The music video is narrative based video. The music video contains a storyline that is told in the lyrics. The Script are seen performing in the video however the actors are the focal point of the video. The song is about going through a hard time and feeling like you are tapped and feeling like there is no hope. The music video shows a couple who are living in New York, however, they are not happy there. The female wants to go back to Dublin which is her home town. The female is shown writing a postcard to her parents, making out that everything is ok, however, that is not the case as she is crying her eyes out while writing it. The Script are singing in the point of view of the male, however, the video is presenting the females point of view and how she feels. The video shows the couple trying to make time for each other and trying to have a good time while going through a hard time. The male is trying to make money for a good living and for his girlfriend; however, he is finding it very hard. The lyrics “were smiling but we're close to tears” resembles with what we are shown in the music video as they are trying to stay strong for one another. At the end we see a glimpse of happiness and relief as the male sells his bike and quits his job so that he could buy plane tickets to take them both back to Dublin. We see a smile on her face and it ends with them both kissing. The Script are presented as artists who like to tell a story through their music as majority of their songs are narrative based. They have a lot of fans as people love the lyrics in their songs. They write songs which are real and relatable to all people. The band are also very talented are known for their song writing and that they all can play instruments.
Performance based video
A performance music video is a video that involves the artist/artists performing as if they are performing live. They usually include the artist/artist playing their instruments. Performance music videos usually use locations such as concert halls and stages. I have chosen to analyse a video by the Foo Fighters called the ‘Best of You’. The video is simply just the band doing a performance as if they are playing live. The lead singer is singing through a microphone and the rest of the band is playing their instruments. The music video is only focused on the band. There are a couple of images where random people are shown, however, they do not relate to the lyrics at all. The band wants to be known for their talent and not for their acting skills. Most artists show off in their videos by trying to show that they are multi-talented. However, Foo Fighters want to be known for their music.
Research of one music video on IMDB
I have decided to research Michael Jackson's music video 'Thriller' on IMDB. The music video was released on the 2nd of December 1983. It is 13 minutes long. IMDB have categorised the music video in the genre's of horror, short and music. The video has been rated 8.3 out of 10 by IMDB users. The director of the music video is John Landis. John Landis along with Michael Jackson are the writers for the music video. The main cast of the music video is Michael Jackson, Ola Ray and Vincent Price (narrator). It was filmed at Rialto Theatre, California, USA. The estimated budget for the music video was $1,100,000. The production team were Optimum Productions. Michael Jackson's thriller had 6,070,000 CD sales around the world.
Research on record labels
Madonna's Express Yourself is directed by David Fincher. The video won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction in 1989. The music video was inspired by a movie called metropolis. The video had a total budget of $5,000,000. It was one of the most expensive videos of in history at the time it was produced. The video is currently the third most expensive video of all time. The video exploited female sexuality and Madonna's adopted the image of being masculine to show a different side of her. David Fincher has used his typical conventions in this music video. The music video is very dramatic and Madonna is telling the audience a message that women should be dominant and the acting portrays that. Each shot has a sharp transition and is moves on too the next shot at a quick pace.
Colin Tilley
Colin Tilley is a young director. He is American and was born on 27th June 1988. Colin Tilley is an award winning director. He has written and directed music for many current artists for example Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa. Colin Tilley has won a number of awards, he won video of the year at the BET Awards for Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Know' and best male video at the MTV video music awards for Justin Bieber's video 'You Smile'.
Chris Brown 'Dont Wake Me Up'
Colin Tilley directed the current video by Chris Brown called 'Dont Wake Me Up'. Colin Tilley videos are in high definition and have the use of various special effects. His videos a usually narrative based and the artist's are used to tell a story. He usually gets the the artists to show off their talents in their music videos. Chris Brown looks immaculate in the video and the colours are very sharp. The camera shots are very smooth and link to one another. The video is very natural looking and show off Chris Brown.
Research of one music video on IMDB
I have decided to research Michael Jackson's music video 'Thriller' on IMDB. The music video was released on the 2nd of December 1983. It is 13 minutes long. IMDB have categorised the music video in the genre's of horror, short and music. The video has been rated 8.3 out of 10 by IMDB users. The director of the music video is John Landis. John Landis along with Michael Jackson are the writers for the music video. The main cast of the music video is Michael Jackson, Ola Ray and Vincent Price (narrator). It was filmed at Rialto Theatre, California, USA. The estimated budget for the music video was $1,100,000. The production team were Optimum Productions. Michael Jackson's thriller had 6,070,000 CD sales around the world.
Research on record labels
Island Records is a record label that was launched by Chris Blackwell and Graeme Goodall in 1959 in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for a very long time and is owned by Universal Music Group. This record label has been very successful as it has branched of to different countries. They have many distributions of the record label in many countries. America have their version of the record label called The Island Def Jam Music Group and Australia have their own called Island Records Australia. There is a huge range of artists signed to this record label as it is one of the oldest. Examples of some successful artists signed to the label are Bob Dylan, Etta James, Janet Jackson and Elton John.
Cash Money Records is a hip hop record label which was launched by two brothers called Bryan 'Birdman' Williams and Ronald 'Slim' Williams in 1991. The main focus for the record label was to help people get out of poverty. For the first few years the record label released music by local artists for example from New Orleans and Louisiana, they also never released any videos. The label was not known much to the rap scene. After receiving a big deal in 1998, the label became powerful in the national hip hop scene. In 2007 the label Lil Wayne became the president of Cash Money Records. He made the label more current and signed variety of new artists. In the modern day Cash Money Records is a very popular label and the artists signed to the label such as Drake, Nicki Minaj, Jay Sean and Tyga are viewed on most of the music channels.
Research on two directors
David Fincher was born in America on 28th August 1962. He is commonly known for being a film and music video director. He had his big break during the 80's/90's as he directed big budget music videos for artists such as Madonna, Paula Abdul, Aerosmith and George Michael. He is known for his having the characters faces blurred. Most of his videos are filmed with low key lighting and have green or blue tints. His videos are also very dramatic and have a lot of sharp transitions between shots.
Madonna 'Express Yourself'
Research on two directors
David Fincher was born in America on 28th August 1962. He is commonly known for being a film and music video director. He had his big break during the 80's/90's as he directed big budget music videos for artists such as Madonna, Paula Abdul, Aerosmith and George Michael. He is known for his having the characters faces blurred. Most of his videos are filmed with low key lighting and have green or blue tints. His videos are also very dramatic and have a lot of sharp transitions between shots.
Madonna 'Express Yourself'
Madonna's Express Yourself is directed by David Fincher. The video won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction in 1989. The music video was inspired by a movie called metropolis. The video had a total budget of $5,000,000. It was one of the most expensive videos of in history at the time it was produced. The video is currently the third most expensive video of all time. The video exploited female sexuality and Madonna's adopted the image of being masculine to show a different side of her. David Fincher has used his typical conventions in this music video. The music video is very dramatic and Madonna is telling the audience a message that women should be dominant and the acting portrays that. Each shot has a sharp transition and is moves on too the next shot at a quick pace.
Colin Tilley
Colin Tilley is a young director. He is American and was born on 27th June 1988. Colin Tilley is an award winning director. He has written and directed music for many current artists for example Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj and Wiz Khalifa. Colin Tilley has won a number of awards, he won video of the year at the BET Awards for Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Know' and best male video at the MTV video music awards for Justin Bieber's video 'You Smile'.
Chris Brown 'Dont Wake Me Up'
Colin Tilley directed the current video by Chris Brown called 'Dont Wake Me Up'. Colin Tilley videos are in high definition and have the use of various special effects. His videos a usually narrative based and the artist's are used to tell a story. He usually gets the the artists to show off their talents in their music videos. Chris Brown looks immaculate in the video and the colours are very sharp. The camera shots are very smooth and link to one another. The video is very natural looking and show off Chris Brown.
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