History of Music Videos

Music History.

In the past music videos were called promotional films, e.g. ‘films of gigs’. However in the 1980’s MTV showed how important music videos were, the first ever music video to be showed on MTV was the Buggles (video killed the radio star). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs In the late 1970’s ‘top of the pops’ started playing but had a limitation on how many they could show, in favor of having the band in the studio. However in the 1980’s a number one hit was David Bowie ‘ashes to ashes’ (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t7dVsBDrJ8&feature=fvst) featuring a Pierrot Clown, also used in the 2008-2010 hybrid Sci Fi/ Police Procedural Crime Drama series of the same name.

Although Michael Jackson took the music videos to a new territory, with a song called ‘thriller’, which a 14 minutes long but costed £500,000, one of the most expensive music videos of all time. However Jackson influenced more black artist to perform and MTV to give those artists more airtime on TV. In 1992 MTV started to list the directors to give music video their own style and recognizable of genre categories.

Convergence (the variety of technology that sells the audience products) is now significant, by the 2000s MTV and many other channels that are similar, started to show chart/pop music in terms of focusing on Genre. There was a major development in the music industry on how music videos are marketed, YouTube was created for the use that music videos can be marketed viral.  In 2010 artists Lady Gaga’s music video ‘bad romance’ became the most publicly viewed video on YouTube that year. Also now apple has evolved, distribution of music is much easier as iTunes was created, for easy accessibility for apple products to access the latest tunes. Music videos are part of an overall marketing strategy but have grown in popularity as a media form and can now be seen as a genre with its own sub-genre

Music videos use a range of film making techniques including animations, live action, documentary style, alternative/non narrative approaches and standard film narrative, often employing a 3 act narrative structure. The words ‘3 minute culture’ have been used to describe the music video and they can be analysed like any moving image media by semiotically deconstructing the technical and symbolic codes revealing narrative codes and structure, genre and sub-genre, hybridity and intertextuality , issues of representation and industry areas of study like convergence synergy and ownership.

Lyric Analysis

     'So Big'

Iyaz

Well you done know it's ya boy I-Y-A-Z, alongside the man JR IYAZ

[Chorus:]
Now I wanna do it up (SO BIG)
Party it up (SO BIG)
Spend it up (SO BIG)
So the whole world knows my love for you is (SO BIG)
My heart is (SO BIG)
My love is (SO BIG)
For you, for you, for you.

[Verse 1:]
Now with a girl like you,
Nothing you can do
But give the whole world to her 24-7.
When she lookin so sweet that kind of body,
You do man spending all of your time, time, time.
And it's not that you're asking me for nothing,
I just wanna show you how deep my love is.

[Pre-Chorus:]
Cause with them girls before I wasn't feeling so gone,
But with you girl I'm losing control oh.

[Chorus:]
Now I wanna do it up (SO BIG)
Party it up (SO BIG)
Spend it up (SO BIG)
So the whole world knows my love for you is (SO BIG)
My heart is (SO BIG)
My love is (SO BIG)
For you, for you, for you.

[Verse 2:]
Now with a girl like you,
I don't care who passes my way,
Rihanna or Beyonce.
Girl holla at me it doesn't mean I think cause,
Nothing compares to the joy you bring.

[Pre-Chorus:]
So them other girls can go, they don't make me feel so, good.
Cause with you girl I'm losing control oh.

[Chorus:]
Now I wanna do it up (SO BIG)
Party it up (SO BIG)
Spend it up (SO BIG)
So the whole world knows my love for you is (SO BIG)
My heart is (SO BIG)
My love is (SO BIG)
For you, for you, for you.

[Bridge:]
I wanna do it (SO BIG),
cause girl we are (SO BIG),
Let's pop them bottles (SO BIG),
like superstars (SO BIG).
We taken over (SO BIG),
we got that love (SO BIG),
Let's make it global (SO BIG),
let's blow it up (SO BIG).
Ooooooh, Oooooh Oh Oh Oh Com'on

[Pre-Chorus:]
If this is real love, then that ain't enough (no) before,
She got your boy doin crazy things that I never thought I'd ever do, no.

[Chorus:]
Now I wanna do it up (SO BIG)
Party it up (SO BIG)
Spend it up (SO BIG)
So the whole world knows my love for you is (SO BIG)
My heart is (SO BIG)
My love is (SO BIG)
For you, for you, for you.
My heart is for you, for you, for you,
My love is for you, for you, for you.
My heart is for you, for you, for you,
My love is for you, for you, for you.

Genre

Narrative

Narrative

Tim O' Sullivan

This theorists believes that all media text tell some kind of story. Usually all the media text tell a story but not usually about our personal lives but just a general reality story. Its more about culture or a set of cultures. Culture is based on what the media presents to us as an audience, such as, television. The narrative theory is all about, how a set of constructions are put together to create a music video through conventions.

3 important words………

Narrative- how the story is structured in the product.

Diegesis – where the story takes place (location) and the timing of the story and how it progresses.

Verisimilitude – this is based upon, if the narrative comes across to the audience as real or true, therefore, allowing us to believe what is happening to keep the audience engaged and having some kind of reference to reality. So ensuring it has the diegetic effect and follows the rules of verisimilitude;

• Continuity
• Temporal
• Special coherence

Bordwell and Thompson.

They talk about story, but never really come up with an indefinite narrative theory. However did believe that narrative structures is based on two distinctions between story and plot which the audience can see happen within the product. This theory is based on the Russian film theory.

Story (Fabula) - the events that occur to make the narrative and how we interpret it. Fabula is a series of events that are represented or implied.

Plot (Syuzhet) – literally everything that is presented to the audience, therefore, visible and audible. Syuzhet is basically the way they order and present the product/ narrative(beginning, middle and end).

Pam cook

This theorist is about the cause and effect of the narrative leading to the end of an enigma resolution which is the original Hollywood style of narrative structure. At the end of the product it should have a high degree of closure, for the purpose of the audience to want more from this style of narrative again; in future reference.

Todorov

1. The narrative starts with an equilibrium where everything is calm and normal.
2. Then progressives with a disruption to the story which creates a disequilibrium.
3. Disruption has taken place.
4. Re-create equilibrium.
5. Restore of a new state of equilibrium however the original narrative and characters change to the final state of equilibrium from initial state.

Sven Carlson – 3 areas of narrative structure

Carlson argues that music videos fall under 3 areas, performance, narrative and conceptual.

1. Performance – a music video that includes an artist signing and dancing, this is defined as a performance clip. It is a performance if it includes majority of vocals and different location settings. Commonly is recorded in studio room or rehearsal rooms but the performance can take place anyway from the streets to performing mid air. If we were to stereotypes different music videos then rapping would be on the streets, which is cliche and commonly used in music videos. The performance can be divided into three different areas; song performance and instrumental performance, however these can be both used in a music video.
2. Narrative-A narrative clip contains a visual story that is easy to follow. A pure narrative clip contains no lip-synchronized singing.
3. art- if the music video contains no narrative visual structure or no lip syncing then the music video is pure art. The main difference between a music video art clip and a contemporary artistic video is the music. While the music video uses popular music the artistic video uses more modern, experimental music, such as electro-acoustic music.

Carlson developed a mythical method of analysis of music video - centered on a "modern mythic embodiment". Viewed from this perspective the music video artist is seen as embodying one, or a combination of "modern mythic characters or forces" of which there are three general. The music video artist is representing different aspects of the free floating disparate universe of music video.


Overall example;
Tim; O Sullivan theory applied to rihanna 'rude boy', simply because all the typical codes and conventions of this music video is to create a characteristic profile for her fan based audience. The producer does this to make cultural references to society and to create a narrative/ message behind it. Such as rihanna allowing her body to be on display but showing her power over the boys.

Audience