The History/origins of the Music Video

Queens Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975 has said to have been one of the most influential music videos of all time, although many different things before this might have influenced the modern popular music videos these could have been;

• Busby Berkly
• Walt Disney
• Sergei Einstein
• Youth culture revolution
• Rock and roll films

One of the reasons Bohemian Rhapsody is so regularly recognised as definitive for the newer popular music videos is because it exemplifies the grammar of popular videos. The key feature of popular music video is that the moving images is edited to be in time with the music. Subsequently the produce of Walt Disney, Sergei Eisenstein and Busby Berkly are key landmarks in the advancement of the modern music video. Although to consider the video directed by Bruce Gower for Queen as the first ever music video is incorrect.

During the 1940's the Panorama Soundie jukebox played clips of films over popular songs as the 1950s rock & roll films introduced audiences to the idea of band proformances. Though it started life as a B-movie, Rock Around the Clock, which starred Bill Haley, was one of the biggest hits of 1956. The film is composed mainly of band performances by Haley, The Platters, Alan Freed and Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys. As it is difficult to pick out one single factor in the transformations that took place in youth culture at the end of the 1950s, the reason for the spread of popular music television in the period were as complex as they were dynamic. To say that since the advent of the popular music chart it would seem that increasingly the lifestyle choices of the wealthy demographic of baby boom consumers was fixed around the purchase of highly influential popular music products. Music in television like American Bandstand in the US, Top of Pops in the UK and Beat Club in Europe were central factors in the developing youth culture revolution.

The thrust of the youth movement within the 1960s can be drawn in the transformation of fasion codes and conventions from the fastidious tailoring of the Beatles suit to the long haired revolt of the hippy era. From the Beatles earliest inception, yet, popular music television defined the forms and conventions of the usual music video which consisted of carefully choreographed dances/performances, synchronised to the studio recording of that individual track; close up shots, taken from high and low angles, then edited in time with the music. While the BBC courteously provided their own dance crew when an artist was unable to perform on the show, such was the influence on record sales that by the late 1960s record companies were airing big name stars to create short films to coincide with single releases when promotional duties over-seas would otherwise prevent them from supporting the release with a television performance. However, while the Beatles track Strawberry Fields and Procol Harum’s Whiter Shade of Pale are both examples of early music videos, the reason Bohemian Rhapsody is so revered is that the visuals are structured so precisely around the alignment of the song.

Micheal Jackson's Thriller Analysis

I watched the infamous Michael Jackson music video ‘Thriller’ I researched the video in detail and took notes to use for the analysis.

The Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ music video was published in 1982 by Epic records. The genre is pop/RnB/Funk. The video won 8 Grammy awards. 

The music video is different to a normal music video in many ways. The video is set out like a film and is 15 minutes long. This is unlike a normal music video which does not last this long and instead, usually lasts about 3 minutes. They do not usually this long because the audiences' attention would usually drift. Artists such as Michael Jackson are able to do this because of their name and their audience trusts them so much to entertain them and keep their attention. 

The thriller video was so popular when it was released that it would be played on mainstream music channels and radio stations more than 3 times an hour due to high demand. The video was made with a budget of about $500,000 and made about 9 million units in profit.

The video goes against the stereo typical features of the pop genre. The video keep more towards a stereotypical horror video. The scenery is very dark, the characters are creepy monsters and ghools and there are even some jumpy scenes at the beggining of the video which is very stereotypical of a horror video.

Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

In terms of audience, Kings of Leon's video 'Use Somebody' has many fandom opportunities in which the fans can experience behind the scenes actions such as unseen footage of the band backstage and laughing and joking. Through the video, the audience can develop a personal empathetic relationship with the band through the close up's of the lead singer and his sad lyrics the target audience feel they can relate to. The target audience of Kings of Leon would be young adults, who have been through similar situations to the band members themselves, therefore identifying personally with the experiences the lyrics speak of.

    

In terms of narrative 'Use Somebody' tells the story of how lonesome travelling alone can be on the road without someone to love you. It shows the hustle and bustle of busy life as a performer, and how the lead singer could 'use somebody' to be with. Tracking shots showing traffic- giving connotations of travel and movement- and tracking aerial shots showing cities from a birds eye view being juxtaposed with close ups of the singer singing to the camera provide the binary opposities of the busy life of travel with the calm stillness of lonliness.

The video of 'Use Somebody' is placed within the rock genre which shows the busy life of being on tour and the 'rock and roll jet set' lifestyle. I know the genre of this song is rock as it features a full band which includes guitars, drums and male vocals (typical of a rock band).

    

The video clearly shows a representation of a rock genre. It includes leather and dark clothing which is stereotypical of rock bands as is the dark lighting, this is to try to show the audience that touring is not very nice and not as glamorous as it seems.

The mise-en-scene of this video shows the band in New York and shows the skylines of the city, it also shows them lying around and look exhausted from the hectic lifestyle of touring. The music video involves a lot of short jumpy clips, cutting from one to another. This editing technique reflects that fast 'on tour' lifestyle.

The video mainly focuses on the band and in particular the lead singer, when the band is backstage it mostly shows all of them together hanging around and what not. This shows the band are close and are still happy together even though touring away from family and home is tough.

R. Kelly feat. Usher - Same Girl Analysis

R. Kelly feat Usher – Same Girl Audience

Target Audience

The target audience for this music video is likely to be males who have also identified the ‘issue’ of being two-timed by a woman and who might aspire to live the lifestyle of Usher and R. Kelly. Followers of Usher and R. Kelly would be excited about the fact that the two stars are in one song together and also being able to see the kind of lifestyles that they live, There is an opportunity to develop and understand personal relationships between the artists. Woman and girls might also be attracted to the romantic declarations of the artists, and identify with the woman in the video and the idea of being a ‘potential wife’.

Narrative

The narrative begins with the equilibrium of establishing how busy their lifestyles are (and how successful they are). The narrative continues into a phone call between R. Kelly and Usher, where they discuss a girl they have both recently met who is described as everything a man could imagine in a girl. As the narrative progresses, the disruption emerges of the gradual revelation that they are talking about the ‘same girl’ and the conversation continues in a car and in a fancy house, which has a basketball court; this shows the success of the artists. They plan on tricking the woman to meet them at a restaurant at the same time, where they discover they are actually identical twins and the equilibrium is restored.

Genre

The genre this song would fit into would be R&B. There are many things in the video that tell us this. Firstly the iconography of R&B such as the bling, fast cars, cigars, money and clothing. There is also some stereotypical language in the song, words such as ‘homie’, ‘crib’, ‘dawg’ and these are typical for R&B. The acting of the artists in the video is also associated with African American music and R&B culture which involves lots of hand gestures and pointing at the camera.

Representation

The video/song has an unusual theme for R&B, as it shows a woman playing two men where it is usually the other way around. In the video we see two men being betrayed, but rather than have a dispute over it, they use thier friendship bond to get back at the girl in a role-reversal. There is a lot here that is stereotypical, however male R&B artists tend to be associated with extravagant displays of wealth and luxury which is also shown in this video, with expensive cars, basketball courts, jewellery and luxurious houses. Another thing i noticed about R&B videos is that woman are usually represented as sex objects, however in this video she has some power over both men. Her outfits throughout the video are revealing and exaggerate her sexuality, and the colour black associates her with danger and mystery.

Institutions

Analysis