Music Video Notes

Music videos are a marketing device used by record company's.
The aim is to make sales, music videos have been mainstream since the 80's. it could be argued that The Beatles contributed to 'the music videos'. The film 'A Hard Days Night' contains sings with The Beatles and some narrative involved. Therefore it was a music sequence rather than a video. In 1965 The Beatles began to produce film inserts.
Other bands began to follow suit.
The Beatles lead the way with 'Strawberry Fields Forever' and 'Penny Lane', both songs were directed by Peter Goldman and they were described as avaguard. They use slow motion and fantasy camera work, and through experiment action they were more sophisticated than previous video sequences. In the 1980's the music videos became mainstream with the launch of MTV in 1981, with the first song been called 'Video Killed The Radio Star'. Music videos became standard practise for bands and artists as they could be cheaply produced with high tech equipment and effects, such as Chromakey.

Sensorship
Products need to be sensored, music videos are regulated by the BBFC (british board of film classification)
Music videos are mini films which is why the film board regulates them. Sensorship must be considered when making a music video. In 1991 Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' video was sensored as Michael was said to inappropriatly touch himself. Other videos have also been sensored, for example 'Prodidgy- Smack My Bitch Up' and 'Robbie Williams- Rock DJ'.

Music Theory
Some would argue that music videos have made pop superficially based on image. Are pop songs enough on their own to make meaning and pleasure to their audience.
'A good music video is a clip that respondes to the pleasure of music, in which that the music is made visual, either in new ways or in a way that accentuates existing visual assosiations.' - Andrew Goodwin 1992.

1.) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics such as dance routines, normally shown in boy/girl group videos.

2.) The relationship between lyrics and visuals is either contradicted or illustrates the lyrics.

3.) The relationship between the music and visuals will either illustrate, amplify or contradict what is happening on screen.

4.) The demands of the record lable will include lots of close ups of the artist(s). Artist(s) may develop motifs which reoccur across the style or video.

5.) Frequent reference to the notion of looking viarism of the female body.

6.) Intertectual References.