Research of Music Videos

Purpose

The purpose of a music video is to establish a visual representation of an artist or band, providing an audience with a first impression of them and to existing fans, to fulfil expectations. In short, music videos are a form of promotion to extend the popularity of the artist. Music videos are also made to entertain their audience. By the 1980s, music videos were essential to the promotion of singles.

Development

Pioneering bands in the 60’s such as The Who, The Kinks and the Rolling Stones would film their performances in videos known as ‘promos’ which was an early form of a music video. In Britain, Top of the Pops would not only feature live performances but also the promos of current bands and performers.

The close relationship between music tracks and visual material can be traced back to at least forty years earlier with the experiments of Oscar Fischinger in Germany in the 1920s and in the USA in the 1930s after he fled the Nazis, notably his work on the Disney film, ‘Fantasia’ (1939).
Short films of anything up to eight minutes in duration were used to display the talents of singers mainly as reels on the forerunner of the video jukebox, the Panarom.

The late 60s saw an increase in music films, e.g. Elvis Presley’s ‘Jailhouse Rock’.

In the 80s, expansion of the usage of television meant the rise of MTV, a music channel which oversaw the broadcasting of music videos and held its own version of the Oscars called the Video Music Awards.

In the digital age and the opening up of online promotion, performers have made their music even more accessible not only from downloads but from streaming of music and music videos on sites like YouTube.
New Tech

Panaroms were visual jukeboxes which would show 16mm short films on a reel. The production standards of music videos have increased massively since their promo format. They are now much costlier; involve CGI effects and green screen technology. The filming equipment is now more enhanced and can be shot in High Definition. Today, music videos can be reached via terrestrial channels and through the web. Some musicians have even pioneered combining music videos with online applications, such as google earth which collaborated with Arcade Fire to create a video which showed its audience member satellite images of their local town.