History Medium

While carrying out my research before producing my music video I want to find out background information of the history of music videos and how they first emerged. A music video is seen as a short film integrating a song and imagery it is produced for promotional or artistic purposes. The modern type of music video and primarily made and used for marketing the device intended or song. It is to promote the sale of music recordings, although the origins of music videos date much further back and they first became prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s these works were described by various terms which included illustrated song, film insert, promotional film, promotional clip, song video, film clip.

1902- 1917

The phonoscope was a combined chordophone sound recording with a chronograph film shot that created a sound film. They would record the sound and the singer would lip sing which they then synchronized to create the phonoscope. The first one was presented by Leon Gaumont in 1902 and the first presentation of a phonoscope was presented in Buckingham palace in1907 and the last presentation in 1917. Below is an example of one of the first pronoscene made which shows that basic understanding.

1926- 1959

‘Talkies’ where first introduced in 1926 this made the music industry followed by producing ‘soundies’ these where 3 minute musical films, that where played on visual jukeboxes that showed short films of music. They mostly showed the singer or band on stage they were usually found in restaurants and bars. The majority of the music was jazz musicians. They was produced in New York, Chicago and Hollywood in between the 1940s and 1950s. They often included short dance sequences and soundies covered all music, from classical to big-band and so on. In 1958 the soundies led to the development of the scopitone which featured colour film.
      

1960- 1973

In 1964 a performance clip of the Animals was made House Of The Rising Sun which was a high quality colour clip and filmed in a studio on a specially-built set; with the group lip singing. The Beatles stared in their first feature film in 1964 and in 1965 they stared in their second. In 1965 The Beatles began making promotions clips they videoed 10 black and white promotional videos. Other well-known bands had the strategy.  The colour promotion clips for ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ and ‘Penny Lane’ were made in 1967. Making promo clips where the new range and suddenly all the stars where making them such as, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more.  





1974- 1990s

This was the time music television the long running tv show top of the pops began playing music videos in the late 1970s. Music videos went mainstream when the U.S launched MTV in 1980s the first music video played was ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. In the 1983 the most influential and ironic music video of all time was realised. Which was Michael Jackson’s Thriller, it is almost 13 minutes long and is still very popular today. In 1985 MTV released VH1 featuring softer music that appealed to an older audience. In 1988 hip hop music gained a mass audience because of the launch of yo! MTV raps. MTV began an ear of 24 hour a day music television. In my 1990s MTV allowed the directors name to be shown next to the artist, this allowed directors such as Mark Romanek and Michael Gondry to start their careers. Mark Romanek directed the most expensive music video of all time which was Michael and Janet Jacksons 'Scream' which cost $7 million to produce.  

2005

In 2005 I Tunes made it possible for listing and viewings and downloading full length music videos. 20 days later after this was allowed to happen music video downloads reached 1 million. Also in 2005 YouTube was launched this had an even bigger impact on the music video industry this is because it was easier and quicker for people to access music videos to watch without having to pay for the video to download.

2010

Around the world the views of watching music videos reached 34 billion. In the month of may there was estimated 183 million views.