history of music videos essay. (unfinished)!

Music videos have been around since 1964. The Beatles were the first to make a number of small promotional films in both colour and black & white.  Music videos have increased in length of time, popularity and priceto make, basically because music videos have to please their target audiences more than ever in this day and age. There are particular high standards that need to be met to sell and make a profit on the thousands they shed out to make the video interesting.

In 1965 Bob Dylan’s music video ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ consisted of a man holding cards up showing the lyrics of the song, this shows how dated and limited the resources were in 1965 to make a fantastic music video.  Moving on later into the year in 1983 Michael Jackson released Thriller. It was a short film lasting fourteen minutes and cost 500,000 dollars to make. Considering this, what would 500,000 dollars do for an artist these days? I don’t think in the slightest it would even pay for ten background dancers! These days the codes and conventions of a music video depend on the genre. Take for instance Beyonce’s new single ‘Best thing I ever had’. This music video explores what the general best things in life are and shows this by using marriage as a code, also the party and the man that she loves.  Michael Jackson in his music video/ short film shows the codes and conventions of a horror. His red and black jacket connotes blood and fear, and the dark night is a favourite code of horrors as it adds to the petrifying atmosphere it’s trying to create.  

Moving on, famous bands and artists borrow ideas and reinforce them in their music videos such as the band Oasis does. In one of their music videos they reinforce British social realism. This was introduced to the working class and was unpatronizing. Spike Jones is behind the idea of post modern- borrowing from other styles. British social realism was a style of film making around 1957- 1964. And it still happens today, however just in a more modernised way. Katy Perry for instance in her most recent music video ‘Last Friday night’ adopts the idea of using the style of the 80’s using bright colours for her outfit. Her big crimped hair reinforces the idea as well. The codes and conventions of her ideas make her audience understand what idea she is trying to give off.