Music Videos.

Music videos are a marketing device used by recording companies. The aim is to make the song popular and create record sales. Music videos have been mainstream since the 80's but have existed alot longer. It could be argued that The Beatles contributed to 'the music video' as in 1964 the film 'A hard days night' contains songs from The Beatles and narrative was attempted, therefore it became a music sequence rather than music video.
In 1965 The Beatles began to produce film inserts as a promotional tool and other bands began to follow suite. The Beatles led the way with 'Strawberry fields forever' and 'Penny Lane' directed by Peter Goldman and were described as "Avant-garde" meaning experimental but sophisticated, this was achieved by the use of slow motion and other effects that hadn't been experimented with before this.
In the 1980's the launch of MTV meant that music videos became more commercial than ever, the first music video that aired on the channel was "video killed the radio star". Music videos became a standard practise for bands, as they could be cheaply produced using high - tech equipment such as the chroma key.

Censorship.
Products need to be censored, Music Videos are regulated by the BBFC, they are mini films hence why they are regulated by a film board.
Censorship must be considered when making a music video. In 1991 Michael Jacksons 'Black or White video' was censored as Michael was said to innapropriately touch himself. Other videos that have been censored include 'Smack My Bitch Up'-The Prodigy and 'Rock DJ'-Robbie Williams.

Music Theory.
Some would argue that music videos have made Pop music superficially based on image. Are Pop songs enough on their own to give meaning and pleasure for the audience?

"Good music videos, are clips that respond to the pleasure of music, in which the music is made visual, either in new ways or in a way that accentuates assisting associations" - Andy Woodwin 1992

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics such as dance routines (mainly girl and boy bands).
The relationship between lyrics and visuals either contradict or illustrate the lyrics of the song.
The relationship between music and visuals will either illustrate , amplify or contradict what is happening on screen.
The demands of the record label will include, close up shots of the artist (s), artist (s) may develop motifs which reoccur across the style and the duration of the video.
There is often frequent references to the motion of looking/ voyeurism of the female/male body.
There are often also Inter textual references.



Questions.

What is the basic function/purpose of a music video?
Music videos are used as a promotional tool, record companies use them to help increase the sales of the song and to make it popular. They are also used to help produce sufficient meaning and pleasure of the song using the video to define the meaning of the lyrics.

When were the first music videos produced?
1965 when The Beatles released "Hard days night", the public saw on of the earliest forms of a musical sequence, during the 80's music videos became more popular and by 81 at the birth of MTV, music videos were at their commercial peak.

How were music videos commissioned?
Most record companies employ somebody whose task it is to comission videos. The video departments of companies will be in contact with AR men who will be in contact with record companies. The record companies report back about a specific band's record sales and overall popularity and later when deciding on a budget for the band's music video, all of this information will be taken into consideration. The record company will pay the fees the music video will cost, but the band will pay it by from their advance or future loyalties.

How much time does a music video take to make?
A music video rarely takes more than 2 weeks to make.

According to Andrew Goodwin, what are the three different ways in which the visuals in a video can relate to the lyrics of a song?
- By the video illustrating the meaning of the lyrics through visualisation by providing an, often, over literal set of images.
- Amplification of visuals making the director the artist, as he/she then develops and enhances the ideas to make the message in the lyrics clearer.
- Disjuncture is a way of completely contradicting the lyrics by using visuals and imagery that may be unrelated or something to opposite to what the lyrics may convey.
What is a music video treatment or pitch?
Treatment or concept outlines what the video will entail/show conceptually. Not only this, but the treatment covers location, situation, stories, images, look and feel, colour, the videos pace and many more important factors that need to be considered when planning to shoot a music video.

What are some of the things to avoid when making a student video?
- Not being prepared (not planning), planning what your going to deliver is important to get clear, good quality results.
- Being un-researched, researching music video conventions, and the video conventions that go with different genres of music is important, e.g:If you were to use a rock song, you'd show musicianship & energetic performance not dance routines.