Music Video An audio-visual feast

Think about this... When watching a music video, what has more identity? The song, or the video?

What does this mean to you? But what is a “Nickelodeon?”

Nickelodeon “Nickel” for the currency “Odeion” greek for “roofed-over theater Popular from Popularized the idea of matching sound with imagery

Early On Started in 1894 with a musical slideshow referred to then as an “illustrated song” Talkies became big in the late 1920’s Cartoons were the most common form of media paired with sound/music

An Early Art Form... The invention of the Scopitone in France in the late 1950’s helped promote music, and consisted of videos made by local artists.

...Which lead to Cinema Popular musicians used the medium to their advantag e to promote album sales

Promotional Clips Defined careers for big acts: The Beatles The Rolling Stones The Who Bob Dylan David Bowie There was still no means to showcase this material nationally or globally...yet

Music Television Hee Haw (1973) - USA Countdown and Sounds (1974) - Australia Top of the Pops (1979) - UK Video Concert Hall (1979) - USA MTV (1981) - USA

MTV MTV was a 24 hour music television network

August 1st 1981, 12:01am “Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll.”

A new playing field... Video’s were cheaper to make and produce, sometimes costing on a few hundred dollars. Smaller musicians and bands could become recognized nationally Helped the record industry grow exponentially Growth continued for several years until...

Michael Jackson Took Over the World The music video for “Thriller” raised the stakes for what could be done creatively within the spectrum of a music video Most expensive music video at the time at$1,000,000

Thriller

Culture Culture became accustomed to a new style Attitude, style, and physical appearance were more important than ever Music video’s helped build a following Creativity was more important than ever Led to the birth of mainstream experimental video

Avant-Guard Avant-Guard: An innovative or experimental style of art work (cinema, performance, etc.) that push the boundaries of the norm or status quo. Video allowed for more creative expression Low financial cost meant more accessibility “What if we did this...”

Avant-Guard

Hands?

Narrative Think of stories in terms of “capsules” of a life of a person of an event Follows the same story narrative structure Exposition, inciting incident, conflict, climax, resolution Can still have a creative style

Creative Narrative

Abstract Narrative

Production Side Nobody said simple isn’t effective Still needs to have a style, feel and tone Should reflect not only the style of music, but also the attitude of the band/artist

A Classic

Simple yet effective

For Your Consideration Pushing the boundaries of expectations and norms is a good thing Don’t be afraid to tell a story Build an idea that fits the tone of the song Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best

The Sky is the Limit