Music Video

Brief History

Music Videos are a tool used to promote a certain song and the band or artist that sings it. They have actually been used in this way since around the 1920s. They started off just being just short films to accompany the song; many Jazz musicians from the time, such as Bessie Smith used them in this way. These were the first variations of the music videos that we recognise today. In 1965 Bob Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues as a segment for the film Don't Look Back has also been widely credited as one of the first music videos. 

In the 1970's the record industry realised that TV was a good opportunity to promote artists and they began to start making short promos which were short music videos that would offer as a replacement for an actual live performance. These could have been said to be more developments towards the modern day music video. In 1975 a groundbreaking development for music videos was made with the video for Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. It has said to be the start of the music video era; setting the language of future music videos. It was also one of the first videos to use advanced visual effects in it and, at the time was considered exceptional. 

Over the years music video has developed along with the improvement of technology such as cameras and editing systems. Also the way we have been able to add effects into the video has significantly improved with the innovation of green screen technology. Not only this but we have been able to create them a lot easier

and cheaper (with the use of digital instead of film which is significantly more expensive), and they can still look very effective even without special effects. Using this we have been able to make more and more creative music videos and by mid 1980s releasing a music video along with your single was standard procedure. By the 1990s there were a number of technical codes that become common to follow. Some of these include; fast paced montage with quick cuts, some images hard to see ensuring multiple viewings, effects like split screen and non representative techniques where the artist appeared in the video less often became popular. 

Goodwin's Analysis:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g stage performer in rock video, dance routine in pop)

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

3. there is a relationship between music and visuals

4. the demands of the record label with include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)

5. there is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screen, telephones etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc)

Analysis of a Music Video applying Goodwin:

Tenacious D - Tribute

Already in the music video Goodwin's theory can be applied. The notion of looking can be applied when a shot of the karaoke screen is shown. Also the fact that the band are shown performing in the recording studio is another part of his theory. As the genre of music is rock, this is to be expected as it is a genre characteristic; which are often demonstrated in music videos.  

"we was hitchhikin' down a long and lonesome road." When this lyric is sung it corresponds to the visuals as the two members of the band are shown walking down a long road. This is another Goodwin theory; that the lyrics often correspond to the visuals. This is again shown when the lyric "All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon... in the middle... of the road." is sung it corresponds to what is going on on screen. 

Another common feature of rock music videos is that the band are shown actually playing their instruments which is evident in this music video many times, with one of the member with his acoustic guitar and later on in the video the Devil is shown with an electric guitar when there is an electric guitar solo bit in the song.

Another evident Goodwin feature is the use of close ups of the artist. We are shown quite close up shots of the two in the recording studio often throughout the video to get us used to their appearance and know that they are the band. Other close ups are used throughout in other parts too just to kept us familiar with them