Music Videos

60’S – Johnny Cash: Ring of Fire

This video is very much what I think as the start of music promo’s. the video is very simple with a use of only a few shots, mainly all of Johnny Cash singing the song, this is because in early videos, they wanted to really give off the look of the band or artist playing and wanted you to be able to put a face to a name next time you would hear it. The setting is done on a stage, this was typical as the videos were in the 60’s, usually done with a gig type set up to give off the look of popularity and interest.

70’s - David Bowie: Space Oddity

David Bowie really pushed the boundary on what was achievable within a music promo, he started off a trend of paying hundreds for a music video to be made and for it to be as good as it can be, he also added his own style and made his video so it wasn’t a live performance, I like this video as it it very trippy and unusual and really highlights his characteristics within a video, the detail is there and the complexity of the video helps to emphasis its effect.

 

80’s – Michael Jackson: Thriller

This is an extremely famous video and will be for many years as it was the first music video that was made with certain things such as a cast, dance routine, make up, real effects such as smoke and also it was made in a movie like style. Michael Jackson paid around $500,00 for this to be made and really made people want to try and give it their all to make a professional and rememberable video. This was also one of the first videos in which there were no instruments being played, it was just him singing, he also flipped the conventional music video of the time on its head when making a music video which contained all story line.

 

90’s – Daft Punk: Da Funk

After a few years of music videos that contained storylines that link in with the music being played and the lyrics being sun, Daft Punk went with a complete different approach, in their music video for Da Funk, there is no meaning at all behind the things that happen, people have tried to interperate it in many different ways, but it is literally meaningless. They also didn’t have anyone singing the song at all, they just had their track playing through a boom box in which the character is holding throughout, I like this video because it works well with the type of music it is, the fact that’s its very techno and edgy and the video is very stylistic of them and is very different to what everyone is used to hearing and seeing.

 

2000’s – While She Sleeps: Seven Hills

In my opinion, I believe this is one of the best music videos I have ever watched, it has taken the aspects of what make music videos great and has made them even more deep, such as the storyline, although there isn’t a storyline as such running through, the video is about the band moving on and becoming bigger, it says at the start that the gig is in memory of basically their past, which gives a much deeper and enhanced meaning, the shots are fast paced and really suit the style of music and the environment it is set and the shots are mainly mid-shots or close ups, giving a real sense of emotion and intensity. They, much like the videos previous has set up a live gig type setting, this is to give of the sense of popularity, however, they are not on a stage, they are in with the crowd, giving you the sense that they don’t see themselves as big and just do it because they love it and enjoy the atmosphere that comes with their music being played.