History of Music Videos

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music/song. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Music videos use a wide range of styles of film making techniques, including animation, live action filming, documentaries, and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. In many of the music videos I analysed from the Indie genre, the videos included non-narrative approaches, for example Ellie Goulding's music video does not tell a story instead gives the audience various random ideas and images. On the other hand, although the music videos I studied did not include various aspects such as animation or live action filming, here is an example of an animated music video:

Here are some images I have retrieved from the music video 'deltron zero' by the rock band the 'Gorillaz'. The reasoning for the band wanting to use animated music videos is because they wanted to create them depicting a 'virtual band' of comic book characters.

Some music videos blend different styles, such as animation and live action. The main purpose of music videos are to act as a marketing device in order to allow the audiences to discover out more about the artist and the song, which then boosts the sale of the artist and their records.

Music videos really started to become popular during the 1980's when MTV was first introduced and proved to be a phenomenon. MTV had a profound impact on the music industry and popular culture. MTV has also been referenced countless times in popular culture by musicians, other TV channels and shows, films, and books. The first music video shown on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles. MTV was shown on TV 24 hours a day, music videos had now become the most vital part in an artists career, allowing them to present themselves in a certain way that was gain them popularity and a boom in their record sales in particular. MTV would soon spawn numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally, as it started a new era of music videos.

As music videos were becoming more and more popular there was a sudden demand for directors. Directors such as Michel Gondry,Spike Jonze, Mark Romanek and Hype Williams all got their start around this time; all brought a unique vision and style to the videos they directed. Some of these directors, including, Gondry, Jonze and F. Gary Gray, went on to direct feature films. These were the people that now had the control of these music videos.

A more recent director is Tom Beard, who has directed many music videos for the band 'Florence and the Machine'. The videos he has worked on has proved to be a huge success, directing the bands music videos for 'Got the love', 'Cosmic Love' and 'Dog days are over'. Most of these music videos have been concept based and performance. I believe these music videos have been such a success due their uniqueness and the way they stand out amongst other music videos, with the use of funky props and unusual locations. On the 3rd of August 2010 'Dog days are over' was nominated for the Music Video of the Year.

However, nowadays instead of the directors being solely in charge of these music videos record labels and even the artists themselves will have a lot of say in the development of music videos. A record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protection of sound recordings and music videos; conducts talent scouting and development of new artists and maintains contracts with recording artists and their managers. Artists nowadays will also be allowed to have a lot of say in the way in which they would like to present themselves to their audiences.

An example of a new technology that has impacted on the relevance and importance of music videos is Youtube. Youtube allows audiences to access not only music videos but tons and tons of footage in seconds, and televisions no longer are seen to be the main source of music videos. YouTube has made it possible for anyone with an Internet connection to post a video that a worldwide audience could watch within a few minutes. Therefore, Youtube has the potential to reach a wide audience and therefore this is an advantage for many artists, allowing their music videos to be viewed easily, which will then not only increase the popularity of the artist themselves but may also increase the number of records the artist has sold.

An example to show how popular Youtube is nowdays when listening to and watching music videos is to show you the viewing figures of some of the videos I researched from the Indie genre.

Ellie Goulding's music video for 'Guns and Horses' had a massive 1,365,543 views. Along with Florence and the Machine who had 3,807,504 views.

However, it is not only signed or established artists that are focusing on music videos but it is also amateur artists who can you technologies such as Apple Macs to create their very own music videos. 'Channel AKA', formally know as 'Channel U' allows these amateur artists to show their work to audiences on the television. This has therefore boosted these artists popularity and many of these artists have now become extremely successful and talented music artists because of this new and improved technology. An example of this can be shown with the band 'N Dubz', who got major publicity simply from showing their music videos from 'Channel U', and are now an award winning band.

Target Audience

Target Audiences Questions

What genre does your chosen song fall into?

Who typically buys this genre? How do you know?

I conducted a survey and found the following:

In this survey I asked 50 people of different ages and races what music they preferred listening to. From my research I found that 19 of the people I surveyed preferred the Indie/Rock genre, and all of these people were of a white race and aged from 17-29. Therefore, suggesting that the majority of people listening to Indie music are in fact young and white.

Another way of researching the Indie target audience was by looking at comments on Youtube.

On Youtube I went onto a song of a band by the name of 'The Arctic Monkeys', a typical Indie/Rock band. I looked for various positive comments from different people in order to discover what kind of people were using Youtube to listen to this band.

luno94k:A nice and wonderful sound, I like it.1 week ago

18 years old

This shows a positive comment of the song, as the person uses the terms 'wonderful sound'. When clicking on this particular persons Youtube profile I found that they were yet again a young, white boy. On Youtube I also found out various other statistics on target audiences for specific Indie Music music videos. For example I looked up the viewing statistics for a typical Indie artist called Jack Penate and another artist by the name of Kate Nash. Here is what I found:

These statistics back up the evidence I collected on the age of my target audience. Above there is a heading entitled 'This video is most popular with' and underneath this heading the age group that the music videos appear to be most popular with is the 17 to 24 years old, as I had previously stated.

Along with this, I researched images on Google, entitled 'Indie Music Audience' and here were a few images that I came across, backing up the research I did stating that Indie music is mainly associated with white, young audiences a lot of the time.

However, a lot of thee Indie music listeners do not buy the music they listen to, instead they will download it illegally.

The first graph shows how age is a factor in whether respondents download illegally or not. The age group that is shown on the graph to be most active in illegal downloading are the 18-24 age group, followed by the 14-17 age group and the least being the 25+ age group. The graph below that shows that 63% of the people downloading music online are actually downloading it illegally, whereas only 37% of people are paying to download the music they listen to. Along with this, the graph highlights the fact that Indie listeners do come across as rebellious and breaking against rules, it also shows how Indie listeners are mainly of a younger audience downloading music illegally as they may not have the money to afford to buy the records.

Likes and Dislikes of the Indie Target Audience:

It is clear that the Indie target audience expect certain things in terms of the music they listen to, the bands they go and see, and the music videos they watch.

As mentioned previously, the style they reflect on is certainly individualistic and unique in its own way. They are seen to be 'different' with their vintage inspired clothing and their wacky hairstyles. A few examples could be given when looking at certain Indie bands.

Above are three indie artists and bands, 'The White Stripes', 'Kate Nash' and 'Shiny Toy Guns'. From observing these pictures you can see that each band or artist has a very unique look to them which generally distinguishes them as an indie band or artist. The girl from the band 'The White Stripes' is wearing a long white lace dress and black net gloves, showing off the vintage look, as is the indie artist 'Kate Nash' who is wearing a flowery vintage looking dress with green tights. The American indie band 'Shiny Toy Guns' also have their own unique style, but three of the band members are also showing off their tattoos, which appears to be quite common in indie and rock bands. Mostly all of these musicians hairstyles are wacky and unusual in their own way, the men having long hair, some of them with cut into different lengths. The trend for women seem to be the fringes, and one of the women has different colours in her hair.

Images from the newspaper theguardian.co.uk

Something else that appears popular with my target audience is festivals and gigs such as Glastonbury and Reading. As you can see from the pictures above the people in the audience of these festivals and gigs are predominately white and of a younger age group. Not all people who go to major festivals such as Glastonbury and reading are into Indie, Rock or alternative music, however the majority tend to be. On the Reading website I was able to read a little into the history of Reading festival in particular. They explain how the festival became popular when audio was in its 'rock n roll infancy'; before the invention of music as we know it today and the time when the festival laid down its roots as the UK's premier indie festival. Along with this, the 'Jay Z' controversy at Glastonbury festival backs up the point that many still consider these events to be mainly for the rock and indie genre. Many acted negatively to the hip hop rapper 'Jay Z' headlining at the Glastonbury festival in 2008, claiming he 'didn't suit Glastonbury at all'. Looking at these festivals shows how young indie listeners do tend to come across as mischievous and rule breaking. Festivals, especially Glastonbury and Reading are known for young people camping over night and also many drug related stories which seem to be the trend throughout the years. However, it is clear that many of these people see these festivals as uniting and bonding people together by music.

The final way in which we gathered information on our target audience was by allowing 15 boys and girls from the ages of 17-24, to have a discussion with us about what they expected from an Indie video. Here is what a few of them said:

'I like the way in which Indie videos appear 'different' from other videos, they have something extremly unique about them'. - Female 18

'For me its the style of the artist that makes an Indie music video, for example Florence and the Machine for me is unusual yet fascinating with the vintage clothing she wears'. - Male 20

'My favourite thing about Indie videos is that they use concept ideas and most of the time you do not understand exactly what is happening, and this makes you want to find out more'. - Male 22

'I love watching the performance parts within a music video, for me festivals are amazing and the music videos I tend to like are usually based around the band or artist performing their song at a gig or festival to a large audience'. - Female 19

Does the song lyrics meet the needs and desires of your target audience?

I am so sure you left me to dry with these roses,

that you gave me before you went on a plane.

Oh you went to Chicago to be with the girl you don't know,

and left me in St. Paul to be with the ghost in our home.

OH OH OH, OH OH OH, OH OH OH.

I am so sure guys just like you are the same,

as I walk down the streets everything just reminds me,

that you went to Chicago to be with the girl you don't know,

and left me in St.Paul to be with the ghost in our home.

OH OH OH, OH OH OH, OH OH OH.

But Jamie won't you please, Jamie won't you please come home,

But Jamie won't you please, Jamie won't you please come home.

OH OH OH, OH OH OH, OH OH OH.

I've kept all these photos, I keep all these photos of us,

I've kept all these photos, I keep all these photos of us.

But you went to Chicago to be with the girl you don't know,

and left me in St.Paul to be with the ghost in our home.

OH OH OH, OH OH OH, OH OH OH.

Jamie won't you please come home,

Jamie won't you please come home,

Jamie won't you please come home.

In a way these lyrics meet the needs and desires of the our target audience as the story within the song is quite unusual as we do not know exactly who this 'Jamie' person was, or what relationship this girl had with this person. The lyrics 'you went on a plane...' and 'oh you went to Chicago', may relate to the target audience as there is an issue of travelling which works well with the point that a lot of our target audience will be free spirited and rebellious in their ways. The song also creates a sense of mysteriousness, especially when the girl starts to sing about the ghost in her home. As I discovered from research our target audience also tend to enjoy being unique and 'different', therefore this is another example of how the lyrics in this song responds to the needs and desires of our target audience. The words 'to be with the girl you don't know', highlights the fact that the person this girl is singing about seems to be quite unconventional and eccentric, going to another place for somebody he doesn't even know. Again this will meet the needs and desires of our target audience as this also shows someone being individualistic and someone who likes to take risks. Lastly, this will appeal to our target audience as from research we found that our target audience is of a younger age (17-29), and therefore the song which appears to be some kind of love story may attract audiences, especially girls.

How would a concept/narrative/performance video meet the needs of this audience?

I believe that for this particular song a narrative and performance music video would meet the needs of our target audience for the same reasons the lyrics in this song would meet the needs and desires of our target audience. The idea of having a love story with a slight mysterious twist in our music video will attract our target audience and intrigue them greatly. Along with this, the fact that it is a love story alone will attract our younger audience. However, in our music video we plan to have the main female singing at various parts throughout the video as we believe that we need a good mix of both narrative and performance, and especially because this is a typical convention of a Indie Music video. Along with this, the audience will be able to become familiar with this new artist if we allow them to perform in the video. From research, I found that newly established Indie bands more than often included their band members in their music video in order for audiences to understand who they are, whereas well known artists and bands can afford not to appear within their music video.

5 Music Video Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hamKl-su8PE

In this particular video I would argue that the lyrics and visuals do not entirely correspond with each other, as most of the video is performance based with the band performing on a stage. However, I would argue that this music video is amplifying. Even though the lyrics do not completely illustrate the visuals there are various parts throughout the video where I believe the lyrics do fit the visuals. For example, when the lyrics ‘I predict a riot’ is being sung, there is a group of young people in the audience dancing to the music while having a pillow fight, therefore illustrating a ‘riot’. Along with this another example can be given when there is a man walking down the high street, and the lyrics are saying ‘walking through town’.

Above are the images of a man walking on a street whilst the lyrics 'walking through town' are being sung, and also another image below that of a group of young people throwing around pillows which directly corresponds with the lyrics 'I predict a riot'.

There are various moments throughout the Kaiser Chief’s Music Video where the music and the visuals correspond. For example, the band members seem to be in time with the music in their actions, when playing their instruments or even when moving their body in time with the music. Along with this, when the ‘I predict a riot’ is being sung, not only does the lyrics and visual correspond but also the music and visuals, as when the chorus is being played the crowd of people and the actual band move frantically to this upbeat chorus. Therefore the relationship between the music and visuals is amplified rather than illustrative as there are only a few moments throughout the music video where the music reflects the visuals.

The first four images above are stills from the music video at points where the music reflects the visuals shown to the audience. Above you can see a guitar, a keyboard, a foot on a drum kit and a one of the band members legs, although these are stills at these moments in the video the movement of each of these things correspond with the music being played. The last picture shows a still of the audience jumping up and down and moving to the beat of the chorus which has an extremely upbeat and fastened pace.

Most of the time Indie music videos will have some sort of performance video, therefore this music video’s follow this trend. ‘I predict a riot’ is mainly made up of the band performing on a stage with various instruments being played, throughout the music video the audience is shown over 30 different moments where the band is seen to be on stage. The fact that the music video is mainly made up of a performance idea, may highlight the fact that audiences like to see bands playing their instruments as they appear talented and also many Indie audiences believe that instruments such as guitars and drums play a major role in creating the songs they listen to. Along with this, there is an element of concept in this music video, which follows the trend of a Indie music video time as a lot of the time these music video’s will either be performance and narrative or performance and concept. The only quirky or ‘different’ aspect of this particular video would be the style of the actual band itself (big wild hairstyles and geeky looking clothing) but also the fact that the audience are having pillow fights at various points throughout the music video. The pillow fight could also signify letting go and being unconventional which seems to be a fairly common feature in the indie world. This point can be backed up the the Indie Music video I have analysed below by Jack Penate. Jack Penate's music video 'Second Minute or Hour' shows us the artist running throughout the whole of the video, which could be interpreted as the artist breaking free. Another characteristic of this video which is common in indie music video’s is that the main vocal singer is placed in the centre throughout the music video, which allows them to ‘sell’ their image. This will appeal to the audience as they will be able to feel connected with the main member of the band, which could be important if the band has not been introduced to a particular person before. Indie audiences tend to be of a younger age group, this is shown in this particular video with the crowd members all being of a younger looking age.

The first two images show the band performing which as I previously mentioned was quite common throughout the whole of the music video. The second two images shows the similarities between this video and Jack Penate's 'Second Minute or Hour' music video in regards to the idea of freedom. The pillow fight represents letting go as does the running in Jack Penate's video.

Notions of looking are not that common in this particular music video. However, we do see the band members watching the girls in the audience whilst performing. When they are singing ‘oh watching the people getting larey, we are shown different shots of the members of the band staring into the camera. Along with this, there is a shot that shows a man walking and suddenly turning to look at himself in the mirror. Goodwin's theory about the voyeuristic treatment of females is shown in this video with many close ups of women in the audience throughout the music video, even though we know that men are also present. However, these women are not presented solely as a sexual object, unlike the women in LL Cool J's music video 'Doing it' where the women are shown to be dancing provocatively (last picture below). In the picture, the women are seen to be wearing tight shorts will both their legs and belly's on show.

Throughout the music video we are shown various close ups of each band member, this allows the audience to be introduced to them and the audience can then become familiar with the band. Each band member is shown to be playing an instrument, in order to portray the sense that this is an indie video. The record label has also allowed the indie band to come across as quite an established an popular group, even if this isn’t the case. They do this by showing that there is a large audience in the video going to watch their show and making the audience seem like they are extremely excited, which is being shown by their facial expressions and the way they are moving and dancing.

‘I predict a riot’ by the Kaiser chiefs is both a performance and concept based music video. The music video mainly consists of a performance, where this particular band has been placed on a stage performing their song to a large audience, reflecting the importance of live performance in this genre. However, it could also be said that the music video is concept based as well. This is because, we are not only shown the band performing but also shots of various people collecting pillows and making their way to the spot in which the band are performing. We are then shown these people who are now the audience having a pillow fight when hearing the chorus being played. Therefore the music video has no set narrative but is concept based.

In Jack Penate’s ‘Second minute or hour’, the lyrics are only slightly relevant to the visuals the audience are being shown, therefore making this music video an amplifying video. Jack Penate is being seen running throughout the whole of the music video therefore no narrative is being shown to correspond with the visuals. However, the lyrics in the chorus ‘I can’t wait for another second, minute or hour...’ relates to the visuals as the running suggests he is anxious and ‘can’t wait’.

The video has limited visuals as throughout the music video we only see the artist, Jack Penate running along a pier. The reason for this may be that the use of showing the artist throughout the video on his own may allow the audience to become familiar Jack Penate, and they understand that he is in fact the artist as he is singing throughout the entire music video. However, this is done cleverly as the music is extremely upbeat and the fast paced running is in time with this beat. The upbeat music with the fact that Jack Penate is running at the same time suggests that he is a ‘free spirit’, which is common feature within the Indie genre. Also, when the beat slows down towards at various parts throughout the song, Jack Penate’s running becomes slightly slower, and at the end of the song when the beat dies down he suddenly stops running. Therefore, the relationship between the music and visuals is also amplified.

This music video is slightly unusual compared to other Indie music video’s as it is concept based but also shows signs of a performance video as the artist is singing along with the lyrics whilst running. Along with this, compared to most Indie music videos the artist is not shown to be particularly ‘different’ in his image, however Jack Penate is wearing a colour lime green shirt with a pink jacket over it, which is extremely colourful. The lime green mixed with the bright pink is not only colourful but also allows the audience to suggest that the artist is confident and wacky, as it is reflected in his style. The setting in which the music video is filmed is also quite bright where the sea is being shown and there is high key lighting throughout the whole of the music video. This is often used in Indie music videos making the video come across as lively and playful. Also, the fact that the music video is solely being based around one man running is quite unusual in its own way, the audience cannot quite work out where the man is running to and why he is running there.

One of the main examples that could be said to be a demand of the record label could be that the artist Jack Penate is constantly engaging with the audience throughout the whole of the video, he is always facing the camera and there are tons of close ups of him all the way through the music video. It could be argued that the idea of this is to allow the audience to become fairly familiar with Jack Penate himself, therefore allowing him to be in an environment where he is the centre of attention and nothing is distracting the audience to engage at anything but him.

It can be argued that ‘Second minute or hour’ by Jack Penate is concept based as there is no narrative present and Jack Penate is actually singing the lyrics whilst running. Even though the performance side of the video is not the typical on stage instrumental type, it still shows the artist performing his stage. Although, it is not common for Indie music videos to be just concept based as most Indie videos will have some form of performance in it.

Use tegan and sara music video analysis

View more presentations from GeorgiaMiddleton.

Recording

Music analysis number 5

View more documents from GeorgiaMiddleton.