Music Video Analysis

Analysing Music Videos

A)     Lostprophets- Last Train Home

B)     Gorillaz- Clint Eastwood

C)     Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc

The purpose of a music video is that of to promote the music behind it, this is used by a use of different actors and possible band members to also try to pass over the message behind the music. This could be options from Christmas to world peace. Either way the musicians spend millions a year creating music videos worthy of awards as they are aware of how much of a lucrative market it is. Should the music video look cheap and unoriginal then it could seriously falter the chances of the song becoming overtly popular as sites li4ke YouTube and MySpace are perfect for fans to watch their favourite videos over again. These would be first brought to the consumers attention by music channels such as MTV and T4 music.

The main areas of a music video are that of the tune and a video that could either follow the tune with members of the band singing along. Either that or the fact it would be a completely separate vision of the video trying to fit the hidden meaning of the video in different images or CGI effects.

a) This video is that of a strong rock genre, this is made blatantly obvious by the long fringe style hair cuts of the lead singer and the fact the video is shot with a certain type of filter to make it all seem slightly darker than what it would normally be, further more the fact they are all wearing the same type of dress due to the skinny t-shirts and plain cut jeans

The style of the video is done in such a way as that relating to the title of the song about ‘last train home’ that they must now put  it all out on the line so to speak. The use of a very simple shot reverse shot in the car creates the sense of journey they are both going through especially as more people join them in the back of the car, this has more relevance to the song than the fact of the band playing on the back of a truck. As the video progresses the awkwardness of the car journey becomes apparent as the lyrics unfold and it becomes obvious that they have just gone through a break up the main target audience of this video would be that of people who read kerrang! and such like as magazines and brands like that promote excessively bands like this to the extreme.  Probably the use of the characters in the car and the people chasing the truck are prime examples of people who would be interested in this type of video. This also gives the viewer something to relate to, as they can almost feel like they are there. The lyrics used are also that to hopefully relate to their consumers, this broadens their market owing to the fact that even if people can feel themselves slightly involved in their song then they would listen to more music by them.

The atmosphere that’s created is that of moving on from breakdowns and continuing on with whatever’s thrown our way. This is done by a use of a lot of panning shots and by the fact that the characters throughout the video are continually moving. Even the band never stop moving on their truck. The use of closes ups on each of the band members as well as the car emphasise their emotion throughout as well as the change in facial expression. They are also use cleverly to project the energy that Ian Watkins is trying to convey to his fans.

b/c) I picked these two videos by the same artist as even though they should have the same genre in actual fact they  don’t . ‘c’ has a much lighter electro/indie slant to it whereas the other video has a much darker tone to it and possible slightly emo take. The use of the plain white background while the characters that are depicted sign the slightly ironic lyrics.

The first song has more of a depressive indie slant with the combination of ironic lyrics and a simple backdrop creates a very effective video.  The reason why I used two by the same band is due to the fact that the 2^nd song is in really quite a different vein. As the video is set in different imaginary locations which also include sitting on the edge of clouds etc.

The main target audience for this video would probably teenagers to young adults, would apply to both songs. Yet after that they separate, this is due to the fact that Clint east wood is probably more aimed at people who are stuck and maybe unhappy with life, allowing them to relate to it as well as trying to see the funny side of the ironic lyrics. Whereas Feel Good Inc (as the name suggests) has a more positive outlook upon life and this is shown throughout the video by the lighter colours used. One thing the Gorillaz do throughout all their videos is the use of representations through cartoon style characters. This is the main theme with all their videos creating surreal and unknown places allowing their viewers to feel part of this magical world.

the camera angles are not set throughout and it is extremely hard to comment in both cases of videos as they are continually different, this is also confirmed by the fact the only steady camera angle is that of an extreme close up of their faces to show the detail in which the characters mime the words along to the song. This is what makes these videos incredible.

James's brief

The idea is to create a music video for an artist called Bobby alexander, this will be done by also creating a digipack and possible podcast or commentary afterwards to complete the package.

This will be developed from my AS project as different skills will be learnt (using different cameras and editing software e.g. Final cut pro) as well as developing exisiting skills of analysis and research that i developed last year. The project will overall be bigger and have a much more professional finish to it.

In my group there is Jaime, Hollie and I. Charlie and my angels ;p

What is a Music Video? by James

A music video is a promotional material used by a band to increase the play count of their songs aswell as to try and reach a wider audience. This is created by shooting a video to accompany the tune/song in which the artist is allowed to portray what they believe the song and their lyrics mean. This allows for little interpretation by the viewer as to what the lyrics mean

There are 3 main types of music video. To begin with there is the general story style video in which the artist is not seen alot singing along to the lyrics but instead they employ actors to play out different scenarios through the song that relate to the lyrics. This means the audience could possibly connect to the actors in the video. Daniel Powter was renowned to do this by playing entire short stories through his videos in which invariably there is a happy ending. This implies that people could live the same life as the actors if they made the same decisions.

The 2nd type of video is at completely live set in which there is no story but instead the artist tries to involve the fans watching the video as to almost make them feel like they are there. This worked extremely effectivly in their 'hearts burst into fire' in which the video almost follows the band on tour, following just the good moments making their target audience feel that they could also maybe one day acheive this.

The final type of video is that of partial story and partial artist inclusion. These are generally done by the more 'main stream bands' who are trying to appeal to a wider range of people. They feel if they do this then different ranges of audiences can relate to different areas of the video. A good example of this is Lostprophets- Last train home video in which there are continual cuts from the fact that of following the band on the back of a lorry to the story line of the girl and boy mid break up. This appealed to such a mass audience that it helped propel them into the public eye and onto becoming an extremely sucessful band

Forms and Conventions of a Music Video by James

For each genre there are different forms and conventions that are applied to each specific music video. conventions can sometimes cross between genres.

Modern conventions of genres include things like Hip Hop/Rap which would normally be asscoiated with cars, money, girls, clubs and general bling. The would also be related with the artists dressing in baggy t shirts and new era hats or chains. There is more of a performance narrative to these videos in which there is little story but more dancing and acting, trying to show the viewer how good they are at certain things. This is in complete contrast to genres such as screamo in which bands would normally include bits of their live set and generally items getting destroyed. A very stereotypical example of this is ' Slipknot' in which the entire band where masks just to add to their persona of the band aswell as the genre in general.

Indie music generally has more of a story to it in which the band are portraying something through their video. an artist that used to do this extremely well was arctic monkeys (scummy) in which throughout the video they tell the story of girls stricken of all self pride and are run by 'pimps' this started to push the mordern conventions of 'indie' music/ videos in which they now start to sway more towards alcohol and drinking. The libertines are an extremely stereotypical case of this.

Pop videos generally relate to the artist/band being idolised for younger teen audiences yet also trying to relate to their older audiences by possible including 'raunchy' dance moves e.g. Britney spears. Where as boy bands such as westlife of boyzone appeal to a large female audience as girls of all ages are lead to believe that they are their ideal man. Through out their videos they are generally seen to be taking their tops of or singing into the camera trying to connect to their audience. The videos also dont generally have a story either but are more related to their dancing talents of them just sitting around trying to look ' cool/ attractive' to their audience. Some times the narrative is portrayed through images or spoken word in the song e.g. bruno mars's video.

 

Hollies idea for video

ok so heres the start of ideas for shots and video theme

bobby alexander in the photog studio ( plain white background) classic microphone hopefully ( look up best of you foo fighters) 

cut to him strumming guitar.

shot of girl looking down at her feet

boy looking straight into the camra.

cut to bobby mid-shot

( you say i don't know you like you think i do)

girl and boy in bed he looks at her she turns away.

(and i might not love you if i only knew)

bobby tapping foot?

(theres a different)

extreme close up of bobby singing

(side to you)

couple walking in park?

(that vie never seen seen, but how)

him trying to hold her hand her moving it away

(can i love you if you never let me in)

bobby close up of face singing

( you belong here)

stumming guitar

(here beside)

holding her truing to push away

(me never)

giving in him holding her

(let me go)

mid shot

(i will be)

close up of face

(be waiting)

him stood by something?

( just like i was before)

boy swigging a bottle of booze

bobby playing guitar

girl at home sitting about or laying in bed

boy walking (sunset or dusk)

close up of girl looking away

close up to mid shot of side of bobby's face singing

(dragging my feet)

mid-shot of boy

close up of feet walking

(as i slowly stumble home)

close up of boy looking to sky and breathing in

(i take in a deep breath)

girl looking out the window

(the cold night air burns)

boy side shot looking back down

(my lungs)

girls wiggling toes. nervously playing with hands

(thinking about the)

close up of boy looking like he is closing the road or something. long shot of boy crossing road

(the walk home on)

bobby singing

(that very first night)

girl in over sized top ( maybe boys) texting

( you gave me your number)

mid shot bobby playing guitar and singing

( and your messages made me)

boy checking his phone smiling

( smile)

girls face painful/sad

(smile)

bobby close up face

(yeah yeah)

girl in kitchen making toast? boy other side

( you belong)

her handing him toast avoiding eye contact

( here beside me)

girl walking off boy looking confused

( never let me go)

( bobby looking into lens of camra

( i will be)

couple sitting on the bench

(be here waiting)

bobby singing

(just like)

him looking at her asking whats wrong

( i was)

couple on bench

(before)

girl looking at boy

boy staring 

extreme close up of girl biting lip

close up of bobby struming

boy knee shaking

extreme close up of bobby eyes

girl tucking hair behind ears

bobby changing cord

girls teary eyes

bobby face singing

(so long)

girl mouthing take care

(take care)

bobby mis shot to close up

( goodbye)

boy sat there stunned

(so long)

bobby singing

(take care)

mis shot of girl picking up bag

(goodbye)

boy running after her

slow motion

girl telling him to go

boy pleading

girl yelling pleading not to follow

him teary/crying

girl walking off

bobby singing

boy rooted to spot

girl walking off crying

boy stood there

bobby strumming passionatly

bobby singing

girl walking away  p.o.v like an ant by boys feet

( where are you going…till where do you go)

bobby mid shot singing

(you belong here)

side view of bobby singing

(here beside me)

boy standing still…time passing

(never let me go, i will, be waiting)

bobby singing

(just like i was before)

girl looking at her phone

( i can hear)

long shot of her in flat like room ( james room in ymca?)

(you crying)

girl dialling putting phone to her ear

(but your so far away)

boy answering phone saying hello x2

( since you left goodbye)

girl with pursed lips silently cringe other end

(is all i can hear)

boy saying hello

( you say)

bobby close up singng

( is all i can hear you say)

boy hanging up

( its all i can)

girl crying

(hear you say)

bobby final strum

long shot of bobby

Questionnaire

Consept from Bobby Alexander

The beginning consept from Bobby Alexander. the story behind the song is about a girl has who all these walls built up around her because she is afriad of getting hurt by a man and the guy wants her to let him in. but she becomes too scared and leaves...

We shall expand on this so look foward for a more detailed account on what we may film and are decisions to create a story video for Bobby Alexander.

justin beiber- never say never video (Hollie)

the track for never say never is for the re-make of the kirate kid featuring will smiths son, jaden smith. the video features clips from the movie and clips from what looks to be a recording studio. the video is upbeat and has a positive and friendly vibe.

 the lyrics are playable and can be applied to more then one meaning from sports to love. justin beiber is a tween icon so the video is childfriendly and safe. it shows the pair mucking about and dancing whilst recording the song together as well as editing scenes from the film. the shots tend to be close ups and midshots with very few long shots. this is because the video itself does not have much content so the focus is on the singer. 

their are slow sweeping pans between the characters with clips of the film in-between. an example of this is the verse in which beiber sings "theres just no turning back, when your hearts under attack" in which the video changes from justin beiber to a scene with boys in the karate club punching. the clothes with leather jackets and used possibly to make them look tougher and stylish. the section in which jaden smith raps is innocent and adds an extra edge but is more of a token placement rather then nessesry. in his lyrics he mentions his father (will smith. who coincidentally *cough cough* produced, along with his wife the re-make of the karate kid)

the effects used on the editing as well as streaming together clips (seamlessly) they slow down serval shots of jaden smith dancing but apart from that there was very little effects. 

link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5-P9v3F8w&ob=av3e

Nevershoutnever- what is love video (Hollie)

The Video Of Never Shout Never 'What Is Love' 


Setting in a park on a bench. Between two other benches. The main focus is on Christopher Drew (better known as ‘Never Shout Never’ and pans between other couples (not nessacerally romantic couples either) it pans up from his feet showing him writing on some cardboard. After which it swings across to a pair of gentlemen discussing something. INSERT PICTURE

Behind them is a clever effect which is streamed throughout the video. Around the video writing appears sometimes mentioning the lyrics as they are being sung. Sometimes showing what the actors are talking about/going through their minds. The colour is orange and autumnal almost sunset. Warm and rich. Although the scene is seamless throughout the couples change throughout giving the impression of time passing or the amount of people who have their own issues and problems. At one point a guitar suddenly appears in which he starts playing. The outfits are teenage and indie style which matches the genre of music ‘Never Shout Never’ is part of. Christopher drew himself is dressed barefoot, torn jeans and a hood. Several of his tattoo's are on display. INSERT PICTURE


link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KA62IuYI6gs

eminem- love the way you lie (Ft Rhianna) (hollie)

target audience for love the way you lie is defiantly an adult audience. the video features the actor dominic monaghan ( who was in the TV series lost and in the lord of the rings trilogy) and the actress megan fox ( jennifers body and transformers). these are big name movie stars and would bring more publicity to the song even though the artists themselves are big stars. the song itself which is written by Eminem is about a love-hate relationship. the phycology of an abusive relationship. the tricky message of the song on the issue of domestic abuse what thought out carefully between Eminem and the director Joseph Kahn so the video did not promote the wrong message.

the video shows the relationship between fox and monaghan and the drama in their relationship. the video shows them repeatedly fighting, destroying things, stealing and at the end making up again. the video also features  flash backs to happier times in the couples relationship. in-between these shots are clips are scenes of Rihanna singing the chorus with a backdrop of a burning house and Eminem in a field. towards the end of the video both singers are seen outside of the burning building the couple being engulfed by flames. 

their are scenes with both dominic monaghan surrounded by flames and megan fox holding flames in her hands. i believe these to be metaphorical flames rather then actual flames for a few reasons one being that the flames are very isolated and on their bodies and more importantly they show no pain from the flames. showing either the passion and/or the destructive power of the relationship.

the locations used on the video give the impression that the couple are more towards a working class. using a liquor store both in store and on the roof. a raggedy bunglo for their home, and a seedy bar. this may be a reflection of eminems early although the song is not based on any real life experience of eminem. the clothing consists of tank tops for Monaghan ( known on the street as a wife beater shirt). ripped jean shorts for megan fox and both wearing military style boots. clothes easily accessible. 

their are several types of shots used varying from extreme close ups  of Rihanna's face to wide shots of the field with Eminiem. their is panning and sweeping camera movements for the scenes with Eminem, fluid and natural. the shots of Rhianna are still natural looking but more static. the shots between the couple professional and almost captivating. more like a short film then a music video.

link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U

information curtsy of Wikipedia 

How a music video is made. By Jaime

How a music video is made.

There is a variation of artist and genres. Myself and group members have decided on doing a pop, indie acoustic singer.

The stages of how a music video is made.

1)     The label, artist and management agree what to release as a single.

2)     Video commissions make a shortlist of possible directors.

3)     Video commissions send tracks of a brief, of ideas for project plus shortlist of directors.

4)     Directors provide outline treatments.

5)     A director is chosen, budget, deadlines agreed.

6)     Director develops the idea with storyboards!, location photo’s.

7)     Art director, wardrobe, photography, locations and sets designs are all set.

8)     Sets built.

9)     All personnel on site for shooting.

10) Shooting complete, film is transferred to tape for editing.

11) Editor produces a rough cut.

12) Label artist and manager view and comment on rough cut.

13) , Changes are agreed, made before visuals effect is added.

14) Online finished video, passed to label for release to TV stations and airplay.

The Record Company

A record company signs up an artist or band. The advance covers most of the costs of releasing the single including marketing costs, such as the music video, funded by sales of the record. The record company employs a video commissioner. The commissioner develops a brief for the video, a particular director, budget, deadline, sketches and sends it with the music track to either the director or production companies.

The video production company.

The company acts as an agent on behalf of the director, seeking work for them and negotiating with the client. Individual directors are unlikely to have the resources to pitch for a job. The director generally takes 10% of the fee for the job.

The director

The director listens to the track, looks at the lyrics and any other materials e.g. previous videos by the same artists or album covers. This may vary. There is little reference to a detailed budget. This is sent to the client. If the commissioner/ record company likes the idea, they will hold a meeting with the director, sometimes with the artist.

Budgeting

The producer draws up s budget, which is approved by the head of production. This is submitted to the client who may wish to negotiate. Once agreed, a deal memo will be countersigned on director and budget.

Production Unit

The deadline for the finished video is based on the release date of the single. The record company usually wants the video to be delivered 6 weeks prior to the release of the single and, for the director, this may mean that there is as little as a weak to set everything up, production unit must operate quickly and efficiently. If the video is not delivered to deadline, no one gets paid.

The key members of the unit are:

·        Production designer in charge of the sets and overall image.

·        Director of photography/lighting, in charge of lights and camera’s

·        Production manager, in charge of logistics, such as locations and probs.

·        Choreographer depending on the artist and type of video.

·        Production assistant, who keeps records to ensure continuity,.

·        Wardrobe person, makeup artist and stylist.

·        Additional crew members, such as camera operates, electricians, grips, runners, set construction etc.

The director meets with the team to develop ideas and work out costs, such as the lighting plan. The producer negotiates the costs based on the budget. Developmental stages all the details of the project have to be put together quickly. Elements will be added in the run up to the shoot.

Shooting

A shoot usually take about 5 days of preparation and 1 or 2 days of actual camera time. A shoot on location may be less complicated than shooting on a set. A shoot can involve a very long day, often starting at 7 am and continuing to 1 am the next morning. For the shoot, the whole crew comes together with the artist and supporting casts or extras.

The job of the director is to make it look as good as possible for the money, shooting costs can be high e.g. cast of dancers, and they will need taxis back from a late shoot at night which may mean £2000 for transport. Over running can be expensive in over time cost for casts and crew. Security costs and a trailer for the star. After the shoot the producer and production assistant spend a day or 2 wrapping up the whole event.  

Shooting on digital video.

Record companies demand a product which looks good on TV and this justifies the use of film stock. DV tends to be used to signify ‘actuality’. The aim is to show the artist off to a maximum effect, which tends to achieve better.

Editing

The shooting only producers the raw material, not the finished product. The first stage is for it to be sent to a lab processing.  At this stage, only the negative is developed and through a process known as telecine, the film is converted to digital tape and the film graded so that it looks satisfactory to the client. Edit facilities are hired for the next stage, where an offline editor(freelance) uses an AVID suite to put together the basic edit. The editor must have a clear idea of what the director wants from the material. Four days of editing, a rough cut is sent to the client for comments/approval.

The next stage is the online edit where effects are added and the tape is produced to broadcast standard. If a video is made up of straight cuts or minimal transitions, an online edit may take as little as 3 to 4 hours, but with 3D animations, CGI and other effects the process will be significantly longer.

Management interference

Artists are shown material out of courtesy, because their money is financing the project, but on the whole they tend not to interfere. The video commissioning editor should be the only one to see the edit in process and to see the offline edit at the telecine stage, where his/her input from too many. Very occasionally, a completed video may be made or shelved by the record company.

Delivery

Finally, the ‘dubs’ of the finished music promo are delivered and released forms are signed. The production company invoices the record company for the job. Production company will seek 50% of monies on commencement and 50% on delivery. Any overspending not approved has to be met from the maker’s budget, which might mean the director losing part of his/her fee.

Exhibition: Music TV channels.

There are now far more spaces for music video to be shown, partly because of the increasing number of TV channels but also because of the potential to release promos as VCD on singles or even on DVD collections. MTV is still the target window for music. National radio tends to make chart success a slower process. A video is likely to reach the national audience more quickly than radio play.   

 

Jaimes knowlegde about the Music Industry and Technology

Notes about music.

The music Industry.

Sources from AS Media OCR textbook

The music industry can be defined as the organisation of the varies activities associated with performing and recording music and distributing access to those performances around the world. The basis of music production is accessible to everyone with a modicum of talent, the industry is both more ‘open’ than film making and less easily  ‘controlled’ than traditional broadcasting television. This has led to a longstanding institutional difference between small ‘independent’ music organisations and a large corporate ‘mainstream’.

The music industry and technology

•The development of the music industry is in extricable linked to the development of technology.

•1980 compact discs technology emerged.

•1988 sales of CD’s become over took.

•1990 recordable CD’s became available

•1997 MP3’s emerged.

•1999 Napster serviced was launched.

•2000 bread band was intro to the UK.

•2001 Apple launched the iPod and iTunes.

Apple operates without looking first at convergence between the music industry, computing , television and tele communications.

Pop music Industry-

•’Pop’ means ‘popular’. Pop music is generally targeted at a young market.

•Pop music is seen as a softer version of rock n roll.

•Pop Music Genre

•An aim of appealing to a general audience, rather than to a particular sub-culture or ideology.

•An emphasis on craftsmanship rather than formal ‘artistic’ qualities.

•An emphasis on recording, production, technology and over live performance.

•A tendency to reflect existing trends rather than progressive developments.

•Pop music is intended to encourage dancing, or it uses dance-oriented beats or rhythms.

•Often between 2 and a half and 3 and half minutes in length, generally marketed by a consistent and noticeable rhythmic element.

•Simple traditional structure.

•Melodise and chorus (Love and relationship)

 

Bobby Alexander- all i can here you say lyrics

duration: 3:52    All I can hear you say
 
You say that I dont know you like I think I do,
And that I might not love you if I only knew,
There's a different side to you that I've never seen,
But how can I love you if you never let me in?
 
You belong here beside me, never let me go.
I will be here waiting, just like I was before.
 
Dragging my feet as I slowly stumble home.
I take in a deep breath, the cold night air burns my lungs.
Thinking about the walk home on that very first night,
You gave me your number and you mesages made me smile.
 
You belong here beside me, never let me go.
I will be here waiting, just like I was before.
 
So long, take care, goodbye.
So long, take care, goodbye. (Where are you going? I dont know, I dont care.)
So long, take care, goodbye. (Where are you going? I dont know, I dont care.)
So long, take care, goodbye. (Where do you go?)
 
You belong here beside me, never let me go.
I will be here waiting, just like I was before.
I can hear you crying but you're so far away.
Since you left, goodbye is all I can hear you say.
 
written by Bobby Alexander

Hollie's guide to the videos that shaped the 80's

the beginning of the music video.

Nothing captures the decade of the 80s like the music video. compared to now a-days original music videos are hard to come by but at the beginning anything was possible. which meant a lot of hits and just as many misses. in this decade it went from humble beginnings to a full scale masterpiece of visual art. nothing kick started the music video revolutions like the world of MTV. and everyone had to get on board, even if it meant they were dragged there. 

Queen - bohemian rhapsody directed by Bruce Gowers. 

the visual extravaganza that kick started what is now called the music video. its original purpose was so the band could be on top of the pops without going to to top of the pops' studio because they were on tour. they used a crew that filmed sporting events and asked them to film a practise. not until later in the 80s music video channels appeared. 

 The Boomtown Rats- i don't like mondays.directed by David Mallet

 Another video to shape the 80s. it was the one of the first school based video which is common with many genres today. Most people believe and still believe that the song is about not liking going to work on a monday. Bob Geldolf wanted to challenge this idea and show it could be more then just work. about an event in america in which a small girl came in and shot everyone. the school kids spooky eyes were based on the village of the damned. 

David Bowie- ashes to ashes directed by David Mallet  

it has a huge effect on the public. it blew away other music videos away and other musicians. bowie knew exactly want he wanted. he knew from the start he wanted to be a clown. from an hour of talking they had fleshed out most of the music videos. this video was before  post production colours and to make the sky look black was a challenge but the director discovered by accident discover how previously. every effect that is on the video was done on set because there was no other way.  

nothing kick started the music video revolutions like the world of MTV. and everyone had to get on board, even if it meant they were dragged there. 

the Buggles - video killed the radio star directed by Russell Mulcahy

it was done for fun. the first video MTV ever showed. no one had any idea what impact it would have. the song was not about MTV it was about how fast technology was moving. the woman who is seen jumping over the tv had ten men to catch her. there was little health and safety and no netting. for 14 hours the woman was attached to a harness wire being swung about. 

Ultravoxs - Vienna directed by Russell Mulcahy

meant to be nour based story. filmed around several locations around london. including covent garden. mimicking the era. like a short film on TV. it changed the landscape. you didn't have to play instruments in the films, they could be an actor. 

Duran Duran- girls on film directed by-  Godley & Creme

controversial film instantly. heavy censorship. airway banning. huge publicity and a big cult status. they wanted something to get them noticed and nothing does like sex. the idea was meant to be a catwalk but more then just walking up and down happened. it featured nipples and ice cubes. topless mud wrestling

Duran Duran- Río  directed  by Russell Mulcahy

accidental film. Duran Duran was on holiday after working in america and the producers sent over a film crew because they needed a video. based on high fashion photo shoots. the ship was filmed after because they didn't have enough footage for the whole song. the saxophone footage was made after the crew went home on a german tourists video camera. 

Elton John - I'm still standing. directed by Russell Mulcahy.

filmed in france. elton john turned up with nothing organised. after an accident in which the director fell off a pier  filming elton, he soon realised that nothing was planned so after finding a new camera and drying off the director elton john told them not to worry they will go out tomorrow and basically lark about and see what turned up. the whole video invented on the spot.

Queen - i want to break free directed by david mallet

after battling with dismal ideas they came up with a drag video. freddy's character came last and was dressed as a liverpuddlen slag. freddy mercury demanded to have the whole of the royal ballet for the middle interpretive dance sequence. MTV believed it to be disgraceful and banned the music video

Michael jackson-billy jean directed by steve barron

the beef was- something magical. jackson's manager requested if it would be posable for micheal to dance as he'd been practising in the mirror. originally all pavements were meant to al interactive but they had such a small production budget they could only get 11. originally mtv refused to play the video because Michael jackson was black. the next 3-4 weeks were tense negotiation including going to the supreme court to change mtv's decision. another director wayne who worked with jackson later on was a helper and had to clear up behind the tiger.  

Herby Handcock - Rokit directed by Kevin Godley

first music video to heavy feature animatronics. the only problem to get on MTV was because he was black. won the most MTV awards of the first awards ( more then thriller).

Godley & Creme - cry directed by themselves. a video that streams people faces changing fading into one another singing the song. mixing between the too and a soft wipe allowed it to change between one another. no morphing was involved it was simply that the wipe allowed it to change as if it was

Mick Jagger and David Bowie- dancing int the street directed by David Mallet

in one 24 hour session to preview to a live audience for live aid. recorded in the afternoon and recorded straight after without anyone hearing it they started recording. 9 feature film crews turned up for free because it sounded fun. finished filming at 5am and finished editing by 7pm. 

Duran Duran- wild boys directed by Russell Mulcahy

an enormous budget on 3 sound stages. based a pon the directors failed film project. an accident happened on set in which the windmill stopped working and one of the singers was stuck under water. for Duran Duran was the pinnacle of over the top 80s.

The Cure- Close to me directed by Tim Pope

robert smith was attracted by the naughtiness of the director. after hearing. pope had the idea of filming it in a clostaphobic surrounding. filmed in a wardrobe. the biggest mistake according to pope was that the band had indian for lunch. the video actually finished the song as robert smith ( singer of the cure) and director went back into the studio and remixed it.

Aha- take on me directed by steve barron

an example of a song that with a video became massive.  it had already been realised and no one was playing it and instead of dropping it they decided to create a music video. on a basic budget. the original video was just the band in a blue room singing. jeff arrow from warner said it was a great song and that a classic video to go with it. there had to be a purpose not just animation for animation sake. 

George Michael- Faith directed by Andy Morahan.

already a lot of credit already in both UK and America. stardom was inament.  george was heavly involved. especial in editing so george was happy with the shots of him. at one point the director was pulled out asking if the shots of Georges shaking butt was nessacery. Michael's insisted it would be funny. infect george isn't playing many of the correct notes, he  can play basics but nothing like the video suggests. 

Bon Jovi- Living on a prayer directed by  Wayne Isham

lead the way for epic music videos.  Bon Jovi were on the cuff of being huge stars. john bon jovi hated the director and refused to work with him originally. they opened an abandoned boxing stadium  called the Olympic in California and mocked up a show. bigger then life style to make it look huge. 

Guns And Roses- November Rain directed by Andy Morahan

the concept of the idea was actually from axle rose. it was a big budget film. guns and roses were always plugged in and actually playing as they did not want to be a band that mimed. Which, drove the crew crazy as they had trouble communicating. everything was shot out of order. the wedding scene was shot first. the kiss was real and lasted a good few minutes. the iconic church is actually in mexico which slash plays his solo out of. for the reception scene Morahan had to keep the band up at night as he put it "they were like vampires. they only come out at night. contacting them could only happen between the hours of 6pm to 8 am".  the funeral had 4 rain machines. 200 extras, 17 cars. the biggest funeral he could muster. he didn't even know what the story line really was " it was like spinal tap. with money"

information curtsy of the music videos that shaped the 80's (TV show) on sky arts.

The History the Music Channel (Hollie)

the rise of music television

MTV-

In 1981 on august the first in new york a new TV channel was  broadcasted. the first music video ever to be shown on the channel was 'video killed the radio star' by the bugles. their were many times when sporadically the tv would go black when an employee of MTV  insert another tape into the VCR. "Carouselambra" by Led Zeppelin was played as the closing credits rolled when MTV was first broadcast. because of MTV, local radio stations found they were selling music by bands that the local stations were not playing. the original concepts of MTV was to play music 24 hours a day. this idea was abandoned early on however. they used VJ ( video jockeys) to introduce charts and who themselves became celebrities in their own right. MTV television made rock bands popular in the 80s from adam ant to Van Halen. in 1983 the rock band, KISS showed there unpainted faces( their trademark) for the first time. MTV in the early years rejected many black artists in their rotation one of the very few was tina turner. Michael jackson had to battle and threaten the supreme court before his song billy jean ( see 80s music video for more information). even david bowie questioned the lack of coloured artists live on air to a VJ in 1983. other early critics of the channel was that some bands believed that MTV should place higher standard in the quality of music videos that they showed. in 1985 MTV broadcasted the live aid concert. and in 1989 MTV started a show of MTV unplugged which showed dozens of acts playing an acoustic set which has been broadcasted for over 20 years. after a while bigger and bigger directors where brought in to produce higher quality and more adventurous. film directors were brought in and MTV's viewers became familiar with bigger names in directing. In the early 1990's alternative and grunge music had become mainstream. Nirvana brought this to a forefront in 1991 with the mega-hit smells like team spirt.  more and more underground bands came into the public eye including nine inch nails and rage against the machine. in 1995 punk bands like green day and offspring were popular along with ska-rock like No Doubt. and Alternative like Alanis Morissette. But. there soon was a downfall in 1997 with the belief that rock was dead- with falling popularity and break-ups of big named bands MTV turned to pop music and boy bands. the teen pop sensations of Britney Spears were in heavy rotation. hip hop was also in heavy rotation through P Diddy ( then known as Puff Daddy), missy eliott and jay z. R&B was also becoming popular amongst the mainstream with acts such as Destiny child. form 1991 till 2004 MTV slowly reintroduced rock music. by 1998-1999 the pop rock band Blink 182 was on regular airplay along with the boy bands ( the music video all the small things poked fun at these bands and was a huge successes making them more mainstream). Korn signalled a new era of music. before their album rock/rap hybrid album 'follow the leader'  MTV avoided playing there music but on this realise the channel started playing their single 'freak on a leash'. alter that the station soon started playing other rock/rap acts such as limp biskit and following that TV friendly rock bands came onto the air. bands such as Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. after 1999's 'Return of the Rock' weekend in the fall new rock acts were given airtime including incubus, system of a down and godsmack. and by 2000 a new experimental  digital channel had arrived named MTVX aired and lasted until 2002 as well as a daily music programme on MTV that lasted until 2004.

since 1997 MTV have slowly reduced there hours of music video streaming. this has been widely criticised, even by Justin Timberlake who told MTV at the VMA's to 'Play more damn music'. in 2000, 8 hours of air time was dedicated to music videos and by 2008 only 3hours of music videos were played a day.

In September 11th 2001 MTV and its sister channel VH1 stopped broadcasting to show the live steam on CBS news.

in 2009 MTV uploaded onto youtube the originally broadcast including the blank spots and adverts.

Now a-days MTV mainly broadcasts reality tv shows such as 'MADE' and 'super sweet 16' and scripted reality shows such as 'The hills'  starting in the mid to late 90s with the real world. in 1999 the channel went toward prank and comedy shows such as jack-ass. and in 2002 the debut of celebrity reality shows began with 'The Ozzbornes' a reality show in which camreas followed the life of Heavy metal singer Ozzy Ozzborne and his family. in 2003 shows such as 'punk'd', a show in which actor Ashton Kutcher pranks other celebs, 'Pimp My Ride' in which people who cannot make ends meet or that are charitable people in the community have their beaten vichales modified both for functional and aesthetic uses. Another very popular show was newlyweds: nick and jessica that followed two singers and their blossoming marriage ( which ended in 2005). in '05 and '06 the debut of mow scripted reality TV shows appeared shows like 'laguna beach: the real OC'. in late 2009 MTV went back to a real-world style of reality TV with Jersey Shore. a show that follows a group of Italian - american stereotypical 20 year olds and there debauchery. Vh1 is a side company of MTV built on their initial successes.

in 2009 MTV uploaded onto youtube the original broadcast including the blank spots and adverts.

Other media televisions such as box television in partnership with Bauer Group and Channel $ formerly Video Jukebox Network International. owns music channels the box that aired in the UK in 1992 . ( broadcasts 24 hours a day with teleshopping at night)  KISS TV, a mainstream hip hop and R&B channel based on the station KISS 100 which started as a pirate radio station in london. within one year KISS was beating MTV in its time shots. 4music part of the channel 4 franchise launched in 2008. Magic. based on the radio channel also owned by the Bauer Group launched in september 2001, focuses on 80's and 90's music, however a large of their day time section is dedicated to current hit to keep up with the large market. Smash hits, a pop based channel set up in May 2001. Q an indie/alternative channel based on the magazine by the same name. Kerrang TV loosely connected to the channel by the same name in spring 2001 focusing on the lighter side of rock and punk with bands like green day and paramore. another big group of music videos in the UK is CSC media Group channels they own are Bliss, launched in march 2006 a mixture of both current hits and hits from the 70's, 80's and 90's with power ballads and love song hours. chart show TV which in its current format was launched in 2002- previously on channel 4 and on itv. Flava, on june 2004 with more garage and drum and based version on kiss. the Vault which began in the summer 2003. as the title states it plays music from decades passed. the two newest channels to add to their collection are. NME TV which replaced minx on 22 november 2007 an alternative indie channel that is based a pon both the magazine and radio station that go by the same name. its first video was 'up the bracket' by the libertines. Dance Nation TV, launched in 2010.

HBO also aired a music channel that lasted till 1986.

information via wikipedia