History of a music video - Miss Georgiou

History of a music video

People can can consume music videos in various different ways. Although over the years this has changed for many reasons, due to things such as the internet and how YouTube is now used to listen to music and how television has know become more known than when things such as MTV first became a music channel. Music videos are so important that if a song doesn't have one then the song is rarely played, especially if the artist isn't very well-known.  

MTV is the first way that music videos were watched, and launched in 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys". The original target audience was aimed at young adults, but is now aimed at teenagers and adolescents. MTV is American television channel but the British audience also found it attractive to and soon became popular. The first song to be aired on MTV was "video killed the radio star" by 'The Buggles'. Rod Stewart had the highest number of appearances on the music channel, and the first ever video played being The Buggles "Video Killed The Radio Star". MTV allows artists to show there songs that are made on a public television channel. Although MTV also have a website that has come along recently, which didn't exist years ago which is a bonus as its easy access to music videos.

From the broadcast of music videos on MTV and them becoming popular, other ways soon became known such as YouTube, which allows you to search songs from various artists, but not only from the artist themselves but from the public who may have made re-makes of the song. YouTube began when three former YouTube employees started to create a video-sharing website on which users could upload, share and view videos with either creating an account or not. The most watched video on YouTube is from a artist named "PSY", with the song Gangnam Style. This song was first released in July 2012 and ever since has received 2,358,236,122. This artist isn't well known so the reason for this video being the most viewed is because of its signature dance moves and was noticed by Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S president Barack Obama. In comparison to a well known artist such as 'Justin Bieber' who is popular globally and has the second most viewed video on YouTube. Although this is for different reasons, as he has a target audience of teenagers who are the ones that watch YouTube and music videos the most, especially teenage girls. YouTube has helped to allow any type of audience to watch/listen to music videos at any time and with easy access, and has developed a lot over the years. When youtube was first created it was mainly for watching television programmes, series, and allowed people to upload there own songs sung by themselves, or make lyric videos for their peers to enjoy. Artists now upload their official videos to youtube as they know its a popular well-known global site where any one can access without any account being made. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8r-tXRLazs

The picture on the left shows the different amount of budgets spent on music videos. The well known artist Michael Jackson is at the top of this chart with his song release in 1995. The song 'Scream' was also sung with another artist; Janet Jackson, his sister. This song cost $7,000,000. This is because the scene was a spaceship, which was actually made for the music video, not just background scenery. The music video below shows the song 'Scream' from YouTube. The special effects in this music video are at a very high standard, and this is why it became very popular in 1995 and still is now. The larger amount of money spent on a music video means that the higher standard that it will be produced at, and Michael and Janet where very clever on how they spent their money. This music video has not many special effects as a whole and all shot in black and white which may make the audience wonder how the money was actually spent.  All of the songs and artists shown on here are well known and popular and the budgets spent show how much thought and consideration has gone into making their music video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P4A1K4lXDo

Smart phones have come along way over the years, from being simply to call and text, and now being able to access the internet anytime, anywhere as well as downloading apps and extras. Now there is easy access to the internet, it means YouTube and other music channels can be played frequently. YouTube has its own app on most smart phones, allowing you to log in and listen to your own music or search any song using the search bar. Having the access to music videos on your phone means its easier and a lot quicker then using your laptop or computer at home or public place. Easy access to there internet also allows a quick search onto google on where a song is on the chart, or how much money its made, who produced it etc. This is good for the artist as websites such as wikepedia allow you to search any artist and see there background history, all the songs they have made and what year.

A lot of things change the ways that music videos at listened and watched, and are now more accessible and can be used by anyone. They are easy to listen to, whether it's from the television or Internet. Apps such as twitter and Facebook lets you share music videos from YouTube using a direct link, meaning followers and friends on your page can enjoy the music too. With these applications you can also see artists official pages, allowing you to see new posts about their social life or new releases in the charts.

Special effects have developed a lot over the coming years, and have meant that music videos can be more adventurous with what they show, by using things such as green screens to create certain effects or higher definition. For my research of technology development and special effects I looked at a music video called Shift k3y - touch. When researching special effects on the internet, this video seemed to be very popular and included some interesting effects. The link below shows the video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KtYYHKEGDc. Within the first few seconds on the music video, colourful strobe lighting is used, which creates the effect that he is in a club-like scene. The effects in this video are harsh and are used in a lot of detail. The video demonstrates low-key lighting and neon colours on his body parts, e.g. hands. The reason for this being used may be so the audience can relate to the scene he is in or the narrative he is trying to express to the audience. Graphics being used in a music video also means a younger audience can relate as this is more popular by a younger audience.

This research has helped me to discover how music videos have become more popular over the years, and researching the history has helped my find out why, and also helping me for the planning of my own music video. I have learnt that in order to attract your chosen target audience you have to move with times of technology. Also, looking at budgets for music videos has allowed me to see why the ones with the higher budgets were more successful and popular, this also may be linked to the artist themselves or the song they are singing about (narrative).  The narrative/story that is being told in a song can really help attract the audiences attention and create a relationship with the artist, which is why when I create my music video I will conduct a lot of research into narratives of songs first to make sure I catch my intended audience for the right reasons. This piece of research has also helped me to realise that most music videos made in this century are aimed at the target audience of 14-30 year olds, as they use conventions that relate to that age group.

I feel that this post will help me when creating my own music video as i can now see how certain aspects have developed over the years and how this can affect how a music video is seen. I feel that i will use special effects within my music video, as they have recently become very popular and made a stand on how they are very popular with the audience, especially in the pop genre. Also, technology. When creating a music video it is important that you aim at the right target audience, mobile phones and the internet means a wider audience can be met, unlike years ago when mobile phones were just for calling and texting. I feel that overall this history research has shown me an understanding of what the importance of television and other main points and i feel that this will make my music video successful.