Today we discussed in class the idea of music video codes and conventions lightly. Sir made us put on the board several typical characteristics of music videos, for example a narrative story and lip syncing.
We then went on to discuss the use of codes and conventions in media in general.
The lessons outcome was the understanding of the definition of codes and conventions in the media in general;
• The media construct reality.
• The media have their own forms, codes and conventions.
• The media present ideologies and value messages.
• The media are business that have commercial interests. • Audiences negotiate meaning in media.
I then spent a bit of time looking at the impact of revolutionary directors of the music video industry. We were told to go into this in a lot of detail, so I spent today's lesson just researching certain directors, and looking at their various achievements to gain a better perspective of the effects directors had.
One in director in particular, Romanek, directed 2 out of the 3 most expensive videos of all time. Scream, by Michael and Janet Jackson is the most expensive, reaching an unbelievable $7,000,000 dollars. Bedtime Story by Madonna, was also in the top 3 and also directed by Romanek.
Today I began looking at the impact made by hit music show, Top of the Pops, something I hold a personal interest in, as I used to watch this as a child. I understand the role played by tv shows such as Top of the Pops, as it introduced music videos to worldwide viewers, and promoted various music bands. It is interesting to note that the BBC regulated the amount of times each music video can be broadcast on TV, compared to the countless amount of times videos can be aired in today's society.
I then looked at the impact of MTV, and how 24 hour access to music videos lead to a massive increase in purchases of singles, as people could easily access music videos. Shortly following this, Channel 4 released the chart show, which landmarked the first channel of just music videos, and no presenters or additional shows.
Michael Jackson's Thriller is key to any music video history study, as the $500,000 budget defined the moment that everyone knew music videos were going to play a big part in the future.
Today I managed to complete research on both the visual innovation period, between 1960 and 1967, and the period where promotional clips began to grow in importance between 1967 and 1973.
I found out a lot of interesting facts about the beginning of music videos, such as the first juke box was made in France in the late 1950s. This is important in explaining the outcome of promotional clips, in that it introduced the idea of visual assets. I also found out the names of some of the key artists in that time, such as The Animals and Jay & Deans, both of which, had hit singles in the sixties including some form of visual assets.
In terms of the promotional clips then growing in importance, key artists such as David Bowie, The Who and Bob Dylan all became involved in the music industry and therefore contributed to the various progresses made in promotional videos. I learnt all about the clips each artist made, and found out a lot about how far music videos have progressed in the last 50 years.
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