My Top Three Videos

3) Swedish House Mafia - Save The World
The video for this song is memorable mainly because the audience get shocked by who saves the people in the video. It shows three scenarios which are a woman being mugged, a man having his car stolen and a cafe/diner being robbed. Where the viewer would expect the police or other humans to "save the world" it is actually a group of dogs. The video itself shows over-cranking through-out the video, this may have done to add drama and tension to the on screen situations. As the dogs effectively save the people in the video it challenges the idea of humans being the dominant species in the world and therefore makes it easy to remember, as it is very unique from other music videos in the dance genre. Most dance genre music videos use a range of quick cuts as the pace of the song is fast, this video however uses long takes and the over-cranking makes it differ, and therefore memorable.


2) Pendulum - Slam

This video is certainly memorable mainly down to the shock factor and humour it shows. The video starts with long takes as the pace of the song is slow, the camera shots include close ups of the mans face which shows a blank expression, therefore showing a feeling of isolation. The man is also shot out of focus which shows traffic and other people passing by, which adds to the feeling of loneliness. However the video shocks the audience when the song drops, as the lonely and quiet man suddenly takes his shirt off and begins dancing in the middle of a busy street. The pace of the editing becomes faster once he begins to dance and the video shows this by quicker cuts and the rigorous dancing by the man. The video also seems to show people's natural reactions to seeing the man dancing, which makes it more outrageous as they must have shot the video in normal streets in-front of unknowing pedestrians.

1) Kanye West - Jesus Walks

This video is a powerful and nearly a controversial representation of people's religion and beliefs. The slow and steady pace of the music is represented by the video as it shows African slaves chained together walking at similar speed to the music. There is also parts where Kanye has fire behind him which emphasizes the power behind the video, as well as over cranking when a worker is hitting rock with a pick axe. I believe the use of close ups on school girls skipping and singing the chorus is memorable as it shows how the slavery and discrimination against black people effects young innocent children, the lyrics "I hope my feet don't fail me now" also matches the school girls feet in slow motion as they skip. There is also many references to hell and the devil within the video, this makes it memorable as this shows the worst scenario is happening as the devil and hell is seen as ultimate evil or punishment. The most controversial part of the video shows a white man carving a cross out of a tree trunk, then dressing in the white hood which is associated with the KKK; a racist movement towards other ethnicities other than white. The man then goes onto set fire to the cross and carries it up a hill, the over cranked tracking shot shows how the man is replicating Jesus carrying the cross and the fire may represent hell.

The Most Expensive Music Video

The most expensive video created was by Michael Jackson, the song also involved his sister Janet Jackson. The title of the song was "Scream" and the finished video cost $7million! The apparent costs of the video are as shown:

• Computer-generated spaceship: $65,000
• Breaking guitars: $53,000
• Morphing artworks: $50,000
• Michael's makeup: $3,000
• Janet's makeup: $8,000 a day
• Choreography: $40,000
• Giant video screen: $80,000
• Lighting: $175,000
• Total cost of 11 sets: $5,000,000

The song was released on 31st May 1995, and the video itself was produced in June later that year. The video was apparently a retaliation towards the tabloid media who showed the child sexual abuse allegations made against Michael Jackson in 1993.

Where Did MTV Start?

The image below is from Wikipedia, it shows some of the history of MTV and also the channels it broadcasts. The company MTV was based in America when it began but now it airs channels in many countries such as:

• United Kingdom
• France
• Germany
• Japan
• Spain
• Russia
• Canada
• Italy
• Sweden

MTV was first created in 1981, New York City and broadcasted the first music video made which was 'Video Killed The Radio Star' by the Buggles. The introduction of this company was revolutionary as now most songs released come with a music video, this shows how MTV changed the music industry across the world. Nowadays artists release music videos to increase their reputation and audience awareness, this essentially leads to more profit for the artist which is essentially the basis of the music industry, as it is a business.

MTV also produces many channels which show reality shows as well as music videos. The wide range of music genres shows that MTV has diversified and therefore reach a larger audience. MTV has created channels such as:

As well as showing a vast range of music such as Rock music and RnB music, MTV also shows reality shows which include: Jersey Shore, Geordie Shore, Runs House, Jackass, The Hills, Cribs and My Super Sweet Sixteen. MTV has moved into other markets as it means the brand is universally known which essentially leads to more sales, the diversification of the company shows the power as they can afford to integrate from music to reality TV.

With MTV having so many different channels it enables the brand to dominate the market, as MTV has channels involving Rock, Dance, Rap and Mainstream Pop. This means MTV is the number one company to play music videos, as if an artist can get their music video played by MTV it will be seen by millions of people across the globe.

Based on the popularity and market dominance MTV has over the music video industry, I believe at this moment in time it would be suitable for our video to be aired on MTV, with it being mainly on the channel MTV ROCKS.

The First Music Video

To find some information on the history of music videos I wanted to find the first music video ever made. After searching through Google, Wikipedia and YouTube I found this song which is believed to be the first music video made as it was the first on MTV when it began airing on television. The video itself has created many conventions of recent music videos today as it uses both narrative and performance, as well as many close ups of the artist.

So what was the first music video aired on television?

Key Facts

• The first ever music video produced was "Video Killed The Radio Star" by The Buggles.
• The video was first screened on MTV at 12:01am on 1st August 1981 in America.
• Below is the music video for "Video killed the radio star", this was the start of a revolution in the music video industry.

The music video for 'Video Killed The Radio Star' shows both narrative and performance, although this style is now around 30 years old it is still used in many recent music videos today. Some videos, more towards the Rock genre now use solely performance style videos as this shows the technique used to make the music as well as it being live as it shows a more exciting atmosphere to the song. Other genres such as RnB tend to use more narrative than performance, as they are generally about love so the videos show parts of a love story or relationship between two people.

Narrative - A music video which is classed as a narrative shows the audience visuals which connote a story. This idea is used usually so that the target audience can listen to their favourite songs as well as being able to follow a story line. Many record companies want narrative music videos as it is another profit creating tool, as the fans of the artist will watch the video created revenue through music channels wanting the video on their channel.

Performance - A performance music video consists of live footage of the artist or band performing the song. This style is often used for heavy metal and rock music as it shows how the band created the music, some artists also film concerts they perform at which may be included in the video. The idea of using live footage from concerts creates profit for the record company as the fans who were at that concert will want to see the video as they may be in it, thus creating demand from music channels.

Briefs

Briefs

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the band;
• a cover for its release as part of the digipak (CD/DVD package);
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

2. A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film;
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film;
• a poster for the film.

3. The first level of a new computer game, together with two of the following three options:

• the cover for the game's package;
• a magazine advertisement for the game;
• a radio advertisement for the game.

NOTE: All material for all tasks are to be produced by you yourself with the exception of acknowledged non-original sound or image material used in a limited way in video / radio work.

Formats - Video work must be in DVD format; audio work must be in CD format. No print item should be larger than A3 size. Games should be either in Flash format or playable on an exiting console.

REMEMBER:

• Maintain a consistent house style throughout all 3 platforms i.e. same colour schemes, page layouts, mode of address etc.
• Maintain a tangible link between all 3 media products e.g. use still frames from a video sequence within a poster or DVD cover and or embed clips of video within a webpage.
• Create a logo that will brand the product across all 3 platforms.
• Incorporate the expectations of your audience into your product.