Introduction to Music Video: Blog tasks

Answer the questions below to complete your introduction to the Music Video topic: 

1) What are the key conventions of music video?

• The style (performance, concept, narrative)
• The camera.
• The editing techniques (transitions, fast, slow)
• The sound effects (non diegetic, diegetic)
• Mise-en-scene (props, lighting, costume, hair, makeup, locations, setting, colours)

2) What is intertextuality?

Intertextuality is when one media text references another media text – through genre, conventions, mise-en-scene or specific cultural references.

3) When did music videos first become a major part of the music industry?

The music video rose to prominence in the 1980s when Paramount Global's MTV based its format around the medium.

4) What launched in 1981 and why were music videos an important part of the music industry in the 1980s and 1990s?

MTV was launched in 1981 as a platform for music videos and the first music channel on television. Programs such as BBC show Top of The Pops also showcased music videos from the charts alongside ‘live’ stage performances. 

In the 1980s and 1990s big budgets were spent on producing innovative and creative music videos such as Michael Jackson’s Thriller that had a film narrative, a well known director and featured intertextuality (horror films)

5) How are music videos distributed and watched in the digital age?

In 2005 the launch of YouTube changed the way that consumers access and enjoy music video. Now self-promotion is more common.

The rise of new and digital media paved the way for bands such as One Direction ‘manufactured’ by the industry and increasingly promoted through convergence on social media to maximise profits for the record companies.