The era of pop promo videos:

Mike Nesmith was the first person to have an idea for promo based cable TV. This would enable him to fill an entire network with various promo music videos for twenty four hours a day. This is today known as music promos number one destination MTV.

However, it is rumoured and considered that by some people, that the actual first release and played first promo video was actually by Queen being their track 'Bohemian Rhapsody', due to it having strong connotations of conventional pop.

This was due to the fact it consisted of:

 

• Nonlinear stage performance, which showed cinematic representation.
• The mise-en-scene showed matching costumes which defined uniformity about the members being of all same importance.
• The editing effects being the smoke and lightning used had actually been created at the present time, rather than being added afterwards.
• The idea of a live performance at one of there gigs really emphasises on advertising and promoting the artists. However, this then makes the audience consider and debate over whether there was actually a real audience. Or as to whether, the producers used a diegetic audience to pretend there was actually one there.

 

 

The rise of MTV:

 

• MTV was established and attained the name it has today in 1981.
•  It grew and gained excessive media attention especially in the USA.
• The early audience viewers were drawn to the aesthetically pleasing eye catching demographics used to grab the viewers attention.
• The layout, representation and colours led to a dominating male rock genre, featuring mainly white acts.
• RnB pop genre had not yet been established at this period of time, which instantly cancelled out the racism questions which were asked after dominant gender being broad casted.

 

 

1980's:



Duran Duran:' wild boys'

This video changed the way that producers who produced simplistic videos with minimum spending budgets thought. Therefore, this led to move onto the next generation of excessive out there video editing/effects/locations that exceeded all audience's expectations.

Duran Duran’s video cost $1 million, the most money spent on a singular video to date.

Production budgets soared leading to a new generation of pop videos.

 

 

MTV friendly?

 



'Micheal Jackson; 'Thriller'

This video changed some peoples perspectives and views on the racism argument which was brought up in earlier years when MTV broad casted only one dominate race. Although this was justified as RnB pop had not yet been established at this time period.

•  It appeared the street lamps were the only source of lighting. Or was this an effect that there was actually more lighting, it just appeared to the audience that this was the only source of lighting used?
• Big emphasis on the make up looking realistic and believable.
• Typical mise-en-scene for thriller genre pop promo video e.g. mise on scene set at an abandoned house.
• Mise-en-scene being the clothing used dark tattered clothing representing the dark side.
• The video showed self reflexivity, this meaning we know that we are in a show/ production.

MTV Unfriendly?

 

This period was when the Rap/Rnb genre came into action.

• It appeared that black rap videos were being ignored by the majority of the intended audience. Therefore, this suggested that this type of genre only specifically target a niche market.
• The spending budgets for these videos were at a minimum. This could have possibly caused anger, and more tension between the racism argument due to the artists feeling neglected and not the the same importance. However, because their style of genre was new this may have been the reason for their low budget videos.  
• The videos showed strong connotations of threatening content e.g. gangster rap lyrics.
• However, the duo between Areosmith/Dme 'walk this way' provided cross over between the two races and broke this supposed white dominac.

 

 

OSCARS?

 

By 1984, MTV producers and directors of music videos were getting nominated for Oscars for there production and diversity within their music videos. This is due to the fact in theory a music video is a brief intro into a movie. It enables the same amount of work and planning to enable to the get the best overall production.

 

THE PRESENT:

 

To this date, music videos can be distributed via u-tube, Itunes, mobiles devices etc. There is also a wider used of genre based channels which cater for different niche markets.

Convergence is used widely and this will be what takes us into the future of the next generation.