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The Little Lost Child
The first music video was a popular song called 'The Little Lost Child'. the music video was an illustrated song which is when live performersmand music recordings were used alongside still images shone from glass slides. The lyricist was Edward B. Barks and the composer was Joseph W. Stern. -
Arrival of 'Talkies'
'Talkies' is also know as a sound film. This is a motion picture with synchronized sound. This allowed many music films to be released and produced in this time. One example of a cartoon music video called 'Screen Songs'. The lyrics would appear on screen which is followed by a ball directing you to the next word of the song. -
St. Louis Blues
An early example of what we know as a music video was featured in St. Louis Blues. The song was also named St. Louis Blues and it was sang by Bessie Smith who was a blues singer born in the US. This 16 minute two-reel film was about the singer Bessie Smith. She finds her lover who is also a gambler named Jimmy. She finds him with other woman, and so at this point she sings the song alongside dancers. -
Cartoons
In the early 1930s, there were cartoons which included musicians that were popular performing their songs. This was a live performance during the cartoon itself. An example of this is Fantasia by Disney released in 1940. This film is in 8 parts with 8 different cartoons which hasve background music. The genre of this music is classical. -
Soundies
From 1940 to 1947, there were music videos produced called Soundies. These were 3 minute American musical films, each containing some sort of band, singer or orchestra. The genre varied in each film. The Soundies films were also avaliable for rentals in a set of eight. These could be played on a coin-operated visual jukebox. They could be found in restaurants, bars, lounges, amusments and nightclubs. -
Louis Jordan Films
Around the 1940s to 1950s. Louis Jordan created short films for his music, such as 'Lookout Sister' released in 1947. Lookout Sister was about a bandleader who is suffering from overwork and exhaustion. He eventually goes into a sanitarium and dreams about being at a ranch where the owner is battling to keep the ranch from a villian. -
Tony Bennett
In 1956, Tony Bennett claimed to have made the first music video when he was filmed walking down the street in London. This footage was then used for his song called 'Stranger in Paradise'. -
Elvis Presley
In September 1957, Elvis Presly released the music video for his song called Jailhouse Rock. This is said to be the second music video. The music video was black and white and was set in a jail. Elvis was a prisoner in the jail dancing alongside a large group of other inmates. -
Scopitone
A Scopitone is a visual jukebox and was intented in the late 1950s. At this time many short films were produced which
go together with music to form a music video, which could be played on the Scopitone. -
A Hard Day's Night
In 1964, a film called 'A Hard Day's Night' was released which included the Beatles. The film was about the Beatles who escape a lot of fans to take a train to a gig. On the train they get a lot of interruptions from passengers on the train. They finally arrive in London and start to feel trapped inside the hotel they are staying at. This comedic film including dialogue sequences also included music. The musicals sequences formed a basic understanding and model for music videos. -
Concert Films
In 1964, Concert Films started to be released. An example of this is the T.A.M.I. (Teenage Awards Music International) Show. Performances on this film included artists from England and the US who sing in the rock and roll and R&B genre. The T.A.M.I Show was originally shown in Santa Monica, California, USA. The tickets were free and were give to secondary school students. -
Top Of The Pops
In the late 1978s, Top of the Pops started to show music videos. This was used to increase the number of sales and poeple would expect to see it again. For example in 1975, the song 'Bohemiam Rhapsody' had a promo video to show on Top of the Pops which was edited and created all on a videotape. -
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New Wave Music
From the late 1970s to mid 1980s, a new wave music genre was created which was pop and rock. This let artists produce videos that were cheap and quick for a promotion. -
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Innovation
The process of innovation occured during the period of 1981 to 1991. This included editing equipment,cheap and easy to use video recording and visual effects advancements. Also there was the innovation of portable video cameras and high-quality colour videotape recorders. -
MTV
In 1981, MTV was launched in the USA. This channel showed music all day and all night on televison which increased the marketing of music videos. Acts at the time included Madonna, Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants. -
Thriller
In 1983, the most successful and popular music video was 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson. This 14 minute music video cost $800,000 and included zombies, a dance choreogrpahy, real-life sets and an creative story. This set high standards for the future of music videos. -
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Internet
In 1992, a show called 'The Real Wold' premiered on MTV instead of music videos. This is because the audience were more interested in reality TV shows over music videos. A website called 'iFilm' (1997) and another called Napster (1999-2001) allowed videos to be shared online and viewed by others. -
Internet
In 2005, YouTube was launched which allowed videos to be uploaded and shared by others. Comapred to the two other sites (iFilm and Napster), YouTube was a lot faster and easier to use. This meant that this wasa great way for artists to spread their music videos and see a large success. Similar websites to YouTube include MySpace, Google Videos, Facebook and Yahoo! Video.
