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1895: The “first” music video is filmed at Thomas Edison’s studio
In the film William Dickson plays music from a popular opera on a violin as two men dance beside him. The soundtrack was recorded separately on a wax cylinder that went missing for several years, It turned up at the Edison National Historical Site in the early 1960s and was finally reunited with the picture in 1998. -
Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Peter Gabriel sat behind a glass screen for 16 hours, whilst Nick Park who was the creator of Wallace and Gromit directed the music video. No other artist had attempted to make an animated music video before, this broke music video boundaries; showing other artists how creative and unique they can be. -
Madonna- Like a Prayer
This video had an incredibly strong political message, and allowed music videos to become a platform to share strong messages and impose values. Music videos from this moment became a platform for many artists to express their beliefs to their audience. -
The Gold-Diggers
This particular video had more thought put into the choreography as the women in the production had set moves to follow and props to carry. Also the set was designed to fit with the meaning of the production; it was heavily based on money, which linked with the Great Depression. This production tried to glamourize life, and giving people hope that the economic crisis would recover. -
Alexander Nevsky
The Soviet Russian propaganda film was the first time a soundtrack was matched with visuals and was specifically commissioned. The soundtrack made it easier to establish who was who in the video and the good and the bad guys within the video. -
Fantasia
The first ever ‘proper’ music video was created in 1940 and it featured Mickey Mouse, this set the future for music video creations to come. -
Gene Kelly - Singing in the rain
This music video uses chorography as well as singing lyrics. This can be seen as the peak of musical films, it displayed a well thought out and composed video, with different aspects which were engaging and unique. Having chorography as well as singing gave a well-rounded performance which was unique for this time. -
Elvis Presley
Elvis released 'Jailhouse Rock'. He was different as his music was entirely inspired by black artist. People were outraged by the video that was released as prisoners were dancing with prison guards and engaging in activities against the norm. It completely broke the norm, and people were inspired by his out there personality shown within the video. It inspired artists to become more creative and unique. -
Top of the Pops
Music videos began to be essential with the introduction of Top of the Pops as without a popular music video, the band would not be seen as prestige enough to be featured on Top of the Pops. Thus, music videos began to form the basis of how popular/successful a band was. -
The Animals
This was the first music video which looks similar to what we would expect today – it was fairly advanced for that time period. This suited the artists image and their music, and the angles and mise en scene all were highlighted through the angles within the video. -
The Monkees
They spent more money on the music video they created as they had higher production values, starting the main evolution of music videos. Money became a massive aspect of music videos, and led to bigger better production. -
“Bohemian Rhapsody”
This was the first video to be more than just a promotional aid to the song. When Queen’s epic “Bohemian Rhapsody” made number one spot in 1975, the band was on tour and unable to make it to the recording of Top of the Pops on BBC One.Thus instead of doing nothing, they recorded a special video for the occasion featuring the band performing the beginning and end of the song on stage and with a collection of visual images using the latest video editing technology. -
David Bowie
He changed into an alter-ego 'Ziggy Stardust', it showed that music videos are just as important as the music itself as they can boost the music itself popularity if the video is unique, creative and engaging. -
Thriller
The 13 minute video enjoyed its worldwide premiere on MTV on December 2nd 1983. The length and intricate detail put into the video meant that the video stood out, and became renowned for being so different. -
Birth of Youtube
The birth of Youtube led to thousands of videos becoming available to the public at anytime, anywhere. Music video were now constant rivals, with likes, dislikes and comments as well as views all being easily displayed. Music videos were now easily accessed and this increased development within the music industry significantly.
