APPLYING ‘CHRISTIAN
METZ’ (LANGUAGE & CINEMA - 1974)
MODEL OF GENRE DEVELOPMENT TO ‘MUSIC VIDEOS’
[ANSWER
THE QUESTIONS BELOW ON A WORD DOCUMENT, ADD IMAGES AND HAND IN FOR ASSESSMENT]
MUSIC VIDEOS:
(1)
THE EXPERIMENTAL: Visser/Musicals/Beatles/Queen
(2)
THE CLASSIC: Thriller/Beat it/Duran Duran (Early 80’s/MTV)
(3)
THE PARODY: Weird Al Jankovic: Eat it/Amish Paradise
(4)
THE DECONSTRUCTION: Robert Palmer: Addicted to love/Shania Twain: Man I feel like a woman
EXPLANATION OF 4 PHASES
(1)
By EXPERIMENTAL we mean the phase of
filmmaking which explored and experimented with how to film a band or artist whilst they are performing
A.
First
recording of a person singing to camera
World's First Music Video - Gus Visser and his Singing Duck (1925) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwQ6v_nYPMs
Q: Analyse how the clip has been framed?
What is the context is of the clip? What is happening in the clip?
This music video, being the first
of its kind shows one continual frame throughout the performance of Gus and his
duck. The ‘music video’ appears to be filmed at a theatre or on stage. However
this could be a set and it may be filmed in a studio. The video is humorous
suggesting that Gus is a comic performer and singer.
B.
Musical
Films: Gentlemen prefer Blondes/Diamonds are a girl’s best friend
Musical films
were another important precursor
to music video, "Diamonds Are a
Girl's Best Friend" from the film Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes (1953). The performance is filmed mostly in a long shot with
pans left and right and tracking towards the artist – mostly a long take, no or
little cuts.
C.
A
Hard Day’s Night (1964) Directed By Richard Lester
Q: What camera angles, shots, movement & position, are still
used today from the ‘Hard Day’s Night’ Performance music videos?
The Beatles star in the first ‘performance music video’ of all
time directed by Richard Lester. It is ground-breaking in the world of music
videos because Lester established multiple filming conventions that are still
used in music videos to this day. For example we can see Ringo drumming and
John Lennon playing the guitar in time to the song which they are miming to;
this is called synchronisation and is used in nearly all music videos
nowadays.
The video was filmed in
multiple takes because we can see examples of match-on-action shots of the band
and shots from different angles. For example the band are filmed from the back
and then from the front which shows the viewer the surrounding and established
the setting. Various camera shots are used in the filming of this video; a
handheld shots can be seen which suggest a documentary style of filming making
the audience feel closer to the performer as it makes the act feel more real.
John Lennon appears to
be given the most screen time which is because he is the lead singer in this
particular track but we can also see various two-shots and medium shots showing
the band members playing their instruments in time.
Richard
Lester helped formalise and establish the codes and conventions of how to film
a band;
1. Close
ups of lead singer,
2. Cutaways
of instruments being played,
3. Filming
band together and separately,
4. Cutting
to the beat of the song, on the beat transitions/cuts
5. Filming
a live performance with multiple cameras.
------------------
(2)
By CLASSIC we
mean the phase of music videos which established the conventions in its most
successful & defining period (The 1980’s)
A.
Michael Jackson: Beat It/Thriller
B.
The Buggles: Video killed the
Radio Star (1st August 1981 – First ever MTV broadcast)
Q: Discuss what the
appeal was of MTV in the 1980’s? Analyse in relation to Thriller/Video killed
the radio star
(Think in terms of pop culture at
that time, TV as a medium, importance to record sale etc.)
“Thriller”,
the 1982 classic by Michael Jackson is much more than just a music video. It is
14 minutes long and portrays Michael showcasing his talent by acting, singing
and dancing. Due to the invention of MTV in 1981 this enabled artists to be
much more creative with how they wanted to present their music; the first music
video to be aired on MTV was The Buggles ‘video killed the radio star’ and
since then artists made videos that would appeal to audiences of all ages and
all around the world. Videos like ‘thriller’ established the conventions of
modern music videos whilst creating and practicing new creative ideas.
(3)
By PARODY we
mean videos that have mimicked famous music videos in some comical way
A. Weird
Al Jankovic: Eat it (Parody of Beat it)/Amish Paradise (Coolio/Gangster
Paradise)
Weird
Al jankovic is a comedy singer who has made thousands of ‘parody’ music videos
where he re-writes the lyrics to famous songs in a humorous was and performs it
in a music video. These have become massively popular on YouTube. He has
covered songs like ‘Blurred Lines’ by Robin Thicke turning it into ‘Word
Crimes’ and ‘Gangsters paradise’ to ‘Amish Paradise’.
(4) By DECONSTRUCTION we
mean videos which have taken the generic elements of another music video and
amalgamated them into something else (homage)
One
of the best-known examples of DECONSTRUTION
is Madonna's 1985 video for "Material Girl" (directed by Mary
Lambert) which was closely modelled on Jack Cole's staging of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best
Friend" from the film Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes.
Q: Discuss what elements of the Marilyn Monroe musical scene are
borrowed by Madonna? Think in terms of the Similarities of Mise en scene: location,
setting, costumes, props, body language etc.
Madonna obviously shows a desire to be like Marylyn Monroe in her
music video for the1985 hit ‘Material Girl’. The video shadows a scene in the
1953 musical ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ starring Marylyn herself in which she sings
the classic ‘Diamonds are a girl’s Best Friend’ to a group of men on a stage in
a theatre. She is dressed very glamorously in a pink dress and pink gloves with
‘diamond’ jewellery. In Madonna’s music video she can be seen wearing almost
identical attire.
Also
Robert Palmers: Addicted to Love was deconstructed by Shania Twain’s: Man I
feel like a woman
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