1. What is the evolution and changing role of the Music Video from 1900, and it's likely development in
the future?
It would be fair to say that over time, the music video - much like everything else in the modern day-
has changed considerably when compared to its predecessors. Even though we would regard the
music video to be a fairly recent development, started in the first half of the twentieth century, it
would be fair to argue that due to dramatic changes within the music industry, be that in regard to
either the genre or general perception of a particular artist, it is only natural that the videos made to
accompany the music adapt and evolve too.
For example, in the past music videos were not something you would instantly expect when thinking
of a particular song or artist, due to not just older and less advanced technology, but because at the
time of the creation of the first music videos, there was no such device to view these on, leaving the
music video devoid of any real purpose, save for the name of art. Take Fischinger’s Komposition In
Blau for instance, as this is a good example of a music video created for little more than a kind of
artistic statement, as the beat and tempo of the song exactly matches the visuals onscreen, adding
to the effectiveness of the piece as a whole. However, over a period of decades and some major
changes in society, music videos are now made less for such purposes, and now generally tend to
focus on much more materialistic purposes, as the purpose of a music video in itself is to promote an
artist or song in a way that will boost popularity and through this sales figures of both the song, and
any merchandise the artist may also have.
Due to this process of evolution we find that things once considered as a general essential of a music
video, such as the artist singing – or miming the song, are now sometimes not even featured in some
of the most modern music videos of the day. Instead they seem to focus on a storyline created
either from a loose tie to the plot the lyrics provide us with, or a storyline that does not even seem
relevant to the song in question. An example of a song with a storyline focused purely on the lyrics
alone with no consideration of the artist is She Wolf, by David Guetta, as within this video we are
mainly provided with what is essentially a short story about a woman who turns into a wolf. Whilst
this does tie into the song in question, this is a fairly recent development in regard to music videos,
yet seems reasonably successful in its approach as we find as viewers the lack of an artist performing
may actually act to intrigue us even more and act as a hook, drawing us in to the story, and through
this the song. It seems that in recent years music videos are developing ever more quickly as to
compete with their rivals, with each artist seemingly wanting to be at the forefront of something
new and innovative. This and the increased number of artists entering the music industry every year
give both the artists and the viewers or fans of a particular artist to demand more form their viewing
or performing experiences, trying to use both the latest technology and concepts to achieve and
meet these demands deemed necessary.
However, something that has remained consistent in the development of music videos over time is
the basic concept of the rhythm, tempo, and beat of the music being in synch with the number of
shots and cuts per minute used, as without this it would be hard to call it a music video, as without
this accompaniment there may as well be no video to begin with, as the viewer/listener would not
be as drawn in or find this half as effective. Another thing also interesting about this one area that
remains consistent is that like,Fischinger’s Komposition in Blau, many modern music videos like
dubstep, or the Chemical Brothers use visuals that match the beat exactly, with no specific image or

2. artist, something which many would consider to be extremely effective as what you are seeing not
only matches precisely what you are hearing, it also seems to give an extra sense of focus around
the song as you can both hear and see the beat, something once uncommon to this degree, but now
becoming increasingly more popular as peoples tastes in music change towards a more modern and
generally upbeat taste in music.
Whilst it is hard to predict the future of the music video, as, like everything in the media, they are
subject to a lot of change. It seems clear that they are only going to change more so with the
constant development of new technologies too, as if we can now use special effects and CGI in music
videos, which at one point would have been impossible to both do and imagine, it’s hard to imagine
how the music video can change in the future. Inevitably, it will change at a rapid pace to meet the
needs of the constantly changing audience of the time, always demanding for advances without
which they may lose interest. The only thing I feel that couldn’t possibly change about music videos
is the way that the use of editing and the beat of the song match, as this is one thing I would
consider so fundamental it would be the only thing, in my opinion, unlikely to change. The other
components however, as witnessed over the past decades, will most likely change dramatically in
order to continue to fulfil its purpose of promoting and appealing to its target audience.