Music videos are short films that combine a song with visual imagery to promote an artist's music. They act as marketing to drive album and single sales. Music videos have evolved from early musical films shown in theaters to become a major promotional tool for the music industry, especially after MTV launched in 1981 as a channel dedicated to music videos. The production process for a modern music video typically involves three main stages - pre-production for planning, production for filming, and post-production for editing and finalizing the video.

1. Music Video Industry
Sauzanne Micael

2. What are they?
A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, created for promotional
or artistic purposes. They also act as a marketing device to ensure sales on the release
of an artists single or album. The sequence of scenes often include the artist and
them performing the song, showcasing their talent by either singing, dancing, rapping
etc. Music videos are a direct link to the potential mass audience an artist is trying to
attract. They act as a form of advertisement, creating a buzz around an artist and
adding to their popularity. Music videos are often accompanied by ancillary products
that help support an overall package artists are trying to push. For instance, as well as
the music video, posters, digipak's, magazine ads, trailers and websites are also
adopted to endorse the release of a song. Music videos are essential as they are a
major form of of targeting a preferred demographic. They are displayed on various
different media platforms that make them more accessible to audiences
internationally. This includes web 2.0, specifically websites such as YouTube which is a
video sharing platform or Vevo, which presents up to date videos on popular artists.
Also, music videos are shown on television, can be downloaded on mobile phones.
The technical convergence adds to how successful a musical artist can be in
contemporary society.

3. Music Video History
As previously stated, music videos are accompanied by a complete piece of music, most
commonly; a song. Mainly used as a marketing strategy to advertise the selling of the piece
of music produced. Once called ‘promotion videos’ also known as ‘promos’, they were
coined ‘short form music videos’, separating them from movies of a longer time that played
a score throughout.
1920/30s In the introduction of music videos, they tended to come across as
short films often reflecting a dramatised performance of a song
exhibited in theatres. These ‘musical films’ were simply a song
combined with a film. For example Bessie Smith performing in
‘Saint Louis Blues’ which was shown in theatres in 1929 until 1932.
During these time, animators would use musical scored for their
work and label them ‘visual music’
1940/50sThe invention of televisions in previous decades meant they were
developed enough to air promotional clips of live music on talk
shows, these performances being repeated to make easy to watch
videos for audiences.

4. Promotional films were later taken further by using them to
advertise a project such as an album, or supporting a film. A prime
example of this was rise of ‘The Beatles’ arguable the most popular
musical band of all time, using these films to ensure their album
sales. In their first major film motion, ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ (1964)the
musical clips within this framed the basic foundation of music
videos in the modern world. This would have a huge impact across
all genre of music.
1960/70s
The development in music videos went hand in hand
with the progression of technology. As technical
equipment became more extensive, video recording
and editing programs enabling a higher quality
videotape. Music video directors also found investing in
higher budgets would lead to a more impactful video.
The higher costs of using 35mm film would mean there
was a significant increase in the overall appearance of
music videos appearing on television. An example of
this is Michael Jacksons video for ‘Scream’ costing
$7million dollars. Also, in 1981, MTV launched. This
revolutionised the industry as it dedicated an entire
channel focusing solely on music and showcasing music
videos.
1980/90s

5. Musical downloading became increasingly popular within
these decades. The 21st century has seen the digital age,
with technological convergence across several media
platforms spurring the interconnectedness of globalisation.
Music videos are available to watch in many different layouts
as stated in the first slide. Additionally, the ways in which
music can be purchased has also contributed to the increase
in sales e.g. iTunes or music streaming applications like
Spotify. Budgets for music videos steadily decreasing, many
artists and record labels do not spend excessively on
producing music videos anymore. For instance, Bruno Mars
music video for ‘Lazy Song’, which was all filmed in one
location and did not have any outrageous props which was
previously the case with the pop genre in previous decades.
In previous years, music videos that went viral on websites
such as YouTube have allowed unknown artists instant fame
and success. For instance, Psy released ‘Gangnam Style’ in
2012, the first ever individual to reach 1billion views on
YouTube, he travelled the world performing the song and
also became financially successful with just one song. The
phenomenon has since been repeated on several occasions
including Rebecca Blacks video for ‘Friday’
2000/10s

6. Production Process
The creation of a music video is broken up into 3 different categories to ensure there is
enough focus on each aspect it takes to produce one. As there is a lot of investment
required in each phase, ensuring there is a well planned and organised process
ultimately means a good quality product will hopefully be created. These three stages
comprise of the pre-production, production and post-production stages.
Pre-production This initial stage takes place first. Within the pre-
production phase, extensive primary and market
research is carried out where all original ideas for
the music video are discussed and then planned
out. This also involves the creation of storyboards to
plan out the visual details like camera shots etc. As
well as this, locations, props, settings and characters
are all decided. Risk assessments and recces are
also employed to avoid any accidents and put in
place precautions to make sure the production
phase is more smooth.

7. Production
Post-production
This stage requires the actual shooting of the
music video. All the footage is recorded in all
the different locations involved. The camera
equipment is decided in an earlier stage as
well as the allocation of the director role.
Finally, this last segment includes all aspects
that are carried out after the filming of the
music video. This includes the editing of the
music video, the promotion, and finalising
the final product fully completed. Lastly, the
product is ready for its exhibition.
These three stages are vital in producing a successful music video and it is
essential I consider this to impact my own creation process. Usually after this
production process, it is decided the ways in which the media product would be
exhibited, distributed and how certain audience would be targets. These steps
taken outside of the three main categories are just as important as it
significantly relays just how the music video will be perceived and consumed by
the public.