Music videos continue to be culturally relevant and an artistic statement. They have evolved from early promotional clips into a medium that can give deeper understanding to songs, entertain audiences, promote artists, and allow directors to express their vision. New technologies like VR, short films, and platforms like Spotify are changing how music videos are created and consumed. They remain an important art form for artists and directors.

1. How and why music videos are
still a cultural statement and
relevant in todays society
Plan

2. Background research on history of music videos.
When did it start, what was the first music video?• Early ear and pre MTV
• 1950s early music clips – first music video was Tony Bennett walking through Hyde Park to the song Stranger in Paradise
• 1965 We Can Work It Out by THE Beatles was considered the first music video on television – They wanted there presence in America with out
being there
• They worked with Michael Lindsay-Hogg to use cinematics to portray the song instead of recording a live performance
• Late 60s more avant garde and underground techniques are being used in music video production
• Late 60s – 70s more experimentation in film as Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and David Bowie started looking at how film and music could work
together and open a door to endless possibilities. David Bowies Ashes to Ashes was the stepping stone to deeper layers of meaning in music videos
• MTV and the Rise of Directors.
• MTV launched in 1981 with Video Killed the Radio Star
• Was a channel devoted to the art form and made it easier for people to put visuals to a song as they played them 24/7
• 1983 – Thriller by Michael Jackson. John Landis brings back the idea of creating a narrative film with a music video as its central driving force
• 1922 MTV listed the directors name next to the artists as they had realised it was an auteurs medium as directors took full creative control. David
Fincher started off in Music Video Production
• It gives a new breed of young and talented directors to express their unique vision through the medium as they required very little budget and
crew for the style of videos that were popular then
• The YouTube Ear
• In the mid 2000s, MTV went away from showing music to air more reality shows, this spawned a myriad of new directors taking to YouTube
• They were very low budget and didn’t conform to the media censorship
• With the explosion in popularity of youtube everyone took to posting there videos on youtube
“it’s (music videos) an artwork you do because you love it (not to get paid)” [m. Diva, 2019]
• Summery
• The history of music videos
• MTVs influence
• Youtube taking over

3. Give Understanding to a Song
Music videos give the impression of the song
•Individuals like to perceive what the artists are thinking of for
their songs visuals, ideas about the song and give further thought
•People have all different points of view of the importance, and
meaning of songs so music videos can give better understanding
•Every now and then an artist will create a video that is just
fancy visuals and have no meaning
Videos to talk about
•logic 1-800-237-8255 (deep meaning)
•Sayonara by Aries (no meaning just visuals).
•Ed Sheeran lego house (metaphorical lyrics so the video works well.
About a breakup like a lego house)
Summery
•Perception of music is different
•Music videos can make things more obvious
•Sometimes they are there just to provide visuals
“The music video might be the perfect vehicle for an artistic statement … and it's conducive to both abstract and literal statements” [A. Cooke, 2017]
1-800-237-8255
Sayonara

4. Entertain
• Films and videos can entertain people in a number of ways
including, the actors choice and acting, the direction and
cinematography, the soundtrack and the script.
•Major productions work all these aspects into the work to
engage the audience with the soundtrack being the music and
the actor being the artist meaning people will watch it just for
the sake that the artist is in it.
• Actors choice - DNA by Kendrick Lamar - Don Cheadle
• Direction and cinematography - Señorita Shawn Mendes -
MVA winner
• When they work well nobody thinks about all the work
that goes in as it flows seamlessly
Summery
•Music Videos are meant to be entertaining
•Production Companies use lots of filmmaking aspects
“Even if everything is now digital, who doesn’t want to have more than just the track…I would say the
track is the burger and the music video is the full meal deal with fries and Coke” [S. Cahn, 2016]
Don Cheadle in DNA
Scott Cunningham’s cinematography on Señorita

5. Promote an artists image and reimage them
Promote an artist image and recreate it
•Establish up and coming artists
•Set’s artists apart from ones without visuals
•can craft the image that an artist wants to show
• TCrook$ 506 monthly Spotify listeners and 25k views on YouTube.
More plays on YT than Spotify.
• Recreate artists image
• Slipknot - from aggressive and intense kids too the most successful nu
metal bands with thought provoking and meaningful videos and image
• Evident through there music videos
•Wait and Bleed (1999) - Gruesome masks and intense stage antics
with lots of carnage
•Unsainted (2019) - Incredibly cinematic with clever editing and well
thought out and written scenes.
•It still captures the image of the band but defines it more as a well
respected and reputable metal band and not these immature wild kids
jumping around a stage
Summery
•Music videos promote up and coming artists
•They can also reshape images
“In this sense the music video becomes an extension of yourself. Your choice of style, approach and content will reveal elements of who you are even thin
Wait and Bleed
Unsainted

6. They can give views a look behind the music at the artists life, a tour and
the creation of a song/album
• Post Malones WOW video is all BTS of his tour
• Gorrillaz Momentary Bliss shows the creation of the song as it is being
played with there signature animations playing in the background
•Fkj & Masego’s TADOW’s music video is a stripped version of the song
being played in a studio
Why
• Works on everyone as they all have a curiosity into the life of there
favourite artist
• It humanises peoples hero’s and can make them more relatable to the
average person forming better relationships
Summery
•Music videos can take all forms of video content
•They work well with everybody
Give Fans A Little Extra
Momentary Bliss
WOW
TADOW

7. A Chance At Being the Director
Still a staple of the film making and still highly regarded in award
shows etc.
•They gives new directors a chance to work with professionals and
gain that film making knowledge and improve their craft before taking
on bigger projects
•Easier to make 10 music videos to show off your talent than 1
feature/short film that doesn't achieve what a director wants
artistically
Famous music video directors
•David Fincher - Nine Inch Nails, Billy Idol, Madonna
•Spike Jonze - Beastie Boys, Weezer, Fatboy Slim
•Nabil Elderkin - FKA Twigs, Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West
Summery
•Making music videos doesn’t make you less of a director
•Lots of talented directors came from a music video background
“In the last five years I have constantly seen all the most refreshing and exciting directing talent come out of music videos over other fields” [N. Doff, Unkn

8. VFX and Changing Technologies
The use of VFX have massively increased from the days of just filming the band such
The Beatles to full CG composites. With the increased in visual interest it brings in
more viewers which in turn brings more publicity and fame for an artist.
Examples
• The video for Voodoo In My Blood by Massive Attack and Young Father's combines
3D objects that are composed into live-action footage
• Wide Open by The Chemical Brothers motion tracked a mesh skin onto the actor
with blended 3D elements and complex light simulations.
•VFX has become a staple in music videos with award shows such as the VMAs have
started a Best VFX award for the companies that create the best VFX in music videos.
Past winners include BUF VFX for their work on ME! By Taylor Swift and Passion
Pictures for their work on Feel Good Inc by Gorlliaz.
Summery
•There are loads more music videos based around VFX images
•They are getting insanely detailed and realistic
•They have awards for VFX just in music videos
“the result is absolutely spectacular and a testament to the creative possibilities of collaborative projects” [C. Ward, 2016]
Voodoo In My Blood
Wide Open

9. Future - VR
Music Videos going down the VR route
•There is an ever growing number of cheap VR headsets and
increased use of mobile phones for streaming it is currently an
untapped market.
•Record sales dropping artists are looking for a new way to
share music videos
•Move your phone around and have the video follow
•The viewer feel like they are apart of it.
•It gives the viewer better engagement with their favourite
artists on a audio and visual layer
The Weekends music video for The Hills remix as there are many
layers to the video with things that can only be seen if watching
from different angles by moving a phone around
Summery
•VR headsets are coming down in price and streaming services
are realising
•A new way to watch videos and be immersed in music is
developing this way
“VR lets us experience and connect to music more personally than ever before” [T. Szirtes, 2019]
“With the power of virtual reality, though, people who aren't even necessarily interested in the genre can appreciate the novelty, layering and Easter eggs i

10. Future - Short Films
Creating short films around songs in an album or a short film from a
full album.
•Its job is to create a visual narrative through songs that have
connected themes or situations such as
•blackbears Anonymous Saga
•The Unauthorised Bash Brothers Experience by The Lonely Island
The idea behind it is too add to the song in ways that just music can’t
be creating relationships between the audience and the actors
•Creating that relationship between the artist and the viewer
through cinematography and the engagement that occurs thorough
long form content.
Summery
•Music videos are becoming short films more and more
•They have the same connection as other long form content
“If artists continue to treat the music like movies don’t be surprised when Netflix or Showtime replaces YouTube as the central hub to
watch videos from your favourite rapper.” [Y. Phillips, 2018]

11. Future - Spotify
where we view music videos.
•The biggest music streaming platform Spotify - Canvases
This is a short, looped video that plays alongside the song when
in the Now Playing Window. They include
•snippets from the music video
•live shows
•an animation of the album cover
•fan art like Billie Eilish does on some of her songs.
With the ever expanding list of artists doing this it is clear that it
will continue to grow and evolve into a new way of watching
music videos through usual audio streaming channels
Summery
•Spotify are experiment with video content on there platform
•It could be where longer videos are going
“The goal is for you to have richer ways to express yourself (the artist) and to allow listeners to engage with you and your music even more deeply” [S

12. Bibliography - Films
 “1-800-273-8255 by Logic” [ dir. A Hines, 2017 ]
 “DNA by Kendrick Lamar” [ dir. N Elderkin, 2017 ]
 “Feel Good Inc by Gorlliaz” [ dir. P. Candeland &
J.Hewlett, 2005 ]
 “I Feel Fine by The Beatles” [ dir. J McGrath ]
 “lego house by Ed Sheeren” [ dir. E Nava, 2011 ]
 “ME! By Taylor Swift” [ dir. Swift & D. Mires, 2019 ]
 “Momentary Bliss by Gorlliaz” [ dir. J Hewlett, 2020 ]
 “panini by lil nas x” [ dir. M Diva, 2019 ]
 “SAYONARA by Aries” [ dir. M Larsson, 2018 ]
 “Señorita by Shawn Mendes” [ dir. D Meyers, 2019 ]
 “SWEAR TO GOD/HATE MY GUTS/DEAD TO ME by
blackbear” [ dir. A Cullen, 2019 ]
 “The Devil in I by Slipknot” [ dir. M Crahan, 2014 ]
 “The Hills Remix by The Weekend ft Eminem” [ dir N.
Elderkin, 2013 ]
 “The Unauthorised Bash Brothers Experience by The
Lonely Island” [ dir. M Diva, 2019 ]
 “Unsainted by Slipknot” [ dir. M Crahan, 2019 ]
 “Voodoo In My Blood by Massive Attack, Young Fathers”
[ prod. R Naja & E Dickinson, 2016 ]
 “Wait and Bleed by Slipknot” [ dir. T Mignone 1999 ]
 “Wide Open by The Chemical Brothers” [ dir. D O M & N I
C, 2016 ]
 “WOW by Post Malone” [ dir. J Defina, 2019 ]
 “Yami by TCrook$” [ dir. YCImaging, 2019 ]

13. Bibliography - Quotes
 VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 13 (2019) YouTube Video, added
by Corridor Crew [online]Available:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoRV6UBFSRM. Last accessed 9th
Nov 2019
 Alex Cooke (2017) 18 of the most creative music videos. Available:
https://fstoppers.com/originals/18-most-creative-music-videos-162211.
Last Accessed 6th Jan 2020
 Amelia. (2018). 40 years after video killed the radio star, YouTube is
transforming music. Here’s what brands need to know. Available:
https:// www.thinkwithgoogle.com/music-videos/. Last accessed 17th
Dec 2019
 C, Ward. (2016). VFX Inspiration: 9 Stunning Music Videos of 2016.
Available: https://www.rocketstock.com/blog/music-video-roundup-of-
2016/. Last accessed 20th Dec 2019.
 N Doff. (2016). Why Music Videos Are Still So Important: Views from
inside the industry. Available: https://medium.com/@pulsefilms/why-
music-videos- are-still-so-important-views-from-inside-the-industry-
ebaa7d4758d2. Last accessed 4th Nov 2019.
 S, Cahn. (2016). Why Music Videos Are Still So Important: Views from
inside the industry. Available: https://medium.com/@pulsefilms/why-
music-videos- are-still-so-important-views-from-inside-the-industry-
ebaa7d4758d2. Last accessed 4th Nov 2019.
 S, Perez. (2019). Get ready to see more looping videos on Spotify, as
Canvas launches into beta. Available:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/10/10/get-ready-to- see-more-looping-
videos-on-spotify-as-canvas-launches-into-beta/. Last accessed 6th Jan
2020.
 T, Campbell. (2016). Why are Music Videos so Important?. Available:
https:// www.epikmusicvideos.com/blog/88-why-are-music-videos-so-
important.html. Last accessed 3rd Dec 2019.
 T, Szirtes. (Unknown). 10 Best VR Music Experiences. Available:
https:// mbryonic.com/best-music-vr/. Last accessed 6th Jan 2020.
 Y, Phillips. (2018). I Got A Story To Tell: Great Music Videos Actually
Are Short Films. Available: https://djbooth.net/features/2016-06-03-
great-music-videos- short-films. Last accessed 6th Jan 2020.