Natasha Pollard
Music Video Production
The History of Music Videos
A music video is a short film that represents, visually, the mood, tempo and meaning of an artist's
song/ single. They can be used for artistic purposes but are usually created as a marketing device to
promote the artist and the sales of the record. The first type of “music video” or imagery to
accompany a piece of music was recorded in 1894 when Thomas B. Marks and Joe Stern hired an
electrician, George Thomas and other performers to promote their song 'The Little Lost Child'.
Thomas used a magic lantern to project a series of still images on a screen while the song was being
performed live. This was known as the first illustrated song. Many musical films were then
produced in the 20's and 30's, which featured bands, vocalists and dancers. Short music videos
called 'Soundies' were popular in the 1940's, which were short music films, normally around three
minutes long that included a dance routine. They were displayed on the Panoram
which was a coin operated duke box, however the trend faded out through WW2.
Short musical films were another key development for the modern music videos
we know today. In the late 50's the Scopitone, a visual jukebox was invented and
many short films were produced by artists to accompany
their music videos, that could be watched on the
Scopitone. In 1961 the first on location recording took
place for a Canadian show, Singalong Jubilee. The artists
pre recorded the audio and then were filmed lip syncing
in a different location. The sound and visual were then
edited together. Most 'music videos' or short music films were taped in
studios or on stage, on location shooting was a completely new dynamic for
a music video.
In the 60's and 70's many bands starred in their own feature films that were
released, at cinemas, at the same time their albums were released on record, as a means of
promotion. The Beatles first feature film 'A Hard Days Night' was made in 1964, directed by
Richard Lester. It accompanied their A Hard Days Night album and has
been said to be a major influence to music videos. The band set the
trend for feature films and continued to release two more; 'Help!' in
1965 and 'Magical Mystery Tour' in 1967. From 1967 promotional clips
started to grow in importance with stars such as Bob Dylan with his
'Subterranean Homes ick Blues', Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, The
Who and The Doors were all creating videos to go with their singles.
The launch of the US channel MTV, in 1981, was a massive breakthrough in making music videos
available to the public. It was a beginning of a new era for music; music videos were aired 24/7 on
MTV for all to watch. By the mid 80’s, this lead to music videos being a key tool in promoting and
marketing new singles for bands. Many acts, of this period owed a huge part of their success to this
new medium of the music industry, most notably Madonna and Adam and the Ants. It was the
originality, creativity and skilful construction of their videos that appealed to audiences. In 2005
onwards the internet became a revelation for music videos with the launch of YouTube, which made
viewing quick, easy and convenient for viewers. In 2010 Lady Gaga’s music video for ‘Bad
Romance’ made history by being the most watched music video on YouTube and on the internet, as
a whole. The Internet revolutionised the music industry and videos as bands were
able to break into the scene using the internet and the popularity they received for
their videos alone.
Natasha Pollard
Music Video Production