Media Lesson - Journal 1.

Sine cinema was invented, it allowed music and videos to be brought to life; with the music creation starting in the 1920s.

1970s- the record industry discovers TV shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists; Bohemian Ryapsody by Queen was a ground breaking video:

Technical Codes:

Camerawork - camera movement, angles and shot distance all need to be analysed. Closeups predominate, as in most TV partly because of the size of the screen and partly because of the desire to create.

Editing - through the most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage, rending many of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing thus ensuring multiple viewing, there are ideas which use slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood.

Editing - often enhancing the editing are digital effects which play with the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience. This might take the form of slight screens, colourisation and of course blockbuster film sytle CGI.

Greenscreen - Chro-mokey

The advert of high quality colour videotape recorders and portable video cameras.

Development: In 1990's the techniques became common

-fast cut montage

-multiple viewing

-effects

Andrew Goodwin writing in 'Dancing in the distraction factory' (Routledge 1992)

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (eg. stage performance in rock video, dance routine - pop videos)

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. Some visuals will...

Amplifies

Illustrates

Contradicts

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to the motion of looking (screens within screens, telecopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc) for example Michael Jackson 'Thriller'.

Intertextual references can add another dimension of meaning to a text, as well as fulfilling an important role for audiences. They can work on different levels so that they will be understood by some, but not necessarily all, of the audience. Those who do 'get' the reference feel privilege, as though they are in on a secret.