Research - The Music Video

I have been thinking about the pros and cons of choosing a music video over a short film. In conclusion I have decided to partner up with Rachel Petrovics, someone who shares similar creative qualities and visual ideas as me. A music video will communicate a narrative to the audience much clearer than a short film would, as the lyrics of the song already tell a story. I am still to decide on a song, but I'd like to explore lyrics as the foundations for my video's narrative.

To gain a deeper understanding about music videos I did some research about the history of music videos, and what makes them so successful. In today's modern world of music, videos are used as a marketing tool, to try sell more records. However in the past the music video was referred to as an "illustrated song". I really like this term as it describes the music video as bringing the song to life, and this is something I'd like to do!

I found this timeline on the internet, showing the history of music videos and how they have changed over the years: The Music Video

Why so successful?
Music videos are extremely successful because they allow the consumer to visualise the music, thus provoking emotion or thoughts. A music video is quite simply an interpretation of a song, so people often may disagree with how the song has been 'illustrated' in a music video, as the song could mean one thing to one person and something entirely different to another.
Michael Jacksons 14 minute long video for "Thriller", directed by John Landis, was perhaps the most influential music video of all time. Often referred to as the greatest music video ever and has also been voted the most influential pop music video of all time, Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture, and was named "a watershed moment for the [music] industry" for its excellence in merging filmmaking and music. Guiness World Records in 2006 listed it as "most successful music video".

I think this video definitely highlights the importance of a strong narrative, clever conventions and editing technique, all of which I need to consider when making my music video.