Music video inspirations - Miss Georgiou

Music video inspirations - Miss Georgiou

There are many music videos of which I watched and was inspired by, I have chosen 5 different videos that I enjoyed the most and that I will attempt to take inspiration from to implement them within my own music videos. 2 of these music videos I will take inspiration for within the music video in terms of its editing features and I will attempt to implement these features within our own music video using the editing software Final Cut Pro. The 5 music videos I have chosen are, Clean Bandit - Rather Be, Jake Bugg - Lighting Bolt, , these 3 music videos have inspired me greatly and I intend to use them as a platform for my own willy music video. Within this post I will go through the 3 videos and annotate aspects of which I took inspiration from and discuss how it makes the music video successful and enjoyable.

Consider 3 music videos that you have watched, which have provided you with inspiration for your own production. Focus on; micro elements, music video style, artist representation, music video genre, theory, choice of song, etc.

Music video 1-

This music video is of the dance genre, I took several inspirations within this music video which I intend to implement within my own music videos. Firstly the use of editing within the video, specifically aspects such as the use of fast editing within the video would be an interesting feature that my group may look into using as it fits into the ethos of our music video, the use of this fast editing is effective as it goes accordingly with Goodwin's theory as the song has a high tempo and thus correlates with the fast editing. The use of fast editing partnered up with backwards editing within our music video would be an interesting aspect of which I am intending to use, this is as it both correlates with the tempo of the music and also the backwards editing goes accordingly to the lyric of the song "It feels like we only go backwards," thus again aiding to making our music video conventional and all the more likely to be enjoyable to our target audience. Another aspect within this music video that I took inspiration from is the use of mise-en-scene, specifically the use of lighting within the video, as there are several lighting effects and a variety of colours used within the video. The lighting within the video reflects the nature of the music and also adds to the enjoyment of the music video as the lights and specific scene represents a club and thus encourages dancing and having a good time. 

The use of fast editing within this
video reflects Goodwin's theory.

The lighting within this video adds to the
viewer experience of the video.

Music video 2-

The genre of this music video is electronic or dance, there are many different elements within the music video that are inspirational to me and that I plan on implementing into my own music video for it to be successful. Firstly in terms of mis-en-scene of the music video the lighting and colour of the video is very unique, the colour scheme highlights the red and purple colours over everything and has a tint that again creates the same effect. The use of these features, combined with the bright light created through the lightning and the city lights makes the music video incredibly unique, this is interesting to me as our music genre, psychedelic rock, celebrates individualism and breaking the social norms or following conventions, thus we believe adding colour tints and highlighting colour schemes that may be overlooked within our music video is a real possibility. The use of a motif within the music video, which is Skrillex's (the artist of the song) signature logo which features at the beginning of the music video, the use of this is to create a relationship between the audience and audience, and also it means the audience have something to associate with the artist, and thus the artist can use this logo in albums and advertisements and the audience will initially associate it with the specific artist due to its prominence. 

Music video 3- 

The genre of this music video is dance, there are many different elements I took inspiration from that I intend to implement within my own music videos. In terms of cinematography there are many different elements that create a successful music video and that I intend on using to make my own music video successful: firstly the use of a panning and tracking shot within the music video means that a setting can be depicted within the video easily as the camera spreads and shows the entire background, this feature is successful as it can set the scene of the music video and is also aesthetically pleasing if the camera pans on a nice background such as within this music video. Within this music video is also the use of a mid shot, and close ups, although these are both examples of simple camera angles, the use of these features allows the artist within the video (Ellie Goulding) to lip sync the lyrics to the song to make it look like she is actually singing in the video, this reflects Goodwin's theory of lyrics reflecting the song and also creates a link between the song and the visuals.



Music video 4- 

This music video is of the indie genre, it also inspired me greatly, there were many aspects I wish to implement into my own music video in terms of the editing features within the song. Firstly the use of editing within this music video specifically the use of both black and white editing and the use of a vintage effect are interesting elements that I would be interested in implementing within my own video. The use of a vintage camera effect is interesting as it creates a nostalgic effect within the video that reflects the nostalgic style of which Jake Bugg exerts through his music style, the vintage effect may also appeal to an elderly audience as the video is shot in the style if the videos they watched in their time. The black and white effect is also an effective feature as it again creates a nostalgic or old feel as black and white picture was active during the beginning of film. Within this music video there is also the prominence of fast editing and transitions, the use of this is to implement many different camera shots in to thus make the video as interesting as possible, and may also be used to reflect the high tempo of the song as Goodwin's theory suggests that music videos visuals generally are in correspondence with the song itself. I will use these editing features to help better my own video and take the aspects with great consideration as these elements have effectively been used within this video and thus is successful.



Music video 5-

The genre of this music video is rock and through analysing it I gain many inspirations in terms of editing, due to the effectiveness of a variety of editing styles. Firstly in terms of editing speeds, there is a stong use of fast editing and quick transitions, this much alike Jake Bugg's music video is used to both reflect the tempo and general ethos of the song itself in correspondence with Goodwin's theory of music and visuals and also to keep the video interesting as there is an abundance of different shots within this music video with frames almost always lasting less than 2 to 3 seconds long. On the contrary there is also a use of slow editing in the form of slow motion within the music video, the use of this adds to the intensity of certain frames, such as the glass smashing as the audience can see it for a longer and more stretched out time, it is also an interesting feature which is not seen in many music videos but is instead used mainly for action movies and thus adds to the individuality of the music video itself, which is conventional to the genre of rock. There is also a strong use of special effects and CGI within the video, this feature is interesting for the audience as it creates a sense of surrealism within the video and makes it unique to other videos due to the creativity. After watching this music video I have gained many inspirations in terms of editing and intend on using them within my own music video, especially the use of CGI and special effects as this is conventional to the psychedelic rock genre.

Analysis of a star and Dyer's Star Theory - Miss Miller

Analysis of a star and Dyer's Star Theory - Miss Miller

There are many reasons as to why an artist would want to reinvent themselves as an artist, firstly the artists may be tired of their image and thus would want to mix things up, making music of a different genre and resultantly targeting a different audience, this could also lead to an increase in revenues as they are attracting and appealing to a wider variation of audience. Another reason may be to be rid themselves of bad press or a negative perceptions of themselves by creating a new image and reinventing themselves within the media, other artists may want to stay relevant or keep up with the times thus having to adapt to the wants of the modern audience. Within my blog I will be commenting on the artist Miley Cyrus and her development within the music industry, she has adapted and reinvented herself within the music industry in order to stay relevant and with the times.

Miley Cyrus first emerged in the music industry through the Disney show Hannah Montana, where she played both herself and Hannah Montana, a world famous pop singer. The genre of the music she produced was pop, although the genre changed, the intended audience for this type of music was young children of 4-12 years of age. The use of conventions such as a dance routine with back up singers, an abundance of close ups and the positive ethos and vibe given throughout the music video reflects this kid pop genre as she is targeting just children she is trying to both educate and entertain them which will in turn result to views and profits, however as she grew up and her audience did she had to adapt to the industry and change her image.

With Miley Cyrus' audience growing older and her own music preferences changing, Miley dropped the Hannah Montana act and focused on her own music and develop herself within he pop genre, however this time targeting pre-teens and teenagers with her music. The use of pop conventions such as dance routines, pop-themed outfits and a party themed video full of happy people dancing that encourages the audience to dance and be happy all feature in the video however there is slight mention to taboo subjects such as the use of drugs and sex which is unconventional of the pop genre and of Miley as she would previously never have made mention to these topics due to her past affiliation with Disney and her young audience. It's safe to say the change of her music style and message is due to the age of her audience that watched Hannah Montana and she is only aiming to keep up with the audience. 

Miley Cyrus' biggest transition within the music industry came around 2013, the main reason for this change in music style is to stay relevant within the industry as her old music was growing out dated due to her aging fans and the ever changing trends within the music industry. Her controversial music video which included several taboos such as the use of drugs and skimpy outfits, this catches the audiences attention as they are not expecting this sort of music video from an artist such as Miley Cyrus that came from Disney and used to make music for young children. Miley's target audience changed to teens and those older, this can be seen through her themes and the lack of conventions within her music videos opposed to her old music. 

Diversity - Miss Miller

Why would an artist choose to have a diverse music video?

A diverse music video is a music video that is unconventional and breaks the mould from the regular music videos seen on music channels. The video would be unique and thought provoking and confusing as certain concepts could not be explained, the conventions within genres would not be followed, for example dance music generally features a dance routine of some sort however a diverse music video may lean more towards a concept or narrative style. Music video directors Michael Gondry and Chris Cunningham are both well known for their diverse music videos. Artists that are known for their diverse music videos would include Lady Gaga, Mily Cyrus and Madonna.

There are many reasons as to why an artist would want to create a diverse music video, firstly an artist may want to berid themselves of a particular image and thus may want to reinvent or rebrand themselves, the reasoning of this is to either stay relevant as with time certain trends and styles change and thus artists may want to keep up with the times, or an artist may want to berid bad press or create positive publicity of themselves by creating a new image. Diverse music videos could be unsuccesful however due to them being unconventional, meaning they could confuse or offend an audience and also fans may dislike it as it is different to what they are used to seeing from the artist.

Should music videos be censored? - Miss Miller

Should music videos be censored? - Miss Miller

Censorship  within music videos refers to the suppression of anything that is deemed offensive or controversial, mainly in regards to swear words, sexualisation and lyrics which mention sex, drugs or other taboo topics. All music videos are censored before appearing on music channels such as MTV in order to avoid controversy. Within this blog I will look at different arguments for whether music videos should be censored or not.

Parents - A majority of parents would be in favor of censorship for many reasons, the parents would want to hide their children from taboo languages and would not want them to be exposed to inappropriateness. Thus censorship only makes sense as the parents don't have to worry about their children being both exposed and influenced by the content within the music videos or by artists they idolize, as they may pick up the way the artists act or phrases they say and think it is acceptable because it is in a music video.

Artists - Artists would be against censorship for several reasons, firstly it puts a limit on their creativity as certain artists feel some things are essential for their work and thus putting limitations on them could either hinder the quality of the work or agitate them and make them not want to upload music to a particular channel. Also the artists may also argue that their music is a form of art and it should be left untouched for it to be appreciated.

Record labels - Record labels may be neutral on the topic for many reasons, although they would want to support their artists whom are under their contracts as they want them to create the best pieces of work that will result in them getting paid well, they also don't want to agitate music channels which result willy in a high amount of income and attention when their music videos are broadcast and thus would be open to the prospect of co operation.

Music Channels - Music Channels would be in favor of censorship as they do not want controversy or complaints going towards their channel, most music channels rely on a young demographic who still live with their parents so if there is anything that is deemed inappropriate they may lose viewers due to parents.

Fans - A majority of fans would be against censorship, this is due to the fact that they are fans of the artists content and thus would not want their favored artist's music tampered with or limited in any way as it may reduce the quality and viewer experience as they have the constraints of censorship within the music video.

Radio Stations - Radio stations would be for censorship for many reasons, as many families and homes have radios in them and thus they would want to keep the music clean in order for there to be a lack of complaints from the demographic. Censorship also allows for the stations to maintain a huge following as without it there would be a lot less families listening to the radio.

Overall there are substantial reasons for both why music videos should and shouldn't be censored, parents with their children at best intention want to protect their children from profanity and anything that could influence them negatively, whilst record labels and music channels both want optimum viewer quality and thus do not want to provoke controversy meaning censorship would be the obvious option to keep all viewers happy and entertained. Artists and fans however disagree with this as they believe the content should be left untouched and respected as a piece of artwork as censorship puts limitations on the artist creatively and may also reduce the quality as the artist cannot express all emotions or portray what they would like to portray.

Research into music channels - Miss Georgiou

Research into music channels - Miss Georgiou

Music television is a type of television programming which focuses predominantly on playing music videos from bands. The concept came to prominence in the late 70's with the introduction of many different types of broadcasting shows that played popular songs and music videos on television. The use of a music channel is to categorise certain styles of music to target one style of audience so they have a platform to watch all of the music videos they want or to showcase the most popular music videos out as these are mainstream and appeal to the masses. I will be analysing many different music videos in order to depict who they target an what their purpose is.

MTV

MTV is an American television channel which was launched in 1981, it is the most popular music channel and is owned by Viacom Media Networks, which also own Nickelodeon, and Comedy Central and over 85% of Americans have MTV. It started off broadcasting music videos 24/7 however branched out into regular TV, comedy shows and reality TV. MTV's target audience is primarily teenagers and those of adolescence, aged between 12 - 30. The show plays mainly pop music videos as these are the most popular and mainstream, it implements however all videos that are popular as the masses enjoy them the most. MTV is used as a platform for many artists due to its popularity and many musicians dream of having their music showcased on MTV due to the attention it would bring.

MTV's logo.

4 Music

4 Music is a British music channel which launched in 2008, it was made available on all British television networks and is generally watched by the majority of the British due to it being free to view. The intended audience again for this music channel is anywhere between 12-30 as these are the main demographic of people who enjoy listening to music and keep up with the trends. It is in collaboration with Channel 4 and thus is appealing to artists due to the variation Channel 4 has as it is one of the most popular channels within Britain with many sister channels. The shows running theme is a countdown which showcases the most popular music videos and thus this increases downloads and sales for the artists thus making an appearance on 4 Music again appealing.

VIVA

Viva is a British music channel which launched in 2009, it is free to view like 4 music however what started as just a 24/7 music channel branched out to showing several shows mainly reality TV shows and children's shows due to its affiliation with Nickelodeon. The intended audience is for young people aged between 12-25 and this can be seen through the many childish gags they make through the use of slapstick and fat jokes, the songs played are mainly pop songs and this again correlates with the young demographic as younger people are more into trendy and popular songs. It is appealing to artists due to the popularity as it also follows the scheme of a countdown which boosts sales and increases publicity.

Viva's logo.

Fuse TV

Fuse TV is an American music channel which launched in 2001, it is dedicated to music videos, interviews, live concerts and anything else music based. The channel has a huge demographic and is incredibly popular meaning that the intended audience is somewhere between 12-30 as this is the age of most people whom enjoy mainstream music. The channel focuses on the more popular artists and not independent or underground musicians, genres such as pop, hip hop and r n b are prominent as they have the biggest fan bases and thus the viewers would watch Fuse TV to find out news about their favorite artists. It is largely popular within America with over 63% of those in America watching the show, thus making it appealing to artists due to its renown.

Fuse's logo.

Channel AKA

Channel AKA is unlike the other music channels in many ways, it was established in 2003 and is owned by All Around The World Productions, and is sistered by TV shows such as Clubland TV, Now Music and Planet Pop. The show has a more niche target audience and focuses on giving playing time to young and up coming artists, mainly of the rap or grime genre. This niche audience means it is less popular and also means the intended audience are more mature as most listeners of rap and hip hop are older due to the themes. 

History of Music Videos - Miss Georgiou

History of Music Videos - Miss Georgiou

A music video is a short film that integrates a song produced by an artist for promotional and creative purposes, the video aims to both aid to song as the imagery can further the enjoyment of the song and also adds to the artistic value of the song as the video can implement additional features the song cannot. Music videos are primarily used as a marketing technique to appeal to the audience and promote the sales of the artist through targeting the intended audience and also appealing to other audiences on certain occasions. The ways in which people watch music videos and how they are made, produced and intended for have changed dramatically with the progression of technology and the mass expansion of the music industry, as music began as simply an entertainment custom grew into a corporate business and music videos adds to a conjunction to help record labels gain sales and income through targeting their intended audiences. I will be discussing the history of music videos, the ways in which they have progressed with the progression of technology and marketing techniques, and the many methods and elements used within the music industry that aid at promoting and increasing the sales of the artist and the subsequent record label. 

The origin of music videos

The first medium and essentially the roots of implementing both music and picture imagery came in the late 19^th and early 20^th century within the United States, with the introduction of illustrated sound. An illustrated sound is a type of performance art that was provided as additional entertainment that corresponded with the song being performed. Live performers which usually consisted of a pianist and vocalist or an orchestra of some sort with music recordings were used for venues called vaudeville houses and nickelodeons. These venues would have a large glass slide that would project still images, the glass slide allowed artists to hand paint each slide and could patent the colour of the projections onto the glass screen. One song generally consisted of 12 to 16 still images that sequently illustrate the song and the lyrics being played through a selection of different chronological imagery. Illustrated songs usually play during the interval, to precede a silent movie or during the reel change of the movie, however some venues relied solely on illustrated songs to provide entertainment and gain income for them, tens of thousands of small theatres broadcasted them to audiences. Illustrated songs were also used as a ploy to promote the sales of sheet music; they were incredibly valuable when implementing crowd participation, such as dancing and singing with the melody and lyrics, and also repetition as performances were repeated many times to help encourage sheet sales. The first ever illustrated song was "The Little Lost Child" in 1894. The song went on to become a nationwide hit selling more than two million copies of its sheet music, its success credited mainly to illustrated song performances and it is widely referred to as the first music video. Illustrated songs sold around millions of sheet music  and also aided as a platform for several actors and actresses’ careers as they modelled for the slides in the beginning of their acting careers.

An actress within
a talkie.

By the late 20’s many things had changed within the media industry; with progression of technology and several advances in terms of editing, software and other areas of film the introduction of synchronized sound within cinema brought many new possibilities within the entertainment industry. In 1926 the next form of music and picture corresponding to what would soon be a music video came with talkies arriving thanks to Warner Brothers. Talkies were musical short films that featured bands, vocals and dancers and provided both entertainment through the music aspect of the film and also the drama, comedy or romance within the actual movie, the talkies, much alike to the illustrated sounds encouraged the audience to dance and sing along to popular songs, and also the use of repetition or big hit songs within the talkies would encourage music sales and film sales as the audience would have an good time. Vitaphone, a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short films lead the “sound revolution” and inspired the entire entertainment industry to implement sound within their films. The introduction of talkies was widely successful and commercial; tens of thousands of people went to watch these talkies and enjoyed them greatly. Silent movies lost their prominence completely, although they like talkies featured music, it was nowhere near as entertaining as them as their music was through a live orchestra and soon nobody cared for silent movies. Many actors and actresses lost their jobs as they could not adapt to sound and picture corresponding, only Charlie Chaplin maintained his former level of popularity and renown whilst still performing and creating silent movies due to his talent and humour in the sector,

An advertisement for a talkie.

With the ever changing and progressing trends of the music and film industry coinciding with the advances in technology came new possibilities to enhance the viewer experience and the entertainment industry through the establishment of soundies. Within the late 1930's and the early 1940's they were introduced, soundies were, in terms a shortened more action packed and entertaining version of feature long talkies, they were only 3 minutes long and these short music films were incredibly similar to the music videos within modern times, clearly a pedestal for present music video producers. Soundies were created using Scopitones, an Italian form of jukebox that played magnetic soundtracks that helped the quality of the music being emitted. They were created during the Second World War and were also based on and more advanced version of Vitaphones. Soundies grew very popular within Hollywood with thousands of people watching them through Panorams, a coin operated visual jukebox that synched filmed image and showed them in nightclubs, bars, restaurants, factory lounges, and amusement centres, they were also made available for rental by the 8 to reel for those who were rich enough. Soundies would always feature a song of some sort, usually played by a band an orchestral number, or a duo of vocalist and pianist. The visuals would generally include dance sequences that were fun and entertaining to promote audience participation and also certain soundies would be comedic and featured many famous comedians at the time, such as Smith and Dale and the Keystone Kops. Comedy sketches however were not as well received as strictly musical soundies and were abandoned by the Soundies Distributing Corporation of America. During the 1940’s more than 2000 Soundies mini-musicals were created and distributed by recording artists as a method to promote their music, an early sign of using music videos to promote sales and gain income.

An advertisement St. Louis Blues,
one of the first soundies to emerge.

The 1950’s began the industry revolution in terms of the entertainment business and how music videos were used, artists began to record music videos and distribute them to labels and companies for promotional use, along with the intention to entertain the audience these music videos were used to increase the income of the artist and their subsequent record label and to also increase the public image of the artist and gain new fans as these music clips targeted a wider audience. The Scotophone (a visual jukebox with a screen that broadcasted music clips) spread out of America and into other countries such as Germany, France and Great Britain, where they began to create their own music clips, and in 1956, Tony Bennet allegedly created the first ever music video when he was filmed walking along the Serpantine in Hyde Park and synchronised the video to the song Stranger in Paradise. Tony Bennet’s clip grew critical acclaim and was broadcast on several shows within the United States and the United Kingdom such as Dick Clark’s American Bandstand which showed popular songs and had live performances from several artists. Following the popularity of this music clip many other artists were inspired to create their own music videos in order to attain the promotional and financial benefits it brought. Artists such as Elvis Presley, Betty White, Johnny Cash and Dean Martin gained widespread attention through their music videos, which were incredibly popular and resulted in the increased selling of their subsequent music. By the late 1950’s several music videos were broadcast through television shows within the United States and the United Kingdom, thus came the introduction of shows such as Top 40, which would show many different of the most popular music videos of the time. 

Elvis Presley in the Jailhouse Rock
music video.

During the 1960's music clips began to mould into something incredibly similar to the music videos we have in the present day. Within France, the Scotiphone had become a huge success and many French artists such as Serge Gainsbourg, Françoise Hardy, Jacques Brel, and Jacques Dutronc produced several short films and inserts to accompany their music. The prominence of this device led to the invention of many new, more advanced pieces of technology used to broadcast music clips and short films, such as the Cinebox in Italy and Colour-Sonic in the USA, these pieces of technology would go on to aid several recording artists and labels to create promotional music inserts and would thus act as a vehicle for modern day music videos. Artists began to pre-record music audio, then film a variation of visuals in which the artists would lip sync pre-recorded music, to create the effect that the artist was actually performing the song within the video, not only was this effect entertaining for the audience as it eradicated the possibility of ambiguity within the music video, it is also the first sign of Goowin’s theory of performance based aspects within a music video.  Artists within the mainstream of the entertainment industry such as the Beatles, Francoise Hardy and the Rolling Stones created filmed inserts; these were very similar to the style of music videos in modern times, and were used as a marketing ploy to keep the artists  relevant and popular and also to promote the sales of their music. The music videos relied on good editing as the lip syncing and varied clips were very complex to use bearing in mind the adept technology they had at the time. These music videos were broadcast all around the world and were popular in essentially every country overseas through the use of broadcasting stations. 

The Beatles in one of their
music videos.

In the 1970’s the ideal of creating music videos in order to promote an artist and their record label to gain publicity and encourage music sales was emphasized greatly. The 1970’s brought the introduction of music videos within television, not only would this change the way in which music videos were created. As now record labels and artist created music videos with the sole use in many cases not to further the creativity of the product but to promote sales and appeal the audience.  This era and the subsequent advances in the entertainment industry brought the outlines of Goodwin’s theory, which would soon become the frameworks for conventions used within the most popular and mainstream music videos, with elements such as an abundance of close ups in order to promote the artists image, dance routines in order to add to the enjoyment of the music video and lip syncing of the lyrics within the music videos in order to create a link between the visuals and the lyrics all used within these videos for effect. With the growing popularity of music and the increased investments and profits made within the music industry there were several advances, shows such as Top of the Pops and Sounds began to play popular music videos each week, this helped artists majorly as the viewers of the show would view and support songs they liked by purchasing them in hope of seeing it next week, many artists saw these TV shows as a platform for their music careers due to the high viewership and subsequent following it would bring. Saturday Night Live, which aired its first show in 1975, emerged as one of the most popular formats for broadcasting music videos and still remains as a popular sketch show. 

The cast of Saturday Night Live.

In 1981 one of the biggest and most important moments in terms of the entertainment industry's history would occur, US music channel MTV launched its 24/7 music video broadcasting show, beginning with airing the song "Video Killed The Radio Star." The establishment of this music channel which would soon become the most popular entertainment channel not only in the US but worldwide would act as the pedestal for music videos with the purpose of promoting the artist in order to increase sales and publicity. MTV also brought the beginning of broadcasting music and music videos 24/7 when not on the radio, which became a popular element as music was always available for listening. MTV became the prominent format for music videos, many artists such as Madonna, Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants owed their fame to the publicity they gained through concentrating a majority of money and time on their music videos being broadcasted on MTV as they knew the benefits would be great. Advances in technology meant there was new equipment able for the use of directors which aided the editing and cinematography of the music video and thus the popularity and frequency of music videos increased. In 1983 one of the most popular, iconic and inspirational music videos was released, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, directed by John Landis. Thriller remains as one of the most successful music videos of all time, and set the bar high for other music videos. The music video cost a record of $800,000 dollars to produce, and was 14 minutes long, it was incredibly successful and won many awards and accolades, it was also instrumental to African American’s flourishing within the music industry and featuring on high prospect music channels worldwide such as MTV through music videos. 

Michael Jackson's Thriller.

The 1990's brought the rise and prominence of music video directors, they became integral to the success of music videos and their role and stature within each music video or product within the music entertainment industry was incredibly similar to film directors, and many music video directors went on to pursue a career in film and create feature length films. Music video directors were given full creative control such as the cinematography, mise-en-scene and conventions over the product provided they consulted the artist and their correspondent record label; this was an incredibly important role full of responsibility and thus a hiring a good director would always result in a better end product. Directors such as Chris Cunningham, Michel Gondry, and Spike Jonze grew to prominence within this era, each respected director was incredibly unique with their ideas, some more than others however all of their videos broke the mould of mainstream conventions in some way or another in order to catch the eye of the audience or create publicity through shock methods. The increasing numbers of music videos being created due to the abundance of platforms there were available after the introduction of MTV, combined with advances in technology such as the creation of an easy to use 13MM camera and CGI and special effects and the increased levels of both competition and ambition of artists meant that boundaries had to be stretched in order to stay original and popular, this thus led to the rise of even more expensive music videos. Almost every music video created cost over a million dollars to produce, with producers and directors spending heaps of money and effort in order to create a hit. Michael and Janet Jackson’s “Scream” allegedly cost $7 million dollars to make, whilst Madonna’s “Bedtime Story” cost $5 million dollars.  These directors added variation to music videos and subsequently they resulted in the increased revenue and publicity of artists through directing the videos.

A still from Kanye West's
Heard Em Say directed by Michel Gondry,

The 21st century brought the widespread prominence and rise of the internet, this began the spread of music and other forms of entertainment to be spread on not just television and radio but now on computers, which largely affected the ways in which music was created and distributed. In 1997 iFilm launched, this allowed user to post and share short videos, which were usually music videos, this then spurred on an influx of websites dedicated to hosting videos. By the mid 2000's most music channels such as MTV and VIVA stopped broadcasting music videos in favor of TV shows and Reality TV shows as these became increasingly popular. This thus lead to even more websites broadcasting music videos and websites such as Napster were created, however the main website which has become a huge influence on the way in which entertainment is broadcast is Youtube, which was formed in 2005, this became the platform for video hosting and soon millions would use this to share, upload and watch videos. Many music videos attained millions of views on the internet which would further their sales and gain them publicity artists saw this new oppurtinity as a platform to further their sales and add to their fan base. Artists used the internet to both advertise and upload their music videos over YouTube due to its popularity and its widespread influence, as millions of people watched it, an effective music video could attain millions of views. The most viewed music video of all time on Youtube is Psy's 'Gangnam Style' with 2,145,343,240 views, it received wide acclaim and won many accolades such as, most liked music video, first video to be viewed 2 billion times, and the most viewed K-pop song of all time. The video uses a variation of of special effects and  editing, which reflects the popularity of taking advantage of the abundance of advanced technology made available, taking this into consideration one can depict that the use of technology and special effects such as CGI could result in better views and a more successful music video. The most expensive music video is the collaboration between Michael and Janet Jackson in 'Scream,' directed by Mark Romenek, the video cost $7 million dollars to produce, which is over $10 million dollars in modern times with adjusted inflation. This film again uses a variety of editing such as CGI and computer added effects, which highlights the amount of money needed to invest into having a successful and good quality type of special effects. The music video, despite heavy investments was not very successful in correspondence with some of Michael Jackson's other music videos, with it only attaining 37,322,919 views on YouTube.