Music Video Timeline 1950s to 2010

1. Elvis Presley – Jailhouse Rock 1957 Although one of the first major figures in music, Elvis Presley’s video conforms to the common forms and conventions of the videos now a days. There are many close ups of the artist with dancers surrounding him. All the men are wearing the same uniforms however there are many shots where Elvis is higher than the rest of the men on tables etc.

2. Black Sabbath - Paranoid 1970 Black Sabbath’s music video is entirely a “as live” performance. As technology increased from previous years, different effects were available and Black Sabbath took full advantage of this with the constant changing background. There are many close ups of the members of the band however there are more of the leader singer, Ozzy Osborne. Woman have been used in the background looking over the male band members.

3. Tone Loc - Funky Cold Medina 1989 In Tone Loc’smusic video for Funky Cold Medina there are many close ups of Tone Loc himself for obvious reasons. The song is about trying to get women however he is not having much luck. The song begins with a woman dancing with Tone Loc and other men watching, however as the song progresses we find out that the women are very much in control in Tone Loc’s situation. The song isn’t very serious and has many funny elements in the lyrics and the video itself such as the dog dressed up in clothes and also the giant large guitar/vinyl player instrument. Some parts of the video have been edited to play in black and white, this gives a more older style feel to different clips (the barman spinning the drink). The video follows a small narrative however not a full one with a beginning, middle and end etc.

4. RUN dmc - tricky 1990 This music video follows a particular narrative, however it cuts from the narrative to the artists rapping. At points there is no music playing and the storyline continues. All members of Run DMC are wearing big black coats with hoods, hats and big gold necklaces. The video has been edited in time with the song. The majority of the video is made up of close ups of Run DMC.

5. Sub focus – rock it 2009 This video is the most recent of my selections, you can tell this by the way it has been constructed. The video has used a large amount of animation, however there is some green screen recording at the beginning. The video overall is very trippy and I think this goes well with the techno/drum and bass genre of music. The video has been carefully edited to the music, making it more effective for the viewer. The video offers a narrative however it makes little sense when watching but offers a strong visual to keep the viewer watching and most importantly listening!