Timeline of Music Videos

Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues (1929)

This video was considered to be the first music video ever made. The pace of this video is very slow and the cutting between shots is very slow with little variation between the types of the shot. The most common shot used within this music video is the mid shot of the woman singing and the long shot of her in the room. No effects are used in this video as the technology did not allow fancy editing. This would have been shot in one take as pre recording was not around.




Elvis Presley - Return To Sender (1962)

Within the 1960's music videos grew in popularity due to the advance in technology however these music videos tended to see the artist singing in front of a audience replicating the feel of a live performance. The shot selection was still limited however pre recording was now possible and this ensured the music was the best quality.




Abba - Take A Chance On Me (1977)

This music video was released in a time where technology had again improved and because of thistle editing process had changed and now the music videos comprised of simple effects for example the multiply effect in this music video and at the time this was very advanced. The shot selection around this time had increased again as the cameras had improved and were more manageable.




Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (1980)

In the 1980's MTV US began and they began to air music videos and at the time one of the groundbreaking videos was Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel this was because there were more editing techniques involved. Within this time the music videos also began to have a narrative where the lyrics and the visuals link together this is something that is still present with current music videos.




Everytime We Touch - Cascada (1990) 

This music video was a big hit during the 1990's. This music video is beginning to look like something we would see to this day because there is a narrative however there are elemets of performance and some male gaze towards the artist. This music video also benefits from the advances in technology as the quality is much higher and the editing is crisp with the use of fast cutting and the use of advanced effects. There is also a brand image that is created from the close ups of the artist.


How important are music videos today?

Personally I feel that music videos still have their place within the music industry however i don't feel like they contribute as much to the industry like they did 20 or 30 years ago and I feel this way because artists have so may ways in order to sell themselves as the media is constantly publishing stories about the private life of artists and this generates the interest that the music video once did. I feel that the music video is a way for the artist to express themselves and to show to their fans in order to make themselves a brand rather than actually wanting to sell their music.