Task 2.1 - Phases of the Music Video

Q1: What camera angles, shots, movement & position, are still used today from the ‘Hard Day’s Night’ Performance music videos?

In the performance music video for ‘If I Fell’ from Richard Lester’s ‘Hard Day’s Night’ a lot of different camera shots and angles are used. All of them that can be identified in the video are still used today; this is because Richard Lester established the codes and conventions for the production of a performance music video. For example, there is a high angle shot of the band very early on which clearly shows the viewer the band in it’s entirety and is used in most performance music videos today. As well as this, there are close ups of instruments being played (Ringo playing the drums). Finally, there’s a distinct use of handheld camera from the viewpoint of where the crowd would be, almost making it a POV shot. Most people dreamt of watching the Beatles from front row seats and this video gives them the best representation of what it would be like.

Q2: Discuss what the appeal was of MTV in the 1980s and analyse it in relation to Thriller/Video killed the radio star.

The appeal of MTV in the 80s can be defined from two points of view, the audience and the producers. The producers loved MTV because it was a TV station that ran 24/7, constantly broadcasting music videos. This meant that if they made a music video and it was broadcast on MTV it would increase the number of people that received their product thus getting them more profit and the artist more publicity. The audience would like MTV as it would allow them to view the most popular music videos whenever they wanted, thus letting them connect further with their favourite artists. MTV made music videos extremely successful and this was highlighted by The Buggles’ song ‘Video killed the radio star’. As well as this, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was extremely successful due to how intense it’s video was. It was just as, if not more, scary than most horrors at the time and it was paired with what was probably his most popular song. You could argue that this would not be the case if the video had not been received so well.            

Q3: Discuss what elements of the Marilyn Monroe musical scene are borrowed by Madonna? Think in terms of the similarities of Mise en Scene: location, setting, costumes, props, body language etc.

In Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’ video she has very cleverly decided to copy, almost exactly, the props, costumes, location and body language that Marilyn Monroe is surrounded by in ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’ video from the film Gentlemen prefer blondes. She has done this due to the success of Marilyn, as well as the fact she is commonly deemed as the most attractive women in the world. This may be because she desires to achieve that or to simply pay homage to such a definitive piece.