Blog 3 History of Music video

First film with sound

1927 – THE JAZZ SINGER

First music video: 1894

The first news when music first merged with film was in 1894 when a sheet music publisher hired electrician George Thomas to synchronise a live performance with a magic lantern that would show projected images.

Performance to Music video

In 1973, David Bowie’s rendition of Starman on the BBC TV chart show Top of the Pops launched the Ziggy Stardust persona into popular consciousness. Strictly speaking, it’s a TV performance not a music video, but watched on a small screen by mass audiences, it serves the same function.

First animated Music Video

Elvis Costello and the Attractions' Accidents Will Happen is widely considered to be the first fully animated music video. It was made by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton who created a cartoon version of the band using 35mm stills as reference.

First music video on MTV

The modern marketing MV

It was only after the success of "Bohemian Rhapsody" that it became a regular practice for record companies to produce promotional videos for artists' single releases. The Guardian stated it "ensured videos would henceforth be a mandatory tool in the marketing of music".

Most expensive MV

Both Bedtime Story ($5 million) by Madonna and Scream ($7 million) by Michael and Janet Jackson were directed by Romanek in 1995 and were among the three most expensive music videos of all time. In the late 1970s, the television show Top of the Pops began airing music videos. Since the demand for some films was so high, the BBC imposed stringent restrictions on the number of videos that could be used.

Michael Jackson's Thriller

Coordinated one-dimensional dance footage was transformed into short films with a high level of production value. Artists began offering their audiences immersive audio and video experiences through music videos in the early 2000s. An excellent example of this is Michael Jackson's body of work, which is among the most extensive in the world. When Jackson spoke about the creation and idea of 'Thriller,' he did not refer to it as a music video but rather as a short film.

Creativity with simplicity

At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards in September 1997, it earned 10 nominations, winning four awards, including "Breakthrough Video" and the "Best Video of the Year". In 2006, it was voted 9th by MTV viewers in a poll on music videos that 'broke the rules.' The single was released in the U.S. in 1997. At the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, Jamiroquai performed the song, recreating the famous floor moving concept with two moving walkways on the stage floor, going in different directions, for Jay Kay to dance on.