70's!

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

This music video has two main parts to it, one with the band performing on a stage, and another with 4 people stood in spotlights and singing. This video shows how music videos have developed because in the 60's they were just videos of the band performing, but this one uses the idea of having two separate concepts within one music video, and this method is used in lots of videos now, especially the idea of having one scene with the band performing, and another scene with its own storyline. 

This video shows the band performing more, and lighting has been used to make the faces stand out. More effort has been put into the costumes and effects, which shows that they are trying to show people how impressive the band are, and making them stand out from every body else. Cross fades have been used when changing scenes, which makes the video flow better than just simple cuts, and there are lots of quick cuts in time with the music when the music gets faster and more dramatic, which makes the video fit better with the song. They have messed around with the transparency so at certain points the lead singers face is over the top of another person or the 4 faces singing, which makes the lead singer stand out. When the lyric "I see a little silhouetto of a man" is sung, an image of a person's shadow appears, which shows that they have thought about what is in the video and matching it with the song, which happens more and more from the 70's onwards. There are lots of close ups of instruments and people's faces, but there are also some more exciting camera shots, with zoom being used a lot more, and low angle and high angle shots being used more too. 

The Jackson 5 - Blame it on the Boogie (1978)

This video shows the band all singing along to the song, and it is different to the music videos from the 60's because this time there is no audience, and they aren't on a stage, instead they are in a studio all miming along to the song. They have a choreographed dance and when each of them have their lines the camera focuses on them, with either close ups or midshots. There are more interesting camera shots in this than the music videos from the 60's because the camera isn't static in this the whole time, for example, at the beginning the camera starts off facing the floor and it then tilts up to show the guys dancing. Transition effects are used a lot in this so instead of it just cutting to a different shot, there are fades between the shots, making it flow better. There is an effect being used the whole time, and it very obvious and exaggerated, which is how music videos tended to be throughout the 70's and 80's. The idea of costumes started in the 70's too, with all the band members wearing clothes that are similar so that it gives them an image for people to associate with them. Around halfway through there is a bit where an effect has been used to make it look like the shoes are dancing without anyone in, which fits with the line "I just can't control my feet". This shows the advancement of technology from the 60's, and also this idea of having the music video represent what is being said in the song became a very popular idea and is used in the majority of music videos after this point. 

 The Boomtown Rats - I don't like Mondays (1979)

This song is based on a true story about a girl who went to school and shot a lot of people, so the video has scenes that relate to this. It starts off with an establishing shot of a building, then zooms in to show the inside of a school. There are close ups of the lead singers face when he is singing, and there are lots of synchronous cuts to images of hands clapping when there is clapping in the song. Also, when the children are singing, there are synchronous cuts to their faces, making the cuts more exciting and fast paced.  This video is more thought out, with three different settings (one in the school, another in the living room, and another in the white studio set) making it more interesting. I like the bit when the camera follows the girl to her living room, and they are watching the school on tv, which is that previous scene, and then the lead singer is in the room watching the tv. I also like the way the scenery and characters and the way they are acting all relates to the lyrics in the song, and this happens in a lot more music videos from the 70's onwards. There are more clever ways used when changing from one scene to another, like when the piano player gets up and moves to the studio, and his clothes magically change, and then he sits down at another piano and plays in time to the music, and then that bit is filmed with the camera on a slanty angle, making it more interesting than just a straight on shot. Then the camera zooms out to reveal the singer, who has had a costume change. Costume changes become a lot more common in music videos after the 70's, and they tend to be more theatrical and well scripted, rather than just the band performing. The end of the music video mirrors the beginning, zooming out on the people, and then zooming out to an establishing shot of the building, but then it continues to zoom out, showing the band watching the video in the studio which was shown earlier, which confuses me.