Tuesday, 18 September

2018
Video Killed the Radio Star

L.O: To analyse how the music

industry uses video.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer

Music
promotion

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer

Billboard poster

Music
promotion

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster

Music
promotion

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Music
promotion

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Advert in magazine
Music
promotion

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Advert in magazine
Music
promotion

Radio/ TV spots

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Advert in magazine
Music
promotion

Radio/ TV spots

Official website

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Advert in magazine
Music
promotion

Radio/ TV spots Youtube/ social media

Official website

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Starter
Write down as many ways as you can think of to
promote a new band/ singer
Radio advert

Billboard poster TV advert

Advert in magazine
Music
promotion Music Video

Radio/ TV spots Youtube/ social media

Official website

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz
1. When and why were the first music videos produced?
2. What year did MTV start?
3. What was the first video played on MTV?
4. What video, lasting almost 14 minutes, was released in December 1983?
(Clue: Think Werewolves and zombies!)
5. What is regarded as the first modern music video?

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz - answers
1. When and why were the first music videos produced?

• The first music videos were produced because the band in question couldn’t keep up with demand for
public appearances.
• So, instead of appearing in person, they sent a video, allowing them to appear on TV on opposite sides of
the world at the same time.
• The band were The Beatles and this is an excerpt from the first official video they produced. It was for a
double A-sided single – Paperback Writer/ Rain (1966).

Paperback Writer

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz - answers
2. What year did MTV start?

• MTV (Music Television) was launched in the USA in 1981.

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz - answers
3. What was the first video played on MTV?

The first video was called, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by a band called The Buggles.
(See how much of this you can get through!)
Buggles

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz - answers
4. What video, lasting almost 14 minutes, was released in December 1983? (Clue: The artist was inspired
by a film called An American Werewolf in London)

It was of course, Thriller by Michael Jackson. This is the edited version: Thriller.
It was produced as a response
to falling sales of the album of
the same name which then went
on to become the biggest selling
of all time, notching over 68 million
sales around the globe.

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Very quick quiz - answers
5. What is regarded as the first modern music video?

Queen’s 1975 song, Bohemian Rhapsody, is regarded as the first modern video. Have a
look and see if you can see why. (How, for example, does it differ from the Beatles
video?)
Bohemian Rhapsody

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
 Types of video
There are three types of music video:

1. Narrative: where the aim of the video is to tell a story, often related to the lyrics of
the song. The artistes often appear as actors in the video.
2. Performance: where the artiste appears to perform the song. (Most common type of
video.)
3. Abstract: where the video features an abstract interpretation of the music. The
artiste may not actually appear in the video.

Make notes please.

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
Critical judgement
As part of the process of understanding music video, it is important that you
become critical in your judgement – moving beyond like or dislike – you must
be able to show the examiner that you’ve understood artistic decisions and
their intended effect.

To begin with, in pairs, mind map as many genres (and

sub-genres) of music that you can and in turn, any songs/
videos that you like under each genre. Use A3 paper.
 Analysing a music video
Now make a list of your favourite music videos under each genre.

5 4 3 2 1
Now answer the questions:
• What is it about each video that you like?
• What do you think the ingredients of a successful music video are?

L.O: To analyse how the music industry uses video to promote its artistes and music.
20 second test – media techniques
First, let’s watch the first 20 seconds of last year’s
Wall of Glass by Liam Gallagher.
1. How has the director used setting and lighting (mise-en-scene) to
create atmosphere?
2. What camera angle and camera movement has been used in the
opening?
3. What genre of music does this video fit into? (We should refer to
symbolic codes).
4. In what way has the title been connected to the narrative in the
video?
Mise-en-scene – interesting elements
Lighting – low key, darkness synonymous with
the unknown; illicit activities.
The setting accentuates this: we have a long
shot of what looks like a motel corridor. Bare
walls and floor and flickering lights give it a
sleazy atmosphere. The use of neon adds to
the idea of a low budget, down and out kind
of setting. These are all narrative clues: this is
possibly the sort of place people go when
they have nowhere else or if they don’t want
to be found/ asked any questions.
Camera angles/ movement
Starts off as a tracking shot moving towards the
door. The camera then moves to a slow, rolling
zoom, still towards the door, placed at the centre
of the shot. In terms of narrative it places
significance on the door and creates an enigma
regarding what lies behind it. The movement
becomes disorientating, giving a surreal feel to the
video and leaving the audience unsure of what’s
happening. It has connotations of ‘going down a
rabbit hole’ and all its attendant cultural
significance. We are finally aware of broken glass
and a link to the title of the song and it transitions
into a long shot that zooms into a medium close up
of the singer.
 Analysing Media Texts: A Framework
Q3 asks us , ‘what genre of music does this video fit into’ and to ‘refer to symbolic codes’. It’s
worth reminding one another what is meant by symbolic codes when discussing semiotics:

• Divides codes of media language into three categories – these can help you to understand
the meanings of a printed text (We can add audio codes for a moving image/ digital text):
1. SYMBOLIC 2. WRITTEN 3. TECHNICAL
Lighting & Colour Camera Angles
Slogan
Positioning
Typeface/Font Framing (ELS, LS, MLS, MS, CU, ECU, POV)

Setting & Locations

Headlines
Facial Expressions & Body Language Cropping
Captions (anchorage)

Objects/ props Juxtaposition (2 separate signs that together make

Style contrasting meaning)
Key Signifiers/Images
Choice of words

Clothing, Hair & Make Up Emphasis of words

 1. SYMBOLIC

Genre - clues Lighting & Colour

Positioning

Setting & Locations

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Objects/ props

Key Signifiers/Images

Clothing, Hair & Make Up

 1. SYMBOLIC

Genre - clues Lighting & Colour

Positioning

Setting & Locations

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Objects/ props

Okay, so what have we got with Key Signifiers/Images

Mr Gallagher? Firstly, what Clothing, Hair & Make Up

contextual knowledge do we
bring to our viewing? (What, if
anything do we already know?)
 1. SYMBOLIC

Genre - clues Lighting & Colour

Positioning

Setting & Locations

Facial Expressions & Body Language

Objects/ props
The director gives us a number of symbolic clues that
Key Signifiers/Images
this is a rock video. Firstly, the singer’s facial
expression is serious and he breaks the fourth wall in Clothing, Hair & Make Up
an (arguably) challenging or confrontational way,
consistent with the stereotypical behaviour of a ‘rock
and roll star’.
Secondly, he is wearing sunglasses (indoors), which is
another archetypal piece of rock iconography.
Finally, he is seen in medium shot throwing a fire
extinguisher through a glass wall. This, again, could be
viewed as behaviour synonymous with the rock genre
– the behaviour of rock stars on tour is well reported
and he is playing up to the stereotype of ‘wild man of
rock’.
 Your
Youvideo
must now come up with ideas for a music video.
The song is called, ‘Break Out’ and the genre is up to
you.
However, you must make notes on the setting, images,
symbolic codes and narrative that link to the title and
genre.
Your text
here