Year 13 Media Studies

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Up to date progress and homework
During the first term in Year 13, pupils will be introduced to their second coursework task, which is the development of a Music Video. One of the first areas you will concentrate on is the History of the Music Video as well as the typical conventions of contemporary examples. Some examples of typical conventions include:

• Contains a combination of performance and narrative
• Cut to the beat of the song
• Two minutes of a music video will contain twice as many camera shots and edits as a feature film

The History of the Music Video
The music video can be found in it's earliest forms during the 1940's with the intervention of 'Soundies'. These were almost like juke boxes and showed clips of Jazz and Rhythm and Blues artists performing - these machines could be found in many clubs and bars all across the USA. They were initially seen as a threat to the television as they proved so popular. An example of a 'Soundie' can be seen below:

During the 1950's, Elvis Presley appeared in a large number of short films and this threw him further into the spotlight and by 1957, he had appeared in 25 full length movies. See below to access the clip from 'Love Me Tender' in 1956:

By the 1960's, the world saw the growth of rock and pop music. This led to a number of 'youth-orientated' films being produced and one in particular has been acclaimed for it's visual style - this was Richard Lester's Hard Day's Night. This film concentrated on the 'Beatles' and although this was fictionalized, it successfully increased their popularity as band. An example of a clip from this can be seen below:


The Beatles were not the only successful British band to emerge during the 1960's as the Rolling Stones became increasingly popular in both Britain and the USA. They became international stars as their record companies produced short-film clips of the band miming some of their biggest hits. Owing to the popularity of the Rolling Stones and because they were often touring, their record labels worked in developing short concert films which included live performances and interviews - this gave their fans unrestricted access. An example of a concert film can be seen below: