Audience Theory Research

Audience Theory

The Effects Model also known

as the Hypodermic Model

The effects model is one of the seven theories that help us to get a better understanding about the relationship between texts and the audience. The basis of this theory explores the connection between people's consumption of the mass media and their subsequent behaviour. This theory suggests that we are inferior to the media and what they show us is what we will believe. The effects from this theory has been argued that it would influence peoples behaviour and perception on things based on what they have seen. The key evidence for explaining the effects model is an experiment called 'The Bobo Doll Experiment' which was conducted in 1961 by Albert Bandura. In the experiment, children where made to watch a video where an adult violently attacked a Bobo doll. The children where then taken into a room with objects in the room with the Bobo doll. From the findings 88% of the children copied the violent behaviour that thety had watched the adult carry out. The conclusion reached was that the children would copy the violent nature that they had watched. However this experiment is very controversial and there has proved to be many problems with this experiment such as not being able to discover whether a single exposure to the violence can have long-term effects. This theory has been described as a linear communication method which means media conventions can directly express their messages to the audiences minds and the audience are passive and powerless to doing anything about it.

Audience feedback on Rough Cut

Audience feedback on Rough Cut

As I'm sure you know, we are close to finishing our music video 'Superman' by Behind Bad Luck. There are a few adjustments that need to be made to the music video till it can be labelled as completed but these adjustments will not take long at all and they will be done this week. We have had several teachers and members of our class watch our music video and it is very rewarding and pleasing to hear their positive responses. In the rough cut, towards the end of the music video, there is a long section which has been labelled 'placeholder'. Many of our classmates assumed that the video was finished but we still feel that we need to complete one more shot. The placeholder was there just so that we can upload the rough cut but myself and my group do not have the intention of leaving it there on the finished music video. The feedback we got, as I said was extremely positive, with our great editing being highly praised and complimented. What they liked was how the beginning linked very well with the end. At the beginning the first scene is of myself and my group inviting Tomas to join our band, and then Tomas begins to daydream and this is where the song begins. At the end of the song, we come back to the playground where we invited Tomas to be part of our band and because the whole music video was a daydream, my group member Connor attempts to wake him up. This idea was highly praised by teachers and students for its originality and even though it is only the rough cut and it still needs to be altered, we intend to develop this idea further. Overall it is very rewarding to know that even though our music video is not quite finished, it has been described as very enticing which only makes us more determined to make it better.

Audience Research findings using Wordle

Audience Research Findings

Based on my survey that I did, I have created a form of research that came from the feedback given to me on my survey. These words and answers that you will see in the picture below are answers and ideas that my audience gave me in regards to making a successful music video.

How to expand, broaden audience and Increase Sales

How to expand, broaden audience and Increase Sales

One of the main things that we need to directors ensure is that they need to know whether or not the music video is going to be profitable. Even it the video and song is very good but it is not aimed at the right audience and the director does not believe it will gain maximum profit then the director will be extremely reluctant to broadcast it. In order to make a music video profitable, you need to think about your target audience and also alerting the public about the product. You can do this in various ways but the fundamental aspect is to conduct research and discover the best way possible to advertise the product to the chosen market with the greatest chance of ensuring maximum profit. This advertisement varies due to the market, for example if aimed at the younger female audience, the advertisement may include colours such as pink, purple and yellow. Going further as well as making people aware of the product, as I said, it is vital that the correct target audience is selected as appropriate to the product. All these aspects need to be taken into account if maximum profit is to be made. An example is a two recent London 'underground rap' artists called 'Krept and Konan' released their mixtape titled 'Young Kingz'. As they appeal to the younger audience, particularly males, they used Facebook, Instagram and Twitter in order to keep their target market updated with their music that was coming out. They also had merchandise that was to be sold as well as competitions to win tickets to their tours. I would definitely conclude that not only was this extremely effective but it ensured sales and increased their popularity as well as their audience.

Feedback on Survey Monkey Results

Feedback on Survey Monkey Results

The first question was how often do you watch music videos. I asked this question just to gain basic knowledge and this question gave the respondants multiple choices to select an answer. The results showed that 60% of the people that did my survey answered that they watch music videos weekly.

The next question I asked was what is your favourite music genre. This question allowed the respondants to type their answer. The results obtained clearly shows that out of all the people who did my survey, 80% answered that pop was the favourite genre of music. This question was asked for the benefit of my music video, as I wanted to know what music genre is preferred the most by my target audience. The song that my group have chosen, has aspects of 'pop' in it but it is mainly considered to be a 'ska punk' genre of music but I do feel that if the audience listened to the song they will be able to see the similarities of our song and pop genre songs.

Question 3 asked where do people watch music videos. I asked this question again to gain general knowledge and it will not profoundly affect my music videos as the only place my music video can be uploaded is on YouTube. This question gave the respondants multiple choices to select an answer. From the results obtained, it shows that there isn't really a specific website or program that people watch music videos on, it is quite even and most probably based on individual preferences.

Question 4 asked what is your favourite music video and why. I was not expecting for everyone to agree on a few of the best music videos that I discussed earlier on my blog hence the reason why I gave the respondants a box to complete their answer. This question was asked purely on the basis of maybe taking an inspiration from one of the music videos that my respondants feel is effective. From the results obtained, 3 of the 4 songs are on the 100 greatest music videos on my blog.

The next question; question 5 was a very important and influential question. It asked what key conventions are needed to make an effective music video. I believe that this question is quite influential because it will definitely give me an idea of what is needed on my music video for it to be effective. This question gave the respondants a box to type their answers and from the results obtained, I was feeling very positive about my music video. In each of the answers, the respondant has either said good lip synching or a variety of shots or both. This encourages me because myself and my group travelled all over London just to ensure that we had a variety of shots that we could use in the video. Also, we did an exercise of lip synching with the Elton John and Kiki Dee task which helped us immensely with editing lip synching and filming it aswell. 

The last question was do you think that the music video is just as important as the song. This question gave the respondants only two options; yes or no. This question was asked to gain general knowledge of my audiences's thinking. The results showed that 100% of people that answered this question agreed that yes, the music video is just as important as the song. I was satisfied as this was the answer that I was hoping to get.

Overall I believe this survey was not only necessary but also beneficial to me on my way to completing a fine media product.

Audience Survey Monkey

Survey Monkey

Here is my survey that has been created for the purposes of benefitting me on my way to creating a successful music video. I hope as many people will complete this as possible and I will then be analysing the results.

Click here to take survey

Our Music Video - Sinead O'Connor Inspiration

Sinead O'Connor Inspiration

In our music video we decided to have a part of it that links to an inspiration that we have all previously studied. Sinead O'Connor's single titled 'Nothing Compares 2 You' is a single that all of us know too well now. In our lessons we have analysed this video as you will be able to see on my earlier blog posts. The music video is very simple and mainly consisted of a close up of O'Connor's face throughout the video. As basic and simple as this sounds it was incredibly effective because the close up allowed the audience to see O'Connor's emotional state as she was going through an incredibly hard time with her mum passing away at the time. This sense of raw emotion caught the audience's attention which made this single extremely successful. From watching and analysing this music video excessively, my group and I decided that it would be a good idea to try and include this in our music video somewhere almost as a tribute. After editing this shot on final cut, we asked many people in our class if they know the reasons as to why we did this. They were able to tell us the reasons and they all did say it looked similar to what Sinead O'Connor did and this was the point that we where attempting to get across so therefore it was a success as people where able to distinguish links between it and Sinead O'Connor.

Detailed Research About the Band

Detailed Research About The Band

An energetic gang of 8 sonic marauders, who roam the countryside playing epic ska punk. Most people who know the band would say they are crazy, but in actuality there an approachable bunch, looking to help people celebrate living and get a little rambunctious. More than just your typical rock stars.

Based out of the frigid north country State University of New York at Potsdam, Behind Bad Luck brings a high energy sound, nostalgic for the good old days of ska, all while still rocking a modern organic injection of their own character. The content is outrageous, the stage antics are playful, and the feeling whenever they play is joyous. These balls are backed up by their "normal life" where all the members focus on "honing the awesome" through their studies at the Crane School of Music.

The band perform at parties, nightclubs, weddings, concerns and are currently looking to go on tour if they can get the right team of worker and funding this year.

We found this band on Unsignedartists.com which has prove to be a very helpful site in terms of finding out more about the band. The website had all of the necessary information people would want to know about the band and how they can follow up the bands movements via there Myspace link and Email address. There is also a playlist available for viewers to click on to list to a few of their singles.

Famous Album Analysis

Famous Album Analysis

American artist Rihanna has released her new album titled 'Unapologetic'. The highly rated singer has arguably once again reinforced her image through her album cover and lyrics in some of the songs. The album was a huge success in both the UK and USA as it sold millions of copies worldwide. I am more interested in how she portrays herself in the album rather than the songs and in this blog, I will attempt to deconstruct the album and discuss with you the effective aspects to it. After seeing the objective of this blog, I knew that I had to choose Rihanna as I knew that there would be a lot to talk about in regards to her image. The album cover is very controversial, but it wouldn't be Rihanna if it didn't spark some sort of controversy. I say that it is controversial because although Rihanna's main fan base is older teenagers, she still widely appeals to the younger audience because of her songs. The younger audience are easily influenced and inspired by Rihanna and if she portrays herself in this way, it is likely that her fan base is likely to imitate her deviant behaviour. The album is called 'Unapologetic' and this is a message stating that Rihanna is not sorry for her past mistakes and controversy that she is created because she is just like us, she is a human being who is able to make mistakes despite the fact that she is famous and looked up to by her fans. The title 'Unapologetic' is a very strong message to the audience. The font that is used is looks handwritten and I believe this makes the album look effective. I say this because the album is called 'Unapologetic' so if the font was bold and precise it would almost look perfect but rather it looks handwritten and careless which I believe links back to the aspect of the album being titled 'Unapologetic'. Furthermore the way the text is all over the album cover is deliberately done and makes the album look effective. Rihanna, herself is in the album cover and this is something that almost every artist tries to do. Going further, in the album picture of Rihanna, she looks extremely sorry and remorse creating irony because of the title 'Unapologetic'. This is definitely purposely done as it almost creates some form of tension between the text and Rihanna herself, as they do not quite go together. One thing that I noticed in this album cover is that Rihanna did not include her name anywhere on the album however she promotes herself. I noticed that the number '7' is on the album and this could be a reference to her tour which is called '777' which means 7 countries, 7 days and 7 shows. She also puts the word 'Navy' with a hashtag. Navy is a group for Rihanna and all her fans to reinforce that Rihanna is not bothered with the criticism she gets for her deviant behaviour for example when she did a photo shoot in a mosque which could have been deemed to be very disrespectful to the Muslim religion. Nevertheless, Rihanna effectively promotes herself in her new album.

Analysing student Magazine advert

Analysing Student Magazine Advert

Magazine Advert Analysis

Magazine Advert Analysis

As part of the coursework, as well as creating our own music video and digipak, we also are permitted to make a magazine advert. The magazine advert will be a creative way of promoting the song. To understand how an effective magazine advert should be presented, I will need to do some research and look at a magazine advert. The magazine adverts that I have come across promote not only the song but also upcoming tours and events that the artist is involved in. This magazine advert by Bruno Mars strongly reflects the his smash hit single 'Lazy Song'. The use of font and colour is very vibrant and radiant reflective the style of the song. The use of colours are important when creating a magazine advert as it has to reflect the album or single in order for it to be very successful. As you can see on the left, Bruno Mars has put a cartoon form of himself in the magazine advert for obvious purposes as he is the artist of the song however what is more important to take note of is how he looks in the magazine advert. He looks incredibly laid back and 'lazy' as he nonchalantly leans on his desk. This is deliberately done as it makes an indirect reference to his song. The font used in the magazine advert is strong and bold and the colours yellow and purple are actually opposites in the colour wheel meaning that they look very nice together because of the contrast so again this is deliberately done. Overall this is a very effective magazine advert in my opinion as I believe that together with the single, it works coherently. I can take inspiration from this magazine advert and I now am looking forward to the task of creating my own magazine advert for my music video. Exciting times ahead!

Making my own Digipak!

Making my own Digipak

What to include?...

There are many aspects that need to be considered when making a digipak, that is of course if you want to create a successful one. Firstly a digipak is a form of packaging commonly for CD's but also for DVD's usually made by cardboard with an inside vacuum formed piece of plastic which holds the CD in place. It can have multiple holders depending on how many discs are inside the digipak. Myself and my group mates will be making our own digipak as part of the A2 coursework criteria. We have been given a specification that needs to be followed to ensure that we create the best digipak possible. This specification includes the digipak having six panels. These six panels are three for the front of the digipak and three for the back of the digipak. We also must follow the basic guidelines of creating a digipak. What I mean by this, is that most digipak's all follow the same layout. The specification also includes using original images (meaning primary images taken by us) including the artists, bands name and also album name displayed somewhere in the digipak. The key aspect to the digipak is making it associate with the single and/or the album and the artist to produce a successful digipak and this is what myself and my group will attempt to emulate. Our music video consists of our group members in ska outfits therefore we will try and include this someone in the digipak to show the clear link between the digipak and music video. The colours, text and layout are all things to consider when creating this digipak because these features could be the difference between having a successful digipak and a failure of a digipak. I am really looking forward to completing the digipak as I have lots of ideas of how I think it should look.

Digipak Analysis

Digipak Analysis

On the far right of this image you can see the image of the artist . This is purposely done because the digipak needs to show who the artist is in order for it to sell effectively. As you can see the image has been used more than once. The colour scheme of the digipak is very dull, still and almost surreal. The colours of grey, black and white give it this feel. It is possible that these colours are used to foreshadow the tone of this song. So if it is using these dark colours, it could suggest that the tone of the music is sad, slow and deep. On the picture which is furthest below, it shows the title of the album which is called 'Myth' which is also shown on both sides of the digipak because it is an important aspect of the digipak.

Analysing 3 of my favourite Music Videos in regards to Mise-en-scene, Cinematography and Editing

Analysing 3 of my favourite Music Videos in regards to Mise-en-scene, Cinematography and Editing

Analysing 3 of my favourite music videos:

1. Coldplay - The Scientist
2. A-ha - Take On Me
3. Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity

My favourite music video in general is ‘The Scientist’ by Coldplay which I have previously talked about in my blog. This video is also my favourite in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing as it is so unique and special. The song is incredibly creative and almost inspiring because of the creativity, the editing is absolutely amazing as it had to be perfect for the song to be effective otherwise the lip synching would have looked out of place. The song is listed as number 11 in the list of the 100 Greatest Music Videos. The use of editing is what I really love about this video. The video is going actually going backwards so Chris Martin had to learn the song backwards and lip synch the song backwards which is incredible. In the song, the phrase “let’s go back to the start” is said a number of times. This phrase links to what Chris Martin is doing so this supports Goodwin’s theory of the song and lyrics linking together to make a successful music video. The editing for me is exceptional and something I have never seen before, it adds credibility to the song and makes me like the song more. It is very modern and looks amazing. The cinematography is also something to be noticed, the specific use of shots again give the audience a certain feel to the song. For example, right at the beginning of the song, the first shot we see is of Chris’s mouth and him lip synching the song then the camera zooms out and we get a feel of the surroundings which I feel is very deliberate, effective and makes the video enjoyable to watch.



My second favourite music video in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing is 'Take On Me' by 'A-ha'. The video is absolutely top draw in terms of creativity and it is a very exciting video to watch. The editing is very unique and I have never seen editing like this before which is what makes me like this song so much. The use of editing is wonderful and extremely modern in some parts but also quite old in other parts such this alternation makes the video look very effective. The director has merged comic scenes with real life scenes so coherently again making the video look effective. The video also has a fast beat which is why there is a fast pace of editing as it goes from one shot which could be a match on action to a close up so the video matches this by depicted the man on a race car once again reinforcing Goodwin's theory of the music video and lyrics coming together to make a successful single. The cinematography is also something to notice in this video, it uses a lot of various angles and shot types to make the video correlate with the tempo of the fast beat. The mise-en-scene in this music video is widely considered to be post modern because of the location of the video which is an old restaurant with the stereotypical 1950's look. Overall this is one of my favourite videos because of the editing and cinematography because I feel everything is done deliberately and makes the video look very impressive.



Finally, my third favourite music video in regards to mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing is 'Virtual Insanity' by Jamiroquai. This song is just a masterclass in terms of Jamiroquai's performance and all aspects of the video work well together to produce a great single. The song became an anthem of the late 1990's due t its enjoyable beat and catchy tone. In particular what made this song a success was the moving of the furniture and rooms and Jamiroquai himself gliding around which was definitely unseen of around the 1990's. The use of editing in this song is truly what I enjoy the most. I recently described it almost as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation due to the transitions of the video as one scene glides to another and back and fourth. In addition what I particularly enjoy about this video is his performance. I believe it is truly captivating. The cinematography is also very effective as it uses a variety angles and shots which gives us a feel of the surroundings and also makes us feel almost involved in the video due to the camera pulling us in and out with the zooms and transitions.

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Top 5 Music Videos of 2013

Top 5 Music Videos of 2013

At number 1 we have Miley Cyrus's 'Wrecking Ball' which is actually Cyrus's latest single up to date. This was viewed a staggering 474,365,981 times with this figure still on the increase. With such a huge amount of views, it is the most watched music video of 2013 on Youtube. The song is very catchy and it is easy to enjoy singing along to the song despite not being a huge Miley Cyrus fan. The song is the latest of how controversial ways with the way she is being portrayed in the media. I believe that one of the reasons for the success of this music video is because of the video itself as it promotes the theory of the 'male gaze' in how the male audience view Miley Cyrus to be an attractive object which is what Sinead O'Connor did warn Cyrus about.

At number 2 we have another Miley Cyrus song called 'We Can't Stop'. This was one of Cyrus's early controversial songs and it really sent a message to the audience that she has a completely different image from her old 'Hannah Montana role model' image. Firstly she presents herself in quite a 'retro/punk' way with a haircut that leaves her with no hair on both sides of her head, it can almost be considered to be a typical haircut that most boys would get. She also now has tattoos which some argue to be a sign of rebellion with Cyrus's new attitude. Going further, in the song she actually makes a reference to drugs in the lyric that says "dancing with molly" which is a street code name for the drug Ecstasy! This is quite a drastic change in Cyrus's appearance and the way she presents herself. The total views for this song is 361,480,621 on Youtube and this is because this song was like a shock. It was Cyrus telling the audience that this is the new her and the old her is long gone. The video was highly discussed when it came out, I even vaguely remember my friend saying to me "hey nick, have you seen that new Miley Cyrus video, she's gone crazy" and I can imagine that this view was shared worldwide hence the high amount of views. The song also promotes Goodwin's theory on music videos linking towards the lyrics .



At number 3, we do not have a Miley Cyrus song! Here we have Rihanna and her song featuring Mikky Ekko 'Stay'. This song topped the UK charts when released and has been suggested by critics to be her best song in her new album 'Unapologetic'. The song reached 245,998,576 views with this figure still rising. The single sold well because it depicts Rihanna singing the way she used to sing in the past before all the controversy. This song has been labelled to be 'Rihanna singing how she used to and how she should be singing'. The song allows us to emphasise with a more vulnerable looking Rihanna due to the effective close ups used which consequently reinforce her instability in the video. She looks like she is distressed about something and this allows the audience to feel empathy. The tone of the song is very soft, sad and mellow. This also corresponds to Goodwin's theory of how the artist and pop videos are related together to produce success.



At number 4 is Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith with the single 'La La La'. This song was viewed a massive 255,717,334 times. This was a smash hit due to it's modernism and catchy lyrics. It is a hit with the younger audience and it could be argued that it is aimed at the younger audience due to the lyrics and also the boy in the video which once again reinforces Goodwin's ideas of the video linking coherently with the lyrics to produce a successful single. The song is very jumpy and makes you want to sing along hence it is often played at social events such as parties. The song is very vibrant and not a song you would usually expect to come out and do so well in the charts.



At number 5 is a song by the increasingly popular band One Direction with their song called 'Kiss You'. The single is currently on 204,993,327 with this figure increasing. The single is just one of many successful songs that the band released in 2013. They are a band with a large fan base and it is argues that they actually appeal to both boys and girls but obviously more to girls. Girls absolutely adore this group of boys because of their style and attractive voices which has contributed to their massive success in their singles and usic videos. This song also supports Goodwin's theory because the lyrics definitely link with the music video.

Stereotypes In Music Videos - Racism and Sexism

Stereotypes in Music Videos

In lots of music videos, typical stereotypes are portrayed to the audience through the artists and the video itself. These stereotypes include gender, ethnicity and age. In many black unsigned young upcoming artist they almost always seem to promote their promiscuous lifestyle and depict women as sexual objects. This is seen through the way that women are dressed which is usually quite revealing and the shots used are often extreme close ups, reinforcing the idea of the women being objects. In addition in many male black music videos, they can all be generalised into the same category. They usually show a man who has tried to be good in his environment of the hood but due to the police showing discrimination, they have retaliated and now persue a deviant career with the police as the enemy. Many female artists show off there bodies in an attempt to increase their fan base which would be young female teenagers but they want to broaden it to males aswell.

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Mood Board

Mood Board

 

Audio Clip of Chosen Song

100 Greatest Music Videos Continued

At 98 we have Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat in 1984. This song is about someone from a small town coming into  a much bigger city but the unfortunate thing is that he happens to be gay. Now, the reason I said the 'unfortunat' things is he is gay is because the song was released in the 1980s where homophobia was very much blatant and existent in society and it was not a crime at all, rather it was considered deviant if you where gay. This song tells a story as the boy was isolated due to his sexuality. It was an extremely brave thing to do to release this song because of the homophobia in society but the video actually makes you feel empathy for the boy and the video is more of a fiction piece of work rather than a music video. It makes you feel that this type of thing was actually happening in reality to homosexuals and this feel or empathy almost takes you away from the song but it also makes you like the song more because of the emotions you get from the song which consequently gives the song more value.
At 92, we have Rockit by Herbie Hancock in 1983. This music video is extremely important as it is widely considered to be breakthrough for black music. This is the period of the early 1980s and MTV has just recently been up and running. MTV to begin with did not put black people on their show because of racism. Racism was very much active around the 1980s so MTV where reluctant to put black people on their show because it would put people off from watching MTV. The song is an early form of hip hop. MTV did not want Herbie Hancock in the video because he was black so they actually had to sneak Herbie into the video. MTV actually liked the concept of the music video and agreed to broadcast the song under one condition that Herbie was not allowed to feature in the video but Herbie's management put him in the video as much as possible and the song was an absolute smash hit! The birth of black music came due to this song and then MTV where actualy forced to put black music on their show because of how incredibly popular Herbie Hancock's video was.


At 78 we have Cry by Godley and Creme in 1985. Godley and Creme where becoming a very very popular band around the time that this music video was released. They where previously in a larger band but the two of them broke out and decided to come together as a two to form a band. The pair made their own music videos which was quite rare in the 1980s as yoou would usually have a director. Godley and Creme notably made the video for 'Rockit' by Herbie Hancock which I spoke about previously, so they had displayable talent of making successful music videos. This video can be seen to be fairly simple but is is very successful and effective. The whole of the video is shot in close ups and this is because of the song title which is called 'Cry' therefore by the video being shot in close ups it makes the audience look deeper into the emotions of the individuals face. One thing to consider is the time that this video was made, which is 1985. At this time, this style of music video was completely unseen and this video is important as it is almost like a new form of music video technology in the 1980s.

At 66 we have Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan in 1965. At this time, Dylan was widely considered to be the greatest musician around. His style, energy and looks captivated audiences and simply made people want to emulate him. Dylan used to write amazing songs so quickly and effortlessly. When this music video was released, Dylan was touring London and of course everyone wanted to meet him as he was so cool and looked up to. This music video was taken in one shot and only filmed once. As I stated earlier, Dylan was considered to be the coolest man you would ever meet at this moment in time, he had the great looks, the hair and the nice clothes. In this video, Bob Dylan is has some of the lyrics in his hand and it is written so untidily and as the song is sang, he begins to just throw the lyrics away as the lyrics are said. The video looks almost careless with the way he throws the lyrics away. He even makes a mistake as he holds on to one of the cards for too long but because of how cool and popular he was at the time, people fell in love with this video. 

At 48 we have Hurt by Johnny Cash in 2003. Johnny Cash who is considered to be one of the greatest musicians to ever live. Many people have actually argued that this video should be at least in the top 10 music videos of all time. This music video was done when Johnny Cash was dying. The song is about an addiction to Heroin and how the drug damages your life and also other people's lives around you. In the music video, Cash is looking back into his past and almost reminiscing. In the video you can see he was once a fit, young and cool man who always wore black but as the video progresses and we see how he looks now, he looks so fragile and weak. Cash was so ill at the time that this video was filmed that the whole music video was filmed in his house. His wife was also ill and she also appeared in the music video. Tragically she died before Johnny Cash and this proved to be his last song as he died 6 months later. 

At number 35 we have Nothing Compares 2 You by Sinead O'Connor in 1990. I have written about this song earlier in my blog explaining why and how it is so effective. The song was originally written and composed by an artist known as 'Prince' and the song was for one of his side projects. When the song was released, it wasn't a huge success that many thought it would be. However after Sinead O'Connr had done a cover f the song and released it, the song began to rise in popularity and managed to top the charts in the 1990s. In the video, it mostly consisted of O'Connor's face as she performed the song. It reached No.1 in many countries and in Ireland it reached No.1 and managed to remain there for 11 weeks. O'Connor also received Grammy nominations such as Record of the Year and she won the Grammy for 'Best Alternative Music Performance'.

At number 24 we have No Surprises by Radiohead in 1998. This is one of my personal favourite music videos. The music video is often described as a 'performance' by Thom Yorke who's face we see throughout the music video. The music video was done in one take and one shot all the way through. I personally find this music video highly interesting. In the video, Thom appears to be casually singing in front of a black screen with the lyrics appearing on the screen backwards. Halfway through the song, it becomes a bit lighter and we see water beginning to rise. The water gradually rises higher and higher and then covers the whole of Thom's face. This was attempted many times by Thom before he actually did it for the camera and each time he did it, he struggled but finally when they did it in the one take, he just about managed to hold his breath but you can see he struggled to do it through his facial expressions which again adds some sort of feelings and emotion to the song because of his struggle.


At 16 we have Hey Ya by Outkast in 2003. In the band Outkast there are only two people but in this video you might have thought otherwise. Andre 3000, one of the members in the band Outkast is depicted to be so cool in this video with his looks, energy and style. He has the cool name, the great hair and great performance in this video. This video is incredibly clever, catchy and also considered to be postmodern. The video contains great use of colour, imagination and costumes. The song is very catchy and has old fashioned and new technology in the video which is why it was such a successful single.

At number 11 we have The Scientist by Coldplay in 2002 which is actually my personal favourite music video ever as I'm sure you already know if you have been following my blog posts. It is an amazing song and is incredibly choreographed. This video portrays a car accident but it is actually being shot backwards. So we see the journey of Chris after he is involved in the car accident and then it takes us back to the car accident. During the song he often makes the reference of "going back to the start" which in my opinion is extremely clever as it links in with the video very well. Another reason why this is my favourite music video is because Chris is actually lip synching backwards because the video is going backwards, so that is very impressive to me as he had to learn the song backwards in order for it to look effective. By the video being so good, it adds value to the song.


Finally at number 1 we have the greatest music video of all time. The King of Pop himself, Thriller by Michael Jackson. The single was released on the 30th November 1982. Michael was inspired by a film in London which he had watched. The film was called 'An American Werewolf in London' by John Landis. Michael Jackson then contacted John Landis to help Jackson direct the video. This video is the most expensive music video to date and it is also the best selling album of all time. The video is nearly 14 minutes long which allowed Jackson to make the song a short horror movie as well as a music video. When the video was first released, it wasn't shown on MTV or music channels during the day time as it was considered to be quite frightening and graphic. The video was only shown after midnight on a Friday so this was the only way people could watch the music video and many people did stay up because the video was getting so much attention which made people want to watch it. The song instantly rose to the number 1 spot in the charts and the record sold well over 60 million copies worldwide which to date is the record. 
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100 Greatest Music Videos

100 Greatest Music Videos

 

1. Michael Jackson: Thriller
2. Peter Gabriel: Sledgehammer
3. A-ha: Take on Me
4. Queen: Bohemian Rhapsody
5. Madonna: Like a Prayer
6. Robbie Williams: Rock DJ
7. Michael Jackson: Billie Jean
8. The Verve: Bittersweet Symphony
9. Madonna: Vogue
10. Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
11. Coldplay: The Scientist
12. Michael & Janet Jackson: Scream
13. Pink Floyd: Another Brick in the Wall
14. Christina Aguilera: Dirrty
15. REM: Everybody Hurts
16. OutKast: Hey Ya
17. Blur: Coffee & TV
18. Beyonce: Crazy in Love
19. Madonna: Material Girl
20. Gorillaz: Clint Eastwood
21. Queen: I Want to Break Free
22. Justin Timberlake: Cry Me a River
23. Britney Spears: ...Baby One More Time
24. Radiohead: No Surprises
25. Madness: Baggy Trousers
26. TLC: Waterfalls
27. David Bowie: Ashes to Ashes
28. Foo Fighters: Learn to Fly
29. Electric Six: Gay Bar
30. Weezer: Buddy Holly
31. Eminem: Stan
32. Chris Isaak: Wicked Game
33. U2: The Sweetest Thing
34. The White Stripes: Fell in Love with a Girl
35. Sinead O'Connor: Nothing Compares 2U
36. Red Hot Chili Peppers: Give It Away
37. Guns N Roses: November Rain
38. Fatboy Slim: Weapon of Choice
39. Pulp: Common People
40. Missy Elliot: Get Ur Freak On
41. The Spice Girls: Wannabe
42. Bjork: It's Oh So Quiet
43. Dire Straits: Money for Nothing
44. Kylie Minogue: Can't Get You Out of My Head
45. Aerosmith: Crazy
46. Adam & the Ants: Prince Charming
47. The Prodigy: Firestarter
48. Johnny Cash: Hurt
49. Jamiroquai: Virtual Insanity
50. Paul Simon: You Can Call Me Al
51. Run DMC & Aerosmith: Walk This Way
52. Massive Attack: Teardrop
53. Wham: Club Tropicana
54. Daft Punk: Around the World
55. Fatboy Slim: Praise You
56. Eminem: Without Me
57. Meatloaf: I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)
58. The Cure: Close to Me
59. Abba: Knowing Me, Knowing You
60. Eurythmics: Sweet Dreams
61. The Prodigy: Smack My Bitch Up
62. Blur: Parklife
63. George Michael: Outside
64. Bjork: Human Behaviour
65. Aphex Twin: Windowlicker
66. Bob Dylan: Subterranean Homesick Blues
67. The Beastie Boys: Sabotage
68. Madonna: Ray of Light
69. Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Two Tribes
70. The Police: Every Breath You Take
71. Bjork: All Is Full of Love
72. Robert Palmer: Addicted to Love
73. Basement Jaxx: Where's Your Head At?
74. Wu-Tang Clan: Gravel Pit
75. Duran Duran: Rio
76. The Beatles: Strawberry Fields
77. MC Hammer: U Can't Touch This
78. Godley and Creme: Cry
79. New Order: True Faith
80. Radiohead: Just
81. Ultravox: Vienna
82. 50 Cent: In Da Club
83. Shakespear's Sister: Stay
84. The Boomtown Rats: I Don't Like Mondays
85. Sid Vicious: My Way
86. The Streets: Fit But You Know It
87. Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime
88. Elton John: I Want Love
89. Smashing Pumpkins: Tonight Tonight
90. The Pet Shop Boys: Go West
91. The Specials: Ghost Town
92. Herbie Hancock: Rockit
93. The Rolling Stones: We Love You
94. Bonnie Tyler: Total Eclipse of the Heart
95. The Cardigans: My Favourite Game
96. So Solid Crew: 21 Seconds
97. Cornershop: Brimful of Asha
98. Bronski Beat: Smalltown Boy
99. Supergrass: Pumping on Your Stereo
100. Musical Youth: Pass the Dutchie