10 Iconic Music Video Stills

Here are my pick of the 10 most iconic music video stills in alphabetical order, I tried to get a good mix of genres and time periods...

Beyonce - Single Ladies

I chose this still as iconic because although the video was fairly recent, it has already been imitated many times by different people. The dance itself is what makes the video so iconic, and I think this still best illustrates the choreography.

Bob Dylan - Subterranean Homesick Blues

This video could be seen as iconic because once again the style - where Bob Dylan holds up cards with lyrics written on them - has been emulated by many different artists. Additionally the look of the video is very memorable: the use of black and white, the sometimes crudely written words on shabby cardboard, Dylan's expressionless face.

Britney Spears - Baby One More Time

Possibly the most iconic thing about this music video is the outfit. As this was Britney's debut single, it was this schoolgirl look that defined her for a long time afterwards. The video contributed immensely to the hype surrounding her first album and this, I feel, makes it iconic. 

Lady Gaga - Telephone feat. Beyonce

I chose this video as iconic because I believe that Lady Gaga is a highly influential artist and this video especially exhibits her unusual style. Additionally, the collaboration between her and Beyonce (as seen in this shot) is in itself iconic due to the fact that they are both huge musical icons. The style of the video, which connotes Tarantino's work, also could be seen as iconic, and like Thriller, it has a cinematic feel to it.

Madonna - Vogue

I chose this video as iconic because although Madonna has released many highly influential videos, I felt that this one was most memorable, due to her make-up, the choreography, the use of black & white, etc.

Michael Jackon - Thriller

This was my first choice for this list, I don't think there is any video more iconic than 'Thriller'. It was pretty much the first video to mix music video with film, and the result is a highly cinematic feel. Everything about this video is iconic - the dance, the costumes, the opening, the voiceover - and this still best displays these elements.

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

This shot is iconic because it captures the tone of the video perfectly: Cobain's hair, facial expression, striped jumper, guitar strap, etc, all work to make his iconic look, and the lighting and colour is typical of Nirvana's grunge style.

OK Go - Here It Goes Again

I chose this still as iconic because it is representative of the dance routine, and that is what makes the video so iconic. Like the other videos on this list, it has been parodied over and over, showing that it is influential. Additionally, the outfits of the band are very memorable: a mixture of bright colours and patterns

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

This still is iconic because it stands out so much, not only from other videos, because of the lighting, the artistic look, and the fact that they are all being shot in such close proximity, but also from the Bohemian Rhapsody video itself - it is a complete break in style of the song and video.

Radiohead - No Surprises

I chose this video as iconic because Radiohead are famous for their inventive and unusual videos, and this one stood out to me as one that was particularly interesting and memorable. I chose this shot because you can see clearly the way the water is filling up, the reflection of the lights and the lyrics moving down the screen, which are all the key elements of the video. Another thing that makes the video iconic is the way in which Thom Yorke's face has been filmed in extreme close-up for the entire video, and that it has been recorded in one take, without cuts.

Diary Entry Four

This week I decided to a podcast style diary post, but I couldn't upload straight audio to Blogger so it has a little background slide and I made it into a video instead.

Music Video Analysis

Kanye West's music video for 'Touch the Sky' is a narrative-based '70s style one, telling the story of 'Evel Kanyevel', played by Kanye West, an obvious parody of stuntman Evel Knievel as he tries to fly a small rocket over the Grand Canyon. The video begins with a title sequence, enforcing the fact that is a film parody. The basic narrative is that Kanyevel is preparing for the jump with his new girlfriend (Pamela Anderson), talking to his fans, and testing the rocket, when his ex-girlfriend and her best friend see him. Kanyevel and his girlfriend have an argument in his trailer when she expresses concerns for his safety, then his ex and her friend interrupt an interview and they also have an argument. Eventually Kanyevel performs the stunt, crashes and dies. Throughout the video, the narrative is interspersed with Kanye West performing amongst the clouds on a blue backdrop, particularly at the end, where he has “touched the sky”. The video could be described as postmodern because of its many intertextual references: the parody of Evel Knievel; the reference to comments made about President Nixon (when in real life West had made some comments about then-President Bush); the references in lyrics/dialogue to other West songs, e.g. “that's right, girl, I told you, when he get on, he gonna leave yo' ass for a white girl". Additionally, from a feminist viewpoint, the video could be criticised for objectifying women, as all the female characters are wearing revealing clothes, particularly Pamela Anderson’s character.

Analysis of Digipack Covers and Magazine Adverts

Music Video Analysis

OK Go’s music video for ‘Get Over It’ begins with a shot of the band sat on an old brown leather sofa. After a few seconds of silence, it cuts to a shot of a wall covered with photos, some of which are the band members, as the song begins. There are then a series of abstract, ambiguous shots which all cut in time to the pace of the intro guitar. Some scenes include a ping-pong table, a piano, a wall with deer heads hung on it, and various sofas. Just before the vocals begin, there is a close-up shot of a microphone, with the lead singer just coming into focus as he sings. Then the video uses visual representations of key lyrics, e.g. for the line “all your wounds are full of salt”, the camera pans upwards on a shot of a salt-shaker. The pace of the cuts remains fast, with some images only appearing on the screen for a split-second, and in time with the beat of the lead guitar. This conforms to Goodwin’s theory on music videos, where he states that there is a relationship between both the music and lyrics and the visuals. Additionally, Goodwin claims that the demand of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist (as this video does), which links to the concept of Marxism as ultimately the purpose of the music video is to sell the song. As well as close-ups of the artist, this video also uses close-ups of the instruments, in particular the guitars, which is a typical feature of an indie music video, as it is a mainly guitar-based genre. As the music builds to a crescendo, the camera begins to shake, suggesting the reckless nature and high volume of the song. However, the song pauses at this point and the band are shown playing ping-pong, before the song starts again, as most of OK Go’s music videos are designed to be funny in some way. As the song gets slower, the cuts turn to fades, which switch back to cuts when the pace picks up again, along with heavy lighting now being used. The video ends where it began, with the band sat on an old brown leather sofa.

Diary Entry Three

This week I completed some analyses for music videos/cd covers/cd adverts, as part of this course requires that I make a cd cover and advert to go with my video. I found these quite difficult to analyse as although I am exposed to them almost everyday, they're not really something that I have thought about in that much detail before, and I wasn't entirely sure how to go about analysing them (particularly for some of the more minimalist/abstract ones), but I gave it my best shot.

One of the analyses I did was for the Justice 'D.A.N.C.E.' music video that I linked in my first diary post. After showing this to one of my teachers, he said how interesting he thought the video was and that really it was something that could be easily done on Adobe After Effects, provided that I could draw the animation. This is an idea that I don't want to discard quite yet, although I am aware that it would be very time consuming and also that my art skills are a little rusty since I haven't really drawn anything since art GCSE. This would especially be difficult if I had to draw them on the computer, because I've always been pretty bad at that. But it does make a very effective music video, especially to a song like Justice's.

There's not been a lot of development on my idea for the Cake video this week, although I did discuss it with one of my teachers a bit. I'm trying to keep looking for songs that I could possibly use for other ideas, so as not to fully decide just yet.

Diary Entry Two

Last week I created a resource audit, where I tried to list all the resources I have at my disposal when it comes to making my music video. This included people, places and props. This helped me separate my ideas into those which could be done and those which were not plausible, given the available resources.

Then I conducted some research into music videos: what their purpose is, how they have developed, what new technology is now used, what the conventions/generic elements/technical features are, any contemporary issues/issues concerning representation, and theoretical approaches to music videos.

Both of these tasks have helped me develop my ideas a little, and I have had some more ideas for specific shots/costumes that I may want to use if I did pursue my idea for the Cake song that I outlined in my first diary entry.

However having said that, my teacher also showed us some different types of music videos in his blog, and I started to think about some other interesting approaches I could use, such as time lapse/manipulation, utilising key lyrics, and screens within screens/frames. Overall this has confused me a little, and I've yet to commit to one idea.

Music Video Analysis

Justice’s music video for ‘D.A.N.C.E.’ begins with black-and-white footage of a man sat on a desk, head just out of shot, adjusting an old-fashioned radio. Although this is live action, there are elements of animation played over it, such as the wavelengths coming from the radio; however then the narrative takes a different turn and the entire video becomes animated. The virtual camera tracks forward through different animations, including beneath the open legs of animated women wearing short skirts and small underwear, which conforms to the idea of voyeurism and the act of looking – as outlined in Goodwin’s theory on music videos. From a feminist perspective, it could be said that this encourages the objectification of women by inviting the viewer to take pleasure in watching the female body parts. The last image in this animated sequence before the video cuts back to live action is a sign reading, “as seen on TV”, arguably making the video postmodern as it is a pop culture reference. The remaining narrative is relentlessly linear, as two (again headless) men – one of them being the man with the radio from the beginning – walk down various corridors and through doors, the only real change being in the colourful animation on their t-shirts, where many more pop cultural references are made. This endless sequence, which rejects the structure of traditional narratives, reflects the repetitive nature of the dance music. The video then ends by tracking backwards through the original animated sequence, with the female legs, and finishes on the opening radio, resulting in a circular narrative where the two headless protagonists never reached a destination.