Home | List of Articles | Submit an Article | Contact Us

Where Did the Music Video Come from?

Although the first music video ever broadcasted was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ played by MTV in 1981, some consider the music video to be much older than that year. It seems that the film Alexander Nevsky, directed by Sergei Eisenstein in 1938 had some extended images of battles which had been choreographed by Sergei Prokofiev. These new scenes were so innovative that they have lately been considered to be the first music video.

Apparently, the music video is even much older than these innovative scenes. The 1911 Alexander Scriabin’s symphony – Prometheus: Poem of Fire was written for orchestra and ‘light organ’. Oskar Fischinger’s animated movies were considered to be other ancestors of the music video as they were called ‘visual music’ and they were equipped with orchestral scores.

Max Fleischer’s short cartoons were also considered to be attempts of a music video. He created a new type of cartoons, the sing-along cartoons which he called Screen Songs. These short cartoons were inviting the public to sing along to famous songs at that time. Few years later, in the 1930s, these cartoons were changed; they displayed the musicians singing their hit songs in front of the camera in a live-action show.

Walt Disney also contributed to the music video evolution through his ‘Silly Symphonies’ which were based on musical pieces. The Warner Brothers cartoons were also created around songs. But the most popular videos were the live music concerts, performing popular singers, videos which were displayed in theatres.

Bessie Smith’s dramatized performance of a song was another attempt to make a music video. This performance consisted in a short film named Saint Louis Blues. It was very popular and it had been played in theatres for more than 3 years. She wasn’t the only musician that appeared in short musical materials. Many musicians liked the idea and started shooting their own materials. Music historian Donald Clarke considers that Louis Jordan’s strange feature film Lookout is the official ancestor of the music video.

In conclusion, it seems that the first music video issue is still a controversial subject. The important thing that needs to be noted is that the music video is by far much older than the television which made it famous: MTV.

Related Articles:

Social Networking and Music: MySpace Puts It All Together in a Virtual Community - Today's music fan interacts with a "community" that is far larger than anyone ever dreamed possible before the widespread personal use of the Internet. This social networking is changing the way people market and sell music and it's doing so on a global scale. Here's How: One fan hears a song and "tells" a dozen others online. Each, ...

Music and Healing: The Power of Meaningful Words and Music - We All Have a Favorite Piece of Music that Moves Us to a Special Place in Our Hearts. A Conversion About the Music We Love and How It Colors Our Lives. JUSTIN: My favorite piece of music, depends on the mood, jazz is music for all moods. My favorite jazz piece would be - as a sax player - My Favorite Things by Coltrane, or anything by T ...

Music Reviews - Bard Of Ely - Good writing has a transcendent quality and possesses the power to transport through time and mindset. Even if it is done purely for the sake of entertainment, good writing enables us to see and experience life from vantage points much different than our own. Steve Andrews (aka The Bard of Ely) offers a complex and varied array of songs that are in ...

Advertainment is sneaking into music, movies, TV and more. - Barcodes in commercials, wristwatch credit cards, and bathroom broadcasts are just some of the changes we're going to see as advertising keeps on blending with entertainment - a Report by Scott G (The G-Man). The very name "advertainment" sends thrilling vibrations up the spine of anyone with marketing in their blood or communication in thei ...

Advertainment is Sneaking Into Music, Movies, TV and More - The very name "advertainment" sends thrilling vibrations up the spine of anyone with marketing in their blood or communication in their genes. And it produces a strong shiver of disgust from many of my colleagues in the music industry. "I don't want my songs to be involved in advertising," they say, forgetting entirely that by wearing bran ...

Music - a great tool to develop your child's intelligence - Whether you have high aspirations for your child in the area of music or not, learning and listening to music is highly advantageous for your child. It is common for mothers of very young children to sing to them, in order to calm them at the end of the day, so that they go to sleep. Hymns and patriotic music are played in official occasion ...

For a Complete list of Articles with summaries Click Here