The History of Music Videos - The 50s

 Bill Haley & His Comets - Rock Around the Clock (1953)
 Music videos from the 50's are all performance based like this one. It starts with a mid shot of the lead singer Bill Haley to show that he is the dominant band member, he is smiling and clicking along in time with the music this sets the mood that it will be a cheerful song. After he starts singing the camera zooms out slowly to include the whole band but the singer is at the front in the centre confirming he is the most important member of the group. The musicians are all wearing similar suits with bow ties this shows the importance of a dress code that the band should look clean and wholesome so thy will be welcomed in to peoples homes via television. There are then close ups of teenage girls in the audience clapping and enjoying themselves this implies that young girls are the target audience for the band and if your a teenage girl you should be enjoying it too. After this there is a mid-shot of the guitarist performing a solo but Haley is also in the frame suggesting that the musicians should have some recognition but not a lot as the lead singer is the one is  most recognised. The camera then zooms in on the guitar but quickly returns to a mid-shot of Haley once he starts singing. You can see the camera panning slightly from side to side as Haley rocks trying to keep him in the centre of the frame. The band swaying makes you feel as if you want to sway too. When the muscicians rock back and forth it makes he video more lively and entertaining. Then there is a close up of the bass drum with the band's logo possibly so people will recognise it when buying records. We then see the audience clapping, they are still enjoying the song hinting that we should be too. Finally there is a long shot of the band as the song approaches its end and a quick zoom that tightens in on Bill Haley as the song ends showing once more that he is the leader of the band. 

 

In our music video if we decide to have performance based scenes it would be good to include the zooms in and out of the band and the close-ups of the instruments and musicians.

Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956)
The filming is very simplistic and it starts with a zoom out immediatly when the song starts. Elvis is infront of the band and the centre similarly to Bill Haley showing he is the most significant member of the band. There is a close up of Elvis' face and like the filming of Haley it pans left to right as Elvis dances to keep him in the centre of the shot. As the song progresses we can hear girls screaming in the background suggesting to other girls watching that Elvis is something to be screamed over. There is a mid-shot of the guitarist when he plays his solo but we can see the camera panning to the right and Elvis shuffling in to the shot, showing that although the guitarist is goood you should be keeping your attention on Elvis as he is the one who is famous. Like Rock Around The Clock there are close ups of teenage girls clapping and screaming in the audice implying that teenage girls should fawn over Elvis and that they are also the main target market. During the video we notice Elvis rearranging his microphone this hints to the audience that it is live instead of being structured in a studio it also conveys a sense that Elvis is human and makes his persona seem more digestable. When the song slows down you can hear the audience laughing at Elvis' dancing but we see he is laughing along suggesting that he is not superficial and can have a good time. The final shot is a long shot of the band which zooms in on Elvis showing just like Haley is the most important band member.

I like the fact the music video has long shots of the band this could be something to consider when making our music video as well as the screaming fans.

Elvis Presley - Don't Be Cruel
During the 50's Elvis' Pelvis was the subject of much controversy, his dance moves were seen as threats to the innocence of teenagers and in the USA his hips were banned from T.V so he could only be filmed from the waist up. The music video consists of a constant close up/mid-shot of Elvis with three backing singers behind him there is no sign of a band. The backing singers are all wearing the same suits but Elvis is wearing a sparkly waistcoat  making him the focus of our attention and suggesting that he dares to be different. Like his previous video we can hear girls screaming from the audience implying he is to be adored. Unlike the other endings of the music video where they zoom in on the lead singer instead Elvis runs out of shot followed by his backing singers.

 

Something to note for our music video is the importance of costume.