Music Video Introduction

1) The purpose of the music video is to sell the song and let you remember it and to let you remember it. It gives the listener a better understanding of the song of the song if the video has the right narrative.

2) "The advent of such technologies proved to be problematic for the music industry as audiences were less inclined to buy a physical copy of a song if they could listen to it online for free."

3) "In America, three major record companies, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media (along with content licensed by EMI), have also launched Vevo, a video hosting site specifically for music videos."

4) "As discussed, the purpose of a music video is to encourage viewers to purchase a copy of the song featured and other products associated with the artist. To this end, the video needs to add something to the experience of hearing the song. Though music video can be incredibly varied, there are some conventions that are evident across the genre. All the music videos discussed below can be viewed via YouTube."

5) The song Thriller uses a narrative in which Michael Jackson is in a cinema but leaves it and becomes a zombie, this matches the narrative as the song talks about supernatural things such as monster which the video includes as well.

6) "Music video is such a well established genre that it is possible for producers to play with the conventions by making references to  the genre in general and to other music videos. This is called intertextuality. Such references may be very obvious, such as the way that the Blink 182 video for All the Small Things makes references to videos by pop artists such as Back Street Boys (I Want it That Way) and Christina Aguilera (Genie in a Bottle) by directly copying scenes."

7) As they would enjoy knowing the reference included in the music video which would make them enjoy the music video more but also see how the artist utilises the cameo or reference in the music video.

8) Thriller:

Conventions- the theme and genre of this music video is dark and the using things such as monsters makes this more prominent and evident in the eyes of the viewer. The lyrics in the music video relate to the narrative. The setting also matches the music video further enhancing the narrative and the music. There is a change in costume after a while changing from a zombie costume to a pop-star clothing worn by Michael Jackson. The music used before the song plays further enhances the tension and suspense.

Intertextuality: the music video uses 1950 soundtrack at the movie scene and uses a werewolf which is a reference to John Landis' ( who directed the music video) "An American Werewolf in London". This is first shown in the beginning  of the music video when both characters are seen watching the movie. The zombies in the music video can also relate to the movie " Night Of The Living Dead" which used the trope of zombies before any movie or TV show.

Representation- The movie features Michael Jackson and a black female. Michael Jackson is first shown with a baseball jersey which was a well-known clothing in the 1950's. The black female is wearing casual clothes. After clothing changes from casual clothing to a punk/1980's clothing which is shown by the black female's clothing and Michael Jackson's bright red jacket which is a prominent object used through out the music video. The music also uses dancers that look like zombies to attract younger audiences.

Audience- the audience may have been directed towards young people due to the cinema reference and how the majority of cinema viewers are younger people. This makes it more sense to the viewer as they can relate to the reason behind the music video. The music video would have also been targeted towards people in the 1980's which is the time the music video came out. The audience would be able to view the video on MTV and TV channels and tape records that were able to play on TV.

Institution- The production companies behind the video was MJJ productions and Optimum Productions. It was distributed by Epic Records and and Vestron Video. The music video was released to promote Michael Jackson's album Thriller but it would have acted as a promotion towards the companies involved with the music video due to the wide-received critical acclaim for the music video.  

9) Ice Cube uses low-key lighting in some of the shots but also wears casual clothes and a bandanna which was something rappers use to wear a lot in 90's.  He also uses police men and sirens.

10) Music videos aren't that important to an artist as much as they could have as most people stream the music so aren't in need of a music video but also that it is much more easier to promote the song therefore making the music not an essential part of the marketing scheme.