Music through the ages: The 1970's

Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody (1975)

Bohemian Rhapsody was a song by Queen in 1975. This music video was notable for being entirely filmed and edited on videotape. It was also a massive worldwide hit, and is one of the best selling singles ever. This music video was made for Top Of The Pops, and begins with the 4 band members singing, with some interesting fade effects used over the top of their faces, a good use of editing. The video then turns into a performance style music video, with fades used to great effect to cut between the band members and a wide variety of zooming and shot variation being used, with a mixture of close-ups and medium range shots. When there is a guitar solo the camera pans and zooms on the guitar, another nice effect. The band members are also all wearing mise-on-scene that would have appealed to audiences of the time, with over-the-top hair and clothing. The video also ends with the same shot as it begins with which is something we haven't seen in previous music videos. This video shows just how far music videos have come since the 60's, as now the videos have a lot more to them than simple performances.

David Bowie- Space Oddity (1972)

This video was very important in the start of the music video phenomenon. Bowie is shown at the start of the video with some interesting lighting effects, a red light is being used and it helps to possibly connote danger as the lyrics state. There isn't too much shot variation, mainly static shots of Bowie performing, however there is a few times where zooming effects are used on Bowie during a guitar solo, which would have been fresh and effective at the time. Fades are also used quite a lot, providing a smooth cut between the green lines background and Bowie. The mise-on-scene Bowie wears is also interesting, as it is quite hard to distinguish his gender if you didn't already know, which is something Bowie is known for doing and it makes him look odd and strange.The setting is also supposed to look like a space station, which reflects the lyrics and helps to engage the audience in the song.

AC/DC- It's a Long Way to the Top

This video by AC/DC reflects the rock genre very well. Rock videos are typically just performances and this is what this video is based around, however there is some other elements which are useful to displaying the genre. There is not too much shot variation in the video, but there is some tracking shots and close ups which are useful for displaying the atmosphere of the performance. Also the mise-on-scene of what the band members are wearing helps to portray the rock genre as they wear odd clothing which shows them as rebellious and against the mainstream. Also they all have long hair which is another typical convention of rock music. Overall this music video is a great representation of the rock genre and shows their genre very well.