Research and Planning: Understanding what a music video is.

As the first step for preproduction, we began our extensive research and planning by reading up about what a music video actually entails, it’s origin and history, the different types of music videos, different theories such as Andrew Goowin’s theory of the music video in order to gain a deeper understanding of what the actual purpose of a music video is. 

A music video is a short film, of variable length, that integrates a song of an album with imagery that is produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie-ins and merchandising can be used for toys or for food or other products.

Although the origins of the music video date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they again came into prominence in the 1980s when the channel MTV, (originally "Music Television") based its format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these kinds of videos were described by various terms including "illustrated song,” "filmed insert," "promotional (promo) film," "promotional clip," "promotional video," "song video," "song clip," or "film clip."

Music videos use a wide range of styles and contemporary video-making including documentary, live action and non-narrative approaches such as abstract film. Some music videos combine different styles with music, such as animation and live-action. Combining these styles and techniques has become more popular due to the variety for the audience. Many music videos interpret images and scenes from the song's lyrics, while others take a more thematic approach. Other music videos may not have any concept, being only a filmed version of the song's live concert performance.