What makes a successful music video?

Whilst it is important to note the typical conventions of music videos, it is even more beneftial, in the process of making a good music video, to see examples of how these conventions have been applied in a setting that deems the video iconic and an all round success. To carry this out, I looked at the Top 15 of Channel 4's Top 50 Greatest Music Videos Ever.

1. Michael Jackson - Thriller

Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture and was named "a watershed moment for the music industry for its unprecedented merging of film making and music. Mixing controversy with a dual 'performance/narrative based' horror-led concept it is cited as the greatest video of all time by almost all. The concept of the video centres around Jackson's transition from man to the undead, inwhich Jackson dances with an entourage of zombies. The key elements of it's success are often cited to be the narrative led intersections, the choreography and the overall development in artistry it displayed in Jackson.

2. Britney Spears - Toxic

Toxic is most famed for being one of "the sexiest music videos of all time" and the iconic fusing of Spears as an air hostess and in a revealing see through outfit. The video centres around a narrative-led concept inwhich Spears plays a secret agent, donning numerous outfits within a number of locations. Many critics cited is as the "most exciting showcasing of female pop since early Madonna" and for embodying the key concepts which make a pop video, in a cinematic manner.

3.Robbie Williams -Rock DJ

Rock DJ is most notable for it's challenging of typical video conventions in it's voyeuristic treatment of the male protagonist, rather than a female. The video, unlike those above, does not focus on a narrative-driven concept and is a performance based video, centering around Robbie Williams stripping for the attention of girls, in the centre of a roller disco. It's winning formula, is arguably, the performance of the artist, and the use of CGI and Special Effects, towards the end of the video.

4. Jamiroquia - Virtual Insanity

What has made the video so revolutionary is the use of a single take , with the whole four minutes being made up of one continuous take. The use of props and setting are also key, mainly with the changing orientation and shape of the objects being the main focus of the video. The fourth wall, is non-existent, throughout the video with band member Jay Kay performing directly for the audience, and the main narrative focusing on the growing disorientation within the room setting.

5. Beyonce - Single Ladies