5. Music Videos in the 70's!

Music Videos in the 1970's
Music Videos expanded in the '70's with more creative ideas and more focus on the setting and props and occasionally on special effects however the ones near the beginning of the 1970's still lacked a narrative and some videos were still performed as if live.

Blondie - Heart of Glass (1978)

This video focuses a lot more on setting and the video starts with an establishing shot of the city and then the camera pans certain aspects of the city to introduce the disco/nightlife scene, which is emphasised by the disco ball that one of the guitarist uses as a prop near the end of the video and the flashing colours that also appear during a cross-fade. The video doesn't contain a narrative and is just the band's performance however there are a variety of creative camera shots which makes the video more entertaining. A lot of the song is a close up of Blondie's face to emphasise that she is the lead singer however the camera cuts to the other band members when there is an instrumental section for variety and to show their place in the band. I think this music video is quite effective because although simple, the varying creative shots keep you entertained.

Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights (1978)

This music videos focuses a lot on lighting and the effects available to create an ethereal  haunting music video. The lighting used casts Kate Bush in an eerie light - as if she were a ghost or angel and the floor is filled with a misty light which adds to this effect. Mainly at the beginning the lighting colour also changes from yellow to red to blue and back to yellow which also help emphasise the lyrics of the song. For example, when the light is red she talks about Heathcliffe's 'temper' and her 'jealousy,' and when the light is blue (sadness) she talks about him leaving her. The effects used in the video vary. At the beginning and then during the video the singer is reflected underneath her so we only see her top half and this along with her cartwheeling into a  reflected image of herself help the video have a more mystical theme. The use of the reflected image of the singer helps enforce the fact that she is ghostly which matches the song as she is the 'ghost of Cathy.' The editing is quite slow paced which fits with the music as does the dance routine. There is clearly a set dance for the video - especially at the chorus which is a fairly new addition to music videos.  

Bee Gees - Stayin' Alive (1977)

Like Blondie - Heart of Glass -this music video also focuses a lot on the set using an abandoned building/train. This setting accompanied with the jacket slung over the shoulder creates the impression that they are 'tough' and this is also emphasized by the low angle camera shots when the camera follows them during the verses using a dolly shot. This video contains no narrative but is not like a live performance especially during the chorus when the members each appear in the windows of the building in time with the music. There walking is also matched with the music and there are certain parts which are rhythmically edited to fit the music. There are no special effects but the music video is still effective.