Art, Instruction & Study, Reference 

"Pop Videos" traces the development of pop videos from the inception of the pop promotional film - as seen in the musical numbers of the US films of the 1950s such as The Girl Can't Help It - to the state-of-the-art videos of today, such as Paula Abdul's Opposites Attract, with it's sophisticated use of animation. The author looks in detail at the various types of pop video - the live performance video, such as those produced by Heavy Metal bands, the tightly choreographed dance videos of Michael and Janet Jackson or MC Hammer, and the comedy video, used to best effect by the group Madness. The author examines the features that link the videos within each genre and how these features are incorporated into the world of pop video. For instance, the section on dance videos examines the role of the choreographer, while the section on animated videos discusses the use of special effects. In looking at the fantasy/art videos of David Bowie, Kate Bush and Prince, the author gives a brief history of the involvement of "real" directors such as Landis and Russell. The book also describes how videos are put together - from their inception, through the storyboard stage and the budget stage, to the choice of location and finally, production. The book features a section on one of the most contemporary video formats - the 90s soul/dance videos of people such as Neneh Cherry and Soul II Soul. - from Amzon