The rise of something like a music video happened much earlier than most people think. Even in the first decade of cinema, sound films were produced in which famous musicians presented songs. The sound was at that time recorded on a shellac record, which was then played in sync with the film as it was being projected. The major revolution in music videos took place in the US in the early 1940s with Panoram coin-operated jukeboxes. In these machines the socalled Soundies were shown in a 16mm rear projection. Panorams were typically found in nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. The Soundies were shot on 35mm in black and white and then reduced to 16mm. In Europe, it took until the first half of the 1960s, when the revolution took place in the bar around the corner, where suddenly jukeboxes with screens, known as Cineboxes (from Italy), and the more popular Scopitones machines (from France) appeared. In contrast to television, which at that time was still in black and white, and which presented pop culture in a very limited way, the music films in Scopitone machines were in colour. The machines had a carousel with 16mm films equipped with a magnetic soundtrack (originally the films were also shot on 35mm and reduced to 16mm). It was possible to choose from dozens of short music films, after inserting coins into the slot. In total, more than 500 different clips rotated in the machines during this period. The films were shot on a very small budget, which forced filmmakers to adopt new aesthetic approaches such as the intensive use of fast editing and tracking shots, unusual location scouting, and in many cases a permissiveness, which from today’s perspective can be considered sexist. But the Scopitones are also incredibly enjoyable, and allow us to immerse ourselves in a 1960s media phenomenon that has been largely forgotten in recent decades.

Karl Wratschko

· Adamo, Vivre
· Aphrodite’s Child, Let Me Love, Let Me Live
· Brigitte Bardot & Serge Gainsbourg, Comic Strip
· Alain Barrière, Les Guinguettes
· Gilbert Bécaud, L’important c’est la rose
· Les Brutos, Summer Time, Besame Mucho
· Les Charlots, Je chante en attendant que ça sèche
· Les Charlots, Paulette la reine des paupiettes
· Christophe, Les Marionnettes Nicole Croisille, I’ll Never Leave You France Gall, Baby Pop (A-277)
. Johnny Hallyday, Je te veux
· Enrico Macias, Mon cœur d’attache
· Mireille Mathieu, À cœur perdu
· Mireille Mathieu, Je garde l’accent
· Mireille Mathieu, Mon copain Pierrot
· Pierre Perret, Les jolies colonies de vacances
· Pierre Perret, Tonton Cristobal
· Annie Philippe, Le Ticket du quai
· Henri Salvador, Juanita Banana
· Sheila, L’Heure de la sortie
· Les Surfs, Scandale dans la famille
· Bobby Vee, The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
· Hervé Villard, Mourir ou vivre