The key to a great music video is creating something new and fresh that you haven't seen before.
Peter Gabriel's 1986 promo accompanying the single Sledgehammer rapidly set the benchmark for technical innovation as far as videos went. Made by Aardman Animations using stop-motion and claymation, it demonstrated how a strong visual idea could hold the attention without selling the song short. At that time you could listen to a song, have an idea and then a few weeks later it would be viewed around the world, whereas making a movie was a two-year business of shooting and editing. Music videos were very instant and had a global audience, which was great.
