Analysis of Music Videos

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Brett Moore.

Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi.

Bed of Roses is a hard rock ballad that tells the generic tale of a break up. Despite telling a story this is a performance music video as for much of the video the band is pictured in the studio, as the singer Jon Bon Jovi, uses gestures and

expressions to help aid the stories pathos.

Camera:

The establishing shot is a pan of a mountain range, as the camera is then zoomed in and focused onto the guitarist standing and the peak of one mountain. This along with the melodic guitar riff, immediately connotes isolation and the notion of being stranded without a voice, to which becomes more prevalent as the story continues. Following this we are introduced to the protagonist through the use of a close up. In this case because this is a performance video, it is the singer of the band directly addressing the camera holding a microphone in stage like lighting. Throughout the video there are elements of narrative as the recurring theme is shots of the band performing fading into shots of the main character (the singer Jon Bon Jovi) acting the to the lyrics of the song. As the song develops and grows a succession of close ups of Jon Bon Jovi are used to highlight the emotion of the song and this helps to draw the audience into the storyline. Once the song begins to end the pan shots of the mountain ranges returns, as now the audience are able to connote the protagonists feeling of isolation following the break up with his girlfriend, before once again the video ends with a close up of the singer looking dishevelled as the video ends in a similar pattern as to how it begun, with the use of stage lighting, highlighting Jon Bon Jovi as a lonely man telling his story directly to the audience.

Editing:

Editing is one of the most influential micro features of this music video as fades and cross cuts are used excessively to switch between shots. The most effective use of editing in the music video is at the very beginning where montage editing is used to depict multiple aspects of the song. For example initially we see a guitarist on top of a mountain all alone, before almost simultaneously, a mid shot of a guitarist on stage is shown, as well as a faded shot of someone playing a piano, all within the first 30 seconds of the video. This is effective because montage editing often leads to audiences achieving a greater understanding of the ethos of a clip or music video, as (like it has in this case) it enables the video to incorporate and relay a vast amount of information (e.g. the codes or emotions of a video) to the audience, thus enticing the audience into the video. Furthermore as the song meets it’s climax, as is generic with most ballads, the pace of the video changes as it becomes faster paced. The connotations of this are that the protagonist is reaching his breaking point and is wanting to break free from the restriction he feels without his girlfriend. The pace is then slowed right down at the end of the song as a fade is used to move into a close up shot of Bon Jovi, to seemingly calm the song down and to accentuate the protagonists heartbreak.

Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi.

Mis en scene:

Being a predominately performance based music video mis-en-scene is important in terms of props, lighting and expressions. Props include studios, microphones, guitarist. Lighting is also important particularly in the close ups as this helps to embody the ethos of the video as the lighting in these shots is used to isolate the singer. Expressions are the most influential aspect of the mis-en-scene in the video as these further help to embody the ethos of the video as is shown in the image in the top right of this slide.

Bed of Roses – Bon Jovi.

Smokin’ In The Boys Room – Motley Crue

Smokin’ In the Boys Room is the typical anarchic 1980’s glam/hair metal song, and this is reflected in the adjoining music video. I conjunction with the ‘crazy’ and anti establishment song, the use of a

concept video heightens this notion.

Camera:

The establishing shot is a mid shot that of a student in high school, dropping all of his homework, with the connotations of this being that this clumsy, destructive nature is set to continue throughout the video, in tangent with the bands own image. The camera then cuts straight to a close up of a dog, who in a seemingly slapstick moment is shown ‘eating’ the students homework. A series of close ups follow to highlight the students emotions and annoyance with school and seemingly the whole idea of establishmentarianism. An over-shoulder shot is then used to introduce the singer of the band (Vince Neil) who is dressed boldly as is familiar with Motley Crue’s image. The connotations of this are of course that the band are going against the grain and enticing the rule stricken student into a world without rules, as would be expected of the 1980’s hair metal band. A pan shot is used in a later scene to show the entirety of the anarchy the band can create in one music video.

Editing:

Editing, like camera, is used to further accentuate the bizarre and garish nature of the Motley Crue video. This is done through the use of jump cuts and a fast pace throughout the video. Jump cuts are effective because they help to increase the pace of the video and help to produce an incoherent narrative, which is so integral in creating the anarchic ethos to which would be expected by a Motley Crue audience.

Smokin’ In The Boys Room – Motley Crue

Mis-en-scene:

Given the era and they genre of music Motley Crue are from mis-en-scene is integral, mainly for the portrayal of their infamous image, to which many see as the bands brand. The illustrious sets also help to embody the notion that Motley Crue are completely against the establishment. This is important when taking the audience into the consideration, because at the time of release the bands fan base would have been teenagers and those in their early twenties and so the theme of rebellion and anarchy is something that would have been very much desired, and so the use of mis-en-scene is massively influential with relation to audiences, because ultimately the band want as many people as possible to see the video, as this is the perfect format to promote the song.

Smokin’ In The Boys Room – Motley Crue

Leader of The Pack – Twisted Sister

Leader of the Pack is a cover of a 1960’s song originally done by the Shangrillas. This is a narrative video, as an actress is used to act out the lyrics of the song and the story of the song. Again Twisted Sister were apart

of the hair metal seen in the 1980’s and so their music videos often represent the ‘Take the mick’ and anti societal image associated with bands in the genre.

Camera:

The establishing shot is a wide shot of the band sitting on motorbikes surrounded by dry ice and low key lighting as would be expected of a 1980’s hair metal. This immediately sets the ethos of the video as does Bon Jovi’s Bed of Roses. It becomes apparent that this is a narrative video immediately as a jump cut is used to show a mid shot of a female character, who when looking at the lyrics is clearly the protagonist of the song. Tracking shots are used later in the story as the lyrics focuses on a car journey and motorbikes and so tracking shots are integral in upholding the narrative nature and ideas of the video. As the lyrics of the song gather more meaning and greater pathos, in true hair metal style the video goes completely against the grain with a montage of slapstick moments about the crashing of the car. So whilst the camera enables pathos to be created ultimately the bands formidable image is also upheld, vital for the response it would want from its intended audience.

Editing:

Editing is integral in the portrayal of a narrative video, as it is in this case. Parallel cutting or cross cutting is used throughout the video to depict the singer (who tells/sings the story) and then the female (who acts what Dee Snider sings). The pacing is slow, to accentuate the pathos created through the lyrics but also the contrast created through the slapstick, humorous narrative.

Mis-en-scene:

Similarly as Motley Crue, elaborate sets are used to represent the grand styles associated with this genre of music. This includes motorbikes, dry ice and stage like lighting. In addition the facial expressions are also important as, as has previously been sated the lyrics evoke a lot of pathos and facial expressions help to accentuate this.

Leader of The Pack – Twisted Sister