Hard Rock Video Analysis

Bon Jovi

From 1983 - Present

Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi, pianist and keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, lead guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald.

Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead Or Alive

Bon Jovi show a lot of examples of typical codes and conventions from the rock genre: they all have long over-the-top hair, shiny outfits and GUITARS. Every rock band or artist will have a guitar and if they don't it doesn't comply appropriately to rock. A lot of rock songs have guitars playing throughout, with some having guitar solos also.

Setting and Lighting

The settings in Bon Jovi's 'Wanted Dead or Alive' include the stage at one of their concerts, journeys with the band on vehicles such as cars and a plane and also many clips of their crowds and audiences. The clips shown within a montage of other clips represent their journey to each venue they play their music at.

To begin with the lighting is a lighter and the flame which is when the song begins. the lighting then changes to spotlights on the band (Bon Jovi), to show their importance to the song. as the band travel around the different venues in various vehicles, the lighting is shown within the street lamps or houses from a distance, where they are travelling through at the time.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

Throughout the duration of the song, the facial expressions displayed from the members of the band are serious and have deep connotations that link with the fact they are playing their music to audiences in a number of locations seen in the music video. The music must mean a lot to both the singers and the audience as they seem to be focused only on the music.

The audience's facial expressions differ from the band's. This is because the audience seem enthusiastic towards the music being played for them as they smile and dance along with the song.

Costume, Hair and Make-Up

Bon Jovi's hair in their music video is exaggerated in a sense because their hair is all big and messy looking, which could portray that the band only care about the 'music' and not their appearances. This is also echoed with their clothing, as it includes long, dark, very casual attire and so may seem like they made no effort for their concerts.

Despite this, in their other songs, 'Livin' on a prayer' and 'You give love a bad name' they are wearing similar, if not exactly the same style of clothing, which shows that this is their style. Most rock artists and bands find their own style and rarely have the exactly same style as another rock band or artist.

From 1987–1994

Nirvana

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Nirvana was an American rock band formed by singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1987. Nirvana went through a succession of drummers, the longest-lasting being Dave Grohl, who joined in 1990.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

The facial expressions displayed in 'Smells like teen spirit' are very minimal and emotionless at the beginning of the video. This ties in well with the speed of the song as it is quite slow and there is no aggression at this point of the song.

As the song progresses and begins to become more lively the audience and band seem to pick up their mood by dancing around the stage and shaking their long hair about to emphasise the speed of the music being played. The song has slow parts which speed up into fast parts of the song, this continues throughout the song and so the band's emotion (facial expressions and body language) are dependent on the music they are playing. This links with the audience as they are listening to this music and so when the music is slow and almost dull so are they and when the music picks up and becomes aggressive, so do they. There are positives to this but of course the negatives could be that people become out of control when listening to different types of music.

There is also some bleaching in the lighting which could suggest that the band were a low-budget band at the time, but also it could just suggest that they wanted a lot of light on them to show off themselves and their performance.

The lighting in this music video is very minimal which could make it link to that fact that the band are young teenagers and cannot afford expensive lighting and instead decided to use what look like torches.

Setting and Lighting

As the song begins, we notice that they are in a building crowded with people, who seem to be fans of the band, due to them engaging with the music being played (dancing, tapping their feet and shaking their heads in time with the music). Throughout the whole video, the colour of all the clips are of an ashy yellow, this could suggest the place they are playing in is dirty or old and abandoned to add to the typical codes and conventions of the rock genre as being 'bad. It could also relate to drugs or alcohol as it could be a certain 'hangout' as the misty air could enforce this.

Another way in which to look at this particular song, is that it is called 'Smells like Teen Spirit' and so as they are playing in what appears to be a gymnasium at a High School, this could mean that the teen spirit is the fact all the teens are together in one place, playing music together.

From 1970 - Present

Queen

Queen are a British rock band that formed in London in 1970. Their classic line-up was Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano), Brian May (lead guitar, vocals), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals), and John Deacon (bass guitar). Queen's earliest works were influenced by progressive rock, hard rock and heavy metal, but the band gradually ventured into more conventional and radio-friendly works by incorporating further styles, such as arena rock and pop rock, into their music.

Facial Expressions and Body Language

Queen - We Will Rock You

During the beginning of the song, we have an array of close-ups and mid-shots of the band and the facial expressions displayed are slightly aggressive and exaggerated to emphasise the lyrics to the song for the audience. Another reason for this, is that the song is 'We will rock you' and rock during the 1970's was beginning to become more edgy and rock was also more of a 'punk rock' or 'glam rock' approach too. Members of Queen are seen clapping along to the beat of the song, this has been recognised by many audiences and remains well-known until today. At 1.14, Freddie Mercury is seen grabbing the microphone similar to Foo Fighter's Dave Grohl, which presents intertextuality between these two music pieces.

Setting and Lighting

'We will rock you' is set in what appears to be an outdoor park, forest or some natural landscape. It is Winter, due to the sky being white and the clothing they are wearing is big coats and scarfs. The lighting is natural as the setting is outdoors and would be hard to maintain. Despite this, the lighting acts appropriately as we can see everything within the frame. There is no bleaching throughout the music video and so I believe that this music video's lighting is a lot higher quality than Nirvana's 'Smells like teen spirit', despite being of a later era.

Costume, Hair and Make-Up

The hair in the music video is a lot more exaggerated and volumed than Nirvana, but similar to Bon Jovi. This could be due to the time in which each band was formed and popular and the styles during that time. Bon Jovi and Queen were both formed during similar times.

Queen do not appear to be wearing any make-up, but this again could be due to what was popular during the time in which their song was released (1977). The clothing that Queen are wearing links well with the setting and season in which they are shooting their video in - winter coats, gloves and hats. Although, Mercury opposes this theme as he has sunglasses on. This was used to emphasise the 'coolness' of the band or just him as a singer.