Stereotypical Rock Videos

The Rock genre is a genre of music that's roots originate from "rock and roll" back in the 1950's which eventually developed into different variations of this style during the 1960's particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. Rock is mostly about rebellious behaviour and violence, other key features usually associated with rock are women and packed out stadiums as well as live performance and the playing of instruments such as guitar and drums. Rock has developed dramatically over the years with costume being the most notable change,  however, these core elements of the Rock genre remain. In order for me to fully understand the concept of rock and a typical classic rock video I decided to create a post about a variety of rock music videos, both old and modern. 

Bon Jovi's video to Livin' On A Prayer is a classic Rock video in the sense that it contains a 'behind the scenes' narrative as well as main focus of performance. However the narrative of the band messing about whilst rehearsing and setting up can be seen throughout the majority of the video, a black and white effect has also been placed over this footage in order to separate it from performance. This can be seen in other rock videos such as Def Leppards Pour Some Sugar On Me. The Mise en Scene within the video represents true Rock, the band members are seen wearing Rock attire such as leather jackets, vests, shirts, tight black trousers as well as boots and the long Rock hairstyle is also visible within the video. The choice of costume makes them look like true Rockstars. The cutting rate of the video is done so that the song cuts on the beat, this effective as it feels as if the video running in sync with song. The focus on the use instruments is a key convention of Rock and Rock videos, there are a variety of camera shots focusing on the use of drums, guitar and vocals throughout the video. The fact that the band end up playing in front an audience also relates to a key convention of Rock, performing on stage.   The performance at the end of the video could also portray the type of lifestyle the band lead as they are seen being mobbed by screaming fans, this could relate to their huge global audience and fan base. This is something commonly associated with Rock and what most Rock bands aspire to.  

Van Halen's video for Jump is slightly different as for the entire duration the band are performing, not only this video is also in colour. As well as this the band are not seen performing to an audience and are instead seen performing into the camera which could be instead be interpreted as the band performing to an audience through the camera. The Mise en Scene within the video is slightly different to most Rock videos, although the band are seen to wearing similar clothing to that seen is most Rock videos such as tight leather trousers, vests, t-shirts and boots the colours of the attire are that mostly of bright orange which is not a colour commonly associated with most Rock videos. Nevertheless the band still pull of the Rock band look convincingly. The cutting rate is quite slow however speeds up during certain parts of the song to add effect to certain lyrics. Although the video is performance based the band are still seen joking around together, this is shown through a variety of close ups and focus on the playing of instruments such as bass which as previously mentioned is key convention of Rock. The performance during the video could also portray the type of lifestyle the band lead as they are seen having fun and enjoying what they do, this could relate to their love for performing and how it makes them behave. This again is something that is commonly associated within the Rock genre and something most Rock bands aspire to achieve.  

Finally in Nickleback's video for I'd Come For You there is both performance and a separate narrative storyline. The storyline or narrative is about a daughter running away from her father with a boy who then attacks her and then dad is seen coming to her rescue. This theme of relationships as well as the saving of the day has become more popular within Rock music videos over the past few years. The Mise en Scene seen within this video is more modern however core elements of Rock are still present through the band that are seen all dressed in black jeans, t-shirts and shirts as well as boots when performing in a studio. The cutting rate compliments the narrative and performance cutting at convenient moments so shots don't become boring or to drawn out, the cutting rate is also used to create drama when the girl is being attacked. There are a variety of camera shots such as close ups and long shots used to focus on the playing of instruments when the band are shown performing in the studio which is key convention of Rock. There are also a number of camera shots used to tell the story of the narrative for example medium and close up shots when the girl is sitting in the boys car before she is attacked this is useful when setting a scene or trying to explain whats happening without the use of dialogue. The video also compliments the lyrics of the song, as the video matches the message behind the lyrics of the song, this is something that is used in Rock videos from time to time especially when narrative is involved. 

It is important to have an understanding of the types of videos that are commonly produced within the Rock genre at is will help us greatly with overall concept of our own video and also provide us with evidence for justifying certain choices when designing and creating our product for Secret Sin. We can also look back to these videos for inspiration.