Music Video Analysis

Livin’ On A Prayer – Bon Jovi

Introduction

• This song was released on October 31st 1986. It falls under the genre of glam metal and dance rock. The music video itself won the MTV music video award for best stage performance. I believe that this song has a target audience of both genders between ages of roughly 13 and 60.

The Song

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Technical Codes: Camerawork• This video uses a variety of shots. It is a performance video and this is

clearly demonstrated by several wide angle shots which allow you to see the size of the arena that they are playing in. although it is empty this still causes the audience to feel as if they are there and seeing this with their own eyes as you would be able to see everything if you were there yourself. These wide angle shots offer a sort of POV perspective for the audience.

• There are also many mid shots which help to give a good representation of the artists. These artists are often looking directly into the camera during these mid shots which makes the video more personal.

Technical Codes: Editing• As this is a performance video and not a narrative, continuity

isn't as important. The shots are all composed into a fast montage of short shots which change in time with the music. There are plenty of eye line matches in this video. This is to attempt to make the video more personal and connect better with the audience.

• During this video there are no transitions between shots. That are all sudden jumps that fit in with the change of beat with the soundtrack. This lack of transitions can have a slightly jumpy and harsh effect on a video. If u watch the video without the sound you can see this clearly, however as the soundtrack itself is jumpy and constantly full of changing beats, this idea works well.

Technical Codes: Mise en Scene• This music video is a performance and therefore doesn't’t have any

sort of narrative. Overall it is just the artists dancing and singing on stage, but there are several key aspects of it which make it a great video. The fact that it is all in black and white tells us that this is no ordinary music video. The artists want this video to stand out and be something a little different from the norm.

• They are performing in a large concert venue however there is no audience, but there is several staff who r in front of camera. This makes the video look as if they have tried to film the video several times and then just taken out the ‘best bits’ and put it together into a film. This gives the look of a very mature video, however it works as it gives the audience a chance to feel as if they are backstage and witnessing something special ( the filming of the music video).

Symbolic Codes

• Typically rock and roll and this genre of music are well known for their outlandish performances and wild stage presence. This video demonstrates how ‘wild’, ‘fun’, and ‘energetic’ these performers are. This style of crazy outfits, stylish hair, and exuberant dancing clearly conveys the ideologies of typical glam metal and dance rock music.

Audience Appeal

• This video appeals to their target audience because, whenever u listen to this song, most people want to get up and dance and sing along. This is the stereotypical dance rock audience. This video offers the audience a chance to do this. It encourages the audience to get up and get involved with the music.

• The eye line matches emphasis this as they make the video more personal yet making individuals want to get involved with the song.