Music Video Comparison

By Jared Taliesin Williams

Music Video Choices

Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer

Funeral For A Friend – Roses For The Dead

Click the pictures to see the videos.

These videos differ from each other as one is a pure performance video of just the band playing and preparing for a concert, and the other is pure narrative of a boy walking around with a mother clearing out his room. The songs themselves are also different as well as the videos.

As Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer is mainly about not having enough in life and struggling for money, but the two people (Tommy & Gina) are in love and that is enough for them to survive. She says: We've got to hold on to what we've got, it doesn't make a difference, if we make it or not, we've got each other and that's a lot, for love - we'll give it a shot. The line here shows how they are struggling to get through in life and how they try everything but never make a difference to go up in there life. It also shows how they believe their love will be able to get them through the rest of their lives, as long as they have each other.

However, Funeral For A Friend – Roses For The Dead is more about everybody around in is mourning for someone close, however you aren’t making you feel different and stand out from everybody else. It's not your fault, you feel okay, it's too late in the day, it's not your fault, you feel betrayed, and can't come out to play. This line shows that the person does not mourn when the others mourn, therefore does not fit in, making them feel different. The part about being betrayed could be portrayed as the person feeling left out because he is not mourning whilst everyone else is so he feels he has been betrayed.

Bon Jovi Lyrics

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/livin'-on-a-prayer-lyrics-bon-jovi-jon-bon-jovi/a85481498ae6256b48256870002a7ef0

Funeral For A Friend Lyrics

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Roses-For-The-Dead-lyrics-Funeral-For-A-Friend/2AA22FCA1A1E38EF482570180010928A

Mise-en-scèneThe lighting used in both videos are different to each other. Livin’ On A Prayer has a black and white

effect added in until 2:40 where the preparation turns into a real concert and the lighting from the concert and stage are involved. This differs from Roses For The Dead as throughout the entire video it is natural light as the video is mainly outside and really artificial light cannot be used.

The costumes are different because of the time periods both videos are in but also in both videos, none of the band or actors changes their clothing and costume at anytime. In Roses For The Dead, the costumes used are modern with the mother wearing an average long sleeved top and normal jeans which is very casual. The boy is wearing a school uniform with an average coat, which could imply its cold or he does not fit in with the rest of society. He also wears white trainers with the school uniform which helps imply he is an outcast and is not like the others. The costumes in Livin’ On A Prayer is different to Roses For The Dead as they are more related to the time period the video was released. They all wear causal clothing in the style of jeans etc. but they also wear long coats and ‘cowboy’ style boots which would be typical around the 80s time period.

The setting also used in both videos diverse as so do the styles of the music video. Livin’ On A Prayer is set on a stage in a venue for a concert and shows the band practicing and performing on the stage most of the time. This is unlike the settings used in Roses For The Dead which are outside as it follows a boy walking around streets, going over past memories whilst his mother, is in a typical, messy teenager’s bedroom, also going over memories. Also the use of an abandoned flat towards the end of the video also helps portray the boy as a cast out and he is now used to being alone and prefers to be alone rather than having to deal with other people who believe he is different. Many of the settings used are away from main society and is rarely a busy place that also helps portray the boy as alone but he prefers to be alone.

Mise-en-scène Props used again dissimilar in each video as they both try to get across a different

meaning. Roses For The Dead show a mother clearing out her son’s bedroom as he has died with the constant use of flashbacks to happier times with some items. The boy also has a backpack with symbols mainly related back to the rock genre. Also during the video it shows the boy drawing over a book and doing some artwork whilst alone showing what he prefers to do and he can express himself through his art. However in Livin’ On A Prayer the main props used is the typical equipment you expect at a concert which helps show that the video itself is a performance video and nothing else. Also the use of to other concerts. It also brings entertainment to the video which is hard to see in a performance music video. Also the videos both seem something to help lift up the singer up portrays the concerts as exciting and unique compared like soft selling videos in a way as the way Livin’ On A Prayer is filmed makes some people want to go and see the concert like that and also in Roses For The Dead, you see a picture of the album, Hours, which helps promote the album however it is more of a ‘subtle hint’ in the song then it is promotion as they are quite hard to spot.

Camera Angles

The camera angles in both videos are pretty similar but are used in different ways as one is meant to show the performance of Bon Jovi as Funeral For A Friend focus more showing the feelings and emotions of the mother and son. They are similar as each shot hardly lasts 5 seconds each time with being cut to a completely different angle or showing a different event, different person etc.