Camera
The opening shot is a handheld shot that pans across the empty stadium the band are due to play in - essentially acting as an establishing shot for the video. This allows the audience an insight into the magnitude of the stadium and allows the camera to convey the gargantuan nature of the arena to the audience. Similar to the "Sweet Child O' Mine" video, the video documents the band setting up through the use of a handheld shot to give the video a 'rough around the edges' look and also to give the audience a sense of involvement - almost allowing them to feel as if they are one of the crew and are there with the band. Mid shots are used frequently to capture individual members of the band and reveal some of the environment they find themselves surrounded in - usually scaffolding which shows just how much work goes into the preparation of the bands shows, which connotes hard work and dedication. Long shots are also used, again, to convey to the camera the magnitude of the gig and just how big of a performance that gig was, this gives the audience a barometer of the bands success. This is also done by using close ups before zooming out (almost like a dolly zoom) to quickly reveal the size of the arena in behind the band performing sound checks. This connotes how hard working the band are - the fact that they are remaining energetic and animated even throughout the duration of their sound checks which sends a message to the audience as to exactly how diligent the band are and also how focused they are on making music. In addition to this, it is not rare to see the band presented through the use of a mid shot/long shot to capture them all together sharing the confines of the frame - this connotes that there is great camaraderie and mutual understanding between all the band members and represents them as having a sense of togetherness. More iconic members of the band (Slash and Axl Rose) are frequently subject to tracking shots to connote importance as if to say to the audience that we should in fact be watching these members' every move. The main theme in this video is to give the fans an insight into what it is like to be in the band and also the crew, which is why handheld shots are used to retain verisimilitude/realism within the video and whip pans (again) have been used quite often to quickly shift attention and ensure the video remains exciting. Fundamentally, the video is perpetually creating eyeline matches with what either the crew or the band members themselves would see. Throughout, a series of low angle shots are used to enhance the gargantuan nature of the stadium in which they are playing and also connotes significance and great importance of the band member being filmed.
Mise en Scene
As with "Sweet Child O' Mine", the band wear very 80's metal style of fashion to adhere to the conventions of the subculture. This includes many leather items with buckles, but more iconic members of the band e.g. Slash and Axl feature many of their signature attire that are essentially indices of their presence. For example, Slash still wears his signature top hat and sports a mop of frizzy hair, whilst Axl maintains his skinny fitting clothes and sailors hat - this gratifies the audience as they are seeing what they want to see, they are seeing all the individual elements of the Mise en Scene that make up the band as a cohesive whole. Again, Gibson Les Paul guitars are another feature of the video that are seen as an index for Slash, something that immediately alerts the audience of his presence - just like smoke signifies fire or a footprint. Sunglasses are also a trademark feature for almost any rock band and Guns N' Roses are no different and they maintain a hard rock look - almost holding a mirror up to their fans and the way in which they dress - this finds favour with the band's target demographic as they belong to a subculture and they must reciprocate the interests and tastes of the fans. Throughout the video, the band take up the majority of the confines of the frame when taking into account the rule of thirds, this connotes that these members of the band in particular are of great importance.
Editing
Many cuts are used throughout the video and this is mainly due to the fact that binary oppositions are created by contrasting footage of the band rehearsing (doing sound checks) and performing live. There is also a monochrome effect used although this is used less towards the middle of the video (when the heavy guitar riff starts) and colour is used to make the video more vibrant - creating synergy between the audio and the visuals on screen. This fast paced style of editing is employed to keep up with the frenetic pace of the song, again, creating that all important relationship between the audio and the visuals in order to allow the audience to enjoy the text and decode it without trying - making for easy viewing. It was also important to ensure that the correct footage was used over the music, for example, it was vital that they created a lip syncing effect coupling the live gig footage with the correct part of the song so that the visuals matched the audio - one example of this is at 02:00 when Axl sings the pre-chorus lyrics. The monochrome effect is used to distinguish the band's lives on stage and off the stage: whenever they appear to be joking around in hotels or famous cities it is documented through the use of a monochrome/black and white effect added in post production, however, whenever the band are on stage they are presented through a more vibrant use of colour - this then creates another binary opposition.
Sound
Unlike in "Sweet Child O' Mine", there is no other use of sound apart from the soundtrack itself which was recorded and then released in 1988 (US) and 1989 (UK), but as I mentioned previously, there is a distinct relationship between the music and the visuals that appear on screen an this is maintained throughout the video to retain synergy and continuity within the video in order to make for easy viewing for the audience who will be subconsciously decoding the text and giving it meaning themselves.
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