Rock N Roll All Night: The Making of the Music Video
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Rock N Roll All Night: The Making of the Music Video is a blog that takes a behind the scenes look at the making of the famous Kiss music video.
The video’s conception and the song it accompanies
The video for Kiss’ “Rock and Roll All Nite” was conceived as a performance clip, with the band playing to a small club audience. The song it accompanies, from the band’s 1975 album Dressed to Kill, is one of Kiss’ most well-known anthems.
The video was shot in March of 1975, just a few months after the release of Dressed to Kill. It was directed by Lou Reizner, who had previously worked with Kiss on their live album Alive!.
The shoot took place over two days at the Hollywood Palace, a theater on Hollywood Boulevard that had previously been home to the Oscar ceremonies and numerous television shows. The stage was set up to look like a small club, with amplifiers and speakers stacked around the perimeter.
For the first day of shooting, the band played to a group of extras brought in for the purpose. On the second day, they played to a group of actual fans who had won tickets through a radio station giveaway.
The video opens with shots of the Hollywood Palace marquee and shots of people milling around outside the theater. We then see Kiss onstage, playing to a packed house. The camera pans across the audience, giving us glimpses of excited fans waving their arms and jumping up and down.
Throughout the video, we see close-ups of each band member as they perform. We also see shots of Kiss’ pyrotechnics display, which includes explosions and sparks flying through the air.
At the end of the video, we see confetti falling from the ceiling as Kiss takes their final bow. Then fire extinguishers are brought out and sprayed into the air, creating a cloud of white smoke that envelops the stage.
The video’s filming and the challenges faced
The video for KISS’s “Rock and Roll All Nite” was filmed in May 1975, just a few months after the release of the band’s self-titled debut album. It was a low-budget affair, shot in one day at a New York City nightclub called the Coventry. The club was dimly lit and small, which made it difficult to get the right shots. The band members were also not used to performing for the cameras, so they had to do multiple takes of each scene.
Despite these challenges, the video turned out well and helped to increase the band’s popularity. It became a staple of early MTV programming, and today it is considered one of the classic videos of the 1970s.
The video’s release and the reaction to it
The release of Kiss’s “Rock and Roll All Nite” music video was highly anticipated by fans and music industry insiders alike. It was the first time the band had worked with director Marty Callner, and it was clear that he was the perfect choice for the project. The video lived up to the hype, and Kiss’s performance was electrifying.
The reaction to the video was overwhelmingly positive, with many people calling it one of the best music videos of all time. MTV aired it constantly, and it helped propel Kiss’s album, “Dressed to Kill,” to new heights. The video is now considered a classic, and it stands as a testament to Kiss’s unique brand of rock n roll.
The video’s legacy and influence
More than three decades after its release, the music video for Kiss’s “Rock and Roll All Nite” remains one of the most influential and iconic videos in the history of rock music. Directed by Wayne Isham, the video was shot in May 1975 on a soundstage in Los Angeles, and featured the band performing the song in front of a live audience.
The video was an immediate hit, and helped to propel Kiss into the mainstream consciousness. It also cemented the band’s image as larger-than-life rock stars, and established them as pioneers in the field of music video production. The video has been credited with popularizing the use of pyrotechnics in music videos, and its influence can still be seen in many modern videos.
How the video was made
The music video for “Rock N Roll All Night” was filmed in one day, on May 14, 1985, at Landmark Studios in Los Angeles. The video was directed by Paul Rudd and produced by Jon King. It was the first music video to be shot in HDTV (High Definition Television).
The video opens with a close-up of Kiss drummer Eric Carr’s face, as he plays the opening drum roll. The camera then pans back to reveal the rest of the band members performing on a stage in a darkened room. As the song starts, the band is seen playing in front of a live audience for the first time since their 1982 music video for “I Love It Loud”.
The majority of the video consists of Kiss performing the song live, intercut with footage of the band members interacting with each other offstage. At one point, lead singer Paul Stanley is seen sitting in front of a restroom mirror, putting on his makeup. In another scene, bassist Gene Simmons is shown spraying himself with water from a sink.
Near the end of the video, Carr is shown playing his drum solo on top of a grand piano, which is then set on fire by pyrotechnics. The video ends with Kiss taking their final curtain call and waving to their fans.
The video’s conception
The video for Rock N Roll All Night was conceived by the band’s management and director Wayne Isham. The two had previously worked together on videos for Def Leppard and Motley Crue. Isham had the idea to film the video in black and white, which he felt would give it a more classic feel. The video was filmed in Los Angeles in December 1995.
The video’s filming
The video was shot on October 18, 1974, in front of a live audience at the Innovative Artists agency on Sunset Strip in Hollywood, with close-ups during the concert sequences filmed at a soundstage in Burbank. The director was Sidney J. Furie, who later directed such films as Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and The Ipcress File (1965).
The video’s release
The video was released on August 1, 1992, and was an immediate success. It was nominated for four MTV Video Music Awards, including Best Group Video, and won two: Best Editing and Best Cinematography. The video was also nominated for Best Art Direction at the Grammy Awards.
The video’s legacy
The making of the “Rock N Roll All Night” music video was a monumental moment in the history of rock and roll. The video featured some of the most iconic images and performances of the genre, and it had a lasting impact on both the music industry and popular culture.
The video was directed by legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, and it featured performances by some of the biggest names in rock music, including Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Ronnie Wood, Steve Tyler, and Joe Perry. The video was shot on location in New York City, and it captured the energy and excitement of the city’s vibrant music scene.
The “Rock N Roll All Night” music video was an instant classic, and it helped to solidify Scorsese’s reputation as one of the greatest directors of all time. The video also had a lasting impact on the music industry, as it helped to popularize music videos as a medium for promoting artists and their work.
The video’s influence
The video’s influence was far-reaching. In addition to popularizing the song, the video helped to make MTV a mainstay of 1980s popular culture, solidified the importance of the music video as a promotional tool, and played a major role in establishing the visual grammar of subsequent rock videos.
