The General Music Video Discussion Thread

[EvanG]

4 minutes ago, Jeez said:

Better than expected. It's different which I can appreciate, and imo some of the transitions were cool.

I agree. I like it too.

[DingBat]

1 minute ago, SoulMonster said:

Of course not. But there will definitely be many who love this video. As is usual, they push some fans away in the process. They have done that as a trademark throughout their career, like when they released acoustic music, when they added keyboards on UYI, when they released One In A Million, when they used drum machines, etc etc, You know this as well as I do. There is nothing new under the sun here. The fact that you don't like the video doesn't mean it doesn't have qualities, it just means you don't like it.

If you like it, cool, good for you, but it's poor work in my opinion.  

You can get something like this made on Upwork or Fiverr for a few hundred pounds. I'm sure GN'R paid a lot more than that for it, but it has little to no artistic merit or professionalism that I can see. Surely it's supposed to make the viewer feel something other than apathy, anger, or nausea? It has no ark, no story, and the visuals are not very interesting.

The Perhaps video was much, much better. Just compare the live footage, editing, and grading in that to this video. It's night and day and not very FK'N special.

[Tom-Ass]

Just popped up on my youtube feed. First time I heard the song.. At first listen it is terrible.. Video as well. 

[downzy]

10 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

They have done that as a trademark throughout their career, like when they released acoustic music, when they added keyboards on UYI, when they released One In A Million, when they used drum machines, etc etc,

Yes, but you could argue that those were all done with some artistic integrity. 

They weren't changing trends so much as doing what they wanted because that's what felt right. 

And when they did a lot of that stuff, it also garnered them a lot of fans because a lot of people connected to the material and their efforts.  Can the same be said about incorporating stale AI visuals that have been overdone by many others?  Is it a good sign when the creative team publicly announces that they were going one direction until the band management intervened? 

To each their own.  But this video feels less like pushing boundaries and more about taking the easiest path forward while also following trends.

10 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

The fact that you don't like the video doesn't mean it doesn't have qualities, it just means you don't like it.

True.  Ultimately the only thing that matters is whether the band is happy and proud of their work.  They're really only responsible to themselves with respect to achieving whatever feels right to them from a creative perspective.

But if their sense of being creative involves using trendy visuals that feel lazy to anyone familiar with what's going on in this medium, then it's also not wrong for myself and others to state why we feel this way.

I've always felt an artist's first (and really only) obligation is to themselves.  But there's no obligation for anyone else to like it.  Releasing any piece of art out there involves the risk of criticism or rejection.  And I think that's what we're seeing with this video for most people who watch it.  It just doesn't make sense to them for many of the reasons stated.  

Like I said, I don't hate it.  There are elements that I like.  Overall, it just doesn't work for me due to the AI visuals, which are a bit cringy at this point. 

[SoulMonster]

Just now, DingBat said:

If you like it, cool, good for you, but it's poor work in my opinion.  

You can get something like this made on Upwork or Fiverr for a few hundred pounds. I'm sure GN'R paid a lot more than that for it, but it has little to no artistic merit or professionalism that I can see. Surely it's supposed to make the viewer feel something other than apathy, anger, or nausea? It has no ark, no story, and the visuals are not very interesting.

The Perhaps video was much, much better. Just compare the live footage, editing, and grading in that to this video. It's night and day and not very FK'N special.

I am actually ambivalent to it. My main problem is all the motion. 

No, you can't get this for $500 on Fiverr 

[MildlyArtistic]

Horrible soulless shite. AI art is horrible

[GnR Chris]

“Perhaps” video was cool. “The General” video ain’t it. Could have used some actual 2D animation with an actual story depicting the dark subject matter. It could have elevated the song. 

[Skamos66]

I'm sorry but i just cant get over "wall leg", like what the hell. Im off before i go roasting every frame of this thing XD
Such a "special" release, one with every illness and disability humans have ever had, jesus

Edited January 24 by Skamos66

[AxlRoseCDII]

This is complete shit. This is unironically one of the worst things I’ve ever seen in my life. What a fucking disgrace to this band’s legacy.

[downzy]

I see GNR's publicist has been working hard:

"The video for “The General” intercuts 20 live vignettes with an A.I.-animated psychedelic visual trip. Between the concert footage, it dives into the subconscious of a young boy who stares down the monsters of dark childhood memories, blurring worlds in the process. The result is unlike anything the band has done before and continues a longstanding historic tradition of bold visuals from Guns N’ Roses. To bring this vision to life, Guns N’ Roses collaborated with Dan Potter—Creative Director of London-based creative studio Creative Works. This was a collaboration between real designers and artificial designers, and the inspiration came from within the band."

[SoulMonster]

2 minutes ago, downzy said:

Yes, but you could argue that those were all done with some artistic integrity. 

They weren't changing trends so much as doing what they wanted because that's what felt right. 

And when they did a lot of that stuff, it also garnered them a lot of fans because a lot of people connected to the material and their efforts.  Can the same be said about incorporating stale AI visuals that have been overdone by many others?  Is it a good sign when the creative team publicly announces that they were going one direction until the band management intervened? 

To each their own.  But this video feels less like pushing boundaries and more about taking the easiest path forward while also following trends.

True.  Ultimately the only thing that matters is whether the band is happy and proud of their work.  They're really only responsible to themselves with respect to achieving whatever feels right to them from a creative perspective.

But if their sense of being creative involves using trendy visuals that feel lazy to anyone familiar with what's going on in this medium, then it's also not wrong for myself and others to state why we feel this way.

I've always felt an artist's first (and really only) obligation is to themselves.  But there's no obligation for anyone else to like it.  Releasing any piece of art out there involves the risk of criticism or rejection.  And I think that's what we're seeing with this video for most people who watch it.  It just doesn't make sense to them for many of the reasons stated.  

Like I said, I don't hate it.  There are elements that I like.  Overall, it just doesn't work for me due to the AI visuals, which are a bit cringy at this point. 

You could very well be correct and this is the band just following trends, but that is pure speculation. In my opinion, this is likely to a much larger extent being oursourced to third parties with Axl being less involved (for better or for worse), than, say, the video to November Rain was. Still, I am sure Axl has been involved to some extent and has okayed the style and direction. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if younger people like this and that this will actually make the band more appealing to a new demographic. 

I appreciated your measured and thought-out response

[DingBat]

2 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

I am actually ambivalent to it. My main problem is all the motion. 

No, you can't get this for $500 on Fiverr 

Of course, you can, there's no barrier to entry for rubbish like this. Anyone with Midjourney and an editing program can make something like this. 

1 minute ago, downzy said:

I see GNR's publicist has been working hard:

"The video for “The General” intercuts 20 live vignettes with an A.I.-animated psychedelic visual trip. Between the concert footage, it dives into the subconscious of a young boy who stares down the monsters of dark childhood memories, blurring worlds in the process. The result is unlike anything the band has done before and continues a longstanding historic tradition of bold visuals from Guns N’ Roses. To bring this vision to life, Guns N’ Roses collaborated with Dan Potter—Creative Director of London-based creative studio Creative Works. This was a collaboration between real designers and artificial designers, and the inspiration came from within the band."

They probably got that out of ChatGPT.

[Skamos66]

1 minute ago, downzy said:

I see GNR's publicist has been working hard:

"The video for “The General” intercuts 20 live vignettes with an A.I.-animated psychedelic visual trip. Between the concert footage, it dives into the subconscious of a young boy who stares down the monsters of dark childhood memories, blurring worlds in the process. The result is unlike anything the band has done before and continues a longstanding historic tradition of bold visuals from Guns N’ Roses. To bring this vision to life, Guns N’ Roses collaborated with Dan Potter—Creative Director of London-based creative studio Creative Works. This was a collaboration between real designers and artificial designers, and the inspiration came from within the band."

There is an AI tool that can summarize what is in a video. That is AI as well...

[gnr5]

The first time you see the video it sucks, the second time, it still sucks

[SoulMonster]

Just now, DingBat said:

Of course, you can, there's no barrier to entry for rubbish like this. Anyone with Midjourney and an editing program can make something like this. 

The rendering hours themselves would push it far, far beyond $500  Then comes the live shots editing, the live motion, the hand drawings, and finally merging all this and post-production. So obviously maaany hours work resulting in much higher cost/price than most of their recent videos. 

[allwaystired]

Fucking hell that's shit. It doesn't even have any sort of relevance or connection with the song. 

Well....watched it once, will never see it again. 

Done. Next! 

[Jakey Styley]

Is it just me or does the audio sound better here? The mixing isn't driving me crazy like it usually does. Maybe I'm just numb now.

[Jw224]

1 minute ago, Jakey Styley said:

Is it just me or does the audio sound better here? The mixing isn't driving me crazy like it usually does. Maybe I'm just numb now.

I think you're just numb lol

[Skamos66]

Looks like GNR has deployed fake BOTS to say good things about it. Just like on big youtube videos, good god.

[Jakey Styley]

I don't unequivocally hate the use of AI here but wish it was more balanced in favor of live shots.

[SoulMonster]

Just now, Skamos66 said:

Looks like GNR has deployed fake BOTS to say good things about it. Just like on big youtube videos, good god.

How can you tell they are fake bots? 

[MJRoses23]

Watched it twice. I still love the song but am not a fan of the video. Its hard to watch. That said, I appreciate that they're still doing stuff. They are at least trying to be creative still. At this stage in their careers thats more than a lot of bands can say. You can all debate the level of "trying" theyre doing, but they are trying. 

After years of silence, I'm happier with them putting out the occasional thing I dont like than nothing at all.

[Coma16]

I like the video, for what it is.

[Free Bird]

42 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

OK, it’s out. So now if we complain, are we still whiners or was it justified? ‘Cause AI is the laziest fucking thing you can do. And GNR as artists themselves, they really should be embarrassed to employ someone to generate this rather than pay an actual artist to animate a cool concept. The arts are dying, and it’s ‘cause of shit like this.

Now you can complain 24/7 if you want 😂

[Lelex95]

5 minutes ago, Skamos66 said:

Looks like GNR has deployed fake BOTS to say good things about it. Just like on big youtube videos, good god.

I don’t know, most of those who commented positively have the top member badge, if they were bot made to comment on this video they would have the badge. 
It’s probably just some fans that actually enjoy it.