Original Video & Artists Background

To begin with, i knew i had to do some background research on the song i was wishing to shoot a video for and also a bit about the band themselves. This helped me understand the foundations of my project better and also gave me an insight into how the band interpreted the song for themselves when shooting the original video.

Below is the original video by Rusted Root for their song "Send me on my way" :



This video definately lives up to the liveliness of the song and embraces the genre of feel good indie. The band are wearing bright colours and bohemian style of dress, which not only shows off the personality of themselves and the band as a whole, but stands out against the mountain scenery in the background. This makes the band and their instruments the main focus throughout the video making it more of a performance rather than a narrative or particular concept. Although it is mostly a performance, there are quick shots slotted into the video which suggest a narrative also. The lyrics portray finding your way, and almost going on a journey to find yourself with the help of others. This is shown by the little boy in the video opening doors and walking around open spaces by himself, with what appears to be a native helping him on his way. I think the video is effective, tells a story and reaches out to the audience in a desirable manner.


I decided to find out a little more about the band themselves solely for general research and interest. This helped me understand the artists better and therefore assisted my project. The band Rusted Root are from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and are known for their style of indie, bluegrass rock with inspiration and percussion drawn from African, latin American, Native American and Indian influences. Rusted Root formed in 1988 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and made its indie record debut in 1992 with Cruel Sun, which was rereleased in 2002. The group's major-label debut album was 1994's When I Woke, a hit on college radio and a platinum record. The album hit the top 40 in early 1995, peaking at No. 33. Along with their live shows, Rusted Root began working on contributions to the movies Twister and Home for the Holidays. They were successful with several albums after also. Their album Welcome to My Party (2002) was criticized by fans, who are affectionately known as Rootheads. Many felt the band's departure from tribal grooves to a poppier feel was an attempt to sell out. Rusted Root's "Send Me On My Way", which hit No. 72 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1995  is its most commercially popular song. It was used on the soundtracks of Matilda; Ice Age; the 1996 film Pie in the Sky; the film Race the Sun; YTV Canada's Are We There Yet?: World Adventure; and the Boy Scouts of America, Order of the Arrow Philmont Trail Crew promotional video that was released in the late 1990s. Although the band continues to tour, its hard-touring days appear to be over as the group is devoting more time apart to pursue solo projects.