Textual Analysis- The Pretender (Foo Fighters)

Artists: Foo Fighters

Genre: Hard Rock/ Post Grunge

Who Directed/ Produced it?: Gil Norton

When was it Created: August 21st 2007

Record Label: Roswell/RCA

Mise En Scene
The setting looks to be in a large building, such as a warehouse, or a studio. This can be told by the large space that the band are playing. Also the building is very well lite, meaning that all the lights have to be on the ceiling, another characteristic of a warehouse or studio. Also there is a shine on the floor that shows that all of the lights are on the ceiling. It could also be a hanger as the roof seem to curl down at the edges, which is a characteristic of a hanger.

This is a screenshot of the roof of the scene, as you can see the roof is in a semi-circle shape, this is a characteristic of a hanger, this would explain the large empty space, and the very well lit room.

Costumes and Makeup
All of the band members look to be wearing all casual clothes, such as shirts and jeans, this makes it look like a less formal video, and that the band wishes to play comfortably and look fashionable as well. Also if all the band members were wearing black suits then their clothes would be very formal but very plain and boring, which would cause the video to be plain and boring. Also the members of the band excluding the lead singer are wearing black clothes, so that they stand out with the red wall behind them, also the Lead singer looks to be the only person that is wearing white, this goes with the story in the song, that he is not going to stand in the crowd anymore. Also the SWAT teams that are seen in the clip,  they are dressed like that, to show that they are the authorities to stop them from standing out of the crowd and rebelling.


Props
There are quite a few props that can be seen, the first noticed is the bands instruments and speakers, also the lead singers microphone, this shows that the band are actually playing their music. Other props that are seen are the Batons and riot shields that the SWAT are holding, this makes them look more genuine and authentic, it also adds the feeling that the band are going to get beaten and lose.















This is a screenshot of the band with the their instruments, it also shows the speakers that the band members are using. The screenshot also shows some other equipment of to the sides of the shot, this could also show that the setting is a warehouse where equipment has been stored.

Lighting
The lights that are used in the authentic, as they were all ready there when the band arrived. These lights are used to make the setting brighter and clearer, also so that the audience can see the band, and can see more of the setting, such as the area where the SWAT teams enter.



This screenshot shows all of the lights that can be seen in the scene, this also shows that all of the lights are not artificial, as all the lights were there before the video was set up for shooting, plus all of these lights on the ceiling keep the whole scene lit up very well and make everything in the scene very easy to see and clear.

Colour Palette
The colour palette of this video is very bright and clear, but all that changes 3:28 where the wall/paint thing behind the band explodes, then the colour palette changes to a bright red colour, but the visibility is very low and difficult to see.



These screenshots show the difference in visibility between when the wall is there and behind the band, before the main drop in the song, and after the main drop in the song where the wall behind the band explodes blurring all the vision, but allowing the viewer to only just about see what is happening.

Camera Techniques
There are a lot of camera techniques that are used in this video, they are:
Long shots- this allows the audience to see all of the setting and more of what is happening in the setting.
Worms eye view- This makes the singer look larger and more powerful that he is.
Close ups- there are a lot of close ups in the video, mostly of the lead singers face, but also there is on of the lead singers hand as he applies a bandage, this allows the audience to see what the lead singer is doing
Zooms- There is a zoom of the side of the lead singers face, this adds some effect to the video, and also allows the audience to see more of the lead singer.
Low Track shot- This happens close to the beginning of the video, it moves very quickly towards the lead singer and a almost floor level angle. This adds the effect that something is approaching the lead singer.
Tilt- When the camera is facing the lead singer, the camera all of a sudden turn and face the ceiling, or something different entirely, it looks like the camera got knocked out of shot.
Pans- There is a pan behind the lead singer, this allows the audience to see what is in front of the lead singer.
All of these camera techniques happen at a high speed, this has been done so that it adds excitement, because the camera is moving fast the same as the music is playing fast.

Editing techniques
There is only a few editing techniques found in this clips. They are cuts, they are lots of fast cuts in the clip, this is to add intensity to the video, and is also done because the music is playing fast, the music video would not be very good if the video was very slow but the music was played at a high speed. The other editing techniques that is in the video is Slow motion. The music slows down when the SWAT teams charge towards the band, so slow motion is moved to make the SWAT teams move very slowing like the music, this makes the music video very consistent.

Target Audience
The target audience of this video, are people that listen to the Hard Rock/ Post Grunge genre of music, or people that like listening to Foo Fighters, also its for those that like angry songs such as this one. The age range of this music is people between the ages of 14-19 as that is the rebellious age in someones life.