Textual Analysis- Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd)

Artist: Lynyrd Skynyrd

Genre: Southern Rock/ Hard Rock

Who Directed/Produced it?: Ronnie Van Zant and Gary Rossington

When was it Created?: 30th April 1973

Record Company: Atlantic Records

Mise En Scene
The setting of this video looks to be set in desert area, this can be clarified by the cactus and the sandy ground. Also there are men in cowboy clothing in the video this shows that it is set in the USA and not in the UK, as most Cowboys are from the USA. The video looks to be set at late evening when the sun is setting to add that orangey background colour to the scene, in the midday when it is the brightest so that all of the props and the scene can be seen clearly, without the use of artificial lighting.


This screenshot shows you the setting that is in the video, this is one of many different shots of the same setting, most of these shots are of a desert sandy kind of setting, that looks to be in the USA.

Costumes and Make-up
The costumes that are seen throughout the whole of this video is the characters that are dressed in the cowboy outfits. They are dressed like this to get a message across that the video is shot in the USA, and that the past never dies for some people, and also the people that are dressed in hiking gear, this is to show that these characters have been hiking up and down the landscape of where this video has been shot.

Props
There are not that many props that can be seen in the video, the main one that can be noticed is the horses, as they add to the cowboy effect, also they make the scene a lot more dramatic if the character is riding a horse in slow motion, as it adds character and drama to the scene and the whole video. There are no other props seen in the video, this shows that they have just used the setting around them and what they had with them to make a music video.

Lighting
The lighting in this video is not artificial it is all from the setting, which in this case is the environment, for example the orangey background that is in some scene, is from the sun setting in the background and it forms the orange light that adds effect to the scene. Also some of the shots are in the middle of the day, so no artificial lighting is needed, they have just used the light that has been provided.

Colour Palette
The colour palette of this video changes from light to dark quite often, it changes from the brightness of the day, where all can be seen and is very clear and visible, to dark where only a few things can be seen and vision is at its lowest. This has been done to show days passing by, so that the audience feel like they are watching someones life right in front of them. Low shots are used, so that the viewer can only see the legs of the animal of character in the shot, this adds effect to the video and makes the scene more dramatic.

This is screenshot shows the setting when it is dark, where only a small amount can be seen as there little light behind the house in the shot, this means that the viewer can see that the house if there, but can't see what is on the house or what the house looks like, this adds effect to the video.

Camera Techniques
There is a wide variety of camera techniques used in this video, such as zooms, these are used to allow the audience to see more of whats in the shot, it also adds effects to the shot, long shots are also used, to allow the viewer to see more of the setting than what is in a medium shot, another technique used is the pan, this allows the viewer to follow a certain character in the shot as the camera turns as the character moves across the shot. Another technique that is used is extreme long shot, this allows the audience to see the setting and can describe the setting in a better detail as they can see farther that in a long shot. Worms eye view is also used, as it allows the viewer to see that setting from ground level. Close ups are used so that the viewer can see more of the object or person that is in front of them, and can judge them greater detail.

Editing Techniques
There are is only 2 types of editing techniques that I can see in this video, one is a transition that tell the viewer that the video is starting, and also to attract their attention to the video, the second is mainly cuts all the way through, and as mostly all of the shots in the video are of scenery then not of the cuts are linked together, so there are no jump cuts in the video.

Target Audience
The target audience of this video are those that like the Hard Rock/ Southern Rock genre of music, and those that have listened to Lynyrd Skynyrd before and like his music. It is also aimed at the older generation of people (from ages 40+) as they have grown up listening to this music and it will remind them of their childhood and maybe some memories.