Analysis of The White Stripes 'Seven Nation Army' Video

MISE EN SCENE:

The colours used in the video are black, white and red. The black and white are typical colours found in a rock video, as they connote darkness and sadness. The colour red connotes danger and so using red as the only bright colour in the video reinforces the idea of rock being rebellious and dangerous.

There are low angle shots of the man playing guitar, as it gets closer to the screen it gets bigger. This makes the audience feel like they look up to him like he’s their idol.

As the song picks up and becomes intense, lights begin to flash; this builds up more excitement and energy. As the pace of the song increases, the speed of the triangles speeds up and when the song slows, the triangles also slow. This gives the video and variety of speed which makes it more interesting and clear to see and different points of the song.

EDITING:

The video is one continuous shot which is through a kaleidoscopic tunnel of triangles; this makes it look almost hypnotising and very interesting.

GENRE:

A guitar and a drum kit are seen in the video which help identify the rock genre as they are typical instruments used in a rock band. As the man is playing the guitar he head bangs which shows he is playing with energy and rock bands tend to put all their energy into a performance.

There are skeletons that march and are wearing amour, this relates to the song and also gives an idea of genre. Skeletons connote death which is a theme in some rock songs and so are more likely to appear in a rock video than another genre.

TARGET AUDIENCE:

As the 2 members of the band are a man and a woman, it makes the video appeal to both genders because there is someone for them to relate to. However the main person focused on in the video is the male and so it may appeal to more men than women. They both look quite young, which means it would appeal to younger men and women and teenagers.

MODE OF ADDRESS:

There are some shots of the singer looking into the camera whilst singing, and sometimes points into the camera. This makes the audience feel like he’s personally talking to them and so a relationship is created and they can relate to him.

REPRESENTATION:

There are more shots of the man than the woman, and the shots of him are always bigger and sometimes look like he’s standing above her. This represents him as more important than her as he looks like he has a higher authority.