9 frame analysis

9 FRAME ANALYSIS

Rooster-Alice In Chains

Frame 1

This shot here shows an image of a soldier. We can see that the soldiers surname is Cantrell from the patch. Anyone who knows about the band will know that this must be a relation to their guitarist, Jerry Cantrell. This immediately sets up what the music video is going to be about. The soldier takes up the majority of the shot, making him the main focus. In the background we can see that it is dark as there is a streetlight that is turned on. We can see that the soldier is happy as he is smiling, suggesting that this picture was taken before he was sent to war.

Frame 2

This shot is shown very quickly in the video as it flashes on screen. This shot shows an injured soldier. We can see that the soldier is wounded and not dead as his mouth is open and his hand is up. His hand is the main focus of this shot as it is close up to the camera and is covered in bright red blood. The use of this bright red blood makes it easy for the viewer to see that what is shown as a quick flash on the screen is a dead/wounded soldier. We know that this is a soldier due to the bullet belt. The identity of the soldier is kept a secret as his thumb is covering his eyes. Due to this, we don’t know whether this is Cantrell, the soldier shown previously, or someone else. High key lighting is used in this shot, showing that it is daytime. Everything in this shot is shown with a high angle shot, making the soldier appear more vulnerable.

Frame 3

This shot is a shallow focus close up shot of lead singer, Layne Staley. The use of the close up, along with the shallow focus, draws the viewers attention away from the background and to Layne. This shot creates a star image as it is showing a member of the band. The right side of Layne’s face is in low key lighting whilst the left side of his face is in high key lighting. This makes the right side of his face practically invisible. This, along with the use of the dark shades, makes Layne appear dark and mysterious, adding a dark tone to the video. Also, this shot of Layne is shown amongst what appears to be flashbacks of the war. Since this shot is shown for a few seconds, the viewer can see that the main focus of the video is not the band, but the message that they are trying to get across.

Frame 4

This shot shows a group of soldiers carrying there guns using a medium close up. The soldiers are pointing there guns outwards whilst looking around them. This shows that the soldiers are out fighting a war and are in constant danger, never having the chance to put their gun down and lose focus. Also, the soldiers appear to be walking in a single line. This shows that the soldiers know what they are doing and are looking out for each other, the soldier at the front of the group may be the leader, and may be Cantrell. It is clear that the soldiers are in a jungle environment, suggesting that this video may be showing the Vietnam war. To the left of this shot is a tree. This tree is covered in blood, showing that someone has either died or been wounded there before. This highlights the danger that the troops are in.

Frame 5

This next shot has been faded to from a close up shot of an old man which could be someone who took part in the war. This shows that the video is been shot as a flashback. The soldier in the shot has just had is leg blown off, which can be seen clearly as at the very front of the shot is the soldiers open wound. This soldiers face shows a shocked expression, suggesting that this shot is showing just after his leg has been blown off. There is also blood on his hands, which could mean that he has touched his wound or may have the blood of his fellow soldiers who will have also been blown up. The shot is in high key lighting, showing that people were dying in broad daylight, showing that there was never a time that they were safe. The explosion before this shot happened just as the music was getting louder and more aggressive, which makes the two link together. At the left of the shot, we can’t see anything as it is too bright. This could suggest that the soldier is about to die, as it could be the “white light” that people supposedly go to when they die.

Frame 7

This shot pans across a sharp piece of wood being held by a soldier to reveal that it is being pointed at a child. We can see that the child has already been hurt as he has blood trickling down his face. The child is trying to pull himself back but he is unable to as he is pinned against a tree. This shows that the child is scared and helpless. This shot is rather shocking as it is showing a US soldier threating a child, probably to gain information from him. This makes the soldiers appear to be evil. Also, that fact that a child is in the middle of the jungle where a war is taking place shows that not even children were in danger during the Vietnam War. Again, the shot is shown in daylight (high-key lighting).

Frame 8

Prior to this shot, a US soldier had just been shot. This shot here shows a fellow soldier crying over the top of the wounded soldier. This shows that the two soldiers were close. The fact that he is over the top of the soldier suggests that he may be risking his life, trying to keep him alive as he is vulnerable to gunfire whilst the wounded soldier is protected. The fact that it is raining adds a more dramatic feel to the shot. This section is close the end of the song, leaving it on a sad ending. This shot, along with other shots showing the soldiers being hurt, is shown along with the words “here they come to snuff the rooster”. By looking a bit more into Cantrell’s life, you will know that Cantrell (the soldier) was Jerry Cantrell’s father and in the Vietnam war he went by the name “the rooster”. The use of these words along with clips of people getting hurt suggests that Cantrell has been hurt, but not everyone viewing the video will know this, giving it a hidden meaning.

Frame 9

Towards the end of the music video, there is a series of shots showing Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell. This shot of him here is a medium close up of him, showing only his face. Just like with the shot of Layne Staley, the right half of his face is in darkness, making it impossible to see. However, from what we can see of Jerry, he appears to be sad. This confirms that the music video was about a member of Jerry’s family, showing that the song has a close meaning to a member of the band. It also gives a little more information about the band, developing their star image. Jerry’s surrounding is completely dark, showing that he is stood in a dark room on his own. This is something commonly done by people who are upset and want to be away from everyone else whilst they grieve.