Blake Shelton Footloose Analysis

Footloose Analysis

Originally performed by Kenny Loggins, the song Footloose was performed again by Blake Shelton for the 2011 film. For this Blake performs courtesy of Warner Bros Records and Warner Music Nashville.

When the video first starts an establishing shot is used showing a large screen in the background along with a load of cars parked up, from this you begin to get the idea that they are at a drive threw cinema. This then goes to a wide shot showing two cars parked up in front of the screen. Diegetic sound is used here, allowing us as viewers to hear what is being said in the movie being played on the screen.

Ambient sound is then used, here you can hear more cars coming to the cinema. The use of the sound of the cars in overlayed over a close up of an old man, showing him to then get up and walk out of the door. It is here that you find out he is in the ticket office as he comes out and says to Blake ' Hey the movies about to start'. With the use of dialogue you then hear Blake ask about the crowd that might of gathered, as he learns its quite scarce he says that he'll see if he can do anything about it, this hints to the action that might be to come.

Shows both Blake and the old man talking. 

Throughout this the use of two shots are used, showing both characters to be in a close space. As Blake is in his car, the older man has to stand closer allowing them to speak. The use of body language here is also important as it shows Blake to be smiling, this creates a positive atmosphere. A close up is used on Blake as he is driving off, this then goes into a crane shot and lifts from him to show the cinema again.

Shows the movie on the
 screen in the background.

Close up are then used showing the different people who are at the venue, this shows one man to be sat in his car, another to be climbing out and a girl who turns towards the camera. From this you then see the man who was sat in his car to get out holding a guitar, this then goes into a wide shot showing a man and a woman sat in their car watching the movie on the screen.

Screen in the back showing the movie exert.

A medium close up of a guitarist is then used, however this shot is out of focus which keeps the guitarist as a silhouette and it doesn't allow you to see the big screen clearly. As the music begins to kick in here, a close up showing a section of the guitar and the musicians hands is used, this then goes to a horizontal tracking shot, focusing on the drum set. It is after this that the first film exert is used, this shows the character Ren to be jumping from the bus. A close up of the figure in the foreground is then used, showing the film exert on the screen in the back, this figure is again a
silhouette and also out of focus.

Screenshot showing the character Ariel

A pan of the band is then used, moving from the left to the right, this then goes to an extreme close up of a foot tapping the floor, and again shows film exerts. The use of a wide shot is used here, showing the character Ren to be stood by an antiques store but looking into the camera. You are then shown the character Ariel stood in a parking lot, this is a medium close up, showing her at first to be on the right hand side, however tracking is then used, watching her walk across to the left. Focus pull is then used,showing the film clip to be in view while the figure couldn't be made out,

 as the focus is changed the figure appears and you learn that it's Blake.

Shows Blake to be positioned above the guitarist.

A low angle shot is then used again showing Blake to be in focus while the guitarist isn't, it also shows him to be positioned above this man, in this case he could be stood on the back of his truck. A wide shot is then used, showing a group of people to be sat and gathered around another truck, you see some of the girls heads move as if they are turning towards the music. With the use of seamless editing the video then goes into a pan again showing the band, it also shows Blake to be positioned higher than them again and this time you can see that he is in the truck. I think the reason this has been done is so that it is clear he is the artist.A horizontal tilt is then used, moving up to the face of one of the guitarists, from this you can also see that the background is out of focus and in this case the drum kit is the bit that's out of focus.

Blake Shelton. 

When the song first starts, Blake is seen. This has been done through the use of panning, going from the right to the left as he sings 'been working so hard'. As the song then carries on the video footage that follows changes on the beat, going from his band members to an exert from the film, this shows the character Ren to be with his Uncle. The shot that has been used was a wide shot, this then changes to a medium close up of Ren.

As the video progresses a shot of a band member is shown, this shows the camera to move to the left and straight back to the right as the beat drops. A close up of Blake is again used, showing him to be performing the song, this then switches to a pan, going from the right hand side to the left, this shows him from the chest up with him holding his hands out. As the pan goes left, it goes into a close up of two guitarists showing one to be stood on the back of the truck and the other to be stood just behind. The use of this shot allows the viewer to focus on the instrument.

Shot showing the musicians.

A crane shot is again used on Blake. The camera goes in on him and then back out again. As this happens Blake performs to the camera. A horizontal track is then used, going from Blake on the truck down the line of his musicians. When the camera changes position a tracking shot is used again coming in from the right and moving to the left. In the background you are then able to see the screen, here the film exerts consist of the character Ren in his car, these shots are close ups.

Here you can see the movie
 poster on the left hand side.

A wide shot is then used showing a group of people to be shown at the restaurant, these people can be seen looking through a window. On the left hand side a poster of the film can then be seen. Again film exerts are used, this clip is an over the shoulder shot showing the character Ren and Officer Herb. This then switches to a wide shot, showing the screen in the background but it also shows the crowd to be walking towards the music. A medium close up is then used and this shows the drummer of the song.

A close up of a boy and girl shows them both the be looking off into the distance and they then get up and walk away. The guitarist is again shown, this is done with the use of a close up focusing on the guitar and the mans hands. With the use of seamless editing, the video then goes into a crane shot, moving from the left over to the right, this shows Blake to be focusing on his guitar as well as the other guitarists.

A film exert of the character Ren.

A wide shot is then used, showing the screen once again in the background as well as all the cars that had gathered, however the main focus in this shot is the couple getting out of the car. A pan is then used, showing a woman to be looking out from the garage as if she was looking into the road, a film exert is then used showing Ren to be in his car making it look as if he drove past and looked at the woman.


In the next shot, Blake is again performing to the song, the lyrics you hear here are 'I'll hit the ceiling'. At this point in the video Blake is shown to be singing towards the camera, pointing up towards the sky as he sings these words.


A wide shot is then used showing a crowd to be gathered in doors, here you see then all dancing. This then goes into Blake singing again performing to the camera. Film exerts then become apparent here, showing Ren to arrive at school but also showing the characters Ariel and Rusty in the parking lot.

A medium close up of two of the guitarists has then been used, this again enables you to still see part of the screen in the background but the main focus is mainly on them. This then cuts to a crane shot showing Blake. Here he has his back to the camera but as he begins to turn around the camera lifts showing Blake and his surroundings of cars and people.

Screenshot of the character Ren.

Again film exerts are used this shows the character Ren in a warehouse, one shot that is used is a tracking shot, this shows him to be running up the stairs as the camera moves to the left. However in between this a shot of Blake is used, this shows a few people around his dancing but you also see that a focus pull is used as his face comes into view before the shot changes.

Screenshot showing the group that has gathered.

A medium close up then shows Blake to be moving from side to side in time with the music. With the use of a focus pull he is then kept in full view. A wide shot then shows Blake to be on his truck in the middle of the crowd with one of the guitarists on the left hand side looking into the camera. A film exert is then used here, this shows the character Ren looking out, this then cuts back to the video showing a group of people dancing, this goes from a wide shot to a close up focusing on one of the girls. This then cuts to a different group with the use of a medium shot. Here you
see the different people jumping around.

Shows the two film characters together. 

Again a medium close up of Blake is used showing him again performing to the camera. A cut is then used showing another exert from the film where the character Ariel is dancing, this then cuts into a pan of the out door cinema, showing Blake who is still stood on the back of his truck with a crowd gathered around him, however this time the crowd is bigger. A medium shot of him is again used, again showing him to be swaying with the music whilst singing. This then cuts to the film again, showing the characters Ren and Ariel to be dancing. The shot used here is a wide shot, showing the two main characters to be centralised in amongst others and their vehicles. This then goes into a close up of both of their faces and then to a close up of there hips, however here a vertical track is used and this follows their bodies down.
Forward tracking is then used, showing Ariel's father to be looking out of the window, however as he moves so does the camera. Still focusing on the film, a medium shot of the character Ariel is used, showing her turning round with a shocked expression on her face.



This then cuts back to the main video again showing the guitarists, here you can see the musician dancing to the song as he plays, the shot that accompanies this is a medium shot. This is then followed by a pan, showing the top of the drum kit and the drummers arm as he hits it. Again film exerts are used, this shows an over the shoulder shot, allowing the viewer to see Ariel looking across at something. As this cuts to the next shot you are shown a medium shot of the character Ren, here he looks to the left, this suggests both characters are looking at each other.

As the beat drops a close up of one of the guitarists face is shown, but as soon as the beat can be heard the video cuts to a medium close up of another of Blake's guitarists who is shown to be in the crowd. A crane shot is then used, once again showing Blake to be performing from the back of his truck. Here as the camera lifts Blake's gaze follows it, but as well as seeing this you are still able to see the crowd and the setting of the shot.

Close up.

As the video proceeds a close up is then used but this time showing the drummer. In this shot there is empty space on the right side of him and this is where the lighting starts to be used in the video.This then cuts to a close up of Blake's face, showing him to be positioned on the left side of the screen, from this you can see that the focus has been put onto him as the background can't be made out.

Allows you to see where the scene is taking place
even though the main focus is the two characters.

Film exerts are used here, this shows the characters to be at a race track setting the scene for the shots. For the scenes here, it shows the subjects moving in the space. When it first cuts you see close ups of legs, this then cuts into a shot of the two girls. On the next cut the subject is a car, here you see it moving out of the shot before the video cuts again, this time to a medium close up of the character Ariel. As it cuts again a pan is used, showing two of the characters to be inside of a lorry. From this shot the main focus is on the two characters, however you are still able to see a race car that is parked up beside it.

A reverse track is now used, this shows all of the cars parked up and all of the people gathered round. On the screen in the background you can see the character Ren and the other major focus in the shot is Blake. As this cuts, a guitarist and the drummer are shown, this cuts again and a group of people can be seen, however in this shot the lighting plays a big role. As this is coming from behind the people they become silhouettes and can only vaguely made out.

A screenshot of the character Ariel.

A crane shot is again used, this shows Blake on the left hand side of the screen. As the camera then moves off to the left the video cuts and a close up of the drummer can be seen, this then cuts again showing another of the guitarists in with the crowd. As it cuts again a close up of Blake is used, showing him to turn to face the camera. As he sings with words 'life aint passing you by' a film exert is then used showing the character Ariel to be stood in front of a train, this cuts to a medium shot of her with the trains lights lighting her up. This cuts as she closes her eyes going into a crane shot of Blake and the crowd around him, this then cuts again showing more of the film through the use of exerts.

A close up of the the guitar is again used as well as a medium close up of Blake, it then goes into a clip from the film. This shows the characters to be at a meeting and then proceeds to cut showing the characters Ariel and Rusty through the use of a medium shot. This then cuts to a close up of Blake and to a shot of the drummer, back to a crane shot and then to more film exerts. After this another crane shot is used, showing the camera to positioned high above Blake's head but showing him to be looking up. A film exert of the character Ren when he was in the warehouse is again used and this cuts to and from him and Blake.

Oppose the dance ban. 

When the video reaches 2.32 a focus pull is used. This starts by having the guitarist in focus and then pulls Blake in. As the video goes on it still flicks from Blake and the film until shots of the crowds are used showing them dancing. Here a mixture of shots are used showing dancers for the video as well as shots from the film. This again cuts to and from Blake and his guitarists until it cuts to a shot outside of a restaurant called Eat. The shot used here is a wide shot. The shot allows you as the viewer to see performers that were part of the music video, here you can see a group of people dancing, this continues with the next few shots until a film exert is used of the character Ren. With the use of a close up here you see him putting small cards into the lockers, here you are able to see that the cards read 'oppose the dance ban'.

The character Willard.

This again goes back to shots of the dancers and then to a close up of the drum kit and the guitar before again the use of film exerts are used. This shows the films characters Ren and Willard dancing in different locations, including Ren's garage, the school corridor, an office and a farm location.

As the video carries on there is a build up in the song, as this happens the cuts become more frequent, showing different shots of the musicians especially the drummer who becomes quite important here as the drum is the main instrument you can hear at the time. It is when this reaches its climax that a crane shot is used showing Blake. Here you see him turn towards the camera and open his arms out as he also walks forward this is when the camera lifts and cuts to another film exert showing the character Ren.

A reverse tracking shot is then used to show Blake surrounded by a crowd of people, as it changes it cuts to a medium shot of the two guitarists with the crowd behind them. A medium shot is then used again showing people to be dancing. These shots become important throughout this part of the video. This is also split between shots of Blake including a pan and a close up of him performing the song. The films exerts also play a large roll in this part of the video as you as the viewer now see footage of the final dance. The first time you see this the character Ren is the main focus of the long shot that has been used, here you the the character come into the shot from the right hand side. This then cuts to a shot of the dancers that have gathered at the outdoor cinema then back to the film exert again showing the use of a long shot.

Close up.

The next few shots that have been cut together are close ups of the feet of different people, these shots appear in the song where the lyric 'footloose' is repeated. This then cuts to a film exert which appears to be shot from a high angle over looking what is happening at the dance. In this shot you see the people gathered around the boy in the middle. This then cuts to a long shot of the dancer and then back to the performers for the video. The shot used here is a wide shot, this shows the performers in the space as well as the diner behind them. In this shot you see somebody do a black flip. This becomes significant in the next shot as the film
exert shows two of the films characters to do the same.

A focus pull on Blake is again used and the video again cuts to film exerts. Here the shots used are long shots which enables you as the viewer to see the actors in the story space as well as seeing what is going on around them. This then cuts again, this time to a medium close up of a girl and then to a crane shot of Blake. Again a medium close up is used, this shows the legs of someone stood dancing.

The video then cuts to a film exert, here you see the two characters Ren and Ariel from a high angle, this shows both characters to be dancing with each other. From watching the video it is sometimes easy to tell between the film exerts and the video footage as the costumes of the characters are different to the more modernised clothing of the performers in the video.

The last 25 seconds of the video consist of shots of the dancers, movie exerts, shots of Blake and his guitarist. Here you see a medium close up of the dancers with there hands in the air and confetti coming down around them as well as a pan, showing Blake to still be stood on the back of his truck but this time with his back to the camera, here you also see the confetti and the crowd that is still around him. This then cuts to a close up of Blake's face and as he turns away from the camera the screen fades to black.