2. ADELE - SET FIRE TO THE RAIN
Un-kept building
Light ‘happiness’ tone
Glass window painting
Dark blue tone
3. ADELE – SET FIRE TO THE RAIN
Dark make-up
Elaborate dance
Simple hair style
Black clothing
4. ADELE – SET FIRE TO THE RAIN
Slight tilt
Newspaper walls
Red lighting
5. LEONA LEWIS - RUN
Only person in shot
Hidden behind bushes
Dark grey tones
Fog and Mist
6. LEONA LEWIS - RUN
Jagged mountains
Lightly curled hair
Never ending road
Perfect make-up
7. LEONA LEWIS - RUN
Mysterious atmosphere
Sunlight at
crescendo
Minimal
detail on
clothing
8. ELLIE GOULDING – YOUR SONG
Series of shots of
personal items
Imaginative
style
Day to day life
9. ELLIE GOULDING – YOUR SONG
Casual
make-up
and hair
Fresh and Original
Typical shot in pop video
10. ELLIE GOULDING – YOUR SONG
Home video shot
Contrasts with
the expected
polished look
for pop artists
Target audience
will feel like they’re
part of the video
Behind the
scenes
Editor's Notes
This long shot shows the audience the setting and how Adele is seated. The rough and un-kept building could represent Adele’s mood and feelings, as the lyrics suggest perhaps symbolising her heart. The glass window painting implies a holy atmosphere which connotes innocence, a similar theme throughout pop ballads which are mostly clean cut as is the artist’s image. Her black clothing is very understated, which could signify her emotional mood. These types of dark simple clothing would be used in other pop ballads as they add to the mise-en-scene and enhance the main theme of the song. The dark tone, representing the rain, and Adele's posture illustrating her emotions, links to the lyrics. The lighting above her could suggest that her happiness is getting nearer and that the darkness to the left has split her between these two. The slight blue shade links to the rain mentioned in the song and perhaps represents Adele’s unhappiness. The slight tilt to the camera could imply a dream like sequence or unreality.
Close-ups are a main camera shot used throughout pop ballads as they show the target audience the artists facial expressions which is crucial in emotion filled songs. The audience will also be able to see Adele’s make-up and hair, which is important to her image. Her eye make-up is dark which matches her clothing and style. The simplicity of her whole look allows the audience to focus on her expressions and the song itself. The fact that she is in a church means that she can confess her deep feelings. The dancers are an interesting added piece as it could be suggested that they demonstrate the narrative Adele is singing about. Their black clothing also matches Adele’s therefore keeping consistent throughout. Their elaborate dancing adds to Adele’s lyrics and creates a visual for the audience. A typical convention to a pop music video is a dance routine, this however represents the narrative and dance routine.
The newspapers could represent the way Adele is broadcasting her emotions through her songs or about the previous lover and how fragile their relationship was. The tilt again shows a dream like sequence and adds a different angle to it. The way Adele is holding the wall, perhaps to hold herself up, adds to the effect and makes the song and her feelings presented in the song look more genuine.The red lighting connotes romance and anger that Adele also expresses throughout her song. The way the light is shone through bars, similar to a prison could should Adele’s emotions and feelings are being trapped. The dancers seem to be positioned in a standoff, as if they are questioning or arguing with each other. In pop ballad music videos there are generally symbols which represent the mood and tone of the song.
The setting shown in an extreme long shot shows the barren landscape and the fact that there is no one featured in the video except Leona means that the target audience can focus on her and perhaps her loneliness is a key part of the song. The colour scheme of dark grey tones suggests sadness and despair. The high angle also implies that Leona is quite vulnerable and unable to protect herself. This medium long shot which shows Leona partially covered by bushes could suggest that she is hiding from something. Although the way that the camera is positioned behind two trees could imply that they’re actually hiding from Leona. The fog and mist enhances the mysterious atmosphere as does the dark shadows. In this shot her skin seems to be glowing and her dress is flowing which makes Leona seem god-like.
This long shot shows the audience the landscape, which gives the impression of isolation. The colour scheme of dark grey tones suggests sadness and despair and the jagged mountains are perhaps symbolising her emotions. The way in which the road in never ending could symbolise her journey and by using specific settings, pop ballads such as this one, enhance the general mood of the song.The most common shot in pop music videos are close-ups as they show the artist’s facial expressions and helps the audience connect to artist. Her make-up is kept to the colour scheme, which doesn’t make her stand out against the setting and her hair is lightly curled which gives her an angel look, which is common in pop ballads as the artist wants to be shown as fresh and pure.
The mist gives the video a mysterious aura perhaps to link to the lyrics. It also has a threatening atmosphere as the mist makes it hard to see, which perhaps represents Leona’s confusion. This medium long shot allows the target audience to see Leona and the background, giving them a full view and understanding of the video.This medium shot of Leona is effective because the sunlight is positioned behind her which could suggest that as the song reaches it crescendo the light brightens around her, giving her the full attention of the target audience. Her clothes are quite simple and plain, this could be so the audience can concentrate on music more.
The series of close-ups of objects and Ellie’s shoes gives the music video a home-made feeling, which is unexpected from a music video as they’re usually a staged production. This also gives the impression that Ellie, the artist is down to earth, which isn’t expected from mainstream pop videos. The home-made old style of music video allows the artist to show their personality, which is perhaps appealing to their fans. In this medium shot you can see Ellie and her friend in a park, which gives the impression of her day-to-day life.
Close-ups are used excessively throughout pop music videos, as they show the artists expressions and emotions. The sunlight gives the shot a warm and inviting tone, which links to the lyrics. We can see that her make-up is fairly simple and her hair hasn’t been styed, this perhaps tells the audience that most of the effort has been put into the song rather than the music video.The piano featured makes the music video seem fresh and original, which in comparison to other pop music videos where the artist is always clean and polished with a sharp dance routine and specific set chosen and generally instruments aren’t a main feature.
The shots of Ellie travelling around allows the target audience to feel like they’re part of the video. The clothing Ellie wears is different to most other mainstream pop artists, as it’s fresh and new and they can also relate to what the other adults Ellie’s age are wearing.This shot of the recording of the song gives the video a unique and brand-new aura. Also the dress down look of Ellie’s contrasts to the dressy and expensive looks artists such as Beyoncé wears. This shot also gives the target audience as behind-the-scenes look.
