Sophie Muller is known for using lighting effectively in her music videos. She often depicts the singer in a dimly lit isolated room with a spotlight on them as they perform. Some examples given are videos for Duffy, Brandon Flowers, Ellie Goulding, and Cheryl Cole where the artist is lit from above while dancing in a darkened space. Muller works with many top artists across genres but adapts her style to suit each project, sometimes making performance-focused videos or ones with a narrative element depending on the song.

1. Music Video
Director Analysis –
Sophie Muller

2. What is clear from many of Sophie Muller’s music videos, is that
light is an important part of her videos. Her trademark style in
most of her videos is that she usually has a singer or a band inside
a dim, isolated room.
For example, in Duffy - Rain On Your Parade (2008), Duffy is lip-synching
and dancing around a large darkened room with only a light shining on
her.
Also in Brandon Flowers - Only The Young (2010), he is seen in the centre
of a lit up stage lip-synching and dancing as dancers descend downwards
from a light up apparatus towards him.

3. Other videos where light is also evident are in Ellie Goulding – Lights
(2011) where Ellie is lip-synching, dancing and drumming in a darkened
room, while a strobe lighting effect is displayed behind her.
And Cheryl Cole - Promise This (2010) Cheryl is lip-synching and dancing
in a half lit room with a male dancer. Then she dances with a group of
male dancers whilst the background light changes from light to dark to
light again.

4. The video for KT Tunstall – Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (2005) is
set in a darkened room and it cuts between close ups of KT’s face
being lit up and her playing drums, guitar, symbols or tambourine
whilst lit is shining on her.
Also in the Jamelia – Boy Next Door (2000) light in obvious an Jamelia
is lip-synching and dancing in a bright white futuristic style room, then
she is dancing in a black futuristic room.

5. She has worked with a wide range of renowned artists, such
as, Bjork, Coldplay, Mika, Gwen Stefani, Beyonce, Sugababes, Annie
Lennox, Blur, Shakira, Radiohead, Kings of Leon, Sophie Ellis-
Bextor, Garbage, The Strokes and many more.
It is clear from the sheer range of different artists that Muller has
collaborated with that, she has no definite genre of music, as the
music genres she has worked with range from pop in Mika - Love
Today (2007) to indie in The Tings Tings - Thats Not My Name
(2008) to R'N'B in Beyoncé - Ring The Alarm (2006) and rock in The
Strokes - The End Has No End (2004).
Although, Muller has no set genre, it is clear what type of music
video she produces, mainstream. Most of the artists that she has
worked with are very well established and are signed to major record
labels. This means that they would have a larger budget than an
independent record label, and so can go to great locations or create
fantastic sets, and make it appeal to a larger audience.

6. It is also clear that Muller has no set stylistic influences. She adapts
her personal style to suit the band or artist. For example, in Nelly
Furtado - Turn Off The Light (2001), is a performance based video as
there are plenty of dance routines and lip-synching. Whereas, in
Coldplay - Fix You (2005), it is a hybrid of pseudo-documentary and a
narrative music video. And in the Brandon Flowers – Only The Young
(2010) video it is clearly a staged performance music video, as there
are lots of dancers and he is lip-synching on a stage.
Again, largely with editing, her style changes according to the specific
artist. In Jamelia – Boy Next Door (2000) it has been edited to add
two other versions of Jamelia as back-up dancers. This helps
emphasise the futuristic theme of the video. Also in Kings Of Leon –
Radioactive (2010) there are many fast cuts between images of African
children socialising, playing and dancing to beat of the song, the band
and the children playing together and the band lip-synching along.

7. One of the things that I like about Muller is that, she adapts her style
to suit the band or artists, and to their specific genre of music. Also I
like how every music video is different, yet it is still relevant to her
overall style, and to the particular band or artist that she is working
with.
Here are some more examples of other videos Muller has
directed, and especially where light is significant:
Dido – Life For Rent (2003)
Gwen Stefani – Cool (2005)
Kings of Leon – Sex On Fire (2008)
Natasha Bedingfield – These Words (2004)
Sugababes – Freak Like Me (2002)