Heaven

Question 1

When was the music video for Heaven released?

Answer 1

22nd July 2011

Question 2

How many views does the music video have (as of 2024)?

Answer 2

25 million

Question 3

Who directed the music video?

Answer 3

Jake Nava, a high-profile director who has worked previously with Beyonce and Kanye West

Question 4

What 3 types of editing techniques are used within the music video?

Answer 4

Montage editing

Fragmentary editing

Elliptical editing

Creates out of focus glimpses and disrupted narrative, the audience must use their imagination to piece shots together

Question 5

What 8 key areas of media language should we analyse when looking at music videos?

Answer 5

Camera shots/angles/movement

Editing (cuts, transitions)

Sound (diegetic, non-diegetic)

Narrative structure

Representations (CAGEDS)

Themes

Messages

Values

Question 6

What do the shots of Sande surrounded by pink flowers and nature connote?

Answer 6

Purity, new beginnings

Question 7

What genre of music video is Heaven?

Answer 7

Performance-based music video

Question 8

Why was the success of Heaven’s music video important for Sande?

Answer 8

Heaven was Sande’s debut single and the music video was used to promote her star quality/the song

It was crucial for Sande’s image to appeal to a wide audience to ensure her success

Question 9

How did Heaven lead to Sande’s rapid rise to fame?

Answer 9

The song/debut album (Our Version of Events) was critically and commercially successful making it one of the best selling albums of 2012

Question 10

Which iconic places did Sande perform at after the release of Heaven?

Answer 10

The White House and the 2012 London Olympics

Question 11

How is Sande represented within the music video?

Answer 11

As glamorous (wearing makeup, hair styled, modest outfit, gold jewellery) but not objectified/sexualised, which establishes her star quality

As confident, dominant and strong through the use of low angle shots

Question 12

How is religious imagery/Catholic iconography used within the music video?

Answer 12

Shots of Sande and a Middle-Eastern man singing up at the sky, eyes closed, hands stretched upwards or holding hands together all represent religion and praying to God up in heaven

A shot of a girl standing against a wall with angel wings graffiti

A shot of a hanging cross pendant/rosary beads

A shot of a young man with angel wings tattooed on his back

A shot of an angel gravestone

A shot of a Virgin Mary figurine

Question 13

What is the meaning behind the song, according to Sande?

Answer 13

The song is about what it means to be good in this day and age, keeping your heart clean, and the juxtaposing idea of having a “clean” vs a “dirty” heart

Question 14

What 6 themes are included within the song/music video?

Answer 14

Themes of religion, forgiveness, innocence, drug use, social realism, coexistence of a “good” and “bad” side of London

Question 15

What binary opposites are included within the music video?

Answer 15

“Clean” vs “dirty” heart

Moral vs immoral

Downbeat, sombre lyrics vs upbeat rhythm

Happiness vs sadness

Innocence vs grittiness

Temptation vs redemption

Purity and innocence of childhood juxtaposed with the grittiness of East London

Question 16

How is the binary opposition of happiness vs sadness/innocence vs grittiness represented throughout the music video?

Answer 16

Happiness/innocence (children laughing, smiling, playing in the park, woman playing in the street with an umbrella, woman wearing a white dress)

vs

Sadness/grittiness/immorality (people sitting in alleyways alone, depressed facial expressions, young boy sitting alone on a dark staircase, woman in a sexualised red dress walking down a dark staircase, smoking, passing lighters, rough sleeping)

Question 17

“Oh Heaven / I wait with good intentions / but the day / it always lasts too long”

What themes and binary oppositions are present in this lyric?

Answer 17

Temptation vs redemption; from Sande’s perspective, deep down she wants to be a good person and she has good intentions, but as the day goes on, she is more and more tempted to engage in “immoral” behaviours

This may link to Sande’s personal feelings of guilt towards herself and her morality

Question 18

What does the contrast between the daytime shots at the beginning of the video and the night time shots at the end connote?

Answer 18

Bright, sunny daytime represents happiness, morality, innocence

Dark, raining night time represents sadness, depression, immorality

Overall, represents Sande’s internal battle with being a “good” vs “bad” person

Question 19

Where exactly was the music video filmed?

Answer 19

Bethnal Green, East London

Question 20

How is London represented within the music video?

Answer 20

As urban, gritty, multicultural, metropolitan and complex through the candid shots of working/lower class ordinary people of different races, ages and genders walking down the street, the smoking/drug use/rough sleeping juxtaposed with the children laughing and playing

Question 21

What does the shot of the birds flying connote?

Answer 21

Freedom and liberation

Question 22

What does the constant use of extreme close ups connote?

Answer 22

Extreme close ups of eyes represent individuality and the importance of the person (eyes are the window to the soul)

Extreme close ups of faces allows us to see their full expression and emotion, we also see them personally/individually as people

Question 23

What genre of music is Heaven?

Answer 23

R&B/Soul, breakbeat, gospel, pop, electronic

Question 24

What is the camerawork like and what effect does this have?

Answer 24

Handheld, shaky, social realism documentary aesthetic makes the video (and therefore Sande herself) seem relatable and down-to-earth, doesn’t try to hide the grittiness of London but instead is embracing it

Question 25

What type of people feature in the music video alongside Sande?

Answer 25

Regular, ordinary, working-class and lower-class people of different of ages, genders and races

Question 26

How are CGI and filters used within the music video and what effect do they have?

Answer 26

Lens flares are used to represent the brightness of God/Heaven

A warm, sepia-like filter has been used to represent the warm embrace of heaven

Question 27

How are the woman in the red dress and the woman in the white dress juxtaposed?

Answer 27

Red = sexualised, lust, danger, anger, maturity; the woman in the red dress is suggested to be a prostitute as she walks down a dark staircase

White = calmness, purity, youth; the woman in the white dress is a complete juxtaposition to the woman in red

Question 28

What type of lighting is used within the music video?

Answer 28

sophisticated and impressionistic lighting

Question 29

What was happening in London around the time of the release of Heaven? How does this relate to the song?

Answer 29

2011 London riots following the death of Mark Duggan (killed by police)

The song is about being “good”, being forgiving of others and yourself and turning to God in a time of need; could be referencing the recent violence in London and how people should try to stay calm, be good and forgive others/themselves for their mistakes

Question 30

What does the long shot of the tunnel signify?

Answer 30

New beginnings, forgiveness

Question 31

What political ideology could be argued to be included in the video?

Answer 31

A left-leaning ideology as it sympathises with ethnic minorities and lower-class individuals