Heaven - Emeli Sande

Question 1

What is going on in the video?

Answer 1

-links to homelessness
-images/videos of street life and her singing
-lots of religious imagery

Question 2

What is the split of narrative and performance?

Answer 2

-it was mostly her performing the song with images/videos of street life

Question 3

What do the lyrics reflect?

Answer 3

-police/ambulance
-anxiety, stress
-drugs, bad habits insinuated

Question 4

Is the video mainly narrative or performance based?

Answer 4

-performance based

Question 5

Where are her parents from?

Answer 5

-her mother is English and her father is Zambian

Question 6

Where is it filmed?

Answer 6

-filmed in Bethnal Green where she lived at the time

Question 7

What is the song and who was it released by?

Answer 7

-her Debut Solo single->released by Virgin Records

Question 8

What does the video reflect?

Answer 8

-reflects marginalised communities and shows how religion brings people together

Question 9

How is Emeli Sande represented in the video?

Answer 9

-very religious
-presented as a preacher->symbol of hope for the future

Question 10

Where was she born? Where did she move?

Answer 10

-in Sunderland in the North East of England
-the family moved to Scotland when she was 4

Question 11

When was ‘Heaven’ released?

Answer 11

-2011

Question 12

Who was the video directed by?

Answer 12

-Jake Nava

Question 13

What did Emeli want to capture?

Answer 13

-‘a real British vibe and keep it really simple to emphasise the lyrics’

Question 14

What does Sande describe the song being about?

Answer 14

-how youth is over too quickly and how young people are easily influenced by friends, family and the media
-the song debates whether these influences are good or bad

Question 15

How did the song start being written?

Answer 15

-from a conversation with her producer and they wrote it in about half an hour

Question 16

How many videos does the video have on YouTube?

Answer 16

-25 million

Question 17

What motifs does the video include?

Answer 17

-religious iconography->cathedral building, an image of a statue of Mary, references to God)
-social iconography->reflecting class, age and race
-it has lots of shots of the sky which could reflect the traditional views about heaven

Question 18

Is there a clear narrative?

Answer 18

-no->the video combines elements of performance with a conceptual reflection of place characterised through its people and buildings

Question 19

How has the video been treated to give it the effect of an analogue film?

Answer 19

-several points where the images look over-exposed
-artefacts and grain can be seen
-the beginning and end of video suggest an old film reel pre-roll while the ending suggests and film reaching the end of its spool

Question 20

What does the song include elements of?

Answer 20

-gospel
-trip hop
-breakbeat

Question 21

What would Andrew Goodwin say about the video?

Answer 21

-it is deliberately simple which reflects the lyrics
-not really a narrative structure->illustrative

Question 22

What would Carol Vernallis say about the video?

Answer 22

-she kept the video deliberately simple to represent Britain and emphasise the lyrics->religious reference

Question 23

How does it support the codes and conventions of music videos?

Answer 23

-filmed in the area she lived in
-sense of community in the video
-majority of it is performance

Question 24

How does it challenge the codes and conventions of music videos?

Answer 24

-shows lots of marginalised individuals eg homeless