Music Video Analysis - Heaven, Emeli Sande

Emeli Sande- Heaven 

Heaven is the debut single from Emeli Sande, the Scottish singer and songwriter.  The song was released on 14th August 2011 by Virgin Records, and was the first release from Sande's debut album 'Our Version of Events. This song was released alongside the Heaven music video, which was released onto Emeli Sande's YouTube account. 

The song was written about the younger generation and how they grow up too fast and are influenced by friends, family members, education and the media. These influences can be a good thing, that push you to challenge yourself, yet others follow friends and influences that lead them to do bad things.

Emeli Sande's said “Heaven came from a conversation I was having with my producer, it’s harder for our generation because things move so fast, and how there’s so many influences and avenues, and he said, you just have to keep your heart clean. It was the imagery of a clean or dirty heart that inspired me, and we wrote it in about half an hour. I knew I wanted it to be my first song from the off.”

'I wait with good intentions' and 'Heaven', this suggest Christianity, these lyrics suggest that many try to do good things in order to become a good person in god’s eyes, allowing them to go to heaven when they die. 

Another theme is regret and redemption, 'Somethings gone inside me and i can't get it back', this lyric suggests that many deep down want to do a good thing and become a good person but there is a theme of regret as people don't live to their own intentions. 

Heaven is a song about people trying to good in their lives, even though many may make bad decisions, people are just trying to live their lives to the fullest and not hurt anyone or follow any bad influences.

The Music Video  

The music video was filmed in Bethnal Green, London and throughout the video we see Emeli Sande singing, as well as shots of people suffering such as the elderly, the homeless, and children with no good homes.  We also see scenes of the sky and cathedrals to help represent the theme of religion and heaven. 

The video was based in London to create a video that will connect with the audiences that will be viewing the video. By having the video based in a location that has streets, tunnels, corner shops and parks makes it more realistic for the viewers as every town and city contains these types of locations and so many have seen the locations that feature in the video.

Not only that but members of the public also feature in the background of many of the different shops, you also see a variety of different cars on the streets, this makes the video realistic too creating a very relatable scene of cities and town areas, this makes the viewers fell more connected with the video as they fell that the video is based in an area near them. 

The quality of the film also relates to this as the quality of the picture is poor and the use of the hand-held camera angle makes the video jars, making it seem the video was filmed on an old video camera, this gives it a retro look to the picture, this gives the video more individuality as most music videos now-a-days use high definition cameras. Not only that but by making it look like it was filmed on an old video camera, makes it look like anyone could create a video like this and therefore it seems like the video was easy to create and cheap, this makes the viewers believe that Emeli Sande is one of us therefore the viewers connect with her more as she seems more down to earth and not a famous music star.

Within the video, we see that the theme of suffering and drug abuse is repeated throughout. First, we see a homeless man on the streets of London this shot appears when Emeli Sande is singing the lyrics "I wait with good intentions, but the day it always last too long." This suggest to the viewer that there are many people who are hungry, tired and alone living on the streets of may towns and cities and that these people believe the days are too long as their whole day is filled with pain. I believe Emeli Sande is trying to imply that there are many out in the world who need help and support and that if we have the chance to help these people we should, as it will bring goodness and hope to them and allow us to become better people too. 

The theme of drug abuse, is shown through shots of lighters, smoke, needles and a men smoking. Emeli Sande highlights the use of drugs to explain to the audience that drugs are the main thing people use when they are struggling, sad, lonely and need a high in their lives. To some, drugs can be a way out from their real lives, yet it does impact their health and puts their lives at risk, Sande wanted to show this to the audience to suggest the lows of peoples lives and that many need help and guidance to get their lives back on track. 

The theme of heaven and religion is also apparent through out, first we have see the imagery of angel wing through graffiti and tattoos, this makes both of the actors within the video appear to have angel wing. This implies the theme of heaven as it is thought that angels act as protectors, messengers and God servants who watch over people. Emeli Sande used the theme of angels to suggest that many need to become better people and help others similar to what the angels do. 

Not only that but to not judge people, this is because the actors used within these scenes look like juvenile teenagers who cause trouble, yet Sande implies with the use of the wings that they are actually good, innocent and kind  people, as those are the traits similar to angels. 

During the end of the video there is a type of gospel sounding music that Emeli has incorporated within her song, gospel music is usually heard within churches, the place of god, this therefore links to the theme of heaven. 

The theme of heaven is also suggested through the different camera angels; these help to match the visuals of the video to the video. First we see many low camera angles appearing when Emeli Sande is singing and when she visits religious locations such as the churches and cathedrals. The camera angles allow the viewers to see more of the bright colours and sunny skies, this creates connotations of heaven and god, as many believe heaven is located in the sky. By allowing the viewers to see the sky it makes them feel as if they are a part of the video as the camera seems to be positioned as if they are looking up at the sky and the cathedrals, this could also allow views to suggest that they are praying and looking to god for help and guidance. 

High camera angles are also used when shots are taken of the public and people who are suffering, this could suggest that god and heaven are always watching, relating to the theme of heaven. The viewers could also believe that the position represents god’s eyes. For example, at the beginning of the video we see a women going down a dark tunnel wearing a bright red dress, as the women travels into the shadows it could suggest that she is hiding, many viewers believe that she is a prostitute and due to the high camera angel it could suggest that god is watching all, even if many hide in the shadows. 

We also see 'Fear is your only God' written on a dirty window suggesting to the viewers that fear is ruling over many, scaring people into making people miserable as they are too afraid to speak out, live their lives and therefore stay where they are. Emeli Sande did this to suggest to her audience that they need not to be afraid, share their thoughts and opinions and grow into a good and happy person, she wanted her viewers to feel empowered by those words so they many start to move forward in their lives and do things they don't usually do so they experience new things. 

Sande also wears a black dress and metallic necklaces, the colour of the dress could imply the seriousness of the video, as the background of the video is filled with colour and light, by having her wear a dark dress brings more attention to her and drinks darkness to the light. Not only that the long black dress with the necklaces could suggest to some viewers that she seems to be dressed like a nun, which again links to the religious aspects of the video. Those are cut off from society, similarly to those of the homeless, this creates a recurring theme segregation and I believe Emeli Sande is trying to suggest to the viewers that people need to be more inclusive and respectful of others decisions and help those in time of need. 

Montage editing is used in the video, this is a form of editing in which a series of small shots are put together to create a sequence with in which tells a story. Sande used this to create a reel of images and shots of people of the public, the homeless, children and others to show the audience a story of peoples lives. This makes the video more relatable and realistic as these are true events that occur in peoples lives. 

Opinions: 

I have decided to gather thoughts and opinions from peers who have watched the music video, to see if they like it and what they like about the video;

"I really love the music video! I love they way the video has a message about helping and healing people" 

- Mia Agar Rea, 16

"I'm not a fan of the song or the video, due to the fact it doesn't really have a story or meaning."

- Luna Tickmen, 12

"I love the use of the vintage colours and shots really makes you feel like your actually their." -Colin Smith, 17

"I love the use of heaven and angles wing really brings out the message!" 

- Luisa Humphrey, 17

Overall, I believe that Emeli Sande's music video portrays a strong and impactful message about the troubles in today's society, I also thought that the location of the video was effective as it made the video more realistic and relatable as many people live in cities or have seen areas similar to London. Yet I thought that the colour and 90s theme of the video could have confused some viewers as they might not have seen the strong messages being implied as colour usually represents happiness, yet the video was about suffering. 

This has reminded me to ensure that the visuals of my music video match with the song and speed of the track i will use, it has also given me new ideas as I could travel to different well known areas like London to get shots of people and the public to make my video more realistic and relatable.