Heaven - Emeli Sande

In this performance shot from the video of 'Heaven', Sande is sitting in a meadow with London in the background. As it is focusing more on herself but still showing the city, the semiotics suggest London (it is featured behind her (her past)) and now she finds herself at this point in her life more relaxed in a rural area (she is sitting comfortably in flowers). The colours are all pastels, soft and not too overloaded. This could have been done to create that heavenly feel to fit the song. However, Sande is dressed in a black top or dress, we never see her whole body to determine what she's wearing. This could be an intended move to steer away from women being sexualised by what they wear, instead she focuses on the music as she is more than what she wears. It is sophisticated and serious along with her hair cut. It is bold and not to be messed with. This reflects her intentions as an artist. The black outfit also has connotations of a funeral which has connections to heaven after death. 

In this close up of a featured man, he is looking directly down the camera lens with a straight face and little expression, ironic as a close up is used to show the emotion. This could again represent how serious Sande's career is. It could also represent the seriousness of the song (heaven), racial tensions (as he is a person of colour). He represents the diversity of the people in London and those featured in the video. It could be intended to show how Sande is just like any other, a normal girl from London, making her way into the music industry. It shows her modest/grounded attitude towards her career. 


This screenshot form the video, Sande is seen off centred from the back. She stands before of a bridge underpass with a man further along in front of her. This could represent the more down to earth part of her life is covered and sheltered from the public eye. She is facing it (letting it in) and shielding it with her back (not letting public in). There is also 'light at the end of the tunnel'. This references heaven to fit with the song. It represents hope and assurance that there is good ahead. All of these references to heaven fit with her image as it is serious but could also include religion as other shots show her at church. Again, she is completely covered wearing black but this time we don't even see her face. As she is steering away from being sexualised, she is also showing that it doesn't matter what she looks like at all, clothes or face, what matters is the music and what is produced in the recording studio. 

This final low shot from the video is another performance shot of Sande herself. It is in between changes of angles so the images fade into the next. She is seen looking up in grace to where heaven is. As the entire background is the sky, it creates the illusion that us as the audience are on earth and Sande is in heaven and angelic. The colours are very soft and bright almost like a bright light when someone dies. All of the choices reflect the message of the song. She also looks very free which fits her image as she is not as packaged and manufactured as the next artist. She has a certain freedom in who she is, what she produces, how she works because she doesn't fit the norm of a female artist. As this is a performance shot, it shows how Sande is not acting or featured, she is singing. The job she set out to do. She is the one doing this no matter what she wears, what she looks like (hair, skin colour), which religion she follows.