Research on Mise en Scene

Mise-en-Scene

When looking at soul icons such as Whitney Houston and Adele; they portray the fashionable style in which soul singers follow by which appears to be very sophisticated and classy with minimal make-up and jewellery.

When comparing the styles of Whitney Houson and Adele, they are dressed down the majority of the time, keeping their hair in its natural curls and having a very clean-cut and sophisticated style in either a long dress that covers some/all of her upper and lower body or collared shirt with black trousers - nothing too revealing or sexualised.

   

· Long, sparkly dress with loose frilly fabric at the end, pieces of glass(?) to add to the glittery effect and has one shoulder strap: this is very sophisticated and considered appropriate for the soul genre as isn't remotely provocative but is still eye-catching to its audience

· Big, extravagant earrings but no other jewellery: shows an effort to be light but bold in appearance to help reflect the sophisticated nature of soul music.

· Hair is kept natural and free-flowing: indicates an at-one-with-nature type tone that contrasts with the overall style that ends up flattering the outfit as it indicates a sense of her unleashing herself under the chic appearance.

· Make-up is kept minimal, if there is any, which indicates a visual representation that she is baring all to the audience with her music.

· The background is very dull and plain, the image only reviving with the style and personality the artist portrays to the audience.

· Collared shirt with a very unique, beautiful design pattern (quite foreign): although it does have a feminine tone with the pretty pattern and the frills along the edge of the collar, it doesn't suggest anything sexual about the artist and/or her personality.

· Big extravagant earrings but no other jewellery: shows an effort to be light but bold in appearance to help reflect the sophisticated nature of soul music.

· Hair is kept natural and roughly pulled back: shows her deficiency to her appearance having any affect on her vocal performance.

· Make-up is kept minimal with focus on bringing out the artist's eyes (perhaps making that a symbol of her appearance so the audience recognise her. However, it still does indicate a modern twist to the development of soul singers appearance.

· The background is very dull and plain, the image only reviving with the colours and personality the artist portrays to the audience.

There are few anomalies to the stereotypes of soul singer's appearances, in this case Paloma Faith shows to subvert some of the soul genre characteristics:

· The artist is using her body and sexuality (caressing her body in her arms) to get the attention of the audience, whereas a stereotypical soul singer would be clothed and focusing on portraying emotion to the camera

· She had eccentric tattoos plastered all over her back, something that can be considered sensual as nobody would typically see them unless she was showing some skin in public.

· She is wearing more make-up than normal: typical soul singers keep their faces bare or with minimal (nude) make-up so that the focus is on the music rather than their appearances.