Research on Shooting and Editing styles

Shooting style

Stereotypically, a soul/R&B music video contains a narrative and/or performance that circles around the basis of complimenting their vocals through scenes of singing through a microphone and having a very raw and thought-provoking piece of narrative that amplifies the music and its lyrics (meaning less flash and skin and more classy and emotional). This means a lot of close ups, medium shots, wide shots and panning/tilt shots that help allow the artist to appeal to the audience's emotions for the song by feeling empathy or some other emotions for the artist.

An example of a good panning shot is in Whitney Houston's the Greatest Love of All music video where she is shown as a strong figure stood in the middle of the stage, the panning shot does a 240 degree shot around the back of the artist, which shows the view of the audience seating and lighting that highlight her body as an empowering figure, and then stops when facing her directly. Additionally, this is part of her narrative which is portraying the good place she is in now (emphasising her empowerment as an artist and a person) and keeps her looking active throughout the shots. Additionally, wide shots are used often to show her body posture and the majority of her surroundings to really show her passion for the song and its lyrics (showing they have meaning to her) and that she, as the important figure, stands out from the crowd of people rushing around about her.

An example of a good use for close up shots is in Adele's Someone Like You music video where she is shown walking as she sings the lyrics in a bittersweet manner, but close ups become relevant when she sings significant parts of the song that probably mean something more to her e.g. "Never mind, I'll find someone like you" and having this shot so close allows the audience to focus completely on her voice and her facial expressions as she sings. Plus, the whole music video is made up of a narrative that is quite passive although she is walking but it is repetitive and too simplistic to keep interesting so the song becomes the only focus of the video that holds the power to keep the audience entertained.

The uses of these shots help produce ideas for the scenes I can create and help envision how the narrative can flow whilst all being very doable as well. Additionally, each video has been done differently so it allows me to be open-minded with how I film my own piece.

Editing Style
Editing styles in soul/R&B music vary depending on the rhythm of the song and how it can compliment the lyrics and the emotions. The choice of editing can change the way the audience see and feel about the song, the lyrics, what they see, etc. so it has a lot of significance when deciding upon it. However, continuity editing and fading cuts between shots are most common as they usually match the tone of the song.

Looking at Whitney Houston's the Greatest Love of All music video, the director chose to use fading cuts between shots when the artist isn't singing and when the location changes which plays well with the song's melody and its emotionally affect on the singer herself. Additionally, the takes between cuts are longer than usual as the focus of the video is the artist and her voice, making the artist's face clear as she sings in most shots so that the audience capture her pride and passion as she sings. This is complimentary to the music and its narrative and gives the song its time to shine as she belts out the lyrics. Additionally, it puts focus onto the way she is dressed (all black in a jacket and long skirt with boots - all white in a long sparkly dress with high heels and jewellery) which is significant to conforming to the genre characteristics, not hinting anything sexual and allowing her to put her vocals instead of her body into the spotlight.

Looking at Adele's Someone Like You music video, the director chose to use continuity editing to film most of the piece which plays with the song very well as the song's soft and gentle melody wouldn't match with cuts and flashes between different shots. This is complimentary to the music, the video's narrative and also gives the opportunity to allow the artist to portray her emotions in the video, the use of black and white instead of colour creating a clear cut understanding that the focus is on her and only her, dressing her in clothing that stands out in the colourless frame and having the location cut off from the public.

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.

More on Cover Analysis

Looking back over the covers, I've found that I may even include some aspects of Paloma Faith's Do You Want The Truth or Something Beautiful? as I loved the meaning behind the visuals and enjoyed looking into the different interpretations she had for both her music and how she portrayed it to her target audience. Additionally, it can be a chance for the artist to preview what she, herself, sees in her album and the vision she had during the production of it, which is significant in terms of the image I have for my artist.

I want to be able to portray the artist in this kind of light, whether I want it to be chock full of different images, like Paloma, or to create a shade of mystery to cover the audience with so then I can surprise the target audience with what they see.

Rebecca Ferguson: Heaven (Cover Analysis)

This album cover is very simplistic and there isn't too much to it in terms of visuals although this could have more meaning to it than meets the eye.

Colours are the first thing that stand out within this image, the colour red being a symbol of sexuality, passion, danger, etc and the fact that this is shown directly from her lips portray the idea of something sensual within the album. Additionally, the colour of the text is red further emphasises this but is very conflicting with the word "heaven" that is a place of purity and safety. Although this is subversive, this could then convey the idea that the audience are being given a look into the artist's perspective of heaven instead of giving the usual alternative. The use of make-up, plus the colours black and red; suggest a modern, sexualised theme to the soul/R&B genre and connotate visuals becoming more prominent within the genre. The artist's facial expressions, however, do appear to be important as the close up shot of her face prove to put her as the main focal point of the image. This could only be a way to meet the record label demands of having her face recognisable and known but the make up she is wearing is too eye-catching and seductive to be just for show and it could suggest that they are using her appearance to draw in the audience. Additionally, the text font is very basic and plain - and even overlayers her face - but this was done purposefully to continue making the artist the main focus of the album cover.

Overall, the image is meant to replicate the artist's beauty and the sexuality of both her appearance and perhaps her music, again linking the colour red to her lips and the word "heaven" as being two stereotypically incompatible things coming together to create the artist's vision of heaven for her music.

The back cover of the album is somewhat plain in comparison to the front but does differ slightly in what it offers to the album.

The flower-y pattern produces a sense of beauty and nature-like tone to the album, something that is somewhat dissimilar to the front cover as it doesn't create this idea of something sexual but rather purity and even angelic - connecting to the idea of this portrayal of the artist's own heaven. On the other hand, the colour red doesn't compliment this as it still emphasises this sensual tone to the innocence that nature typically portrays; therefore, conforming to the soul genre as something created and influenced by the artist's personality and feelings. The placement of the "Sony" symbol was made to be clear to the audience that the artist is signed to a big label brand and does have expectations to fulfill when illustrating her work e.g. having certain shots of her face/body that make her a well-known figure. Looking at the track list, it is very plainly written and kept simple in white, the stereotypical colour of heaven originally, perhaps indicating that she is falsely setting the audience up with the covers to expect something sexual and out-of-the-box only to receive something else.

Overall, the artist doesn't use the back cover as effectively as the front but, overlooking them both, they don't give away too much about what the music will be like, creating a unique tone for the album. Although it does subvert most typical soul genre characteristics, it does appear to still stay true to portraying the album using the artist's personality and emotions as its sole purpose rather than whole focus being on the visuals.