Research Into Chosen Genre - Miss Miller

I have chosen to create a music video from the genre of soul. I feel that this genre allows an effective narrative to be created and a connection with audience can be achieved. A lot of soul artists tend to have a deeper meaning behind their lyrics and so, I feel that music videos from this genre act as a way to express them in a unique and distinct way. It's important to establish a genre before choosing an artist because it allows you to get familiar with the genre and allows you to explore a range of artists before narrowing it down to one. I have chosen the artist Adele as I believe that she has real depth and meaning to her songs that can be elaborated and explored. Her song 'Hometown Glory' appeals to me the most at the moment as I feel that the nostalgia that she expresses in the song can be created effectively through the visuals of a music video. 

Likewise with Adele, Amy Winehouse is another artist from the genre of soul. Her songs are very authentic and have a unique recognition from the way her voice is quite different from other artists not just in the genre, but also in the industry.

One of Amy's most successful singles was 'Back to Black' which was released in 2007 as the second single from her third studio album. The music video was nominated for a Music of Black Origin Award in 2007 for the category of 'Best Video' but just lost out to Kanye West's 'Stronger'. In overview, the video is about the artist attending her own funeral however, there was a clip included in the video showing her mourning over a grave which read 'RIP the heart of Amy Winehouse' but this was edited out of the video after her death which commenced in 2011. 

The video displays many conventions of the soul genre throughout. 

Firstly, a highly typical convention of the soul genre is having a filter or a monotone colour applied to the video. In this video, a black and white filter has been applied which is definitely the most common type of filter for a music video of this genre. The black and white helps reflect the mood of the video and to help ensure that the intended atmosphere is created. Because of the simplicity, but also dullness of the black and white filter, a sombre tone is created as a result which is expected of this video - especially as the video is based around a funeral. Black connotes death and mourning, whilst being a typical colour of which you would attend to a funeral in. However, white represents purity, innocence and hope and so, we know that at this time when the video was released, the artist had not yet passed. The white could show that there is still hope and that all is not dark, dull and depressing and that it actually helps balance out the darkness of the black. The filter of the video also matches the song's name, 'Back to Black', and the content within. The song has a personal meaning to Amy as she wrote it referring to her relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil who left her for an ex-girlfriend. Her reaction to this was going back to 'black' which could be interpreted in many different ways, however, is mostly inferred as being a reference to heroin which she was openly addicted to. 'Black' is also a common street name for heroin, which strengthens this interpretation of what she is referring to. This is conventional to the soul genre as most of the content of the songs are based around personal aspects or experiences of the artist's life - most of which are depressing or negative in a way, for example if a song is about love, it's normally associated with heartbreak. In this case, it demonstrates this and the effect of the artist going back to 'black' is a negative thought as an addiction is hard to break out of - the filter helps to display the negative effect of this. It's as though a sense of foreboding is created as, an addiction can become so serious that it takes your life away, so the video is essentially predicting the outcome of going back to 'black'. The audience feel sympathetic towards the artist as, heartbreak is a fairly common feeling that a large majority of people go through at least once in their life. It is seen as being a negative one that can cause your mindset to act in a way it may normally not or turn a person to act in a way they may normally not such as by turning to alcohol or drugs which then can turn into an addiction. As a viewer, you feel slightly helpless as you can't do anything to help the artist but know the negativity and distress of the bad situation in which they are in.

A further convention of the soul genre is slow-pace editing which features all the way through this music video, making its conventionality to the soul genre stronger. The particular place where slow editing is used in which has been screenshotted, is near the beginning of the video as the artist is walking down the stairs, about to go outside into the funeral car to take her away to mourn over the grave. The slow-pace editing used here builds suspense as, it is unclear what is to happen next. Slight tension is also created because the shots switch back and fourth between her coming down the stairs and pondering near the stairs whilst showing other shots of the men dressed in black who are going in the cars with her are waiting for her outside. This shows priority to the artist and a clear owning of dominance here which also goes against dominant ideology as she is a woman and men are waiting for her. The slowness of the clip prolongs this time for them to wait and prolongs the time that she reaches the car and her time of getting to the grave. It could be seen as being reflective of the reluctant she may feel from going to the grave and visiting her death, so when put into context, it could show that she doesn't want to go back to 'black' but she can't help it and will do eventually, even if it is a slow process. This helps the audience to understand how she feels a bit more and also understand the meaning behind the song. The slow-pace nature also helps emphasise the movements that occur in the video which further develops the audience's understanding which is conventional to the soul genre as sometimes the narrative needs to be emphasised in a way that the audience can fully understand. Narrative's included in music videos from the soul genre is extremely common and conventional and so, this is also why the slow-pace editing is conventional to the soul genre - it helps to reinforce and emphasise the narrative.

As well as the previous conventions that I have just discussed above, another code of the soul genre is the fact that there are no special effects used. The only effect used is a filter and the only editing is general - the majority being shot-reverse-shot's and jump cut's. There is no obscurity with the way the scenes are viewed, for example, there isn't a distorted effect, a changing colour effect applied to the video or even the use of green screen. Green screen is not a conventionally used in soul genre music videos as soul videos are usually based around personal events with a deep meaning. The green screen would remove the rawness and purity, likewise with the other special effects, making it not seem as realistic and natural as it would without them. The way that realism is achieved is through the use of filters and the way in which the artist expresses the emotion of the song throughout. Having no special effects also is actually engaging for the audience to watch as it allows them to solely focus on the narrative and performance from the artist without the distraction that special effects could possibly cause. Therefore, without using special effects, the video becomes more deeper, personal, real and authentic which are ideal qualities and characteristics of a soul genre music video.

Mise-en-scene is used effectively throughout the video to ensure that it is creating the intended effects but also complying with soul genre conventions.

Firstly, the setting is based in a house at the beginning but graduates to the resulting of being at a graveyard, which I believe is more meaningful in this video. Because of the fact that the people in the video (including the artist) are attending her funeral means that having the setting in a graveyard at this point is very much appropriate and realistic. The funeral is not a typical one in a church, but one that commences outside as they bury the ashes of the passed individual. The way that this is referring to the death of Amy's heart, shows the effect that her partner's doing had had on her. Being set in a graveyard around other graves makes it all seem so real and that she really is so hurt and distraught by the situation. The graveyard can also associated with the living dead such as spirits or ghosts, so having Amy stand to mourn over her own grave could be seen as though as an audience member we can see her but the men in the video cannot and that she is in fact a type of spirit. The tense atmosphere is carried through here as death is a tender subject that everyone will eventually be lead to however, most unwillingly. Graveyard's are not associated as being a positive setting because of this, they are more represented as being negative, depressing and sorrowful. This is conventional to the soul genre - having a setting such as this one, because it combines with the narrative perfectly in the way that it helps to create the sad and forlorn atmosphere that is intended to be created in this video. Soul genre videos normally have a place where the artist is present that can relate to the audience, this particular one can relate to the audience as it is rare to find someone who has not had a passing loved one or visited a graveyard. The audience feel empathetic and also sympathetic for the artist as the negativity of their thoughts is emphasised by the depressing setting of a graveyard, which also further portrays the extent of their feelings.

The positioning of characters is another element of mise-en-scene. In this video, the positioning of characters shows dominance and focus on the artist particularly towards the end of the video. As displayed in the screenshot, all the people in the video surround the artist who is standing in front of her grave, throwing down a flower on it. From the way that the artist is shown having everyone standing around her, shows the relevance of her presence in the scene. It acts as being that everything is revolving around her at that point and so making her central also makes her literally the centre of attention. This is expected from the way that it is her that they are mourning over and so this fits in with the narrative nicely and flows with the understanding of what is going on. Having her dominant also appeals to the audience as it is as if the video shows that if she were to pass that many people would mourn over her. The way there are mostly men present at the scene that stand around her could show that there were other men that would wait on her and would treat her better than her partner did. Prioritising the artist in this scene is conventional to the soul genre, as it helps to ensure that the video shows how personal the song is and that the attention and authority is owned by her. Having her clearly shown as being the centre of attention helps to reinforce this personal effect that the song has.

Another element of mise-en-scene is hair, makeup and costume. Amy is known for her statement winged eyeliner and her signature beehive hair style which is still shown in this video. This automatically ensures the audience of her identity and reinforces her symbolic features in which she has and is recognised for. Having this is satisfying for the audience as they are able to immediately identify who the artist is and the style of her look. It is common for an artist to have a signature feature of theirs to help give them an identity and allow them to potentially stand out for being slightly different or for having a reoccurring image. For example, Olly Murs is renowned for wearing a trilby hat and Michael Jackson is known for wearing a white glove and doing particular dance moves. Soul artist's tend to be quite quirky, making it not uncommon for them to have a distinct colour hair or particular movement that is unique just to them. Having this makes the artist more memorable and recognisable as audiences start to associate their feature with them and remember them for it. The costume used in the music video are all coloured black. This reflects the narrative of the fact that they are mourning and attending a funeral but also mirrors the literal 'black' of the title. Having black clothing adds to the dreariness and dull negativity of the atmosphere present in the scenes which help the audience feel the emotively sad situation that the artist is in.

Lighting is the next element of mise-en-scene that I am going to discuss. As shown in the screenshot, when Amy is sitting on the bed in a bedroom the only source of light is from the window. Other than this, in the bedroom there is dim, low-key lighting. The way she is all alone in (what looks like) a small room, could be a representation of her feelings in the way that she could feel trapped. The light could symbolise freedom and hope and in this case a break from the addiction and situation that she is in. By having the light source not in the room shows that it is external and that she is not in a physical position to share the positivity that the light could bring. Furthermore, the way that she does not move from the position she is in on the bed in this scene could portray her as accepting her entrapment and a lacking of motivation to break past the addiction and all the negativity in her life. The lighting helps to reflect this as not even all the lighting actually hits but, but it is visibly hitting her face which could represent exposure of her feelings in the way that she feels but also literally for the audience. The way that lighting is used to help illustrate particular emotions is conventional to the soul genre as many of the songs from the genre are linked to deeper meanings and connotations than the literal denotations may initially show. The audience appeal to this as they are helped to understand the emotion of the artist.

Facial expressions and body language are another part of mise-en-scene. When the lyric remarks 'I died a hundred times' this is the facial expression which the artist pulls. It clearly shows passion with an underlying emotion of anger which is expected because it fits in with the idea of her anger at her partner for leaving her. The fact that he had gone back to an ex-girlfriend would have made the situation worse for the artist who clearly wants to show how resentful she feels. Facial expressions shown by the artist of any music video help the audience to understand the artist's emotions and feelings from the way they interpret certain parts of a song. However, songs from the soul genre need to show passion and emotion from the way the content is deeply personal and can be emotional. Also, committing these type of facial expressions on certain parts of the song like this one emphasises the part and its relevance to being in the song. Saying that she 'died a hundred times' shows that the artist was not just hurt once, that it was more and that she is actually angry about this. Having an emotive song to express definitely helps when facial expressions are involved as the audience get to retrieve the raw emotion from the artist.

There are many different camera styles featured throughout the video, one of them being close ups. The close up shots help to show the artist's feelings and emotions as she sings the song. This helps the audience understand her, building a stronger relationship with her as they begin to understand the situation she is in. They also allow the audience to see the intricate detail on her emotions and also features of them they may not have noticed before such as Amy's lip piercing. In most of the close ups, the artist is performing the song whist looking into the camera. When complimenting this with the way that the artist is so close to the screen, this conveys the message of the song more to the audience and the person she is singing about as it makes it more direct. The audience feel engaged at this as they feel more involved in the video and more acknowledged by the artist. Close ups are conventional to the soul genre in order for them to demonstrate the particular emotions that the song expresses. They are used in many genres to help get the artist's thoughts and feelings across to the audience.

Another common camera style used in this music video is high angle and bird's eye view shots. In the screenshot, a bird's eye view shot is displayed. It shows the artist getting out of the funeral car, about to go to the grave to bury the ashes. The way that the audience are situated above as if they are looking down on the artist and other characters, puts them in a dominant position. As the artist is in a position where she is feeling down and depressed over the situation she is in, it shows weakness with a lack of strength to motivate her to carry on leading a positive life. This weakness lowers her authority and power that she may have once had and so, this camera shot helps to display and reinforce that idea as visually, she appears smaller. It also puts in perspective the size of the car in comparison to her. The car is the vehicle that carried her (and ashes) to the graveyard which could represent the journey she has been on to get to where she has ended up. The way in which you can see the reflection of the trees and the sky on the top of the car could represent the way that her journey has lead her is reflective of heaven and could seek her to a better place, where the tree could perhaps symbolise new life. Having bird's eye view shots or high angle shots in a soul genre music video is conventional as it helps to show dominance and status. Deeper meanings and ideas such as the reflection in the car can also be outlined so that many different interpretations can be made of the video and what it is trying to show. As an audience, this is appealing as this type of shot enables you to interpret the situation in your own way.

One of the main editing styles that is featured within is a jump cut. When Amy is displaying a sad and sorrowful looking emotion, as the beat commences, the shot jumps to an extreme close up of her eyes. This emphasises the emotion that she is expressing, paying particular attention to her eyes. Eyes are known for showing emotion themselves even without other features on the face giving anything away. People can usually tell by someone's eyes if they are happy or sad, sad emotions tend to cause teary, watery eyes that infer that someone wants to cry. As shown in the top screenshot, the light is in just the right place to show the watery nature of the artist's eyes. The fact that she isn't actually crying could either show that she has been through so much hurt and cried so much already that she cannot cry any more or that she is on the verge of tears. It could also show that she is trying to stay strong but it is proving to be difficult for her to hide her emotions. This rawness is very conventional to the soul genre because it makes the artist seem genuine and the audience are made to feel genuinely sympathetic for the artist as the emotion looks so realistic. This is emphasised by the way that the jump cut cuts to this particular shot of the eyes because it gives the audience a closer look into her emotions. 

One other main editing style featured in this video is shot-reverse-shots. This particular shot-reverse-shot technique goes from the artist sitting alone in a bedroom to her ashes being buried. At this point in the song, the repetition of 'black' is sung. This shot-reverse-shot technique is used here to demonstrate that wherever she is, dead or alive she will still feel 'black'. Whether this 'black' is referring to depression and a dark place or to her addiction, she is reinforcing the fact that no matter what happens to her, it will still be negative. She looks quite mutual in relation to her expressions at this point which could suggest that she has accepted the fact that she will always feel like this. It makes the audience feel useless as although they want to help the artist, they can't due to the way they simply are. This type of shot is used widely in soul genre music videos as it links the performance sections with the narrative sections which are styles used in the majority of soul genre music videos. Having this link helps to build a connection between the two meaning that they clearly have association and a tie between them. This makes it easier for the audience to understand the link of what they are singing about and the narrative that would comply with this. The audience therefore appeal to this as they are enabled to witness the performing of the artist at essentially the same time as the narrative which the artist appears in both of the different scenes.

The target audience for Amy at this time would have been roughly 16 - 30 years old. This is because some of the content would not be appropriate and understandable for the younger generations. In addition to this, the music video could be hard for someone so young to understand, especially is the topic is one they would not of experienced. 

Throughout the video, the artist maintains their dominance in comparison to the other characters and so, is represented as being a dominant figure. She is also shown as being quite content in the way that she doesn't have an extreme of emotions that are displayed in the video. Even though this is a tender subject, the way she doesn't show too much exposure to extreme of emotion illustrates that she could be viewed as being quite strong which links with her dominance.

The style of the music video is narrative and performance. The performance is mostly directed straight into the camera making her delivery a more direct one to the audience. The narrative displays the artist attending her own funeral by burying her ashes alongside other characters who have chosen to attend as well. The two styles interlink throughout the video through switches between the different scenes and shots that demonstrate each style.

Goodwin's theory is demonstrated throughout the video. One example of this is through voyeuristic treatment of the female body. This is illustrated through the way that the camera pans upwards towards the head of the artist. As the artist is wearing revealing clothing, the audience are able to see her exposed in this way and the artist is unaware of this as she is looking upwards and not at the camera. Therefore, it's not as if she appears to know that the camera/audience is there. The audience look at the artist in a voyeuristic way which isn't as conventional in soul genre music videos as it is in other genres such as pop. This doesn't mean that it doesn't occur in soul genre videos though, it still does, it is just not as commonly featured in them. The audience appeal to this as they see the artist in a different light which could either change their perception of the artist or not. 

Another artist from the genre of soul is Sam Smith. He is a globally successful artist who is widely recognised in the present day. 'I'm Not The Only One' is a single of his, the fourth one from his debut studio album, 'In The Lonely Hour' which was released in August 2014.

There are many different conventions of the soul genre shown throughout the video. Firstly, the fact that the narrative is based on love and the negative side of it which is very stereotypical of a soul genre music video. The narrative shows how a man cheats on his wife which the wife clearly knows about as she decides to conceal her pain by consuming endless bottles of alcohol and crying uncontrollably. It is inferred by the video that this is a common and daily occurrence due to the fact that the video starts and ends in a similar way making it seem like it would be repetitive. As an audience, you are able to see the day spent by the woman and the day spent by the man, where he is supposedly meant to be going to work but in actual fact goes to a bar to cheat on the wife. This is a typical heartbreaking love story which helps reinforce the lyrics of the song which match what is going on in the scene where the artist sings in relation to how the woman in the video is feeling.

Another convention of the genre of soul is shown through the use of the setting of where the husband and woman he is having an affair with are. Soul genre videos tend to use low-key lighted setting such as bars, clubs or bedrooms. The low-key nature of the setting shows how the husband thinks he is hidden and unexposed to what he is doing to his wife. These types of setting are more mature and serious, meaning that it helps portray the narrative as being more raw and genuine. It also helps emphasise the display of contrast between the setting the wife is at, and the setting the husband and woman are at. Reinforcement of how different the emotions of both spouses are is created. It is also ironic how the setting that the wife is at is bright, high key-lighted and there is sunshine in the scenes whereas, in the scenes with the husband and woman, the setting is dark, dim and low-key lighted. The setting full of light, where the wife is, suggests happiness and contentment, however, the low-key lighted setting, where the husband and woman are, infers sadness and maybe depression. This creates irony as the emotions of the characters are reflected to be the opposite of the atmosphere of the setting they are in. This appeals to the audience as it creates a twist and different way of looking at the settings that they may not have before. It also creates interest and a clear contrast in the two ways in which the spouses are currently living. It is conventional to the soul genre to have this type of setting at the maturity is accepted and acknowledged by the audience and emotion can be distinctively retrieved from the vibe a particular setting creates.

Deep or shallow focus shots are also conventional to the soul genre are they help to attract attention to a particular person, object or aspect of the video. They are used in soul to ensure that something in-particular has extra emphasis made on it to ensure that an intended effect is created. For example, in the screenshot, their is a deep focus on the car as it leaves the house. The wife is shown in a blur which was previously the focus but only as the car leaves the focus changes to the car. This shows the relevance of his leaving and could also show a deeper meaning. It could show how when the husband is there at the house with the wife, she is seen as relevant to him. However, when he leaves, the way the focus becomes off of the wife, it could show that he doesn't think about her when they are not together and that she literally becomes a 'blur' to him. It shows that he is not dedicated and committed to her which is an underlaying idea that may not be noticed from an initial viewing of the video. This appeals to the audience because it allows the video to outline the particular aspects that are of an importance that they may have not naturally focused on. It allows them to watch the video in full, not missing out any important particular parts. 

The mise-en-scene illustrated in this music video helps it stay conventional to the soul genre. The main setting is in a house which is shown to be nicely presented and likely to be worht a lot of money. When you first seen the couple, you expect them to be wealthy from the way in which they visually look and are presented. The house in which the couple live in acts as a symbol of their successes as a couple, it's as if because it is so nice, it is an achievement for them to own and live in it. There is a pool featured in a few scenes with the woman in which also demonstrates that it is most likely situated somewhere luxurious which makes the house seem even more appealing. However, it seems as though the man goes to work whilst the woman is a housewife. This is the place where she feels the pain of her husband cheating and this is where she cries and lets out all of her pain, which is probably one of the reasons she gets out the house to drive somewhere - to try and escape from the pain. Though, she only makes it to the local shop to buy alcoholic beverages in which to drown her sorrows. Therefore, this house would mean something different to the woman than it would to the man. To the woman it would remind her of the immoral, cheating husband that she has and the pain that it causes her but for the man it is just somewhere he spends the night with his 'wife', but doesn't stay at in the day. Having a setting that represents something or has a meaning to someone is conventional to the soul genre as soul songs are filled with personal and deep meanings. Even though it is not the artist who is displaying this idea, within the narrative the woman character is still displaying this and so, still acts as a convention to the soul genre. The audience appeal tot his as it allows them to see the different ways in which each character interprets and views the house and so by having it in a nice, relatable setting it creates emphasis on its importance in the video.

The iconography use of a wedding ring is conventional to the soul genre as it it related to love. The way that the woman goes to take the ring off is also conventional as it displays personal emotion that she feels so negative in her love situation to the extent that she would end her marriage. However, the next shot of her shows how she actually didn't remove the ring which demonstrates to the audience how in love she is in which slightly portrays a message that love hurts. The audience also get to realise what type of person she is and that she obviously finds it hard to put herself first and create an equal balance and consideration between what her heart and head are saying.

The positioning of characters is a further element of mise-en-scene. As it is visible in the screenshot, the man and woman he is having an affair with in the front of the shot in focus. This particular shallow focus shot shows how close they are becoming and a sense of foreboding is created as you hope not to but expect more to happen between the two of them. Out of focus in the background, the artist is visible who is singing the song as the man and woman stand and flirt at the bar. This positioning of the characters demonstrates the couple getting close but because of the artist's position in the middle in the background of the shot, it displays how if you are to commit something bad such as cheating, they will always get found out in the end. The blurred nature of him shows that the characters may not acknowledge him but the artist definitely acknowledges them and knows the wrong of their doing. This positioning shows that the artist is dominant, as although he is not shown clearly in this shot, she is still present in-between the two of them. This essentially is breaking the bond between them as the artist acts as a barrier, as well as the fact you can see in the man's expression that he knows what he is doing is wrong but still carries on anyway. Having the positioning of characters in this particular way shows the interference of the artist between them which is conventional to the soul genre as it is demonstrating the cheating that the man is committing but is being attempted to be broken or weakened by the artist. Because of the occurrence of this theme in soul genre music videos, having a way to break or strengthen the bond between characters is commonly used by the positioning of characters for it's effectiveness. The audience appeal to this as they can not only see the character's but also the artist in the background that they know has acknowledged what is going on in the scene. This is satisfying for the audience as it's almost as like they feel relieved for the artist for he is not involved in the actual narrative but it still means that they feel sympathetic towards the wife at home as, although the artist knows what's going on in this scene, she doesn't (specifically and in detail).

Costume, hair and makeup is the next element of mise-en-scene. Specifically, I would like to talk about makeup. At the beginning of the video, the woman is clearly shown as having perfect makeup, along with a neat up-do hairstyle. This is what she looks like before the husband leaves the house, which is when you think, as an audience viewer, that she seems like a happy and content woman. It's only once the husband leaves that you soon realise she is not as happy and content as you initially appeared her to be. When she starts expressing the pain and the hurt that the husband causes her, her makeup begins to run. This shows that not just mentally, but also physically he is affecting her - in a negative way. The makeup acts as an evidential mark and exposure of her inner emotion. As an audience, you feel sympathetic towards her because it is clear that she is so in love with the husband that she will seem to forgive him no matter what he does - even if it does hurt her. It is clear that she tries to hide the exposure of her feelings when he is around by making sure that her makeup is back to being full-faced and pristine. This is conventional to the genre of soul to have makeup such as this as it helps to show different emotions in which the character feels. This also appeals to the audience as they can visually tell how the character is feeling which is easier than trying to work it out.

The next element of mise-en-scene is lighting. It is used in this video to display morality. In the scenes where the man is cheating there is low-key light which reflects a negative tone on the scenes. This could further show that he is being immoral from the way that the negativity when connect with what he is doing is showing immorality. The audience can immediately recognise this from the way the wife is home or in the car alone and he is out with another woman at a bar. Whilst this is going on, the scenes interweave between the husband and wife. The wife is shown driving home in her car in which the light is shining on her which could be interpreted as representing innocence. However, she puts her hand up to shield the light from her eyes which although is literally to keep the light away from her eyes could also have a deeper meaning. That being that she is trying to shield the innocence from herself so it is acting like she is blaming herself for the husband's wrong doing. A lot of victims of cheating tend to do this as they sometimes believe there is something wrong with themselves if their partner feels the need to cheat on them which can later develop insecurity, for example. So, she could be thinking that she is in denial of being innocent and that it is more to do with her which is reflected in the way that when the husband returns home, she acts as if everything is the same which then turns into a vicious circle. Using lighting to represent something else, is conventional to the genre of soul, as it helps portray the deeper meaning to the audience.

Facial expressions and body language is the final element of mise-en-scene. When the husband is just leaving and the wife is waving him goodbye, she seems happy and he seems fine to leave her in this way. However, when his car is gone her face drops immediately. It's as though she has just realised what is to come, which is can be quite sad for an audience member to watch. Her expression here very much reflects how she really feels about the way she knows he has gone off to be with another woman. This is conventional to the soul genre as there is normally a change in emotion that occurs within the video narrative. In this case, the audience are able to recognise that she is in a way being false about her emotions and hiding the way she truly feels, particularly in-front of her husband. Therefore, although facial expressions can be used to show expression, they can also be used to show a lack of expression or a lacking of a particular emotion that they may have been present with in other parts of the video.

One of the main camera styles is the high use of medium shots. For example, the artist is shown to be singing in the bar in various different medium shots. The advantage of medium shots is that you can not only just show expression through facial expression but you can also illustrate it through body language as the shot has slightly more in frame. This is a conventional shot from this genre because expression and emotion is one of the main things in soul music that actually make it so soulful. This is appealing to the audience as they are more likely to understand the emotion of the artist. They can also witness the way the artist tends to perform and are able to create links between certain characteristics the artist has throughout their work. 

Another main camera style is over the shoulder/close up shots like the one in the screenshot. Although this shot doesn't allow you to see the emotion and expression of the woman, you are able to see what she has done and what is going on in-front of her. It makes the audience feel as if they are standing behind her, consequently making them feel more engaged and involved in the video.  At this point the woman has thrown all of the husband's clothes onto a fire and is standing watching them burn away. The way that the fire is in front of her in this shot outlines her and emphasises her presence in the central area of the shot which attracts all the attention on her at this point. Having the audience so engaged in this through this type of shot is conventional to the soul genre as it makes the audience feel more engaged and therefore, more connected and deeper into the narrative they become.

An editing style included in the video is at the very beginning where the artist's name and the name of the song is shown. This creates an immediate recognition of the video to the artist and also gives the artist an identity and chance for familiarisation to occur between them and the audience. This also helps the audience recognise this as Sam's video, particularly as he is not featured in the first part of it or the narrative in a major way. Therefore, this appeals to the audience for the above reasons. This is conventional to the soul genre, as artists tend to have this to create a sort of watermark on their work. It helps promote themselves and build a relationship between them and the audience as they associate what the image is on screen with the title and name, with the artist.

Slow-pace editing is another style demonstrated in this video. In the majority of the shots of the husband with the woman he is having an affair with, they are slow-paced edited. In this particular shot, they are laughing together, about to walk out of the bar that they are in. The way this has been slow-pace edited emphasises the emotion that the woman is feeling and also reflects the relaxed nature of the husband's lifestyle. The way he has the flexibility of being with two women, clearly satisfies him as he hasn't shown any sign of making a change to his actions. Moreover, the way that nearly all of the shots of the husband and woman together are slow-paced edited whilst the wife on her own are in normal speed creates an effective result. It clearly demonstrates the difference in emotions and the way in which the time for the man is going slow and smoothly, whereas the wife is 'living in the moment' and it's as if she is living the harsh reality. The target audience appeal to this as they feel sympathetic towards the woman as dramatic irony is created, for, the audience know exactly what the husband is doing when he is out. Although the woman has an idea, she doesn't exactly know where he goes to and who with, which makes it quite sad as a viewer to watch. This is conventional to the soul genre as it makes the audience feel more involved when they know more than the characters do. It also helps them connect with the affected character a lot more as they are more likely to feel sympathetic and some kind of emotion for them. Soul genre music videos sometimes have narratives that do not include the artist being the protagonist. Therefore, it is important for the audience to connect with the character that is featured as they would not be familiar with their situation, mannerisms or characteristics. 

The target audience for Sam around this time was fairly mass in size. Narrowing it down, I would say that his target audience was roughly 16 - 30 also, like Amy Winehouse. This is because the topic will not be relatable to anyone under the age of 16.

The artist is represented as being all-knowing. Although he does not feature much in the video, when he does, he shows how he knows about the situation that is occurring. This makes him quite weary of particular characters that may concern him, also causing him to be represented as wise.

The style of the video is primarily narrative based, however, is performance and concept too. A brief of the narrative is that there is a couple who seem to be living happily, only to find that the man cheats on a daily basis that the woman knows about which causes her to down her sorrows and let out all her negative emotions in their family home. Sam is seen performing throughout the video, not as much so at the beginning. The concept of the video illustrates that if you are not happy within a relationship, it's better to break out of it altogether because you may not realise the amount of hurt that you are causing upon someone. Furthermore, it's also not to judge on the outside and consider others.

Goodwin's theory is displayed within the video for example, through there being a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. As the artist sings 'denying every tear' the woman in the video wipes the tears from her face. Tears are produced from and crying and crying occurs at either a sad or happy moment. Clearly, in this case it is a sad one due to the heartbreak she is experiencing caused by her husband. This is obviously a particular lyric that the artist or director of the video felt the need to emphasise and outline. This help to emphasise the extent of her hurt and sad emotions that has been forced upon her. It could also suggest just although she is 'denying every tear' the audience are the only ones who can really how much she is crying and consequently how much she has been hurt. This makes the audience build a relationship with the character as they feel a sense of trust and honour as they feel as if they are the only ones who know how sad and broken the woman feels. However, this also makes them feel sympathetic towards the woman as she should tell someone about her feelings - in-particularly her husband, but the way she holds it in from anyone means that she won't be able to break out of the habit of feeling this way.

Further evidence to support Goodwin's theory is demonstrated through the high use of close ups of the artist, that would have been demanded by the record label. Although the artist is not primarily involved in the narrative, he is still featured within to ensure familiarity and expression from the artist themselves. The close ups help to display the emotion the song intends to provide and allows the audience to connect with the artist as they are able to see them in a more intricate way. As well as connecting better to the artist, the audience are also able to create a better connection with the song as the meaning behind it is retrieved a lot more easily and maybe from a different perspective from what they would initially think. This appeals to the audience as it overall gives them a better experience of watching the video as they can take full advantage of the artist's presence as well as being able to watch a narrative unroll at the same time. It makes the audience appeal more to the artist too as how familiar they are with them is strengthened. Soul genre songs are often based on personal experiences that display heaps of emotion. This makes using lots of close ups of the artist conventional to the genre of soul as this helps get across the emotion from the artist, to the audience.

My research on my chosen music genre of soul will assist me with the planning of my own music video for this genre as it has helped me outline the main conventions of soul and the characteristics that are included which create the most effects. I like the use of the filter as I believe it is a really good and effective way of creating an intended mood for a video. As well as this, I like the use of the lighting to help create an intended effect such as a feel of immorality with Sam Smith's video.