How is street life presented in 'Heaven'

 Street life is a strong representation in Sande's music video Heaven from the very first to the very last shot. 

The opening shot shows Sande stood alone in front of a window. This shows the urban background, suggesting on of the key representations of the video will be on the other side of the window out on the street. The window is a physical barrier between her and the street but still allows her to see the situation. Sande is also looking down in this shot. This could suggest that a part of the street life she has seen out of the window has had an affect on her and she is silently reflecting, but then it becomes too much to keep inside which is why she sings about the situation. 

Street life continues to be represented before the singing has begun through several shots with a low average shot length, making the viewer feel like everything is happening so quickly. In a small amount of time it zooms in on several individual stories on the street. These include a woman in a red dress walking down a dark alleyway. This raises questions such as : why is she there? and who is she meeting? Each shot leads to the viewer asking more questions about street life than answers being given. 

 The very clever mise en scene helps to present street life in Heaven. During the first chorus there is a shot of a girl in front of graffiti that looks like angel wings. This not only presents the different religious ideas in the street life but the act of graffiti makes it look run down and dirty. In addition to this, the angel wings could be a metaphor of death and how you are worse off living on 'the streets' than elsewhere as there are more risks/temptations as seen later in the video.

 The lyrics work with the visuals to present street life well. When Sande sings "will you recognise me" there is a long shot of a silhouette stood underneath a bridge. This could suggest that he has lost his friends but also lost himself and feeling isolated.  It looks like he is holding something in front of him but the viewers don't get to see. It could be another link to drug use in street life. The video ends with Sande in the foreground of this shot looking like she is going to help but walks away like what she has witnessed is a dangerous eco-system that needs leaving to its own devices.

Music Video Emeli Sande : Star Persona

 

My initial thoughts on Sande's character is that she is stepping out and trying to be different by breaking stereotypes. One of the key ones is her hair which is an unnatural colour and and unusual style, with the sides shaved. She was born Adele Emily Sandeeps but chose to use Emeli Sandeeps as her stage name. This unusual spelling could be seen as rebellious and breaking stereotypes. Many of her album covers feature her with a pose that matches the music on the album. Also, many of the covers are in black and white. This  creates a sense of nostalgia and reflection. She also features, as a performance role, in most of her music video which sells her and her ideas as an artist.