‘Heaven’ is a song by Emeli Sande that was released in 2011. It is hard to categorise the song into one genre, however it has elements of both pop and R&B. The video was filmed in Bethnal Green in London, which is known as quite a rough place to live. The audience are shown some of the struggles that we may take for granted because we don’t experience these struggles ourselves, such as poverty and homelessness.
There are many shots of people looking up to the skies, which links to the theme of heaven (the title of the song). These continue throughout the whole video. One of the first shots is of a woman walking down stairs, from a light area to a dark area. This shows that she is walking from a ‘good place’ to a ‘bad place’. This relates to the title of the song, as walking down into the darkness connotes hell. There are also various shots behind railings, which gives off the impression of imprisonment. It shows that the people living in this area are looking on at the enjoyment of others in the world but they cannot experience this enjoyment due to their own struggles.
Throughout the video, many effects are used when there are shots of Emeli Sande singing that are regarded as more old-fashioned edits. The song is very fast-paced from the start, so there are a lot of cuts. Emeli Sande is heavily featured and she is the main focus of the video. Any shots that don’t include her generally don’t last for more than one second.
A lot of shots in the video relate to the religious feel of the song (and obviously the title). One example is the clothes that the artist is wearing. They almost appear like the clothes that someone in a position of power in the Church, such as a Priest, would wear. There is also a shot of a window, on which someone has written ‘Fear is your only God’. There is a shot of a man in an underpass, looking out at the light in the distance. This gives the message that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’ and that although these people are going through tough times, they will soon prosper.
The video then has happier shots at this point. There are various shots of Emeli Sande singing by some flowers. These flowers are very colourful and vibrant compared to the previous shots, and it shows that life ‘is on the up’ for these people. There is also a shot of two girls happily playing together, to emphasise that it is not all bad in this area, and many people are still enjoying their lives. There are shots of babies being cared for by their mothers, despite their struggles. One mother is on the streets, and the other has lost her hair, possibly due to an unfortunate disease such as cancer. This shows that although times are tough for these people, they are by no means neglecting their loved ones.
There is a pan shot of a man’s back with a tattoo of a pair of wings. These are angel’s wings, and once again connote the idea of heaven. Other shots near the end of the video include religious symbols (specifically related to Christianity), such as Mary, and also a cross. The next shot is of people’s shadows behind railings. This reinforces the idea of imprisonment and how some of these people feel that they are just onlookers to the rest of the world. The people aren’t shown; they are just silhouettes and this shows how we may disregard them.
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