1. Colour and Costume
- Colour in soul music videos tend to be dull and dark shades such as black and grey. In terms of costume this tends to be very conventional, men in black suits and women in black dresses - particularly in 'old school' type soul similar to Duffy or Diana Ross. However, in more contemporary pop-soul artists such as Paloma Faith, use more colour which is probably because being 'whimsical' is what sells in this day and age but also creates a character for the artist which makes their image recognisable.
2. Location
- Locations tend to be low -lit and dark, clubs, bars, bedrooms and cars as well as stages for less narrative performance shots. These 'serious' settings allow the viewer to see the artist as a musician rather than a subject of image obsessed music industry 'manufacturing'. These locations also often fit in well with the lyrics.
3. Editing
- Editing, is as with most videos, fast cutting and fits in with the illustration ideas from the Andrew Goodwin 'Dancing in The Distraction factory' theories in that the video mainly revolves around the performance of the artist. This is conventional to soul artists because they tend to rely a lot on performance and portraying emotions in the lyrics as they want to show that they're passionate about the music and lyrics they've written. Duffy's Warwick Avenue (pictured below) is a perfect example of this as the artist is the only subject within the frame throughout the whole video and she performs her song with visible emotion in the back of a taxi. Although this method is simple and low budget, it is really effective as a soul music video because it allows the viewer to realise her true feelings within the lyrics and the truth of her music.
4. Cinematography
As with most music videos, the cinematography tends to range not too variably between long shots and close ups to show dance moves and flatter the artist's face. However, in soul music there are some interesting camera techniques used which I have noticed. Particularly with artist Amy Winehouse, I've found that some soul artists taking directive control over their own music videos, some more unconventional shots are used - for example an over the shoulder shot used in Amy Winehouse's 'You Know I'm No Good' is really unconventional for a music video because as a promotional video, the artist is usually flattered and flaunted to entice a viewer into buying into the artist. As well as this, Winehouse also uses the frame within a frame technique which is more conventional in film or Television drama.
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