Sigma ft Paloma Faith – Changing

Throughout Sigma and Paloma Faiths music video representation of women is evident within the mise en scene. The music video is heavily male dominated even though Paloma, the lead singer is the main protagonist. Two shots of the artists from Sigma are used, these show the male characters walking through the American streets. Longshots of Paloma are used in the scenes in which the music video is performance. Wearing bold colours, limited clothing and jewellery Paloma stands out from the male character who are all dressed in darker colours, making her more prominent.

This also portrays the difference within class and ethnicity. Paloma is see driving through a suburban area within America. The male are all of a different ethnicity to Paloma, mostly Black American. These characters are all dressed in simple clothing such as plain T-shirts and shorts. This contrasts with Paloma who is wearing expensive looking jewellery and makeup, linking to stereotypes of the pop music genre.

Suburban areas in America are often stereotyped to be violent, poor and contain lots of crime. These stereotypes come mostly from films and video games, such

as Grand Theft Auto. These negative representations are deconstructed within the mise en scene. Although the characters are dressed in poor looking clothes, they are still seen in the video laughing, smiling and having fun. The graffiti in the video is also portrayed in an artistic way, rather than vandalism. Within the shot of Paloma sat in the car a large piece of graffiti is seen in the background, the colours of the car and graffiti purposely compliment eachother. This is done to make the audience realise the stereotypes of the area are not true.

Long and extreme long shots are used to show the setting. Shots of palm trees, American flags and

skylines of America make clear that the setting is a suburban area in America. Shoes hanging from telephone wires often link to crime and violence, the opposite of this is portrayed within the music video. The contrast with the trainers and high key lighting makes the audience ignore the stereotypes, ignoring the negative representation. Scenic shots emphasise the setting of the video, emphasising that the area isn’t actually rough, violent or poor.

Representation of class is also shown through mise en scene. The style of car is often linked to rough areas and commonly stereotyped to be a man’s car. This contrasts when Paloma’s shiny purple car drives

through the poor areas of America, contrasting in class. But this also goes against the stereotypes of the car being a man’s car. The bold purple colours make the car stand out from the grey buildings.

I feel the music video is shot and edited just to make the characters seem as though they are enjoying themselves. It is made clear that the characters are having fun through their facial expressions and activities they’re doing. A group of youths are seen riding bikes down the street,

this shows that within the suburban area youths have freedom. Suggesting that they are able to be freee and enjoy themselves. Throughout the whole video representation of class, gender, ethnicity and age is used. There are no negative representations used, which emphasises the fun and lively soundtrack played over the top. The video is shot in both a narrative and performance style. Although the narrative is fragmented, it is still made clear. The narrative follows Paloma through the streets of suburban America.