This first of two settings the audience is shown in this video is a bedroom. It shows Amy herself, sitting in strangely lit room, singing. The curtains are closed, but there is a lot of sunlight coming from outside, suggesting it is quite late to still be in bed, with the curtains shut. This shot shows Amy’s face from the side, which is lit by the sunlight through the curtains. The fact that she is singing the song herself, and not using actors, suggests it is quite personal to her and is about her own experiences.

Amy Winehouse – Tears Dry on Their Own

The video then cuts to Amy walking down a street. The costume is quite simple, and her hair and make-up is very typical of her usual look. The camera follows her, still singing, down a path, where the viewer witnesses some quite strange people surrounding her. The people around her are quite ordinary looking, although in some cases the costume is quite bizarre. The extras look like normal people you could find on the street.

The video then goes back to Amy singing in her bedroom. In this shot, the audience can see empty bottles of alcohol and empty glasses. This suggests she may have been “drowning her sorrows”, and turned to alcohol in a time of need. The main focus of this shot is on Amy, the bottles and glasses are slightly out of focus, proposing that the audience is supposed to notice them, but they are not the main subject.

The scene then returns to the street, where it appears to be a lot more busy than at the beginning. People bump into Amy and attempt to talk to her, but she takes no notice. She only changes costume once in this video and only two settings are used, suggesting it is not really as high budget as other videos. All the costumes in this video look quite easily found, as they are just normal clothes. The man with “The End Is Near” sign, demonstrates that the people chosen to be in this video are not stereotypical of a music video, and are actually quite extraordinary.

The video then returns to the bedroom, with a similar shot to the last. The lighting is quite a bit brighter as the song reaches its peak. Amy is in the same position as she was before, with the alcohol bottles and glasses also still there. The bed is un-made, signifying that she may have just woken up, or was unwilling to leave her room.

The last shot is that of Amy having returned to her room from walking on the street outside, as she is wearing the same dress that she was wearing before. She is sitting on the edge of the bed with her head in her hands, suggesting her helplessness and that she may be unsure of what to do. This shot shows a lamp is off the wall, the bed is unmade, and there are bottles in the corner. These objects propose that she may have been in a state the night before, or something bad may have happened there.

Adele – Cold Shoulder

This first shot of this video shows Adele, in a simple black costume, with relatively simple make-up and hair. The lighting is very dark, with just her face lit up as the main subject. Her expression is quite plain and serious, suggesting the lyrics to the song are examples from her own experiences. The lights flash on and off, drawing attention to her expression and her surroundings.

An ice sculpture is then shown on the screen, of a woman with her head in her hands and a man standing. The lighting is very interesting in this shot, as it can shine through the transparent ice and light up more. The ice sculptures are shown around a table; a normal situation for a couple, however the scene is quite strange as they are clearly not real people.

The next shot is a slightly high angle shot of Adele looking into the camera. Once again, the lighting surrounding her is quite dark and her face is illuminated with light. She looks quite pale and simple, with no extravagant make up or costumes used in this video. The lyrics to the song are quite gloomy and sad; “You shower me with words made of knives, whenever you look at me I wish I was her”, which would explain her dark look, however the music used is quite up tempo with a strong beat.

The camera then pans, once again, around the kitchen scene with the ice sculptures. They are shown starting to melt, with focus on the water dripping to the floor. The ice could tie in with the name of the song “Cold Shoulder”. The fact that this video does not use actors, suggests that the song could be about Adele herself, so there is no need for any, and also, the lyrics are very strong on their own, so a story shown in the video would be unnecessary.

The next shot is a close up just of Adele’s face. It shows her sullen expression whilst singing, signifying that the song is meaningful to her and is from experience. Her make up is very simple, and her costume has not changed the whole video. Only one scene includes her, and the camera just cuts between this and the sculptures. The lights flash on and off, drawing attention to the scene and it sometimes appears quite alarming, with the loud beat and dark, flashing lights.

The last shot of the video shows Adele on a completely black background, wearing black also, so the audience can see just her face. Her pale skin is quite a sharp contrast to the dark background and the shadows are very abrupt. Her hands are by her face, suggesting she needs comfort or support of some kind. She looks quite solemn, her expression fitting in after such emotive lyrics to the song. The dark colours of this video give connotations of mystery and fear, which fits in with the lyrics of the song.