Sigma: Nobody To Love - Promotional Video Deconstruction

Sigma

Sigma are an English drum and bass DJ and record production duo consisting of Cameron 'Cam' Edwards and Joseph 'Joe' Lenzie. The pair met at Leeds University at drum and bass nights in 2006. Cam worked in a local record store, Tribe Records, while Joe was an aspiring DJ at local hip-hop events. Once they had completed their time at Leeds University they relocated to London and became a three-piece with Cam's school friend, Ben Mauerhoff, being signed under DJ Fresh's Breakbeat Kaos. However, the long distances took their toll - Cam and Ben were based in Surrey, whereas Joe was based in Hertfordshire. They could not get all there members into the Harpenden (Hertfordshire) studio, thus leading to Ben's decision to leave. In December of 2008 Cam and Joe formed their own record label, 'Life Recordings' (so called because according to Joe, the industry demanded that their work be their life and this was the only way to make it big and successful). Their 2010 collaboration with DJ Fresh - 'Lassitude' - peaked at number 98 on the UK Singles Chart. Their single 'Nobody to Love' topped the UK Singles Chart, becoming their first UK number one. Their follow-up single 'Changing' featuring Paloma Faith also reached number one.

3 Beat Records

3 Beat Productions is an independent British record label. 3 Beat Music was founded as a dance music record shop in 1989 by John Barlow, Dave Nicholl, Phil Southall, Phil Beddard and Hywell Williams who were only students at the time. It started its journey as a second hand record stall in Quiggins, Liverpool, but later moved to a more permanent location on Wood Street. This is where the shop won numerous awards, including Music Week's 'Independent Record Shop of the Year'. In 2002, the record shop expanded and moved to Slater Street (above, right picture). As of 2009, the record shop changed ownership and is now no longer part of the 3 Beat group. Its new owners (ex-employees of 3 Beat) wanted to keep a connection to the history of the shop whilst also showing that it had evolved, so changed the name to '3B Records'.

Business quickly boomed, leading to the birth of the 3 Beat record label when customers started bringing in demo tapes to the shop. The first release was 'Compulsiony' Zenana (later became K-Klass). Many became massive chart hits and things built up from there. 3 Beat also set up the now legendary G-Love night club, which quickly became one of the best night clubs in the country, bringing huge names to Liverpool for the first time. On the last Thursday of every month, queues would stretch outside the door, as clubbers came from as far afield as London and Glasgow to embrace the G-Love. In 1991 the night club was voted 'Best Club Night' by Mixmag.

Even more success came when 3 Beat began managing dance trio 'Dario-G'. 3 Beat co-produced their massive hits 'Sunchyme' "Carnival de Paris" and "Voices" across two years (1997-1998). These three songs went on to become huge successes for the artist and gave the record label a boost any label would dream for.
- "Sunchyme" reached number two on the UK chart. It was kept off the top slot by Elton John - "Candle in the Wind"- a tribute to Princess Diana, released soon after her death in 1997.
- "Carnival de Paris" climbed to number five on the UK chart and was selected as the theme tune for the World Cup in 1998.
- "Voices" was chosen to be used on the soundtrack of Danny Boyle's "The Beach" starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2007 the label was reborn as 3 Beat Productions building up a hugely talented roster of artists. With the likes of Martin Solveig, Skepta, Alexandra Stan. And after twenty years of dance music they had their first UK number 1 in 2011 with Sak Noel "Loca People".

Nobody To Love

I know you're tired of loving, of loving
With nobody to love, nobody, nobody
So just grab somebody, no leaving this party
With nobody to love, nobody, nobody (x4)

Synopsis

This music video is a 'concept' music video, featuring two girls on a road trip through Cape Town,

South Africa. This idea can be linked to the record label's own journey, from humble beginnings to successfully singing world-renowned dance acts. The fact that the music video was filmed in Cape Town with lots of people who actually live and work there featured - this shows how Sigma has expanded worldwide due to 3 Beat's growth and success.Therefore, the label's requirements of an artist in this case may be to reinforce the label's success and growth.

Mise-en-scène

When watching this music video and trying to establish what emotions Sigma were trying evoke, I found out that the music video was shot in Cape Town, South Africa. It features two girls on a road trip where they try to find someone or something to love. Often in dance music videos there is little to discuss in terms of mise-en-scène because they feature one main character(s) who tell a story through dance. There are often lots of establishing shots as emotion can also be felt through the scenery in which the actors dance in. Despite this there are a few objects worth mentioning. It is not the objects themselves but the way they are framed that help establish ideas of freedom. Lots of people go on road trips to have fun, be free and 'find themselves'. Objects such as flares, sparklers and open-top cars are all commonly used within different types of media to aid characters that need to escape the drama of their everyday life, by being aesthetically pleasing. For example, fireworks could be used to show the escape from a dramatic lifestyle and could be linked to ideas of celebration, new beginnings (like New Year's Eve) and rebirth, such as a small town record shop growing into a huge record label with a host of talented artists. The car itself could have a deeper meaning as well. The car itself looks reminiscent of 1950s America, e.g. Elvis Presley era, so could be again linked with the birth of something (in this case the birth of rock n' roll and supposed 'rebellion' from the expectations of society placed on teenager). The car is also light blue and when exploring connotations that link with this colour, peace and tranquillity arise. This would link to the idea of feeling free and peaceful as they explore Cape Town trying to find 'someone to love'.

A dream catcher is also featured multiple times throughout the video.

Dream catchers are believed, by American Indians, to give its owner good dreams. A dreamcatcher is a round wooden hoop that contains a loose string web with a hole in the centre, and feathers hanging from the webbing. Nice dreams travel through the hole into the sleeper’s mind, while the bad ones, as well as nightmares, are trapped inside the web permanently. The relevance this object has to the concept of the music video is that it is supposed to emit happiness and the whole song/video is about finding someone to love/enjoying life - which make humans happy.

Costume & Make-Up

Due to Cape Town's hot climate, the girls in the video are wearing standard summer clothes for the scenes filmed inside. For example, denim shorts and a flimsy top to keep themselves cool whilst exploring and dancing in the different locations within the music video. Lots of the clothing worn by the girls also have aztec patterns on them; this relates to the dream catcher metaphor. The girls are often seen to be wearing bikinis instead of underwear due to the fact that many of the scenes within the music video are shot on a beach, where they dance and jump in the water on the shore.

At 1:38 there is a mid-shot of a native boy holding an axe, about to chop some wood. He is wearing plain clothes (red vest top with navy blue shorts). The boy looks to come from a poor/simple background, lacking prosperity; this can be inferred by the fact he is having to chop wood and also because he has some kind of animal skin drying in the background - activities common in third world countries because they rely on natural resources for fuel/shelter. So for this reason, it is strange that he is wearing red Converse (an expensive trainer brand). Children from poor backgrounds in Africa often cannot afford shoes and so make their own out of scrap materials they find lying around. Therefore, his costume does not entirely conform to the normality of his origin.

All actors are wearing minimal make-up and jewellery due to the fact the video is very physical. Therefore it would not be practical to wear huge amounts of make-up because it would wear off from the heat and jewellery is not appropriate to wear when involving yourself in physical activities.

Key Shots, Camera Movements and Edits

The first interesting shot I want to discuss is at 2:11. I thought this shot was nice because the red colouring from the flare in which the girl is holding have illuminated the walkway of the woods. For a video of such brightness/energy this shot makes a nice change by filming it in almost complete darkness, besides the light from the flare. Despite how dark this shot actually is, the video has still managed to keep an uplifting feel and a theme of feeling free and alive. The way that the shadows in the surrounding wood move and run in the opposite way to the angle of the girl makes for an interesting sequence and versatile visuals.

The second key shot comes in at 2.25, when the girls have changed locations to a small boat/club house on the rivers shore. I thought the way that the long-shot cuts immediately closer to the girls as they get closer to the piers edge was interesting as it shows that the gap between the lives of them and the audience is small, as the song is about finding someone you love and often people who fall in love are close. The moment they jump into the water also makes for a nice shot because shots that have one major statement moment are often aesthetically pleasing to the audience.

The final interesting moment of the music video starts at 3.11 and finishes at 3:21. This sequence of lots of different people dancing to the same song shows that people of all genders and races etc. can love one another, which is the whole purpose of the song - spreading love. This relates back to Andrew Goodwin's theory of how there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The lyrics can be represented with images (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting). In this case the characters dancing to the same song represent the love humans feels towards one another despite their background.

Focus Group

"I like how free-spirited this music video is - all the bright colours help add to this effect as well. It makes you feel happy whilst watching it, which is the purpose of this upbeat music genre. Despite this I think that the video lacks locations. For such a well known and popular song it is surprising that there are only a few locations - after a while I got a bit bored and felt it was a bit repetitive."

"I love this music video because it makes me want to dance, and considering the genre is EDM/dance music, I'd say the promotional video has done its job sufficiently."

"I really like the fact that there are South African people featured in the music video plus the standard pretty model girls because it adds variety to the music video and shows off the traditions/people of the location that has been chosen to feature in the music video. I also love how energetic the music video is and there is not a boring part - even when the actors are sitting down!"

Lessons to be Learnt

• It is well worth considering incorporating elements that are symbolic into the video.
• People tend to enjoy videos which reveal a deeper meaning.
• Tone/concept of song needs to match mise-en-scène.
• Bulk of music video consists of long-shots and close-ups, so these would be good to include when it comes to filming my own music video as they seem to be popular and effective.
• It is a good idea to combine some aspects of the visuals with the lyrics of the audio as it helps highlight the concept of the song and makes the employed metaphors easier to grasp.
• It can be important for elements of the video to be relatable to the target audience; be that the protagonist or the setting.
• Not breaking the fourth wall and having no lip-syncing. can help give the video a very natural sense, as if there was no script to follow and the director was just filming ordinary people doing what they want to do.