Adele Rolling in the Deep Analysis

The music video to Rolling in the Deep lasts approximately 3:49. The
song belongs to the pop, soul and blue-eyed genres but the star image
herself is somewhat of a subversion of typical pop culture given that
pop stars are generally connoted with slim and slender, happy-looking
people who have the tendency to dance and sing and party constantly.
On the other hand, Adele is curvier and more serious and it is this
immediate countertype that makes the video appealing and alluring to
its audience. The music video can be considered to be a hybrid of both
narrative and performance, although the narrative appears to be
somewhat obscure. It contains the lead singer, Adele, in a large and
empty house, sitting inside an empty room, alone. In other scenes as
the music video progresses, Adele is captured to be throwing plates at
a white screen, expressing her inner, angry emotions. Much of the
video contains shots of the house, with props such as a floors worth of
glasses of water to represent the abnormality of the situation. The lack
of people performing in the video also adds to the authenticity of the
performance, given that it is mostly about Adeles character, or
possibly even exposing her own inner turmoil which adds authenticity
and credibility. It enables her audience to be able to relate to her raw
and human emotions.
In the first sequences of the music video, the camera moves in closer
to Adele as she is sitting with her profile side to the audience. This in
itself is an unusual element, as pop singers tend to face the camera at
eye level height when performing. It is almost for the benefit of the
audience, as though they are drawing themselves closer to her to find
out what her story is about. Much of the music video includes dynamic
camera movements; these appear almost legato and swift-like, which
may be a convention of Adeles blue-soul music. It appears almost
mysterious and dream-like, too. I am fond of the way the editors have
therefore made these transitions somewhat swift and elegant as it
creates a dramatic notion. Other dynamics are created through the
vibrations of water in the glasses. They suggest that something is
approaching; boiling over, creating tension within the narrative. And
this is reflected by the constant drum beat which further creates the
energy within the music video. The water is also a symbol of her inner
turmoil, and the calm equilibrium within her breaking apart. The fact
that the glasses are not completely full is reminiscent of the phrase:
glass half empty or glass half full. In my opinion, this is linked to
destiny and fate being in your own hands, depending on the mind set
you carry with you. Her glasses being half full suggest that she may

have hope and potential to return back to her balanced life, but with
the water molecules vibrating almost uncontrollably, they may reflect
the difficulty and lack of control she has.
As aforementioned, the notable editing technique here is the montage.
Especially during the climax of the music video, the scenes tend to
collate energetically and dynamically as a whole. Sequences of scenes
from the bridge of the song until the end are transitioned within the
montage very quickly, fleetingly. This connects with the beginning of
the song where it is free-flowing, until this part of the music video, near

the end, where there is simply a montage of scenes, including the

sword dancer; the plates breaking; the model city being rained on;
Adele singing; the drummer drumming. This compilation of events are
almost mirroring the chaos that could possibly be taking place in
Adeles mind and the fact that she is striving for liberation within
herself. This inner turmoil is seeping out quickly and uncontrollably
away from her grasp. The variety of activities taking place is also
mentionable. For instance, the prop model city could reinforce the
lyrics of the song We could have had it all, as though her and the
other body to make the we could have taken the world. The strength
of her love that he once shared could have overcome anything small or
great, such as this city. The fact that it is simply a model suggests that
this was only a dream in the making, and that reality destroyed this
possibility. The drummer that constantly drums in the background on
the lower floor of the house also mirrors the beat within the song, the
constant drum rhythm. This is suggestive of the constant trauma and
crisis that Adele may face. Equally, the drum is there to hold the piece

altogether and not fall out of place; she needs this to create her
masterpiece, and to return to equilibrium (in relation to Todorovs
narrative theory). The fact that Adele is constantly captured to be
singing despite all of this chaos suggests her strength and ability to
shine through her hurting.

Another editing technique that I thought was very meaningful within

this music video was the slow motion. Once example of this is the
sword dancer. The movement of the dancer is only ever captured with
a still camera in a wide shot to take in the set in which he dances in.
The dancer may be reflective of Adeles character, in the sense that
someone as talented and crafted as Adele is hidden away within four,
dull, empty walls. The dancer reflects this idea of Adele through its
beauty and dream-like movements. The emotions of sadness and hurt
expressed through lyric is captured through this beautiful combination
of song and dance, and aesthetically, it makes the music video even
more captivating for the audience. At the same time, one could
suggest that the lyrics that you hear being performed are
asynchronous to that of the dancer. This sequence is somewhat
incongruous.

Similarly, the breaking of the plates is also captured through the slow
motion effect. This allows the audience to acknowledge the gradual
breakdown that Adele is covertly going through. The fact that the
plates, objects that are usually so wholesome and complete are now
broken into pieces before your eyes. This reflects how incomplete and
insecure Adele is portrayed to be through lyric and video. The act of
breaking the plates further shows the anger that she is expressing; this
very raw and instinctive state of human existence is slowed down in
pace to capture the authenticity of the performance.
In terms of
lighting and
colour, much
of the music
video is
captured in
low level
lighting or
natural
lighting,
simply. The
dark colours,
particularly that of the room that Adele sits in throughout the music
video is reflective of the conflict that she faces in her life. The darkness
shows her despair and heart break that she experiences through
something that could have been but did not work out for her which
can be suggested through the lyrics. Interestingly, there are neon
lights used when the plates are breaking, and where the dancer is
performing. The juxtaposition between the grand, unused house and
the neon lights reflect the binary opposite of old-fashioned custom vs.
modern technology. The lights seem almost incongruous within this
setting, something that is almost unwelcome. Nevertheless, I really like
the way in which the music video is seen to be filmed within one main
setting - the house, and all the scenes are captured within certain parts
of the house. This is an element that I will consider in my own
production.
Further, the sound that we hear are also non-diegetic as Adele is
clearly lip syncing to a track. The track would therefore have been
included in post-production for clear and quality sound, as I am sure
that the acoustics of the house would prevent the music video from
having high quality sound, other than if it was recorded and added in a
studio. The sound, however, does appear synchronous as she mimes to

the track, to make the audience believe that she is naturally

performing with such fluidity and no mistakes or cuts. I believe that
this makes for a professional finish as the performance is very natural
and authentic. Other activities that we do see, such as the drumming,
the dancing and the breaking of the glass are also swept away in the
sound of music, so that the natural sound of these activities is muted.
This is rather dramatic and captivating; as part of the audience, I am
overall thoroughly captivated by both the narrative and the
performance.