Ed Sheeran is an english singer and songwriter born on 17th February 1991. He was in Suffolk but moved to London in 2008 to pursue his music career. In 2009 Ed Sheeran went on tour with just jack and done a collaboration with Cee Lo Green on the track 'Forget you'.
In 2010 Ed Sheeran went to Los Angeles and performed open mic gigs all over the city. He was spotted by Jamie Foxx who was impressed by his talent and offered to let Ed Sheeran to use his recording studio. He became more and more popular throughout 2010 due to his fan base on Youtube. On April 26th 2011 Sheerans single "The A Team" was released in the UK. It got to number three on the UK singles chart and sold over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was the best selling debut single and the overall eighth best selling single of 2011 selling 801,000 copies. His next single "you need me, i don't need you" was released on 28th August and got to number four on the UK singles chart. "Lego house" was his third single he released reaching the top ten in many other countries. "Drunk" released on 19th February 2012 became Ed Sheerans fourth consecutive top ten single in the UK, peaking at number nine.
On 12 September 2011 Ed Sheerans debut studio album + was released. It received mixed reviews. It got to number one in the UK albums chart selling 102,000 copies in the first week. It also became the second best debut album and the ninth biggest- selling album of 2011 in the uk selling 791,000 copies. Explain what your interests are within your chosen music artists and what inspired you to create a music video with this artist in mind.
On 21st February 2012 Sheeran received two Brit awards, Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act Of the Year. At the 2012 Ivor Novello Awards in May 2012 won the award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. In 2012 to early 2013 he headlined a US tour of 6,000-9,000 capacity venues. "The A Team" received a nomination for song of the year at the 2013 Grammy awards.
Two years later Ed Sheeran released another album "multiply" on June 24th 2014.
Awards
Ed Sheeran has won many awards through out the years.
- Brit Awards- British Breakthrough act and British solo male artist, - 2012
- BT digital music awards- Breakthrough artist of the year- 2012
- Ivor novello awards- Best Song musically and lyrically - 2012
- MTV music video awards- Best male - 2014
- Nickelodeons UK kids choice awards - Favourite UK male artist - 2013
- Q awards- Breakthrough artist - 2011
- Teen Choice Awards- Breakout artist - 2013
- Teen Choice awards- Choice male artist and Choice single male artist (sing) 2014
- Young Hollywood awards- Hottest music artist- 2014
Ed Sheeran- The A TEAM
Within the music video Ed Sheeran only appears in it once. I believe this was done so that the audience can focus on the song rather then himself. With Ed only appearing in the music video once the audience can concentrate on the music video and the narrative behind it. However Ed Sheeran is in the music video so that the audience can identify him as the artist which will promote him. By only appearing once withing the music video Ed Sheeran is seemed as a mystery to the audience which also promotes him as they will want to understand him more. When he does appear in the music video he helps out the prostitute who is shown as vulnerable and homeless. By Ed Sheeran doing this within the video makes him relatable to the audience as he his shown as a normal person. Also by him helping out the girl shows him as a kind and caring person which gives him a good reputation as an artists therefore he will be more successful.
The target audience within this video is 16-30 targeted specifically at girls also due to the narrative of the song. The song is about drugs, alcohol, being homeless and prostitution. As a result the target audience is older teens to adults as the nature of the song is relateable to those ages. Audiences of a younger age wouldn't understand the narrative. Its specifically targeted at girls as the music video is about a girl therefore women will be able to relate to her.
The style of the music video is conventional to the indie genre. However its slightly different to normal indie music videos as Ed doesn't appear in the music video for long. In typical indie videos the artists usually appear within the music video throughout all of it as t promotes the artist. The style of the music video is narrative based and tells a sad story of a girl who takes drugs and sells her body. Having a narrative within this video is very conventional to the indie genre. There's also a concept behind it and a lesson to the audience about to not take drugs and lead a life she did. Most Ed Sheeran songs are like this as most of his songs tell his audiences a life lesson.
Mise En Scene
Within the music video the lighting is low key which is conventional to the indie genre. It makes the atmosphere gloomy and dull which links with the narrative as it suggests that the girls life is unpleasant. By using low key lighting makes the narrative more realistic as it enables the audience to see what she's been through. By using low key lighting makes the audience see how she is feeling which is low therefore they are able to relate back to her creating a relationship between the too. By using low key light emphasises the sad narrative and her emotions within the video. The black and white colouring emphasis the fact that the woman has a dull and hard life. The colours simple black and white colouring is to show how dull her life is compared to other people in society. The black and white also connotes to death. By having black and white colouring throughout the video adds a mysterious feel therefore the audience will empathise with the girl within the music video creating a relationship between the two. The black and white colours also makes the video simplistic which is conventional to the indie genre. As a result the audience are able to focus on the narrative rather then the setting which makes the narrative more stronger.
- Low key lighting and black and white codes.
The positioning of the girl is always in the middle of the shot. This is to show the audience who the main character of the video is. By doing this the audience can focus on her meaning they will understand the narrative and concept of the video.
- positioning in the middle
The young females costume and make-up is the main aspect which emphasises the fact that she is homeless and a prostitute. Her clothes are tatty and unclean. Her tights has many holes in and her clothes seem to be cheap clothing which isn't fashionable. Her clothes suggest the idea that she is a prostitute due to revealing clothing and accessories such as the big hoop earrings, heeled boots and a revealing vest top. Her make up also suggests she is homeless. Her hair is messy and greasy and her make up looks cheap. Therefore her costume and make up make her appear as homeless and a prostitute which links with the narrative. Ed Sheerans costume is casual clothing such as a jumper and jeans which is conventional to the indie genre. Due to the fact hes wearing casual clothing makes him seem like a normal person so that the audience can relate back to him. It also promotes him as an artist as by wearing casual clothing makes him seem less self centred.
There are a few different locations within the music video, each location is conventional to the indie genre as they are all simple locations and make the young girl within the music video look isolated. The first setting is in the park where the girl wakes up on the bench. By having the location in the park makes the young girl look vulnerable and lonely, it also eemphasizes the fact that she is homeless. The setting of being in a park makes it relateable to the audience. If the first location was in a house the start of the music video wwouldn't be as successful as she wouldn't look homeless or vulnerable. The next location is in London in the city. Although this isn't conventional to the indie genre as cities are normally busy and unsimplistic the girl is shown as lonely and vulnerable as she is sitting on her own which puts more emphasis on the fact she is lonely as she is in a busy city. This makes the audience feel sorry for her and engage more within the music video. By having the girl in a city alone makes her seem more vulnerable and shows the audience that she is alone. The next location is on a street where she is alone again getting into a car. This has now become evident to the audience that she is a prostitute. Overall all these locations emphasize the fact that she is lonely and vulnerable which makes the narrative more easy to understand.
The iconography within the music video shows evidence to the audience that she is homeless and a prostitute. In the first scene we see a sleeping bag that the girl is sleeping in on the bench in the park. By having a sleeping bag that the women is sleeping in is evident that the women is homeless. The sleeping bag links in with the narrative and informs the audience that the song is about her. The audience will ssympathize for her creating a relationship between them. The sleeping bag helps the audience to understand the narrative and who the main character is.
The iconography of the packet of drugs show the audience that the lady is an addict and may not have the best life. By having drugs within the video prove to the audience that she is a drug addict as the lyrics are "Go mad for a couple grams" therefore the iconography of the drugs links with the narrative and makes it more clear. The iconography of the drugs again makes the audience ssympathize for the girl therefore engaging them within the music video.
Cinematography
There are many close ups of the young girl within the music video. The close ups of the girl makes her facial expressions clear to the audience therefore the audience with sympathize for her as they can see she is upset. All of the close ups of the girl within the music video focuses on her face which show her dull facial expression, pain within her eyes and her pale complexion which makes her look ill. As a result of the close ups the audience can build a relationship with the girl easily as they will feel her pain. The close ups expresses her feelings which is important so the audience can relate to her.
Particularly in this close up she looks disappointing and scared. By looking away from the camera the audience get a sense that she is nervous and alone. The close up within this shot also shows her make up and her accessories which suggests she is a prostitute Overall the close ups within the music video creates a tense atmosphere for the audience as her facial expression comes clear which is dull and in pain. By using many close ups makes the narrative successful as the facial expressions links with the lyrics and clearly prove she is vulnerable and alone.
There is also many long shots within the music video, the long shots clearly show the audience the location of the video. The long shots show the simplistic settings which is conventional to the indie genre. There are many long shots used within the music video to show the audience the setting which tells the audience the narrative. The first long shot is where the girl is sitting on the floor by the shop window in London. Within this shot the audience can see the girl in her tattered clothing and sleeping bag. The audience will sympathize for her which will create a relationship between the two. This particular long shot is proves that she is homeless as she is sitting on the floor, it also makes the narrative more clear to the audience as they can clearly see she is vulnerable. Also within the shot the audience can see the clothes in the shop on the manekins in the shop window. From this they can see the difference in clothing and see that she is in cheap tattered clothing which gives of the impression that she is dirty and unkept. Therefore the audience can clearly see that she is homeless which will create empathy for her.
The second long shot within the music video the audience can see is a shot of when the girl is getting into the mans car. From this shot the audience can clearly see that she is a prostitute by the way she is dressed and leaning into the car. The girl is wearing a vest top, tattered coat and boats. By having a long shot here clearly shows that she is trying to get into the mans car to earn money which helps the audience to understand the narrative. The audience can clearly see she's had a tough life which will also create empathy.
At the beginning of the music video there is a high angle of the girl walking up the steep hill. The shot makes the girl look small and vulnerable which will create empathy for the audience. The high angle also shows the setting of where the girl slept which is a massive open field, this will clearly tell them that she had a rough night and engage them with the narrative straight away. Therefore the high angle in this music video shows the location and helps the audience understand the narrative straight away.
The most common shot used within this video is mid shots. The first main mid shot is of the young girl and Ed buying what it appears to be a a magazine of her to earn her some money. From the mid shot the audience can clearly see that the male is Ed Sheeran. This promotes the artist as it shows the audience that he is a kind and caring person also sensitive to other peoples feelings. The mid shot also shows their costumes which is tattered clothing for the girl and casual clothing Ed is wearing. As a result empathy is created for the girl and the audience are able to relate to Ed as he looks like a normal person not a celebrity. Mid shots are used within this music video to show the audience details of the characters and to help them to understand the narrative.
At the end of the music video there is a mid shot. The mid shot is of the girl smoking drugs after she just earned money from the man. This mid shot is important as its evident to the audience that she is a drug addict and defiantly as bad way of life. The mid shot sums up the story line clearly shows the audience that she has had a tough life. Within the mid shot also the audience can see her facial expression also which is focused on the drugs. From this the audience can see that the only thing she cares about is drugs which shows shes had a tough life and creates empathy. The drugs engage the audience in continuing to watch the music video as they are interested in what will happen to her.
Dyers theory
Within this music video not many points of dyers theory is included. Ed sheeran within this video isn't the star, he is only in the music video for a few seconds which makes it hard for him to be seen as a product. In the two music video's he is barely in them. Therefore he is not a constructed artist. Although when Ed Sheeran does appear within the music video he shows that he is caring and kind which promote the artist. Within this music video Ed Sheeran doesn't have an artificial image. I believe he is an unique artist who doesn't want to sell himself just his music.From not appearing as a star within this music video promotes the artist as a normal person which the audience can relate to.
Goodwins theory
There is many aspects of Goodwin's theory within this music video. The lyrics link to the visuals. For example the lyrics are "Her face seems slowly sinking wasting, crumbling like pastry" and the shot is of the girl starting to cry looking upset. By having the lyrics and visuals match here the audience get a strong understanding of how she is feeling which creates empathy for the girl building a relationship. Also by having the lyrics and visuals match the audience can get a clear understanding of the narrative.
There is voyeuristic treatment of the girls body. The girls body is shown to the audience by a panning shot when the girl is about to earn her money with the man. The panning shot of the body shows she is desperate for money and will do anything for it. It also shows the girl is vulnerable and just doing that to earn money which makes the audience feel sorry for her. The sadness in her eyes tells the audience that she didn't want to do but she had to for her to just about survive in life.
The music video is definitely narrative based which is conventional to the indie genre.
Give me love Ed Sheeran
The target audience for this music video is ages 14-40. This is quite a wide target audience due to the fact that the songs narrative can be understood by different people. The song is about love and heartbreak which can be relatable to many people. Therefore the target audience for this song is quite wide but targeted mainly at females as love is more of a women's interest.
Ed only appears in the music video once for about a second however he is represented as a typical normal young man. He is sitting in a cafe drinking tea. Audiences can relate to this easily as its a typical thing for people to do which builds a relationship between the artist and the audience. It also promotes him as a normal person and not celebrity like therefore it builds up a good reputation of him. His clothing is very casual, he is wearing jeans jumper and a top which can also be relateable to the audience. The clothing is also conventional to the indie genre. Within this music video Ed looks like an ordinary person and not self centered which promotes him as an artist and a person. Ed doesn't want to sell his image on his songs which is why he only appears in his music video for a few seconds. He is a start but not a conventional star.
The style of this music video like most of his other videos is narrative based. By the video being narrative based means that its very conventional to the indie genre. I believe the music video is who is giving everyone else love but herself. She wants to find love but she can't. She feels alone and lost however at the end of the music video she finds love herself. However the lyric give me a different interpretation of the song. From the lyrics i believe the song is about an emotional relationship that ended between a man and women. After they break up the man meets another women and has a physical relationship but cant stop thinking about his old girlfriend and their memories together.
Mise En Scene
There is many different locations/settings within the music video. By changing the location makes the music video more interesting for the audiences therefore they will engage in the music video. Most of the locations within the music video is simplistic. It starts off in a house where we see the young girl character and is a very basic location and conventional to the indie genre. Another location is on the street in what it appears to be London. A city isn't conventional to the indie genre however the girl is alone in the city which makes the setting look isolated and mysterious. The last setting is in the cafe. This is also an simple location and very relateable to audiences. Other then Ed the girl is alone in the cafe which makes the setting look mysterious.
The positioning of the female character within the music video is always in the middle of the shot. This is so the audience can understand that she is the main character within the music video so that they can have their concentration on her. By having her in the middle the audience will focus on her and will understand the narrative. Although when Ed Sheeran comes into the music video he is in the middle of the shot to promote him and clearly show audiences that he is the artist.
The lighting within the music video is low key lighting. This is conventional to the indie genre. By having the lighting low key gives a mysterious feel to the music video and brings out emotions in the characters more. The dark lighting suggests that the female girl is feeling doom and gloom which creates a relationship between the audience and the girl.
Iconography is a main aspect within this music video. The iconography symbolizes many different things within this music video. The audience can see some tools in a box. The tools can be interpreted in many different ways. It may symbolize that a tragedy may happen within the music video due to the dark lighting around the box which gives of an sinister feel. It also implies that she will do whatever it takes to feel love and make people fall in love. It may also suggest self harm which creates empathy for her. The iconography of the tools makes the audiences understand the narrative better.
The feather within the music video symbolizes purity and innocence as the color of it is white. However the girls pulls multiple feathers out of her back which may suggest shes lost her innocence due to wanting to find love. Also when she pulls out the feather from her back to color of the feather is red which symbolizes blood. This may suggest she has gone through a lot of pain throughout the break up or loss of a loved one.
The iconography in the music video is clues on how the narrative will pan out. Its important that iconography is in this music video as the audience will understand the young girl easily and will understand the narrative better.
Within the music video the girl is wearing a provocative outfit, she is just wearing a plain white t-shirt with angel wings. The white color of the t-shirt implies that she is innocent and pure however the t-shirt is quite short and shows off her body within the music video. She is also wearing wings, this emphazises the fact that she is cupid and also innocent and pure. From the clothes she is wearing the audience get an implication that she is innocent. Her facial expressions throughout the video are emotionless and dull which tells the audience that she has gone through pain and cant take anymore. The expressionless look indicates that she has been through a lot and cant take any more pain. It engages the audience into watching the music video as they want to find out more about the girl.
Camera shots
There is many mid shots used within this music video. At the beginning of the music video we see a mid shot of the girl laying across her bed. The mid shot here of the girl straight away lets the audience know that she is the main character within the music video and there focus should be on her. The mid shot sets the scene and tells the audience what genre the music video is. The girl laying across the bed has blood splattered all over her. This will create anticipation for the audience as they would want to know what happened to her. The mid shot also shows the audience the girls costume specifically the wings, from this the audience can see that the song will associated with love therefore they will engage with the narrative.
Another mid shot we see is when the young girl pulls out the feather out of her back. The mid shot allows the audience to see fine detail of the feather and see her expression and location also. The feather has blood on which symbolizes pain and she wants to break free. The blood on the feather links in with the narrative of being in pain which helps the audience to understand it better. Her facial expression is still emotionless to show that she is used to pain also. The mid shot here helps the audience understand the narrative.
Another shot that is used a lot within indie music videos including this one is a long shot. There is a long shot of the young girl standing in the street. From this long shot the audience can clearly see the location change and the costume the girls wearing. The location in this long shot looks like a deserted street which creates mystery within the music video. The costume can clearly be seen which is angel wings, tights, boots and a loose top. This indicate that she is innocent and associated with love due to the angel wings.
A second long shot that is used is also in a different location. This long shot is set in the city by a building. In the long shot we can see the young girl in front of the big building in the simple location. She looks small to the big building which suggests that she is innocent and pure. It also may suggest that she is feeling low due to looking small compared to the building. The location within the long shot creates a mystery feel as cities are usually busy but this location is empty. It makes the girl look isolated.
Dyer's theory
Again Ed Sheeran only appears within this music video for a few second's so its difficult to apply Dyers theory to it. Ed Sheerans image is not constructed. He is his own person and unique to other celebrities as they are constructed as stars within their music video. By not being constructed as a star promotes himself and his songs. He is only interesting in his music not how he appeals to audiences. I believe by being different this is how he gains success as it interest audiences. Ed Sheeran is not a star, he is his own individual person. Due to him being in the indie genre its difficult for him to be constructed. He goes his own way when he creates his music videos which is why he is unique.
Goodwins theory
There are many aspects of Goodwins theory within the music video. The lyrics and the visuals link such as "I just want you to hold me" the shot is of a wooden toy holding each other. This shows Ed sheeran has creativity and is unique as you would expect this to be the shot. It also helps the audience understand the narrative better.
The visuals and the music match also within this music video. The music speeds up at the end of the video which means the shots speed up too. This makes the music video easier to watch for the audience and easier to focus on the narrative.
The music video is narrative based as there is a clear storyline being shown. This is conventional to the indie genre.
Doing this research will assist me when planning my own music as i understand Ed Sheeran's music videos now and how he creates them. I understand now that Ed Sheeran is unique which we will try to continue when creating our music video to 'runaway' I understand that all his music videos have clear messages and engage the audience by different shots. Its clearly shown me the conventions Ed has added within this music video which we will follow when we create our music video.
This post demonstrates a good understanding of your chosen music artist. You have analysed the two music videos well and have considered a variety of examples to support the points that you have made on the micro elements. You have started to consider how the elements are conventional to the indie genre, but this needs to be developed in more detail throughout.
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