“GIVE ME LOVE” BY ED SHEERAN - ANALYSIS

Chloe Killin

Sirens can be heard in the distance which soon is clear is a sound bridge for the next shot – which prevents the first few shots from having a disjointed feel, and introduces the audience to the pace of the video.

In the lower left image, we see that the police officer is walking forwards in slow motion which is quite striking when juxtaposed with the sirens blaring and lights flashing.

This first section of the video aims to draw the viewer in and be interested in finding out the story preceding this scene.

Despite the fantasy elements, verisimilitude is still created by the use of the police officer’s uniform, the forensic scientist and who the audience is likely to assume is a detective standing over the woman’s body.

There is also a, possibly unintentional, link to popular culture, as the person standing over the woman is very similar to Castiel, a character from the TV series Supernatural, who is an angel and relates to the themes in this music video.

Lens flares are constantly used throughout the video that are emphasizing the use of soft focus, which is intended to give this character something of a heavenly glow.

This composition of these shots is designed to keep the focus on this woman throughout, which has been achieved by placing her central and also having the lighting more intense closer to the centre and faded off at the sides so that the eye is naturally drawn to the clearest part of the shot. Her hair colour and costume also accompany this.

This style and use of lighting and shot composition is consistent throughout the entire video to ensure attention is kept on her.

CAMERA WORK This music video contains a very wide variety of shot types, however the

director has chosen to focus on this angelic character by mostly showing her in medium shots and close ups.

The entire video has been shot in a handheld style probably with a stabiliser to avoid overly shaky shots which gives a more realistic effect as static shots can feel more staged.

The image below seems to be depicting a relationship she once had or wishes to have. This has been introduced very early as it is the driving force of the video, as her wish for a happy relationship drives her and influences her actions from now onwards.

The placement of the photograph on the wall behind her could be figuratively meaning that this relationship is behind her as well, as if it is unobtainable or out of reach.

Symbolism often finds its way into these more slowly paced, narrative driven videos, which make them seem as if they have quite a depth to them helping in making them more emotional and having a stronger impact on the audience.

FOLLOWING CONVENTIONS SO FAR… So far the music video follows the typical conventions of a

singer/songwriter music video, thus adhering to one of the six features of a good music video identified by Andrew Goodwin.

We have also been shown the relationship element, which makes the video relatable to the audience.

The main target audience is likely to be in their early twenties, and so they can feel as if they have been acknowledged by the film makers and also, possibly most importantly in their eyes, by the song writer, as the main character appears to be around the typical audience member’s age.

Singer/songwriter music videos are often story based, so the audience feels familiar with the idea and structure of this one, increasing the likelihood of its success.

USE OF PROPS

As the shot below is displayed, the lyric “I just wanna hold ya”.

Symbolises the relationship she wants to have and is attempting to obtain. As the shot above has a

slightly sinister feel, as it is quite dark around the edges of the frame and displays a series of tools.

Implies to the audience that she is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

Again another dark image with the bloody feather – perhaps a metaphor relevant to the narrative – she thinks for something good (eg the white feather), you need to deal with pain or be determined to get it, whatever the cost (eg the blood).

The props in this video tend to be symbolic or another way of representing something important in the story – like with the photograph on the wall shown previously and the wooden mannequins, although quite different visually, represent the same thing.

As her wings begin to grow, the editing pace quickens so that we understand how panicked this has made her. Similarly the use of jump cuts are not quite to the beat which brings a sense of fear and confusion.

This is mirroring the change in the music which is picking up and has reached the chorus.

More use of the soft focus and some actually out of focus shots to emphasize the heavenly glow that is present through the whole video.

It is a little over the top in this short section to make the transformation to an angel or cupid-style character clear.

Here we see the artist, likely at the request of the record label, making a cameo in the video. Following another stage of Goodwin’s music video theory.

This is slightly unusual but not unheard of in singer/songwriter videos, as the artist is often the narrator, but here, Ed Sheeran is only present for a few seconds.

Sheeran makes a second appearance about halfway through the music video.

The video continues and sees the main character playing Cupid, shooting arrows at people making them fall in love.

The video takes place in the modern day in a large city, likely to be London, as we know the artist is British and the main character appears to take the DLR in the top image.

This presents the audience with a sense of familiarity as it takes place in the real world (despite being a fairy tale-like story), which makes it more relatable.

The editing pace increases as she enters this club and begins to use the arrows on lots of people.

The increased speed of the cuts suggests that she is using the arrows excessively but isn’t aware that every one else is falling in love, she is left alone.

This series of shots almost seems as if it is mirroring an addiction. And draws the audience’s attention to the fact that she is getting greedy with using the arrows/playing Cupid, making her lose control of herself – possibly a message for the audience to think about.

This is placed in the midst of the chaos of the party for only a second or two. This shot is particularly striking, and probably the most heavily edited single shot, as it consists of many versions overlaid flashing in and out of frame.

In the shot just like the opening one, we see the main character suddenly open her eyes as the song ends. To go with this there is the effect of the arrow turning to smoke, much like we have been shown throughout the video when she made people fall in love with one another.

The final shot is a point of view shot, which we haven’t seen used before in this video and is quite unusual in this genre therefore making the ending memorable.

The last shot builds a little bit of suspense as the audience wants to see the angel awake and want to know if her arrow worked, and so leaves the audience wanting more and are more likely to watch it over again.