2. Genre
– Give me Love by Ed Sheeran falls in the genre of folk, pop and is primarily a Love
song as the chorus clearly states “Give me love, lover”
– It follows a narrative where the female character is portrayed as an angel
specifically cupid and goes around making people fall in love with each other.
– The lyrics are stereotypical to the genre as well, it talks about being ”lonely”
and finding love which ultimately reflects cupids role of being something that
provides love but is unable to receive it and therefore is lonely.
3. Cinematography
– First shot is a medium shot of a girl bleeding on a bed with an arrow in her neck , it lasts for around 8 seconds to drop enigmatic hints and
get the audience thinking about what happened to the girl and why she is bleeding.
– There is then a medium, tracking shot of a young, good looking police officer walking inside the house supposedly going to save the girl
who is in the room.
– Camera pans to show the girl alive as hides behind the wall portraying her as invisible and alone.
– A wide shot of the girl sat cross-legged at the end of her mattress adding to the dramatic irony the viewer feels as that is the place she
appears to die. Her blonde hair, pale skin and white clothes show her to be very light as well as the white sheet on her mattress around her
and the white light coming from the lamp.
– a close shot of a black and white picture of a man and woman kissing is shown which reinforces what she doesn't have and that the music
video is initially about loss and love.
– Medium shots of the girl in some sort of pain as she writhes around grabbing at her back. We then see an extreme close up as she pulls a
feather covered in blood from her back.
– There is a focus pull of the girl and then Ed Sheeran who is sitting in the café singing, this could suggest that he also feels alone like the girl.
– A high angle shot is use used when the girl tries to aim her arrow at one of the girls waling on the streets , the arrow is thought to have the
power to make someone fall in love with the net person they see. It suggests that she carries a lot of power over people and is able to make
anyone fall in love with anyone else.
– there is a close-up of the girl and the arrow which she now has the tip of against her neck suggesting she is getting ready to kill herself. We
then see a medium shot of her falling over the edge of the building from earlier in the video and an extreme close-up shot of her face and
hands as she holds an arrow close to her face.
4. Editing
– Slow motion is used to exaggerate the police officer walking inside the house, it also gives the
audience as much detail as possible about the direction he is walking to and what kind of job he
does. A lot of slow motion is used in general to create a dramatic atmosphere of love and the idea
that she is cupid and she makes people fall in love with each other.
– The music video starts off by a fade in from black which could ultimately emphasize the contrasting
ideas in the music videos of love and death.
– We see a series of flashbacks showing the couples she has made fall in love just before a medium
shot from behind her as she stands at the edge of the building suggesting the series of flashbacks
could be what she is thinking of.
– The transitions used are all straight cuts which tells the music video as story/film.
– The shots have been edited together in chronological order to narrate a story.
– There is a slight use of visual effects. When Cupid fires her arrow there has been an effected added
to make it look ‘magical’.
5. Audience
– The main target audience are teenagers and young adults of an age range from 15-25 of both
genders.
– Fans appear to like him for his music and not his everyday looks therefore he seems more
down to earth and different to other attractive artists but this is how he has been constructed
to stand out from the social norm. it is can be seen as a more of a feminine type of video due
to the fact the video comes across as a fairytale. The video has been made so that they can
relate to ‘Cupid’ and feel sorry for her as teenage girls would.
– It puts in the audience minds a more lower mood as this video is not a just a simple and
straight forward fairytale story even though there are aspect of it, the video shows a girl who
is not happy that she cannot find love and is in search for one even thought she is cupid so
therefore this sets a calm and slow mood in the video. The main focus is of course love and
the cupid and as it is about love cupid is the main character and this fits in really well with the
convention of the video and the importance of love in shown through the main character
which is shown as cupid
6. Sound
– The main sound that is dominant in the music video is the use of a guitar. This is
a stereotypical convention in this genre as it shows his talent of song writing
and musical ability because he is playing the guitar himself.
– The lyrics are very powerful as well because there is a strong contrast between
“love” and loneliness. He says “give me love” and then he says ”like never
before” which reflects the character of cupid who is known to give people love
but be lonely itself.
7. Mis-en-scene
– Costume: at first the girl is wearing a white worn out tank top For example, Cupid is seen wearing angel wings and carries around a bow and
arrow. This establishes the character to the audience and gives her a purpose in the music video, it helps the audience understand what kind of
character she is portrayed to be
– Lighting: overall, very low lighting is used to emphasize the loneliness and the contrasting ideas of cupid and dark magic because towards the end
of the music video we see cupid (the main female character) using her power to kill herself and damage relationships. Most of the music video is
set at night to create ambiguity towards the character and set a dark and mysterious mood.
– Actors: The main character is the girl who is acting as Cupid. Laura Mulvey's theory of The Male Gaze is also challenged by this video is more
about relating to the singer and the main girl in an emotional way rather than a sexual way. Ed Sheeran himself is also seen in his music video.
– Make-up: Very little make-up is used in the beginning of the music video, this could emphasis the lack of life of the girl, then towards the middle,
the camera is more focused on her face so we see more color on her face, very natural make-up, and finally at the end, she aims to kill herself so
her face is pale.
– Props: She tries to remove her wings, pulling a feather from her back and toys with one of her arrows. The character is seen using a bow and
arrow to conform to the character of cupid and aim to make people fall in love with each other.
– Setting: the setting of the video around London as it seems as if the actress is an everyday person. Also this adds to the attraction of the target
audience as Ed is shown briefly in the video which suggests he is around London where his carer took off. In the video the main actor is seen as
cupid watching over people and shooting them with the arrows she has.
8. Narrative
– The video is based on the idea of Cupid. Cupid is seen watching over couples, she is then seen
using her bow and arrows make people fall for for each other not even looking at sex type just
whoever is in sight. So after watching some many people falling in love and sharing their love
and passion Cupid becomes overwhelmed with the need to find someone of her own to love
and for them to love her in return. She tries to remove her wings, pulling a feather from her
back and toys with one of her arrows. The end of the video echoes the beginning; a cop is
seen going into a crime scene which turns out to be Cupid’s lair. It is revealed that she stabbed
herself with her own arrow and is seemingly dead. However, her arrows are not lethal, they
just make you fall in love, so when the cop leans in for a closer look, the love effect of the
arrow makes her wake up, and it is implied that she will fall in love with him since he’s the first
person she sees upon waking.
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