The music video begins by introducing a character resembling Ed Sheeran. It shows him with a group in misty fields through establishing shots. Flashbacks show the group socializing in various settings like pubs and races. Shots focus on the main character and follow him. The video cuts between flashbacks of the group as teenagers and shots of Ed Sheeran as an adult walking the same roads. Through matching shots, it's implied he's returned to where he grew up. The video describes what his friends are now doing through different shots of each one. It shows how their lives have changed while still connecting to their shared past.

1. The music video begins with a wide shot of a boy
who resembles the artist of the track, Ed Sheeran,
which could imply he is the main character we
should be following throughout. It then transitions
into a medium close up, giving us more details of
the male characters features. At 0.09, we are shown
an establishing shot of a wet field full of mist with a
group quite far back into the distance. At this point
the audience has not heard any lyrics or
instrumental but just the background noises of the things you’d hear if you were at the place.
The camera begins a very slow pan as the group walk along the fields, and members of the
group begin running on the beat the music begins. At 0.24 we meet the same boy using a wide
shot where in zooms into him very unsteadily potentially showing it was his friend’s videoing.
Anotherwide shotisusedtoshowwhat we can onlyassume tobe the maincharacter and hisfriend
runningfromthe camera duringa veryshort,but fastpaced instrumental.We returntoan
establishingshotwhilstthe cameratracksthe same twoboysseenrunninginthe previouslyshot.At
0.44 we finallygeta clearshotof the mainprotagonistusingaclose up where itthencuts to a side
shotof the artist whohe is meantto be resemblinginyounger years.
To furtherdemonstrate the individual weve seensofarisEd Sheeran’s‘younger’self lookalike,Ed
sings“I was youngerthen”afterthe transitionseenabove.EventhoughanEd Sheeranfanwouldtell
fromthe beginningof the videohe wasmeanttoresemeble Ed,someone whoonlylistenson
occasionhas nowbeenreassuredthat.Still usingaside shotwe are focusedonthe artist,until we
are cut to a flashbackof hisyoungerself andfriendsinthe pubusinga wide shot.Numerouscutsare
thenusedto showthe groupshangingout.
The camera starts trackingfrom behindthe youngerself,where itchangesinfrontof himusing
matchingon actionand followshisdirection.Inbothshotshe is positionedinthe centre witha
subtle blurredbackgroundimplyingoureyesshouldsolelybe focusedonhim.We getmany
contrastingplacesduringthe flashbacks,e.g.we see theminapub/raceswhere itthencutsback to
the countryside settingwhere we originallyseenthe group.The shotsalwaysreferbackto the young
groupsocialisinginthe fieldimplying that’swhere theyspentalotof theirtime anditsimportant.

2. Duringthisshot the camera isalmost
followingthe cardrivingalongthe
road whilstmildlypanningupwards
as it drivesfurtheraway. Referringto
my previouspoint,the caris
surroundedbyfields/countryside
similartothe oneswhere we witness
the group.At 1.10, we see Ed’s
youngerself drivingalongthe roads
howeveritsnottoonoticable butin
the screenshottothe leftisthe car
the artist wasdrivingandthe wide
shotwe cut to ishis‘younger’self hintinghe’sbackinthe place he grew up andthat’s whythe
flashbacksare occuring.At1.14, we are showna close up of the twofrontseatswiththe main
character beinginfocus and hisfriendinthe backgroundoutof focus againshowingwhoEdwants
the audience tobe lookingat.We cut to a midshotof youngeredwalkingalongwithhisgroup
where the camerapans fromthe front of them, aroundthemso we see themfrombehind,however
a veryquickcut is usedto showthe maincharacter withanotherindividual walkingbesideafire.We
are shownthemusinga side shot,andthe camera trackingthem.
At 1:44, we firstsee the artist out of the car which
couldshowhe is back to the place he grew up. We
track himas he walksalongthe road where itthen
cuts to anotherflashbackof them“rollinghandmade
cigarettes”.Withthe lyricsmatchingwhatwe see in
the flashbackswe can definitelysayhe’ssinging
aboutteenage yearsgrowingup.At2:09, we are
showna midclose up of the artist walkingalongthe
same road seenonthe right.
At 2.27, a highangle shotis useddownontotwoindividualswalkingthroughthe same fieldswe
have seena lotof. Where it thencuts toa a party scene where arange of midshotsare usedof the
differentcharacterswithinthe groupusingflashstrobesof differentcolours.A lotof the flashbacks
nowhave trackingshots of the artists walkingalongthe same roadwhich can representhimwalking
home as there are numerouslyricssaying“imonmy way”.
At 3:03, we see the same two boyswhowe can assume of themis the
youngerversion of Edwalkingarounda rundown,oldhouse/farmhouse.
At 3:13, for the firsttime since the
start of the songthere isa long
pause withnolyricsbut filledwithasubtle guitartune asa
burningcouchis showninthe centre of a field,implyingthat’s
the endof the happymemoriesashe beginstodescribe his
friendsnow inthe present.

3. As he beginstodescribe the individual friendsandwhatthey’re gettinguptonow we are shown
each one witha differentshot.Itbeginswithamidclose up,transitioningtoalow shot,to a close up
again,back to a subtle lowangle etc.
Afterseeingthemindividual withdiffereingangles/shots
showinghow some have gone off tobe successful whilstothers
havent,we are shownthe group usinga wide shotonthe same
level whichcoulddemonstrate eventhoughthey’re atdifferent
placesnow back thentheywere all equal andonthe same level.
At 2:24, we see the younger
versionof Ed sat round
drinkingwithhisfriends.We
are shownthisusinga pan
aroundthe back of him,
where itcuts to a side shotif
himdrinkinganalcoholic
beverage.Ashe pulls the can
down,we cut to a wide shot
of the artistEd Sheerantaking
the can down.Thisisa very
importantshotbecause it
clarifiesthatitwasEd singing
aboutthe pastand itsclevertransitiontouse.We thensee Ed sat aroundwiththe friendsalso
grownup usinga zoomout
The typical genre of Ed Sheerans music is singer-songwriter. Usually, a singer songwriter has
slow paced filming that fits with the vibe of the music and there is no rapid/fast editing as it
distracts the audience from the meaning of the song however with this video Ed doesn’t
follow the conventions of a typical singer songwriter genre. However, in certain parts of the
song, generally the slow singing, he doesn’t use slow editing and the filming is quite neautral
although the majority is quite fast. A convention he does follow is that he set the video in an
isolated area, which typially conveys peace and harmony which does follow the theme of
this song. Also, the songs tend to have a senstimental and personal value to the artist for it
and tells a story throughout.
Uses and gratifications
This theory presumes that the audience seek out specific types of media to satisfty their
needs. There are four main categories; information, identity,integration and social
interactionm entertainment and escapism. I think Ed’s video represents the category
escapismas people watching tend to forget about their life during it and are focused on his
as we are shown his past and teenage years. As we are shown the different aspects and
emotions so thorougly we almost feel the same thing he was feeling during that time.

4. Andrew Goodwins theory
This music video follows the idea of a relationship between the music and visuals. From
analysing this video I would say its illustrative because the music video uses certain images
and shots to explain the meaning of the lyrics.It also follows the demand of the record
company for lots of close ups as we are shown the younger version of Ed very thorougly
through the use of close ups and mid shots.