As a part of my A2 media studies coursework, we need to analyse music videos and I decided to do Ed Sheeran's music video of the song "Drunk"

1. Analysis of “Drunk” by Ed
Sheeran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2fOum_KWQU
Aamna

2. Technical areas #1 - Camera Work (part 1)
The close up of the cat used when the writing of
“pass that beer over” is shown (superimposition)
adds a humours feel to the music video because
the idea of a cat drinking alcohol will amuse the
target audience. This makes the video down to
earth as some music videos try and add too
many things into it to make it appealing but this
has a simple technique which can entertain the
audience.
In this part of the music video, a point of view shot
is used when Ed Sheeran is looking at the text he
has received. This will help the target audience to
understand what has happened (his girlfriend has
broken up with him). This will then allow them to
easily figure out why he is getting drunk.

3. Camera Work (part 2)
This two shot is used after the man on the left takes a picture of
Ed Sheeran drinking. This could be interpreted (by the target
audience) as aspects of celebrity life. This is because when you
are a celebrity there are generally cameras everywhere
(paparazzi) therefore that could be the connotation to this scene.

4. Sound
The type of Sound used in this music video is diegetic sound.
That is the type of sound used throughout the music video,
however, at the beginning and end of the music video no sound
is used and just action is shown.
This type of song is classed as indie pop and folk rock and is a
type of song which people would love to dance to. Also, the
video is fun and uses humour which makes the song more
appealing.
Ed Sheeran also uses illustration in his video because when his
lyrics state that he wants to “get drunk again” it shows him
getting drunk. Amplification is also used when he sings the words
“all by myself” he is shown to be on a bed by himself but his ex
girlfriend is still going through his mind.
There is use of Intertexuality as a lego house made in the shape of a
love heart is broken. This represents and would remind the audience
of Ed Sheeran’s other song, “Lego House”. (illustration, amplification and
intertexuality are some of the features stated in Andrew Goodwin’s theory)

5. Technical Area #2 – Editing (part 1)
One of the types of Editing used in the video
is a graphic match because on the picture on the
left hand side, the girl is shown to be throwing
water which then cuts to Ed Sheeran (on the
right) with water getting thrown at him. The
effect of this is that it allows the audience to
know that there is a link between the two shots.

6. Editing (part 2)
In this part of the music video, the cat
playing on the controller has been sped up
a little bit using editing. This again adds a
humours effect to the music video and
help the target audience to construct a
narrative and understand that he is so
drunk that he is hallucinating.
Another type of Editing technique
used is an eyeline match. This
shows Ed looking at a glass of beer
which lets the audience know that
his drinking amount is increasing.
This makes him more relatable to
teenagers as they may remember
their own experiences.

7. Technical Area #3 - Mise En Scene (part 1)
One of the types of mise en scene used is
the guitar. This shows that although the
focus of the video is Ed Sheeran getting
drunk, it still shows him playing his
guitar. This shows how much he loves
music and cares about it which makes
him a passionate artist.
The guitars here
also emphasizes
the point above.

8. Mise En Scene (part 2)
Another one of the types of mise en
scene used is Ed Sheeran’s casual clothes
and the game controller in his hand. This
makes Ed look like a typical teenage boy
and lets the audience know that he does
not take himself seriously. In other
videos other artists may have leather
jackets on and be in posh bars but in this
video, the bar is in a home and he is not
represented as living a rock star life. This
will make the target audience relate to
him as they will feel just like him. That is
one of the ways he is represented as an
artist: being relatable.

9. Mise En Scene (part 3)
Another type of mise en scene used is the photographs on the
wall. This shows pictures of Ed Sheeran’s relationship. The
recurring theme in this video is that he is portrayed as being
relatable and down to earth because these pictures show a
normal relationship and are pictures that every teenage
couple would take.

10. Target Audience
The target audience of this video is mostly teenagers as it shows
Ed getting drunk and having a party which is what teenagers
mostly do. This is how the narrative of the storyline relates to the
music video (because it represents teenage problems)
however, the target audience is also people who like his genre of
music (acoustic, folk, grime). This particular song can be classed
as indie pop and folk rock therefore this target audience can also
be people who like indie music.

11. Narrative
The narrative of this video is that Ed has just been dumped by a
girl who he really liked, by a text message. He is hurt and upset
because of that so he tries to get drunk in order to make him feel
better and to forget about his problems. During this he
hallucinates as his cat is “talking” to him. The video basically
shows the process of him trying to feel better by using alcohol.

12. Representation
In this video, Ed Sheeran has been represented as a normal
teenager. This is because he is getting drunk in the music video
because of a problem he is having with his girlfriend. He has just
broken up with her and many people tend to use alcohol as a way to
try and make them feel better which is what Ed is trying to do
therefore he is shown to be relatable. The other ways that he is shown to be
relatable is the pictures on the wall at the beginning of the video. The way
that he is dressed (casual clothes) show that he is down to earth and does not
take himself seriously. This type of a clothing is a recurring theme in his
music videos. At some points of the video, he also has his guitar with
him and decides to play it. This shows that although the
main focus of the video is him getting drunk and trying to forget
about a relationship, he still cares about his music.

13. What we have learnt from this video
From this video, not only have we learnt the conventions of an indie genre
music video (such as guitars, performances, darker colours and some
uncommon conventions which Ed has used such as humour) but we have
also learnt different types of techniques we can use in our music video
such as superimposition to create humour, a graphic match to create
links, and speeding up certain bits to also create humour.
We have learnt how to represent an artist to be relatable by using mise en
scene techniques such as pictures on the wall and the type of clothing
used (everyday clothing such as jeans and a jumper rather than fancy
clothing). Additionally, In order to convey passion in our video, there can
be emphasis on instruments such as guitars.
The things that we have learnt from this video are the ways in which Ed
appeals to his target audience and those are the factors that we can also
use (conventions of an indie genre, relatability and editing techniques) to
appeal to our target audience.