This document provides an analysis of Ed Sheeran's music video for "Thinking Out Loud". It summarizes that the video portrays a romantic dance between Ed Sheeran and a woman to illustrate his passionate lyrics about lifelong love. The tempo is very slow to match the soothing lyrics and delicate dancing. Shots are mostly long and wide to provide context for the empty ballroom setting and allow view of their contemporary dancing that flows softly to the music. The editing synchronizes shots with lyrics and uses different shot speeds to enhance the romantic and sensual theme.

1. Megan Hughes
Music VideoAnalysis –Narrative
Ed Sheeran – ThinkingOut Loud
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp-EO5I60KA
Target Audience &
Needs
Ed Sheeranas an artisthas a verywidelyrangedtargetaudience butthe majorityIwouldsayare teenagersandyoungadults.
However,thisparticularsong,withitbeingsomellowandrelaxing...Itappearsappropriate forall age groupsbecause itcouldbe
playedonCapital FMor evenSmoothRadio.The softnessof the songhelpsappeal ittoelderlypeopleandolderadultsaswel l as
teensbecause it’ssomethingthatcanadapt to everyone’spreferredmusictype.Iwouldn’tsaythere wasanyparticularstereo
type that wouldbe interestedinthissong,noranyrace or genderbecause it’sasif it wasmade to caterfor each type of person’s
needs.
Lyrics (Meaning
Implied?)
The meaningbehindthe lyricstothissongobviouslyresemble the singer’slove forawoman, he singspassionatelyanddeeply
aboutsomeone he hasfoundlove withandhe’ssayinghownomatterwhat happenstheyshouldstilllove eachotherthe same.Ed
usesa womanin hismusicvideotoperhapsact inplace of histrue love to showherhowtheyshouldbe.The lyricsof thissong
flowsmoothlywiththe beatandpace of the songwhichhelpsportrayitas a relaxingmusicvideo.Youcansee the emotionbehind
the singer’sface andalmostfeel the emotionbehindhisvoicewhenhe singsbecausehe’smade itsopersonal asif eachlyric
meanssomethingimportantit’snotjustwords.
Tempo The tempoof the songis veryslowmovinganddelicate whichcoincideswellwiththe soothinglyrics.Due tothisvideobeing based
on a romanticdance betweenacouple,it’snoticeable thatthe waytheymove syncsinwiththe sluggishtempo.The twodance
togetherverysoftlyandemotionallywhichhelpstosee the love basedbehinditwhichEdfeels,the bodylanguageflowstothe
rhythmof the musicand itall appearsveryeasyon your eyes.
Genre Thisparticularsong fitsthe criteriaof a pop/hiphopgenre due tothe fact it’seasytosing alonganddance to, however,it canalso
be classedas easylisteningdue tothe soundtrackas well asEd’svoice beingsosoothingandmellow.Iwouldsayit’savery
relaxingsongthatmostpeople wouldlistentowhentheywanttojustchill out. Fromlisteningtothe lyricsandwatchingthe music
videoitiseasyto see strongaspectsof romance behindthe songdue tohow intimate andpassionate the twocharactersare when
performingwithone another.

2. Megan Hughes
Music VideoAnalysis –Narrative
Ed Sheeran – ThinkingOut Loud
CameraTechnique The camera angleswithinthisvideoare prettybasic; the majoirtyconsistof longshotsandwide shotswhichI thinkisappropraite
for thiskindof songas ithelpstosetthe scene andget more of a feel forthe music.The viewof the backgroundhelpstosupport
the romantictheme as itshowsan emptyballroomcontainingjustthe twocharacterssothe fact they’re alone makesitmore
excitingandwistful.Arielshotshave the same effectasit’slookingdownontwosubjectsina bigemptyroom. Longshots helpus
see all theirdance moveswhichhelpsputthe tempointoperspective; it’seasytoanalysise thatit’scomptemporary dancing from
the pace theymove andhowsoft theyare,theyjustlettheirbodiesrelax andflow/swayromanticlytothe music. There are more
midshotsthan close upsbut you’re still able tosee the facial expressionsclearenough tosee the love andpassiongoingthrough
the characters face’s.Mid shotsalso make the body languagereallyboldandnoticablewhichisparticularlygoodforthistype of
videoasit’simportantto see the meaningbehindthe characters. Trackingandpanningtechniquesare alsofrequentlyusedwithin
thismusicvideotoensure the charactersare alwaysonscreenwhilstmovingaroundwhendancing.
Editing The most noticeable editingtechnique Isawwasthe timingof the shotsin syncwiththe lyrics.The musicwas clearlyapre-
reorderedtrack but the shotsfromthe videohave beeneditedandperfectedtofitintime withthe lyricswhenpossible.For
example whenEdissingingaboutsomethingonthe track,that thingappearson screen…Suchas whenEd singsaboutthe female
character’slegs,itshowsa mid-shotof herlegswalkingontothe dance floor.Inmyopinion,the synchronisationof the lyricsand
videocontentmakesitmore seductive andsensualwhichappliestothe romantictheme.Withthe videocontainingshotsof along
and shortduration,bothslowandfast cuttingare usedtoadd suspense tothe video.Aswell asthisIthinka fewof the shots of
the couple dancinghave hadtheirspeedincreased ordecreasedtofitthe beatof the song, alsoto showthe exoticness and
mellowness behindthe dancing.

3. Megan Hughes
Music VideoAnalysis –Narrative
Ed Sheeran – ThinkingOut Loud
Use of Digital Effects On termsof visual content:Ithinkthe lighting/brightnesshasbeenadjustedtoalowerkeysettingtotryand create a more
romanticatmosphere/scenerywhichIthinkismore enticingforthe audience. Also,forthe colourscheme;Lotsof redsare used
withinthe backgroundthroughoutandatthe verybeginningthere’salarge redbackgroundwhichlinksinasthisparticularcolour
can resemble love.Besidesthis,due tothe songbeinglove enthused,the use of the spotlightsbeingmade intoalove heart shape
was verysmartand affectionate.Itiseasytonotice thata lotof thingswere experimentedwhilstputtingthismusicvideo
together;the adventure behinditall makesitveryappealingtothe audience.