1. Music Video Analysis- Ed Sheeran: The A Team
The music video for Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’ is very simplistic and was produced on a budget of
only £20 by two amateur directors. It follows a circular narrative structure, however it is non-
linear; we start off from the end before being show how the protagonist ended up where she is
now.
There is a clear link between visuals and lyrics; the narrative follows the true story (through
actors) of a young girl named Angel who is involved in prostitution and the consumption of class A
drugs- hence the name ‘The A Team’.
It’s an acoustic song with a guitar being the only notable instrument. It follows as Soul/Folk genre.
This and the fact the song is about such a dark subject tells me it’s aimed at an audience of 14+.
Shots: Birds eye, Close Up
Lyrics: Birds Sound Effect
Edit: Cut Edit
One of the first shots we see is an
extreme close up of the protagonist face
as she lies dead on the floor. The purpose
of this shot is to evoke emotion out of the
audience- they want you to feel empathy
towards her. For me this shot connotes
one of two things:
The angle in which the shot of
her face is taken at could indicate
that she is being watched over by
the ‘angels’ referred to in the
song. So we’re watching the video from their perspective.
It could also denote vulnerability. A lot of people believe that before you die your life
flashes before your eyes; therefore the fact that there is such a focus on her face could be
indicating that we’re watching how she ended up where she is now from her own
perspective. Her eyes are acting as the window to her soul.
During this part of the music video the song has not yet faded in; the only thing that can be heard is
the sound of birds. We relate birds to nature, they create a calming and peaceful sound; I believe
this means that she is in a happier place now.

2. The entire music video is shot in black and white. Black can connote a lot of things including death
and strong emotions- it’s the colour we think of during a time of mourning. I think the colour is a
representation of her life- it was very bleak.
Shots: Long Shot
Lyrics: Instrumental- acoustic guitar
Edit: Cut Edit
I believe that this shot is very powerful; it
represents the protagonist’s entire life. The
mise en scene is very bare and lifeless, there
isn’t much going on around her. The only
thing we can see are trees in the distance and
the protagonist lay across a bench; the shot
gives off a very isolated feeling which is a
perfect connotation of her own life. The trees
are very stark which could be a
representation of her own emotions; from
what we can see she has nothing going for her. The fact the trees are slowly dying could be showing
that she is slowly killing herself.
Although it is shot in black and white we can tell that the footage was taken on a very overcast day,
therefore natural lighting is used. By giving the song a narration it helps the audience to relate with
the song more; It’s such a dark song with a very emotional message, so making it a performance
based music video would take away from them meaning. By illustrating the song and placing a link
between visuals and lyrics the audience can empathize with the protagonist more.

3. Shots: Mid Shot
Lyrics: ‘Long night, strange me’
Edit: Cut Edit
This shot slightly contradicts the rest of the music video
depending on how you look at it. We can see that in this
shot the protagonist is facing away from the camera
with her arms embraced outwards. On one hand you
could say that she is embracing life and her freedom.
However, I believe that a more reasonable view point is
that she is embracing the fact that she made it through
another night and is still here today. Prostitution and
drugs play a major part in this song; the lyrics during
this particular shot are ‘long nights, strange men’. She’s happy that daylight had has now come and
just for a few hours she can forget all her fears and the dangers that come at night from prostitution;
she’s safe for another day.
Whilst natural lighting is used throughout the
entire music video, there is always more of an
emphasis on her face. We can see it very clearly
in detail. This up close and person shot allows the
audience; we are being drawn into their personal
space and get an understanding for their feelings.
It can be emotionally distressing for one person
to watch another person upset- this is what this
shot aims to do. Tears eventually become visible which shows us that she very vulnerable.
The pace of the song is quite slow; therefore only cut edits are used. At beginning of the music video
we see the camera track the protagonist; this is to convey the fact that she is the main focus.
We can clearly see Levi-Strauss’s theory being used in the music video- he believed that all narratives
contained binary opposites. In the case of this music video it’s life and death. The protagonist is
struggling to live day by day and eventually dies- her life has to continue no matter what.