2. Ed Sheeran – The A Team
Choreographed by – Ruskin Kyle
Directed by – Ruskin Kyle
Genre – Indie Folk
Duration – 4:49
3. Narrative
It narrates the story of a girl addicted to drugs, living on the streets of
London, played by Selina MacDonald. She tried to sell magazines for
money, but only managed to sell one to Sheeran. The girl struggled so
much that she resorted to selling her body to earn money. She may not
have loved it, but it provided her with a general income. Later on, the
pain became too much for her to bear and she just wanted to end it all.
She traded in her "dirty" money for drugs, referencing the lyric "...and
in a pipe she flies to the motherland." In the end, the girl succumbs to
her drug abuse.
4. Camera Shots
0:00 – Close up of the girl
0:08 – Zoom out, both past v present shots of the same character are
shown in the shot.
0:15 – Pan out, blurred camera movements of a fading character
0:20 – establishing shot of the location
0:25 – over the shoulder shot of the location from girls point of view
0:27 – tracking 360 degree following the girl
0:33- Close up of the girls face to show emotion
0:46 – tracking shot of character walking round the streets
1:00 – close up of the girls actions
Within the first minute of the song it is apparent to the viewers what the
storyline entails of. The character and location are stated.
5. Location
The music video opens with a close up shot keeping
the location of the video a secret up until part way
into the song, where the location revealed is a
open forest area and in the streets of London. The
openness of the forest area symbolises the
characters prolonged need to be free from her own
demons.
6. Characters
The 2 main characters involved within the music video are the girl herself whom is the main focus, and Ed
Sheeran who makes a cameo half way through the video where he is seen buying a magazine from the female
character. The characters show a clear contrast to each other due to one being the person who is struggling,
whereas Ed Sheeran is the individual who is metaphorically in the light, as he is able to help the female with
money issues, e.g. buying the magazine of off her. Without the acknowledgement that he is only feeding into
her drug habit. The characters used throughout the video are of a dark nature due to the impression and
hidden message that the female is a drug addict who cannot curb her addiction, who is spiralling deeper into
depression and a loss of control over her own body and mind.
7. Lighting
There is hardly any colour used within the music video, black and white is
the main focus this is due to it allowing the audience to understand the
pain that is supposed to be felt due to black acting as a dim and dull
colour. As well as this, the lack of colour in certain parts of the video
creates a focus on the physiological state of mind in which the audience
believes the character to be feeling.
8. Costumes
The main character within the music video is
dressed in over-sized clothing of a dull and
profound nature. The costumes used are dark,
with hints of light. This can be seen as a way of
interpreting the way in which the character feels,
for example; the dark over powering the light
(bad overpowering good). The smeared makeup
represents an on-going struggle the female is
feeling and dealing with. Further to this, the
costumes helps to show that the video is an
exploration of an inner struggle that the
character is dealing with.
