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1. How are narrative techniques employedin Ed Sheeran’svideo ‘The A Team’?
“’The A Team’,a touching,understated acousticballad abouta homelessgirl resorting to prostitution
and class A drugson thestreets of London”,writesNeilMcCormickof the Telegraphashe describes
the overridingmessage presentinthe songandmusic video.The videoisdirectorbyfreelancer
directorRuskinKyle,whoisaLondonbasedand unfamiliarcameraoperator,editoranddirector.
Kyle prideshimself on ‘original,visuallystrongwork,whetheritbe tellingemotivestorieswhich
connecton a humanlevel,orshootingclean,information-ledcontent’.It’seasytosee whyan
undiscoveredSheeranoptedtouse the servicesof alow budgetdirectorwhoonlystartedin2009.
From hisproducer,Jake Gosling,emailingaseriesof mediacompaniesinhope of raisingawareness
aroundhisyoungartist. Sheeranwaswarythat radiostationswouldn’tplayasongregardinga
troubledyoungwomanconnected todrugsandprostitution,butGoslingtoldSheerantoremain
true to himself andensure thathe wrote songsabouthislife.UponspeakingtoAbsolute Radio,
Sheeransaid "TheA Team is written abouta woman thatImet in a homelessshelter."Sheeranwent
for beingabuskeron the streetsonNorwichtobeinglaudedinthe streets,surroundedbyan
abundance of girlsand paparazzi. The mainprotagonistof the videoisa youngwomannamed
Angel,whoisplayedbyactressSelinaMacDonald,anactor and producerwhoisa close friendof
Sheeran’s.Whatisapparentisthe reliance uponhisfriendswhichwasmaintainedbySheeranand
translatedintohiswork. WhenSheeranmade avideotoaccompanythe original recordingof this
songin 2010, itcost himonly£20 to make.YoungphotographerRuskinKyle shotthe cliponlocation
inAngel,London,NorthLondon,andCamden,inthe northwest.The videostarsactressesSelina
MacDonald,as "Angel,"andKatyBrady, as herhousemate. These friendshipsallowedthe
productiontobe lowbudgetbutauthenticwhilsthelpingcreatingaconnectionbetweenkeythemes
and audiences.EdSheeranhasproliferatedfromobscuritytofame ina matterof years,withthe A
Team seeminglythe catalystforhisstardom.The A Team wasa monumental successof Sheeran’s
debutalbum‘+’,beingthe moststreamedandmostdownloadedsongonthe album.The track was
streamed34,659,000 and underpinsthe successSheeranexperienced.Atjust20, Sheeranwas
transformedfroma youngSuffolkartisttoa worldwidename,thisrise isunprecedentedandin
2016, he became overawedbythe industryandoptedtotake a year outto rediscoverhimself,
whichhe proclaimsaboutinhismost recentalbum, ‘÷’. Sheeran’ssuccesshasbeenmore pertinent
than everin2017, withhimheadliningthe infamousGlastonburyfestival,playingThe A Teamin
frontof a multitude of peoplecongregatedatthe festival. The videohasbeenconsumed 242m
times.
The music videoinvolvesacircularnarrative andtakesthe audience of the journeyof the ‘Angel’,a
homelesswomanwhoisaddictedtoClassA drugs.The videobeginsbyshowingayounggirl who
has tragicallydied,andthisbeginsthe videoof showingushow she dies,whoshe isandwhather
situationis.The discoveryof the younggirl’sbodyiscomplementedwiththe beginningof Sheeran’s
guitarsolobeingplayedalongside thisfootage. A circularnarrative exploresastorywhichendsat
the same point.So the videoisintroducedwiththe discoveryof Angel’sbodybefore we,asan
audience,embarkonajourneysurroundingAngel.Itsubsequentlyconcludesatthe discoveryof
Angel’sdeceasedbody. Furthermore,itadopts the single strandstyle of narrative asittellsthe story
of a single person,Angel,withthe audienceleftconsumingthe life of thisyoungwoman.Thislinks
to the lyricsas those viewingherstorycouldbe ‘angels’or‘deity’asSheeranconstantlyrefersto
Angelswithinhislyricsaswell asnamingthe character Angel.Sothe ideaof a singularstrand
narrative involvesunthreadingthe storyinaparticularway whereby one consumersthe actionof

2. screen.Itinvolvesfollowingone charactersindividual narrative,andisdeployedbythe production
teamin thisparticularvideo. The videoinvolvesAngel attemptingtorestore herlife backto
equilibriumandthus she isportrayedwitharange of low angledshotstodepicthervulnerability;
she isalso shotinthe centre of the frame,thusnot applyingtoshowingherexclusionfromnormality
and the singularstrandtechnique isadoptedtocreate thissense of deityresemblingpresence,
watchingherdownfall anddecidingwhere she will endupnext. Anemphasisisplaceduponhereyes
withare heavilymade up.These symbolise the eyesbeingthe ‘window tothe soul’ andhelpswith
the portrayal of The single strandstyle allowsforafocuson the protagonist,butdoesallow roomfor
an antagonisttoimpede anddisruptproceedings,forthisvideo,the antagonistisheraddiction
whichcontinuousloseshermoney,stabilityandplace onthe social hierarchy.Angel isa
quintessential exampleof somebodyriddledwithaddiction,unable toaskandreceive help.
It isbelievedthe “constantcreationof conflictandoppositiondrive narrative”inmusicvideos
(Claude Levis Strauss),atheorythatreliesonthe conceptof binaryoppositions.Thiscanbe achieved
inan abundance of ways,and iscertainlyespousedbySheeran’sproductionteamasKyle seeksto
create a seriesof binaryoppositionsinordertocreate a contrast. These binaryoppositionscanbe
intertwinedconceptuallyorvisually.Sheeran’slyricsandstorytellingwovenintohissongpresentsa
plethoraof opportunitiesforyoungdirectorKyle,whoseizesthese inthe productionprocess.Levi
Strauss’binaryoppositionsare importantforthe reinforcingof understandingtextsormediatypes.
These oppositionscanbe critical forthe audience’sconsumption,whichisaidedbythe
implementationof Levi Strauss’ideas.
Unlike Todorovwhowasintothe structure
of stories,Levi-Strausswasmore
interestedinwhatmessage wasatthe
heartof the story that wassignificantfor
the tellerandthe audience. Inthisvideo,
binaryopposites are showedinthe form
of life anddeath,whichisaprominent
theme throughout the video. Atthe
beginningof the video, the audienceare
presentedwithanimage withdepicts
deathand decay.Thisisthencut to the same womenandkeyprotagonist,Angel, asleeponapark
benchwiththe ambientsoundof passingcarsduringa morninghurryand itappearsalmostthat life
ispassingherby as she lay asleeponthe bench.Thiscontrastbetweenlife anddeath,whilsthugely
significantforthose wholie withmodestpositionsonsocial hierarchy,isdramaticallydifferent for
those whostruggle tomake a meansinlife,andthisdramaticdifference isn’tsocontrasting.It
perfectlyillustratesSheeran’s themesinthe song. Inthe screenshotabove,itscomposedwiththe
subjectshotinthe lowestthird,representingthe social hierarchy,of whichshe isbottomoff.
Despite herbeingalive,the treesinthe backgroundare deadand these displays the lackof life
presentinAngel’slife whyprovidingavisual presentationof lifevsdeathasit foreshadowsthe
conclusionwhichisyettocome. Levi-Strass’ideasof binaryoppositesare reinforcedinthe contrast
of blackand white usedinthe video.The lightingisusedinawaywhichallowsthe imagestoappea
highcontrast. The monochrome filterhelpstodepictasense of sadnessanda sense of lose also.The
fact herbig bag coat isbeingemphasisedbylightingandsymbolicallyrepresentshow immersedshe
isin herworldbut alsohowher addictioncontinuallywraps roundherandshe isn’table toshake it
off.Thisvideochallengesthe conventionsof the popgenre,asoftenitinvolvesbrightcoloursand
upbeatpositive videosbutthisvideoisauthenticandrougharound the edgesandisbrilliantly
produced.The blackand white filterusedshowshow everythingisportrayedaspositive ornegative,

3. blackor white,andthishelpswiththe binaryoppositesbeingusedinthe video.The filteralsohelps
withthe audience feelingsympathyforawoman whose life isona downwardtrajectory. The
positioningof her,ofteninthe centre of the shot,aidesthisfeelingof sympathythatwe,asan
audience,are clearlyillustratedthatshe isdifferentandoutof place,whichaidesthisempathywe
feel.
RolandBarthes’theoryis"a galaxyof signifiers,notastructure of signifieds;ithasnobeginning;itis
reversible;we gainaccesstoit byseveral entrances,none of whichcanbe authoritativelydeclared
to be the mainone;the codesit mobilizesextendasfaras the eye can read,theyare
indeterminable...the systemsof meaningcantake overthis
absolutelypluraltext,buttheirnumber isneverclosed,basedas
it ison the infinityof language...".He iseffectivelystatingthata
narrative isan abundance of tangled threadsrequire untangling.
He claimsnarrativesare a seriesof codes.Firstly,the action
code,thiscode makescomplex actions‘readable’throughtiny
details.Thisisshownduringthe openingshotwhichshowsawomanstandsoverAngel’sdeadbody
and this showsa clearconnectionbetweenthe pair. Itssignificancetothe overall narrative isalso
prominentwiththe circularnarrative whichbeginsandendsatthe same point.Secondly,the
enigmacode.Throughoutthe video, the audience are waitingtounravel the mysterysurrounding
the deathof a youngwoman.How didshe die?Thisenigmaispuzzlingtothe audience and
somethingtheymustsolve inordertounderstandandcontextualisethe video.Itisusedasa
narrative hookforthe audience whoare grabbedinbythisenigmawhichtheyare lefttosolve.The
blackand white aidesthe symboliccode asit symbolisesAngel’slifeasdesolate anddepressing.Her
coat clingsontoher skinlike aneverendingweightkeepingherdown.Thisall plays apart of
Barthes’symboliccode and helpthe lyricsseemmore relevantandensure theytranslate easieronto
the audience. Barthes’cultural code ispresentedthroughlyrics.‘She’sinthe classA team’,isa
perfectexampleof this,with asubtle reference toaddictionwhichisfarmore hardhittingthanan
obviousreference. Thissongisapplicable withBarthestheoryforthese aforementionedreasonsand
it strengthensthe mannerinwhichthe audience interactwithitinthe videobutitalsoaidesthe
translationof the video, i.e.,itallowsthe keythemestoseepintothe audiencesmindsandcreates
an emotional connectionbetweenaudience andSheeran’slyricsandthusitachievesanemotive
reaction. Thisengagementonemotional level isahighrelationshipwithaudience andonce whichis
instigatedthrough the lyrical butalsovisual elementsof the musicvideo,thuscomplyingwith
AndrewGoodwin’stheory.
Unlike multiple songsin the genre inwhichSheeranfalls,popmusic,videostendtocomplywith
Goodwin’stheorywhichstatesthatmusicvideoswill containclose upsof the artiststoreinforce the
ideaof brand identityandhelpthe artistcommercially.Examplesof videosthatcontainan
abundance of close upsbut that alsofall intothe same genre as Sheeran’sA TeamisYellow –
Coldplay(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKNxeF4KMsY) andIWon’tGive Up – JasonMraz
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-4u9W-bns) ,Sheeranoptstochallenge conventionsbynot
featuringinthe videoasa prominentfigure toallow the conceptual elementsof the videoto
breathe.Sheerandoesfeatureinseveralscenesasapasser-byandas a memberof the publicwhich
juxtaposeswiththe starimage concept. Anillustrationof the lyricsisprominentthroughoutthe
videowithAngel receivingcocaine inabag at the same time the line ‘she’sinthe classA Team’ is
sungand is a clearcorrelationbetweenlyricsandnarrative whichamplifiesthe subtle linktoher
addiction. Furthermore,thislinkisextendedbetween musicandvisuals,asthe songiscut intime
withthe beatand thisleadsto a smootheditwhichdemonstratesthe slow decline sufferedbyAngel

4. due to heraddiction.
Thismusicvideoencapsulatesthe extentatwhichnarrative techniquescanbe adoptedtocreate an
emotive response fromthe audience withacohesive combinationbetweenmusicandvideocan
create a deepresponse betweenaudience andperformer.