Devlin and Ed Sheeran are on the run from armed police in the music video for "The Watchtower". The video tells the story of Devlin saying goodbye to his family as police arrive at his house, then meeting up with Ed Sheeran to escape in their car. As they drive away, Ed is revealed to be seriously injured and dies in the car. The video uses a variety of shots and editing techniques to build tension and tell the story through visuals rather than showing the artists singing.

1. THE WATCHTOWER
Devlin ft Ed Sheeran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfAIgkd8Yjo

2. • the main chorus line from Bob Dylan's 'All Around the Watchtower' is in the track as
well as sampling the main riff from one of the best-known covers of the track by Jimi
Hendrix.
• Ed sheeran and Devlin play two criminals on the run from armed police in the video,
with Sheeran collapsing with serious blood loss towards the end of the clip.
• Jaime Winstone, Neil Maskell, former East Enders actress Tilly Vosburgh and George
Russo also appear in the video.

3. Storyline
• The music video for this song has strong resemblance to a trailer of a new film. It starts the same
way with introducing the main characters names on the screen and the title of the song. This is a
way of keeping the audience interested and its different from normal music videos so therefore
grabs more attention.
• the song is all about Devlin pretending he is on a watchtower and looking back over his life realising
the good and bad things he has done. He says in an interview that it’s a song to reflect on things
and his progression in life and showing his relationship with his family.
• The music video is basically a short film as it involves diegetic and non diegetic sound but you never
see any of the main characters singing their parts so for people who do not know the artists it is
unknown who is singing which part as no performance is involved. This is quite strange for a music
video as many include clips of the artist dancing or singing to help publicise themselves.
• The video tells a story which isn't very clear to begin with but as the song goes on, the words and
story fit together to set an idea of what is going on. Devlin the main character has done something
wrong and his girlfriend has been taken by the police. When she reveals she knows what the mask
is, the police seem to know that devlin is guilty for whatever has happened and they go to his house.
by this point Devlin has already realised what's going to happen and has said his goodbyes to his
family and left the house out the back where he gets into Ed Sheeran’s car and they drive off. Then
we get shown what's happening inside the house as the police search for Devlin and his family are
being questioned angrily by the police. It also shows devlins little sister take the box that devlin gave
to his mother before he left and she hides it from the police signifying that something important is
contained inside. As Devlin drives away it shows him switching places in the car with Ed as he has
an open wound and as they drive into the distance Ed dies in the car as they go off into the
distance.

4. Representations
• Devlin is the main artist in the song and in the music video. In the music video he is represented as
someone that has done something wrong as he just seems to be running away the whole time. He also
seems to have a close relationship with his family taking care to say goodbye to them when he is in a
rush running away from the police. When he picks up his little sister and walks into the room with her
on his back it shows the relationship that they have with each other and how she trusts him. Devlin also
seems to act reasonably calm at the beginning of the video even though he's in trouble. Devlin and his
mum both get upset showing they also had a strong relationship and obviously he is leaving for a long
period of time. Once Devlin has left and in the car with Ed he looks relieved and exhausted from
running from the police. His and eds relationship as friends also becomes clear as Devlin gets so
worried and angry and upset when he realises that Ed is bleeding to death. In the music video devlin is
just represented as a normal middle class young man in normal clothing and the only jewellery worn is
a watch, this makes it more realistic and more of the audience are able to relate to him as an artist as
they feel he is similar to them.

5. • Ed Sheeran is also an important part of the song and video. He sings the chorus of the song and
in the video plays Devlin’s partner in whatever has happened as he is waiting for Devlin helping
him to escape. He also seems to have been shot in the stomach which shows that something
dangerous had previously happened to both of them which is probably something to do with the
mask that is spoken about at the beginning and then is later shown in the back of ed’s car. Ed
doesn’t have an dialogue throughout the whole video unlike Devlin which shows he doesn’t play
as big as a part as Devlin does. He is also dressed in normal plain clothes being represented as
a normal regular person and not a celebrity just like Devlin. This could be because they want the
audience to be able to feel like they can relate to them and as if they are normal people in
society.
• The police are represented in this video as really aggressive and angry especially with the family.
The girl which could possibly be Devlin’s girlfriend in the car with her hands tied up in the
beginning is also shown to be treated badly by the police. The man was shouting at her and
swearing at her whilst her hands were tied up. also when the police entered the house they
immediately held a gun to Devlin’s brother and didn’t seem to care that the little girl was around.
This shows that clearly something extremely bad happened before all of this which is why the
police want Devlin and do not care about the way they treat his family as they are so desperate to
catch him. This helps to create a sense of fear in the video as we are watching Devlin run away
from the police and the police are being represented as more threatening than normal.

6. Camera Work
• At the beginning of the video the camera isn't focus and slowly focuses as dialogue begins. the camera
is focusing on flowers and an ant in the middle climbing around as the title appears. This gives a
relaxing and peaceful feel to the beginning of the song although it’s the opposite to that.
• As the police officer and the girl talk in the car the camera switches from a close up shot of the picture
he is holding to her face as she replies to what he is saying. Then a montage of clips are shown such as
nearby girls playing in the garden, the car that Ed Sheeran is sitting in and then a shot of Ed looking into
the car mirror. i think the shot of him looking into the car mirror shows that he is conscious and aware of
what is going on around him as he's looking to see what is there.
• a long shot is used to show the surroundings of the car where we can see it is a nice clear blue sky and
Ed is parked outside a house. a close up shot is used of ed in the car from outside the car as the
camera then follows his hand as he goes to take out a polo mint and put it in his mouth. Just before
Devlin starts singing there is a loud beat as the camera suddenly flashes to the mask that was shown
earlier on in a photo and then goes straight to a long shot of devlin emptying things in what seems to be
his garage. Then a montage of long and mid and close up shots are used as devlin searches frantically
for the box. Over the shoulder shots are used when him and his sister are in conversation to show the
other characters reaction to what is being said.

7. • As devlin says goodbye to his brother, close up shots are used to show the emotion and to emphasize
that Devlin is leaving. When the police officer and devlins girlfriend are in the car close up shots are also
used to emphasize the fact that she is crying and upset and he is very angry with her which can be seen
by his facial expressions.
• As the police officer in the car informs the police of something on the radio, the camera shows a montage
of close up shots of the police and their weapons such as a close up shot of the gun which then moves to
the tool that they used to push down his door. This helps to show the audience what is about to happen
and causes tension and the need to carry on watching what is going on.
• Devlin says goodbye to his mother and they are having a conversation but we never get to see what
devlin says for majority of it because of the way it is shot. The camera is either too far away or something
is blocking the mouth in the close-up shots to avoid the audience knowing what is fully happening, a long
shot is then shown of devlin’s house and the camera zooms in slightly until it then changes back to a mid
shot of the girl looking worriedly out the window as she obviously knows what is about to happen. She
also looks up as the shot changes to a mid shot of a helicopter flying above the house which is obviously
the police again which the camera follows for a few seconds as it travels to show that its moving nearer to
the house creating more tension.

8. • After devlin is shown saying goodbye to his mother again, a mid shot is used to show ed
Sheeran in the car through the gap in the window. His expression changes to show he is in
pain and as he looks down at his stomach the camera follows where he is looking and the
audience are shown his wounded stomach as his t-shirt is covered in blood. As he closes
his jacket over the wound to show he is hiding it and pretending it isn’t there, the camera
then follows back up to his face as it focuses on his face showing his anxious and in pain
expression.
• The camera shows an unfocused close-up of the window mirror in eds car and the camera
focuses as a big black van comes towards eds car. The moment he see’s it the camera
switches back to him showing him start up the car in an urgency and then it follows the
back of the car as it drives off. Devlin hears the car as well as the helicopter above his
house and realises he has to leave as a close up of his face as shown as he suddenly
looks out the window realising that he has to run.
• The black van is shown getting closer to his house and the girls that were playing outside
in the beginning are shown again and as the black van passes they show and interest in it
and stop what they are doing signifying danger again as the audience can see that this is
stopping the girls from what they are doing as it looks suspicious to them.

9. • As devlin is shown running out of his house down the back garden the camera follows
him and it looks like a point of view shot as the camera is also moving as if it is running
like devlin. It then shows devlin noticing his girlfriend in the car outside his house and
he runs over to it. It is not shown at this point what devlin did and it suggests that he
untied her and brought her with them when actually later on in the video it is clear that
he didn’t bring her with them. This could mean that there possibly wasn’t a relationship
going on between them anymore or there were some complications but it is not clear to
the audience who the woman is.
• The police car is shown stopping outside devlin’s house and then it suddenly switches
and eds car can be seen stopping round the back of devlin’s house. this automatically
suggests that devlin is going to run from the back to eds car as the police enter his
house to try and catch him.
• A montage of shots is shown of the police and then devlin's mum as he leaves and she
put the box down that he gave her. an inside shot of the door is shown just as the
police man begins to break it down. It then switches to the outside so we can see the
police man doing it from the other side.
• The camera follows the front of the car when ed and devlin are driving away and the
reflection can be seen on the window so there figures can vaguely be seen underneath
which helps to represent the fact that they are actually hiding and running away.

10. • As the police officer comes into the little girls room and looks at her his attitude
changed from angry and shouting to being quiet with a straight face. The camera
does a close up shot of him and then it moves left to show the mirror. When the
camera then focuses the little girl can be seen in the mirror curled up as if she's
scared and wary of the man especially as a close up shot of her is then used where
you can see that she has been crying.
• As it gets to the end of the song a mid shot is used to follow devlin and ed in the car.
They have switched places and now devlin is driving since he realised that ed is
bleeding. The camera then shows a closer shot of eds wounded stomach and shows
his hand drop as if he is dying. It then shows devlin's reaction as he is driving and
gets scared straight away and keeps shaking ed. A long shot is then used at the end
of the film as the car drives off and slowly comes into focus. We also get shown that
there is lightning in the background which helps to emphasize the mood of the song
as it finishes.

11. Editing and Audio
• As the police break down the front door to Devlin’s house, the tone of music changes
and the beat is slower. This makes the moment feel tense as when devlin runs away
the song relaxes even though its showing the police shouting at his family and
holding guns to his brother. Some of the shots of the police in the house are in slow
motion then turn back to normal speed straight away. It creates an affect of making
the build-up to something longer than it should be and then everything goes fast
again and the panic is released.
• All of the lighting in the video looks like natural lighting as natural shadows and light
entering through windows can be seen. As a whole the video is reasonably low lit to
help accompany the genre of the song.
• The main editing in this video is when the camera changes focus, it seems to do it
frequently even in the same shot so that the focus from one person changes to
another. This helps to draw attention to everything going on in the clip as it changes
focus.
• Another editing technique used in this video is zoom. In some parts of clips the
camera zooms in towards a particular object or person to emphasize that they are
there and to show the importance. For example when we are shown the mask on the
back seat of ed’s car, the camera zooms in so that more detail can be seen and to
show that it has significance.
• As the front door gets opened by police the intensity of the song changes and the
music underneath devlin's voice changes. the music is calmer and softer just as the
video gets tenser. This helps the audience feel sympathy for the family as they can
see them being questioned by the police and a lot of shouting and anger but the
music is a lot lighter.
• Throughout the music video the camera looks as if its been hand held for some of it
so that it’s a point of view shot from someone which helps the audience to see what
going on.