Ed Sheeran - The A Team (Official Music Video) OUT NOW!

Ed Sheeran is a new, rising artist and this is the video for his debut single. the genre of Ed Sheeran's music can be identified as folk soul.

This video has a black and white setting. As it is a slow-paced song, this is effective to set the mood. This effect would be useful in my own video as it would follow the codes and conventions of the genre of the song I have chosen. Also, the video features a lot of extreme close-up camera shots, I think this is effective because it emphasises the character's emotion and shows an intimate side to the narrative. In my video, I want to include some close-up shots and some extreme close-up shots as I believe it is a creative method of camera usage and would create a bond with the audience.
through the video there are close-ups of certain things that the character does. an example is of her walking down the street. The camera follows her feet as she walks, this creates a sense of distortion as this technique is not usually seen in videos. The scene where the people walking past her in the street are in fast-motion but the main character is still is effective. This technique focuses the audience's attention to the character and how she is out of place in society.
The beginning of the video is the end of the video, in that the video starts exactly how it ends, this breaks the usual convention of a narrative of having a beginning, middle and end in that order. This method of video is effective as it leves the viewer wondering how the situation at the beginning happened. It also immediately draws the viewer's attention to the narrative and what is being represented.
The establishing shot of the character laying on a park bench represents not only homelessness but also a low class urban society. The clothing in which the character is wearing represents homelessness and prostitution. Her ripped fishnet tights signify the stereotype of a prostitute or 'tart' and the rips indicate that she has been wearing them for a while. She also has a thick coat on and is holding a blanket, which suggests that she has been living outside.
at 1:37 there is a close-up shot of a sign saying 'improving the angel' this is significant as it suggests that the character is a good person but she needs help in her life in order to improve.
at 1:52 there is an establishing shot of the character sitting on the street, in the background there are shops. The shop on the right represents glamour and fashion and the shop on the left is a house showroom. Both of these shops create the view of the aspects of life which the character lacks and the fact that she is sat in between the two shops outside creates a distinguishing contrast between her situation and what she doesn't have.
The video represents many typical problems in society such as: Drug Abuse, Prostitution, homelessness and poverty. As the target audience is young people approximately aged between 16 - 25, these problems being represented are most common within this age group of people. This means that the video effectively raises awareness of these problems and puts them into their negative perspective for the viewer.