Ed Sheeran - The A team
First off the whole of the A team by Ed Sheeran is shot in black and white throughout,this gives the video a more 'gritty' feel given what the song is about. the black and white also brings out the features of the main characters face as well, for instance; the dark rings under her eyes are seen better using a black and white filter rather than colour because it exaggerates on the dark colour and has a better effect on the viewer.
The video starts and two females can be seen,one standing over the other as she lays down. The woman standing up can be seen clutching her face and crying from a mid shot, the camera then pans down to a birds eye view to show the other female's face. This female is the main character and she appears to be dead with her eyes wide open, she appears to be spaced out; or was and this is then confirmed when the camera begins to blur out on the close up of her face.
The screen goes black and the next image you see is that of the main character waking up on a park bench,this is done using a long shot so that it is made obvious to the viewer that the main character is homeless or at the very least in a bad position. This scene is also shot during the Autumn time as you can see all the leaves from the trees on the floor, you are able to see the trees in the background and the bareness of them adds to the lonely and dark atmosphere of this particular shot.
The character sits up with a duvet wrapped around her and as she stands up you can see that she is dressed inappropriatley for the weather and time of the day,she is wearing tiny shorts and tights with holes in,all still shot in long shot to gain the full effect. The next shot of her is under the trees,she can be seen wondering through,holding the branches as she passes and looking at them with an expression of wonder,she then looks up to the sky and begins to spin. The shot has changed to a mid shot so that the viewer can focus on her facial expressions more rather than her wardrobe or surroundings. The importance of the mid shot is that the director wants you to see that the character is on some sort of high from using the drugs,the only way he can translate this without showing substance abuse is to show the viewer the character's face and the effects they have on the body eg: wide eyes.
The camera goes from a mid shot to long shot as she walks through the park, once she has reached the top of the hill in the park the camera goes back to a mid shot to show the look of contentment on her face. The next shot is from behind the woman and is low angle,she then stretches out her arms in front of the sun. This part of the video communicates to the viewer what the effects of drugs are,for a woman that has woken up on a park she seems rather content and relaxed. The character also seems to be taking in her natural surroundings and appreciating how beautiful they are which is irony seeing as we already know she has died from an overdose.
In the next sequence you see a range of camera angles and shots including low angle,close up, long shot and mid shot as she walks through the town center. The woman still looks spaced out from the drugs,she is still wearing the same clothes and the day turns to night. At this point in the video you can see that the sky is dark and the character is standing outside a London underground station trying to sell the big issue to passers by. These people all seem to be ignoring her but she smiles politely and seems reserved. This is done in mid shot to show everyone passing her by and ignoring her but also seeing her reaction to these people.
You begin to see the desperation in her eyes as more and more members of the public walk past her without buying the big issue. The camera changes to a long shot,she is sitting on the ledge of a shop window outside and she appears to be slumped as if telling everyone she has given up. At this moment in time you see a male approach her, as it is long shot and eye level with the main character the first you se of the males are his legs.
The male stops to talk to her whilst the camera remains at a long shot and eye level,this allows for other people in the shot to walk in front of the camera which ultimately makes the viewer feel as though they are there watching the scene unfold in person. Up until now everything has been natural lighting but seeing as it has now changed to late evening the lighting from the shops and street lights are now being used. It also makes the main character stand out as she is surrounded by light,possibly a sign of foreshadowing.
As this was the song and music video that made Ed Sheeran mainstream not many people knew what he looked like and so viewers were unaware that the man that appears in the video and buys the big issue from the female character was infact Ed Sheeran,this then became a trademark of sorts that Ed would make appearances in his videos rather than be the focus point.
The video continues with the female walking past a flower stall,the significance of the flowers is that they are delicate; much like the main character. She seems to have an appreciation for all things nature related in this video.Panning is used to film a sign that says 'improving the angel' this obviously relates to the lyrics of the song 'It's too cold outside for angels to fly' and again,it is obvious that the location of the video was Angel Islington in London.
The blur effect is used again as the character comes into view and as it focuses you can see a close up of her face. The dark circles around her eyes are more apparent now possibly because the effect of the drugs have worn off and her real reality is kicking in. It cuts to a mid shot and the camera is behind her,she is standing still on a traffic island watching cars pass but the cars have been sped up making it feel as though the world is passing her by. The same occurrs again in the shot after however she is now sitting on the floor wrapped in her duvet and a long shot is used. The camera is at eye level and the people walking past have been sped up in the same way the cars were. Although the music is slow these effects work well because the main character is still and it makes the viewer sympathise with her. At this point she is back outside the shop window and you can see the displays of clothes on the manachins behind her. This contrasts with her wealth because she is struggling to make money and she is surrounded by all the things that she cannot afford.
Another close up shot is used when the main character begins to run her fingers through her hair in distress and starts to cry, all things that make the viewer relate and pity the character. The video cuts to her standing in a bathroom mirror wearing a vest with lace on and her hair down,she is playing with her hair and trying to improve her appearance in any way possible which tells the viewer that something is about to happen. A high angled mirror shot is used so you can see what she is wearing as well as her face.
The video is cut again and from a long shot behind the charcter in the dark you can see a car pulling up towards her as she stands outside in a deserted area, you are immediatley aware that this is not someone she knows as she seems to take a deep breath as she walks towards the vehicle. Her coat comes off as she bends down to the man driving the car,the shot now turns to from inside the car looking out at the woman; almost as if the viewer is now in the drivers position and the with woman bent down at the window you can see her cleavage. The woman motions the driver,nods her head and steps into the car. A long shot is used as the car drives off. When the car drives off a train pulls up behind it the artificial lighting of the train is the only thing keeping the area lit up,it also stresses the point that while life may be hard for the main character, life still goes on and everyone else around her is carrying on with their normal lives unaware of how hard her life may be.
A long shot is used to show the man and woman walking down what appears to be an upmarket hotel,this again is confirmed when a mid shot is used to show them walking into the room. At first the main character appears to be happy or amused,probably because it is the first time she has seen the inside of a high end hotel such as the one in the video.The man's face cannot be seen as he throws his tie around the female's neck,this shows dominance and each of their positions in society. The man is wearing all black and the female wears white to show that the man is the one that is corrupt,he is the villain and the woman is the victim;not only in this scenario but a victim to society in general.
There is a close up and the woman has her arms around the mans torso on the bed,she reaches for his pocket and pulls out a handful of notes and then opens his shirt,the next scenes are close ups of them in bed,the man runs his hand over her legs which are covered in ripped fishnets. When it is over she turns to the man in the bed beside her with a look of disgust,rolls back over and begins to cry finally realising what she has just done. Close ups are used at this point to communicate the female's raw emotion to the viewer.
Another cut shows us the exchange of drugs in a close up shot,the viewer witneses how quick an exchange is and how smooth it is so that no one really ever see's it happening. The main character makes her way to a flat and as she reaches the door she takes out a set of keys and starts to fumble with them trying to find the right key,when she does find it you can see her hand shaking and she looks around before she goes in to make sure no one is looking. A mid shot is used for this because the viewer needs to be able to see the effects the drugs have on her body,the withdrawal symptoms mean that she cannot function properly when she is sober and will do anything to find the money she needs in order to pay for her high.
Close ups are then used to show her preparing the drugs,lighting candles to heat them up and a look of concentration on her face once again stresses her desperation. The close ups continue when you see her smoking the drugs from a pipe and then facing the window as she relaxes from the high,an over the shoulder shot at an angle is used to show her facial expressions but also as she falls back on to the bed the camera does not have to move with her.
The video ends with a close up of her face lying back on the bed and then the shot is cut again to a skyline view of what is to be assumed the area in which she lives,it is the scene of a clear blue sky with the sun shining bright and the tops of houses and chimneys can be seen. On to this view an image of the main female character has been edited in,the very last shot is the main character's vision in the sky turning to face the sun and smiling. This indicates to the viewer that she is now dead but happier than she was when she was living and having seen the video you feel empathy and can understand why.
Overall the video is hard hitting and you can see that a huge budget was not used on it, it is simple and effective because of the message it conveys. There are few music videos that lay out a story that is such a sensitive subject in such a blunt way. For instance, the substance abuse is included in the video and also how she manages to source the money for the drugs. It is a sad but very true narrative that a lot of people can relate to which is what makes this video a successful one. The music video for the song was shot and edited by Ruskin Kyle.
