Analysis of “Drunk” by Ed Sheeran

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2fOum_KWQU

Aamna

Technical areas #1 - Camera Work (part 1)

The close up of the cat used when the writing of “pass that beer over” is shown (superimposition) adds a humours feel to the music video because the idea of a cat drinking alcohol will amuse the target audience. This makes the video down to earth as some music videos try and add too many things into it to make it appealing but this has a simple technique which can entertain the audience.

In this part of the music video, a point of view shot is used when Ed Sheeran is looking at the text he has received. This will help the target audience to understand what has happened (his girlfriend has broken up with him). This will then allow them to easily figure out why he is getting drunk.

Camera Work (part 2)

This two shot is used after the man on the left takes a picture of Ed Sheeran drinking. This could be interpreted (by the target audience) as aspects of celebrity life. This is because when you are a celebrity there are generally cameras everywhere (paparazzi) therefore that could be the connotation to this scene.

Sound The type of Sound used in this music video is diegetic sound. That is the type of sound used throughout the music video, however, at the beginning and end of the music video no sound is used and just action is shown. This type of song is classed as indie pop and folk rock and is a type of song which people would love to dance to. Also, the video is fun and uses humour which makes the song more appealing. Ed Sheeran also uses illustration in his video because when his lyrics state that he wants to “get drunk again” it shows him getting drunk. Amplification is also used when he sings the words “all by myself” he is shown to be on a bed by himself but his ex girlfriend is still going through his mind. There is use of Intertexuality as a lego house made in the shape of a love heart is broken. This represents and would remind the audience of Ed Sheeran’s other song, “Lego House”. (illustration, amplification and intertexuality are some of the features stated in Andrew Goodwin’s theory)

Technical Area #2 – Editing (part 1)

One of the types of Editing used in the video is a graphic match because on the picture on the left hand side, the girl is shown to be throwing water which then cuts to Ed Sheeran (on the right) with water getting thrown at him. The effect of this is that it allows the audience to know that there is a link between the two shots.

Editing (part 2)

In this part of the music video, the cat playing on the controller has been sped up a little bit using editing. This again adds a humours effect to the music video and help the target audience to construct a narrative and understand that he is so drunk that he is hallucinating.

Another type of Editing technique used is an eyeline match. This shows Ed looking at a glass of beer which lets the audience know that his drinking amount is increasing. This makes him more relatable to teenagers as they may remember their own experiences.

Technical Area #3 - Mise En Scene (part 1)One of the types of mise en scene used is the guitar. This shows that although the focus of the video is Ed Sheeran getting drunk, it still shows him playing his guitar. This shows how much he loves music and cares about it which makes him a passionate artist.

The guitars here also emphasizes the point above.

Mise En Scene (part 2)

Another one of the types of mise en scene used is Ed Sheeran’s casual clothes and the game controller in his hand. This makes Ed look like a typical teenage boy and lets the audience know that he does not take himself seriously. In other videos other artists may have leather jackets on and be in posh bars but in this video, the bar is in a home and he is not represented as living a rock star life. This will make the target audience relate to him as they will feel just like him. That is one of the ways he is represented as an artist: being relatable.

Mise En Scene (part 3)

Another type of mise en scene used is the photographs on the wall. This shows pictures of Ed Sheeran’s relationship. The recurring theme in this video is that he is portrayed as being relatable and down to earth because these pictures show a normal relationship and are pictures that every teenage couple would take.

Target Audience

The target audience of this video is mostly teenagers as it shows Ed getting drunk and having a party which is what teenagers mostly do. This is how the narrative of the storyline relates to the music video (because it represents teenage problems) however, the target audience is also people who like his genre of music (acoustic, folk, grime). This particular song can be classed as indie pop and folk rock therefore this target audience can also be people who like indie music.

Narrative

The narrative of this video is that Ed has just been dumped by a girl who he really liked, by a text message. He is hurt and upset because of that so he tries to get drunk in order to make him feel better and to forget about his problems. During this he hallucinates as his cat is “talking” to him. The video basically shows the process of him trying to feel better by using alcohol.

Representation

In this video, Ed Sheeran has been represented as a normal teenager. This is because he is getting drunk in the music video because of a problem he is having with his girlfriend. He has just broken up with her and many people tend to use alcohol as a way to try and make them feel better which is what Ed is trying to do therefore he is shown to be relatable. The other ways that he is shown to be relatable is the pictures on the wall at the beginning of the video. The way that he is dressed (casual clothes) show that he is down to earth and does not take himself seriously. This type of a clothing is a recurring theme in his music videos. At some points of the video, he also has his guitar with him and decides to play it. This shows that although the main focus of the video is him getting drunk and trying to forget about a relationship, he still cares about his music.

What we have learnt from this video

From this video, not only have we learnt the conventions of an indie genre music video (such as guitars, performances, darker colours and some uncommon conventions which Ed has used such as humour) but we have also learnt different types of techniques we can use in our music video such as superimposition to create humour, a graphic match to create links, and speeding up certain bits to also create humour.

We have learnt how to represent an artist to be relatable by using mise en scene techniques such as pictures on the wall and the type of clothing used (everyday clothing such as jeans and a jumper rather than fancy clothing). Additionally, In order to convey passion in our video, there can be emphasis on instruments such as guitars.

The things that we have learnt from this video are the ways in which Ed appeals to his target audience and those are the factors that we can also use (conventions of an indie genre, relatability and editing techniques) to appeal to our target audience.