2. The scene then changes to a dark street where the camera pans
to show the girl alive as hides behind the wall portraying her as
invisible and alone. She also doesn't have wings however she is
wearing the same clothes which tells the viewer that this is the
night that she will die creating dramatic irony. The first words of
the song can be heard here which are “Give me love like her”
which suggests loneliness and jealousy.
The music video starts with the sound of faint sirens and a birds eye view of what appears to be
the murder scene of a girl with an arrow in her neck. She has white wings and is wearing worn
clothing. As the sirens slowly get louder voices can be heard on a radio and we see a wide shot of
a policeman. The camera follows him as he walks towards the victim then pans to show the scene
as the music begins.
As the lyrics continue to say “Cause lately I've been waking up
alone” we see a long wide shot of a couple which the girl appears
to be watching and the viewer understands that she wants love
like that girl showing a direct correlation between the lyrics and
the video and with Andrew Goodwin's point.
3. We are then shown a wide shot of the girl sat
cross-legged at the end of her mattress adding to
the dramatic irony the viewer feels as that is the
place she appears to die. Her blonde hair, pale
skin and white clothes show her to be very light
as well as the white sheet on her mattress around
her and the white light coming from the lamp,
however the light appears very small against the
darkened surroundings in her home which looks
like it is taking over. Here the darkness could be
representing her negative feelings of loneliness
and the small light that is left could represent her
hope which seems to be going out. The camera
then begins to zoom in on the girl which could
suggest that the camera is also part of the
darkness.
We then see a close up of the girl sat on a
mattress at what seems to be her home. The
stone walls and emptyness of the room give off a
lifeless feel and adds to the idea that she is lonely
as it suggests she doesn't have the comfort of her
home. Also a close shot of a black and white
picture of a man and woman kissing is shown
which reinforces what she doesn't have.
4. We see her slowly look down and the viewer really begins to feels
sympathy for her as they know that things aren't going to get better.
We see her look up and a point of view shot follows of two wooden
dolls that have been positioned embracing one another as the singer
says “I just want to hold you” again illustrating the lyrics of the songs
agreeing with Andrew Goodwin's theory. It could be suggested from
the shots of the craft tools earlier that the girl has created these dolls
and could have positioned them that way as a reminder of what she
doesn't have.
As the chorus starts we see close medium shots of the girl in some
sort of pain as she writhes around grabbing at her back. We then
see an extreme close up as she pulls a feather covered in blood
from her back.
We then see a wide shot of the girl sat
in a cafe. The shot is being taken from
outside the cafe looking in which could
suggest that even the viewer can't help
her. We are then shown a shot of craft
tools before another close up of the girl
on sat on her mattress.
5. We then see a blurred wide shot from over the girls shoulder. This
quickly comes into focus and the viewer sees that it is the singer Ed
Sheeran who is also sat alone on another table. His appears to feel
and act the same as the girl allowing the viewer to relate to him and his
song as he appears alone too.
The scene then changes to a close up of the girl as she appears to be crafting an arrow. We
then see a long wide shot of the girl sat on a small wooden box near an open window now
holding a wooden bow. We see a medium shot of her now holding the wooden dolls, however
we see her focus more on one of them placing the other on the table suggesting that she is
becoming more tolerant to being alone. We are then shown a close up of two girls walking
together. This changes to a high angle shot of them which seems to be a point of view shot
from the girl.
We then see blurred long shots of the girl now
with wings suggesting to the viewer that she
could be some sort of angel and adding to the
dramatic irony. We are then taken back to a
wide shot of the cafe where she appears to be
holding herself emphasising her loneliness as
the camera pans to show her wings.
6. We then see another close up shot of the girl holding the
two wooden dolls. As she brings the two dolls closer
together we see a wide shot of the boy in the tunnel talking
to the girl and a close shot of the two girls about to kiss.
The viewer now realises that the arrows make people fall
in love suggesting that the girl is cupid.
We then see alternating shots of two different stories. We see a
long wide shot of the girl walking alone down a tunnel and a wide
shot of the gril aiming her bow at the two girls as the camera
zooms in. We then see a blurred shot of her aiming her bow at a
boy in the tunnel with quite slow movements which could suggest
that she has little effort or hope left.
We first see a medium shot of an arrow hitting one of the two
girls which appears to then turn to mist and a long wide shot of
an arrow hitting the boy in the tunnel which also turns to mist as
he is passing a girl. The mist could suggest it has some sort of
magical quality and intrigues the viewer.
7. We then see a series of flashbacks showing the
couples she has made fall in love just before a
medium shot from behind her as she stands at the
edge of the building suggesting the series of
flashbacks could be what she is thinking of. We then
see the girl begin to lean forward and a close up
shows her expresionless face suggesting that her
loneliness has caused her to become suicidal.
The scene then changes to an extreme long shot of the girl standing outside an empty
building looking straight ahead portraying her as quite lifeless. As the chorus starts again she
continues to make people fall in love and we see a long shot of her standing in the same
tunnel she shot the boy. She appears to be standing where the girl had been reinforcing her
envy of her. We are then shown a long low angle shot of a building where the girl seems to
be standing on the top.
8. We then see a close up of her wing as a drop of water falls from
it which could portray her tears which fall on her wings rather
than her face which remains lifeless. We then see another over
the should long shot of a group of two boys and a girl. We see a
medium shot of them as one boy is hit with an arrow and falls in
love with the girl. We are then taken back to a shot of the girl
now only holding one of the wooden dolls while the other can be
seen thrown on the table suggesting she has given up. We then
see the camera pan the group as the second boy is also hit with
an arrow causing him to also fall in love with the same girl. This
could suggest that the girls motives have become more sinister
as she no longer cares and begins using her arrows for bad
such as ruining friendships and relationships instead of creating
them.
9. The girl is then shown moving quite coldly through the
crowd of people. As they dance around her they appear
happy increasing her envious feeling as she strokes the
tip of the arrow on different people in quite a threatening
way. Also the light that appeared around her at the
beginning of the video seems to have fully dimmed down
and her head is bowed hiding her face showing how the
character has developed throughout the song just as the
song develops into a more demanding tone with the
singer now shouting lyrics like “Give me love”.
The music then also appears to take a turn as
we see the girl walking slowly down a darkened
corridor portraying quite an empty feel
suggesting that she has lost hope. We can also
see a light flickering above her which could also
portray her hope going out.
We then see a menacing wide close up of her right hand
now holding an arrow like a knife while the outlines of
different people can be seen in the background and it is
suggested that these people are now in danger of her.
10. There is also a quick shot of her in a wide tunnel as she appears and disappears to
the beat in different areas along the tunnel conveying the idea that wherever she is
she is alone. We are then shown more of her stabbing and dancing as we begin to
see the consequences of her actions take place as the people around her begin to
fall in love.
We then see quick, cut to the beat shots alternating
between her stabbing people with the arrow and
close-ups of her dancing. Her eyes are closed and
she is moving slowly suggesting she is in a world of
her own and no one can stop her challenging the
theory's of both Andrew Goodwin and Laura Mulvey
who suggest that women are portrayed as sexual
objects.
11. The quick shots continue and a shot of the
girl running away from the camera is
shown going back to the idea that the
camera could be like the dark and she is
trying to escape it. We are then taken
back to the shot at the beginning of the girl
against the wall however this time it
appears to be rewinding. As the fast music
begins we are taken back to the close-up
of the girl and the arrow which she now
has the tip of against her neck suggesting
she is getting ready to kill herself.
We then see a medium shot of her falling
over the edge of the building from earlier
in the video and an extreme close-up shot
of her face and hands as she holds an
arrow close to her face. There is nothing in
the background here forcing all your
attention on her and the arrow.
The shots of the people then begin to
speed up with the music both of which
seem out of control symbolising the girl
herself showing a relationship between the
lyrics and video. We are then taken back
to the close up of her and the arrow as
she appears to be readying herself for
something as the arrow appears closer to
her face.
12. As the fast music slows the words “My, my, my, my, oh
give me love” repeat as the viewer is taken back to the
beginning of the music video to the policeman walking
into the girls home. This time the camera follows him
from behind alternating between the policeman and the
girl dancing on her own. We see him walk into the
room to stand above the girl's body. However, as the
song ends the arrow turns to mist and the girls eyes
open suggesting she isn't dead and a blurry shot of the
policeman from the girls point of view is the last in the
video. This suggest that the girl is now in love with the
policeman.
Throughout the video there are only two shots of the
singer therefore disagreeing with Andrew Goodwin's
point of there being many meat shots in a music video
however towards the end of the song the video cuts to
the beat accepting Andrew Goodwin's point of music
videos cutting to the beat of the song.
13. Throughout the video there are only two shots of the singer therefore disagreeing with Andrew
Goodwin's point of there being many meat shots in a music video however towards the end of the
song the video cuts to the beat accepting Andrew Goodwin's point of music videos cutting to the
beat of the song.
Laura Mulvey's theory of The Male Gaze is also challenged by this video is more about relating to
the singer and the main girl in an emotional way rather than a sexual way.
In my opinion I think this is a very effective music video as it gives a twwist to cupid and will relate
to most people. I also think that the image of the girl appearing to be dead at the very beginning
intrigues the viewer enough to make them want to watch the whole of the video and also enjoy
the video more when they realise she is still alive at the end.
