‘Give Me Love’ music video analysis

Give me love analysis • This music video follows a very strong narrative where the female protagonist is

portrayed as the angel, Cupid, and is giving love to whoever she meets. At the start, we are given the impression that she has taken her own life and as the song progresses the audience is visually told her story which may have influenced her decision. We learn that she is able to give love to people, but cannot receive it in return no matter how much she desires it. However just as the song finishes, the protagonist completes her own mission by finally finding a potential partner with the police officer investigating her failed suicide.

• The video does not feature a performance element like in other Ed Sheeran videos such as ‘Sing’, but decides to attract the audience by using a different approach. Instead it focuses on the emotional side of the lyrics and features an intense storyline to create enigma. This is a very common technique used for Indie/folk music videos as it can be created on a low budget whilst still being effective at enticing the audience to watch.

Camera: Close Ups

Close up shots are used effectively at the start of the video. This introduces the audience to

the character of Cupid and allows us to feel her loneliness and confusion as she conforms to

her destiny. There is a greater use of close-ups on this protagonist as she replaces the artist

and becomes the main star.

Camera: Mid-shot

There is a great use of mid-shots used throughout the video. This has been done so the audience can understand Cupid’s struggle to find love. She appears in most mid-shots, however she is rarely centre of the frame. This suggests that she is feeling lonely and is missing out on pursuing a relationship as there is plenty of deliberate empty space around her. The only character that appears to feature in the middle of the frame is the police officer who the audience can identify as the ‘hero’. This refers to Propp’s Narrative theory.

Camera: Longshots

Longshots serve the same purpose as the mid-shots do in this video. It displays to the audience how Cupid is feeling despite her job of giving love. The longer the shot is and the bigger the empty space is surrounding her, the more the

audience can see how isolated she feels from love.

Edit • The transitions used are all straight cuts which tells the music video as story/film.

• The shots have been edited together in chronological order to narrate a story.

• There is a slight use of visual effects. When Cupid fires her arrow there has been an effected added to make it look ‘magical’.

• The editing is very effective throughout as it makes the whole video look very professional and feel as if it is a mini film.

Sound • Ed Sheeran is famous for his indie/folk music. Although this genre is not

mainstream music and struggles to succeed in the charts, Ed has broken countless of records and has given opportunities to up coming indie/folk artists. • The song itself features Ed playing his guitar. This is a stereotypical

convention in this genre as the music is all made by the artist therefore showing his talent of song writing and musical ability. • The lyrics suggests that the persona is ‘lonely’ and is asking for love. This is

reflected in the music video as Cupid can give love, but cannot receive it. These types of lyrics are common in Indie/Folk music video as they tell a story of the artists’ experience which usually relates to the listener.

Mise-en-scene

The mise-en-scene is very important in this music video. It helps the audience identity the different characters as well as enable them to understand the narrative. For example, Cupid is seen wearing angel wings and carries around a bow and arrow. This establishes the character to the audience and gives her a purpose in the music video. If she was not wearing these accessories then the audience may find it difficult to identify her role in relation to the storyline.