2. This shot shows a homeless girl waking up on a park bench. The central position
of the character suggests that she is the main character in the story. The trees in
this shot add to this as they seem to frame the character. Black and white effect
gives the impression that the narrative is sad and slow paced rather than happy
and upbeat.
3. This shot suggests that no one cares about the terrible situation that the character
is in(being homeless). Even though the character walks through the town with her
sleeping bag, everyone else carries on as usual regardless walking to work etc.
Again the character is central in the shot.
4. This shot is all about the artist’s star image. This is the only part of the video in
which Ed Sheeran is featured. The artist wants to be portrayed as a morally
good person, and so brings himself down to the same level as the homeless
girl to suggest that he doesn’t feel he is any better than her. The action which
takes place here consists of him buying a copy of ‘The Big Issue’ from her to
suggest that he cares and this could also persuade fans to do the same.
5. These shots feature text
which is linked to the
lyrics. The lyrics are: “it’s
too cold outside for
angels to fly”. This is
suggesting that she can’t
gain her full potential
while she doesn’t have a
home. By placing the girl
directly beneath the text
in the first shot, it is
made clear that the
reference to the ‘angel’ is
about her. The second
shot portrays part of the
message that Sheeran is
trying to send out, which
could be to help the
homeless improve their
lives.
6. This shot has the effect of fast motion. The shot is sped up and we see a large amount
of people simply pass by the character, none of them offering to help .The effect of
this shot is that we see that these people are simply left to fend for themselves and no
one cares enough to help them.
7. In this shot, the girl is applying mascara to make herself look more
attractive as she is about to become a prostitute, in order to make money
so that she can live. The effect of the grime in the corner of the mirror is
that it shows that even though she looks better, and she is about to make
money and hopefully be able to afford food and shelter, she is taking an
awful path and is still in a life-threatening situation. Life is far from perfect.
8. This shot sees car headlights shine light on the girl. This could be interpreted in a
number of ways. The girl could be seen in a positive light because she has tried to get
herself out of being homeless by getting an extremely undesirable job. However the
light could also be a reference to the angel lyric again as stereotypically angels glow.
9. The money is central in this shot which shows how important it is to the character.
The fact that she took the money before she began to take off the man’s clothes also
shows that the money is much more important to her than the love of the man. The
money is interestingly placed in the position of the man’s heart; this could show that
he has to buy love.
10. The girl has now been edited onto a sky background. This is a reference again to the
angel lyric, as in the narrative she took a drug overdose and died. The girl is placed
here to show that she has gone to heaven to live a better life. The smile shows that
she is now happier than she ever was when she was alive. The sun also sees the
death in a positive light.
