Ed Sheeran - Small Bump Analysis

For our Preliminary Task we were put into groups and given the task of re-creating the opening minute of a music video shot for shot. We chose to re-create the opening minute of Ed Sheeran's Small Bump, we decided we would create up to 1:03 seconds of the video as It was a good place to end the video both lyrically and shot wise. I decided I would analyse create a post about the opening minute of the video:

Ed Sheeran was born 17th February 1991 and is a indie singer songwriter.  Therefore the genre of this  video is both indie and that of singer songwriter. Throughout the duration of the video there is only a total of five shots. We will be re-creating all five of these. The video starts with a four shot montage of a hospital ward, including close ups of a clock, empty hospital bed and medical waste bin as well as a close up shot through a window of an x-ray projection. These shots are used to set the scene of the video, they also help set the tone, the song is about a miscarriage and therefore is something very serious and personal to be singing about. The cutting rate is quick during the opening four shots, this could be linked to the seriousness of the video and by quickly showing the audience that the video is set in a hospital it portrays the severity effectively. The fifth shot which is seen during the remainder of the opening minute and the rest of video is a moving shot of Ed sitting in a hospital waiting room tracking him as he sings the lyrics to the video, this gives the audience the impression he is waiting for some news or waiting to be seen himself. The Mise en Scene displayed within the video is very simple and portrays great realism, Ed can be seen wearing a hoodie, jeans and trainers an average set of clothes for someone his age, he's facial expressions are full or meaning and concern reinforcing the realism within the video for example he is not seen wearing expensive clothing or smiling. He is also seen with a beard and his trademark scruffy ginger hair, this gives the impression he may be stressed or anxious Other patients can be seen in the background of the video that are also wearing simple clothing and are also portrayed as looking anxious, there is also a doctor who is seen wearing a stereotypical doctors uniform, again enforcing severity and realism. The lighting also helps reinforce the realism with video, the lighting is high key and represents the type lighting that you would expect to see in a hospital waiting room. Ed can be seen singing every lyric during the opening minute however as the camera gets closer to him there is more emphasis on the lyrics "I'll give you nothing but truth" and "I'll put my future in you" these lyrics are quite personal and create the impression of great meaning within the video. 

By analysing the opening minute in which I will have to re-create with my group I now have a much better understanding of the concept of the video. I now know the type of shots, the mise en scene, the lyrics and as well lighting and location. This will be extremely helpful when it comes to re-creating the opening minute shot for shot.