Current Music Video Analysis

Castle On The Hill - Ed Sheeran

• Non-linear passage of time

The video cuts back and forth between the present day Ed Sheeran and his apparent younger self. The cutting between the two time periods is without an obvious visual cue beforehand, which makes this structure common to music videos rather than a film, which would usually have a reason for a flashback rather than suddenly cutting back in time.

• Character singing the lyrics while in the video

Present-day Ed can be seen singing the lyrics to the song. This is a convention of a music video, as it is only in this medium that the audience would not question why this man is singing to himself in a secluded location. This can be done to emphasise especially important lyrics (e.g. "Take me back to when" as he says in the above GIF.)

• Visual content reflecting spoken lyrics

The line "Had my first kiss on a Friday night" is accompanied by a shot of the younger version of the character kissing somebody to reflect the statement and reinforce its signifcance.

• Strong contrasting settings & lighting

At one point, the music video shows an exciting and colourful party in the past, which is a totally different atmosphere compared to the foggy fields that present-day Ed Sheeran is walking through. This is also seen in the scene with a large bonfire, where the lighting is a high-key orange, in contrast to the low-key colour grading of the present-day scenes.

• Duration of shots changing according to pace of music

For the majority of the song, the character reminisces about the past, and the pace of the editing is relatively slow to accompany the feelings communicated by the song. When the pace of the song picks up later in the video, the speed at which it cuts to the next shot also increases to synchronise the visuals with the audio.