Product Research Amy Brackenridge Music Video Analysis: Devlin ft. Ed Sheeran ‘Watchtower’ The music video for Devlin’s 2012 single, ‘Watchtower’, which features the mainstream artist Ed Sheeran is a narrative music video. The song acts as a sort of backing track to a story which follows Devlin’s character as he is saying goodbye to his family and running from the police, along with Ed Sheeran’s character, who we later find out has been shot. The video has an enigmatic narrative, as certain pieces of information are omitted in order for the audience to fill in (e.g. we do not know why the two lead characters are on the run from the police). This is defined by narrative theorist Roland Barthes as the ‘enigma code’; which is a highly conventional narrative style for music videos. The video breaks narrative conventions slightly as it does not follow Todorov’s theory of the stages of equilibrium. The video begins towards the end of what would be considered a conventional narrative, at Stage 4 of Todorov’s 5 part structure, as the characters are attempting to repair the previous disruption which the audience does not see. In terms of the characters involved in this music video the main character is portrayed by the songs artist, Devlin, alongside Ed Sheeran who plays a more minor role, something we would expect of an artist who only features slightly in a song. Devlin is playing an experienced criminal who is on the run from the police and is saying goodbye to his family before escaping with Ed Sheeran’s character, all of which is made clear in the opening sequence of the video. It could be argued that these two characters act as ‘anti hero’s’ as the narrative follows their story and we are made to feel sympathetic towards them. This is shown in particular when Devlin’s character is making sure his younger sister is okay, which shows he cares about her
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Product ResearchAmy Brackenridge
Music Video Analysis: Devlin ft. Ed Sheeran ‘Watchtower’
The music video for Devlin’s 2012 single, ‘Watchtower’, which features the mainstream artist Ed Sheeran is a narrative music video. The song acts as a sort of backing track to a story which follows Devlin’s character as he is saying goodbye to his family and running from the police, along with Ed Sheeran’s character, who we later find out has been shot. The video has an enigmatic narrative, as certain pieces of information are omitted in order for the audience to fill in (e.g. we do not know why the two lead characters are on the run from the police). This is defined by narrative theorist Roland Barthes as the ‘enigma code’; which is a highly conventional narrative style for music videos. The video breaks narrative conventions slightly as it does not follow Todorov’s theory of the stages of equilibrium. The video begins towards the end of what would be considered a conventional narrative, at Stage 4 of Todorov’s 5 part structure, as the characters are attempting to repair the previous disruption which the audience does not see.
In terms of the characters involved in this music video the main character is portrayed by the songs artist, Devlin, alongside Ed Sheeran who plays a more minor role, something we would expect of an artist who only features slightly in a song. Devlin is playing an experienced criminal who is on the run from the police and is saying goodbye to his family before escaping with Ed Sheeran’s character, all of which is made clear in the opening sequence of the video. It could be argued that these two characters act as ‘anti hero’s’ as the narrative follows their story and we are made to feel sympathetic towards them. This is shown in particular when Devlin’s character is making sure his younger sister is okay, which shows he cares about her and further emphasized when he runs to the police car to say goodbye to the female character we assume to be his love interest.
Another key set of characters involved in the video are the police force, in particular the detective who is leading the investigation. This particular detective is shown throughout the video in quite a negative light, through the aggressive ways he speaks to the female character in the car and later the main character mother. The police force is shown to be overly violent during the raid of the house, especially
Product ResearchAmy Brackenridge
when they assault the lead character farther to get information out of him. All of which creates quite a negative representation of the police force and possible suggests they are the villain’s of the video. This is quite an unusual character representation, as we would expect the criminals to be represented in a far more negative way than the police force. Furthermore, the two sets of characters, Devlin and Sheeran’s and the police force, represent the difference between good and evil which complies with Levi Strauss’ theory of opposition.
Iconography is used throughout this music video in order to help tell the story and make certain aspects of the narrative clearer to the audience. For example at the start of the video there is a close up shot of the main character packing a bag, which has a passport in it, which instantly suggests he plans on running away. Also, there is a close up shot of a mask in their car; this further suggests they are the ones who committed the crime. Therefore iconography is used to reinforce the fact that the main characters are criminals on the run from the police.
The setting of this music video is fairly basic, with the entire video taking place on a typical suburban estate in Britain. In some ways this is unusual, as in other music videos I have analysed, such as Beyone’s ‘Run the World’ video there a wide range of settings. However, the basic setting fits well with the narrative, as it takes place in real time which adds to the drama of the video. The peaceful setting of the estate, as highlighted by the establishing shot of two girls playing swing ball is interrupted when the police vans enter. This creates an effective contrast.
In terms of cinematography, at the beginning of the video a high frequency of establishing shots are used, for example the shots of the car waiting outside the house and the detective in the car with the female character. These establishing shots are helpful in making the narrative of the video clear to the audience. Furthermore, this video breaks conventions as diegetic sound is used alongside the music, for example when the detective is questioning the female character. This is highly effective as it helps add to the drama of the music video and gives it quite a unique style.
Product ResearchAmy Brackenridge
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