Camilla Smith's Non Verbal Communication Research: 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You'

By watching Ed Sheeran’s ‘You Need Me I Don’t Need You’ music video I was able to analyse techniques used to portray his music through Non Verbal Communication. Below are a few examples of what I discovered:

Costume: The main boy’s clothing consists of jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket, this shows a casual appearance which is needed to highlight the Indie music genre. This is also shown through the dancer’s clothing as they are wearing jeans, boots, baseball caps and hoodies creating the same effect. Ed Sheeran is not mainly seen in his music videos however when a mid shot of him was shown it revealed him wearing a t-shirt, relating to his relaxed and casual image.

Imagery: Symbols were used to highlight the lyrics for instance when the words ‘choir boy’ were sung an image of a boy wearing an angel costume was shown, this enables people to visualise and remember the lyrics. As well when the word ‘meditating’ was heard an image of a Buddha statue was shown. Many symbols used were religious, such as the cross and the grim reaper, maybe in order to emphasise  good and the evil as his lyrics express the desire of becoming famous and achieving it.

Gestures: The main male actor shown is retelling the lyrics through sign language therefore using a large amount of gestures. This keeps the audience entertained as only the actor’s hands are used for his performance which is rarely used in music videos. A close-up shot is shown of Ed Sheeran playing the guitar which highlights his talent and allows the audience to witness him performing.

Space from the camera: Long shots are shown of the dancers and of the boy in order to shown their location. Also close-ups of the hands doing sign language are shown in order to emphasise a point for instance when the word ‘meditating’ was heard a close up of his hands were shown which then lead onto the Buddha statue symbol. A long shot of the boy standing in front of the camera is shown which highlights his close distance towards the camera.

Voice-Pitch and Tone: The pace of the music video alters from fast to slow however the singing is usually slower through the chorus maybe this is used to emphasise the title of the song. The pitch of the song is consent and the tone of the song is pride as he is exposing his climb to fame.

Facial Expressions: All the actors’ facial expressions are neutral making their movements more noticeable and significant. Although when the Grim Reaper character is shown he is wearing a skeleton mask with a big grin on, this could shock the audience as it was unexpected and contrasts with the other actors’ facial expressions.