Song Dance With Me Tonight

Artist Olly Murs

Label Epic Records and Syco Music
Released 2011

Mise En Scene

The mise en scene within the video creates a clear story-line narrative for the audience
to follow. At the beginning of the video the protagonist Olly Murs is wearing a maroon
coloured suit, from him wearing a suit this can convey a respectable image however this
is contrasted as he is in a prison which is noticeable from the costumes the two male
characters are wearing both to the left and right of Olly Murs. The colour maroon has the
symbolic meaning to be associated with healing and the power to repel malevolent
spirits, this can relate to the protagonist trying to repel the police from arresting him. The
second shot is of a mug shot placard used as a prop in the video to inform the audience
of essential information without using diegetic sound, it is also a signifier of the location
and setting.

Focusing on setting and location,

typically this video follows key
codes and conventions of pop
music videos as there several
changes in location. Here a two
screen shots of locations used,
however I have found that each
location used is very rural and
urban, this has the connotations of
inner-city and economically
challenged which allows the
audience to relate to the video.
Here are some shots of the artist driving
a car, the car is used as a prop. The type
of car used is an old vintage, open top
vehicle this can suggest wealth because
vintage car are quite expensive also it
adds to the urban and retro feel of the
video.

Contrast in lighting, throughout the

video various key lighting is used, as
shown in my screen shots. The first
shot is high key lighting, this makes
the scene appear bright and soft,
with very few shadows in the frame.
The second shot is completely
different in terms of lighting, the
lighting is low key lighting this is
more darker and somber, however it
is soft low key lighting as it does not
create a mysterious and moody
atmosphere but a happy and
hopeful atmosphere. I think this due
to the performance element in the
scene and the narrative of the song.
The lighting changes shows how the
mise en scene adapts in the video to
the change in mood.

Here is a selection of screen grabs that show the use of props in this video, firstly the street
is decorated with bunting, this can suggest to the audience a celebration and in relationship
with the narrative it could also connote Ollys celebrating and declaring his feeling for this
girl he is performing too. Additionally the use of the fireworks is used as a display of
affection, as the striking display of light and loud noise is used to signify celebration, which is
a happy and positive connotation that adds to the mood of the video.

Sound

Within Olly Murs Dance with me tonight the main sound used within the video is the
soundtrack to the song. However in other music videos diegetic sound is included,
even breaks within the song are added to allow a monologue of dialogue in order to
progress narrative. However Olly Murs has chosen only to add at the beginning of the
video a lyrical introduction to his song and his song, however this introduction is not a
dialogue break as it syncs with the backing track of the song. Another additional sound
that is added to the video that is not part of the soundtrack is right at the end of the
video, police sirens are added. With the sirens the police vehicle is not present within
the frame so therefore is known as non-diegetic sound. With pop videos it is usually
conventionally known to include diegetic sound such as dialogue breaks because the
actual narrative of the video is more important than the actual song. Reasoning
behind this is that in order to encourage the audience to focus more on the video
rather than the music, other sounds are added to take away attraction from the song
itself.

Cinematography

The video opens with a medium close up shot of a

pair of hands handcuffed. Adding to this shallow
depth of filed is also used to have the main focus on
the pair hands and not the surrounding location. The
hands are also central in shot and the camera tracks
along behind the hands whilst the person is walking.

We then see a medium wide shot of the artist, the

three characters are not in central frame, however
Olly the artist is placed in the middle of the two
police characters, which portrays him as the victim
put also the main focus.

A variety of shot types and camera angles is used

throughout the video to establish the artists
movement and change of location. To the left are
several example screen shots of how this is done. The
first shot is a close up of the artists face this shows
emotion and feeling allowing the audience to relate
to the narrative. This second shot is a clever use of
the camera as it shows the shot through the
perspective of a prisoner this proves and identifies to
the audience the location of the video and that this is
the setting in which the artist is going to end up in.

Here are two different shots used, firstly

a medium close up shot is used,
secondly a close up shot is used which is
useful in showing detail and used as a
cut-in.

In this shot a high angle is used (birds eye view) this

shot puts the audience in a god-like position, looking
down on the action. However the object in focus gets
swallowed up by the setting and becomes part of a
wider picture.

As the artist begins to sing, they are framed in either

mid-shots or close ups. In terms of the rule of thirds as
shown to the left circled, the basic principle behind the
rule of thirds is to imagine breaking an image down into
thirds (both horizontally and vertically) so that you have
9 parts. Conventionally the artist is placed central of the
frame, from my example provided this rule is followed. I
have found this rule is generally charted specifically in
pop music videos because they promote the idea that
the video is equally as important as the music and goes
along with key codes and conventions to appeal to a
mass audience

The ideology of women in music videos, traditionally in music videos the cinematography
is manipulated to sexualise women according to Laura Mulveys Male Gaze theory.
However in these shots shown above one shot goes against these conventions as the
camera portrays her in a more dominant way, as she is of central focus in the shot and
the male characters are shot to be facing her and their back to the audience indicating
her power and dominance. On the other hand my screen shot shows how the
cinematography is used to portray women in a more sexualised way, as the high angle
shot makes her look more vulnerable and in terms of mise en scene which I discussed she
is wearing a low cut top and h typically has long blonde hair, this indicates to the
audience she is wanted by the male viewers.

Editing

In the opening sequence for the transition between shots the type of editing
used is jump cut editing. With jump cuts the first shot cuts instantly to the next,
jump cuts are usually caused by framing which is quite similar, the use of this
type of editing can sometimes look dodgy if not applied correctly however in
this opening scene this type of editing suits well with the pace of the song. This
helps the audience to create a cohesion between the audience and what they
hear.

In this part of the video, a specific editing technique is used

to create the illusion of a camera flash. The use of this editing
method creates more depth for the narrative as it allows the
audience to understand that Olly Murs is in a police station as
he is having his mug shot taken. Additionally the flash of the
camera also allows a change in transition for example in this
video it shows how during the flash the main character
changed position within the frame. With the camera flash
there is colour change to create verisimilitude as the change
is to black and white from colour, which can portray to the
audience a still image is been taken.

Throughout the video there are various special effects used, from the screen grab
shown above a special effect which is used is the distortion of letters on the
placard in which Olly is holding. The use of this special effect is visually interesting
however it is related to the narrative of the video as the replacement of words
moving round can suggest the backwards turning of a clock, as the words read 5
hours earlier. Then the video cuts to past events that link to the lyrics and the
narrative plot of the video.

Within the video there are substantial

amounts of distortion effects and
overlap editing which are conventional
aspects used within modern music
videos. Additionally with the use of
these transition effects it adds to the
continuity of the video and links to the
pace of video which is fast paced.
From the screen grabs shown above
the distortion of the brightness and
tone of the shot gives the impression
to the audience that the theme of
taking pictures is carried out
throughout the video as these screen
grabs represent still images.

On the next slide are some more

screen grabs of examples of
editing techniques used within
this video.

Blurred image point of view from Olly who is driving indication of a

moving vehicle.

Use of montage editing a series of shots are condensed into a time frame to
create continuity.

LIIAR ANALYSIS
As well as analysing Olly Murs Dance with me tonight just
through the technical elements, I am going to analyse the
messages and values behind the video, looking more closely
at details within the video.

Language
The language of a music video refers the technical elements and conventions used to
put across a message or value to the audience, however I have done this in my
technical elements analysis shown on previous slides. However I have not described in
detail the meaning of the lyrics. The lyrics of the song are aimed to a specific target
audience, the audience is young people/teenagers and predominately females. The
main theme behind the song is love and lust which is relatable to the target audience as
explained above. The video has the main narrative in which Olly is in trouble with the
law after throwing a street party for his girl. The lyrics suggest to the audience Olly will
not give up until this girl agrees to dance with him that night, as he has fallen for her.
The ideology behind the lyrics suggests to the audience that you can win round a girl
you like as long as you be patient and put in the effort.

Ideology
The ideology behind this video is that love conquers all, in a sense. Love and lust is
something that every person can relate to, whether that have had a good or
experience. This video gives idea to people that love is realistic and if someone
deeply cares for someone they will prove their feelings to them. As in this video
Olly proves his love towards his girl by getting in trouble with the law by putting on
a performance in the street that causes disruption. In the video there is a
sexualisation of women as the main female character shown in the video is
wearing limited items of clothing, this creates a male ideology, that men only lust
after women who are beautiful and worthy of them declaring their feelings to
them publically. This applies well to Laura Mulveys Male Gaze theory, which states
women are merely objects within the media industry. It could be argued that the
video follows a fairly sexist ideology in that sense, however this opposed as the
main focus is on Olly showing his feminist side by declaring his love to his girl by
putting on a public performance, so therefore this can be seen as two sided sexist
ideology as men are usually seen as masculine and tough but in this video this
ideology is opposed. Throughout the video there is a light-hearted care-free
ideology that is portrayed as even though Olly understands what he is going to will
get him in trouble with the law he still goes about his task in a fun and care-free
way by getting his friends involved.

Screen shots that represent my thoughts on the ideology behind the video:
The ideology of women represented in a sexualised way,
she has a low cut to blouse on and typically long blonde
her. Adding to this she is also sat down which shows the
male dominance of the police man that is standing up in
front of her making her look weak and vulnerable.
Furthermore she is wearing white which also adds to the
ideology of women being pure and innocent.

Here Olly is showing his feminist side by declaring his

feelings for his girl by putting on a street performance that
included singing and dancing which also adds to the lighthearted and care-free ideology.

Institutions
Olly Murs is an English singer, song-writer and television producer. He rose to fame
after finishing as the runner-up in the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009. He is
currently signed to Epic Records in the United Kingdom, Columbia Records in the
United States, and Syco Music. The video represents Olly Murs as a fun, friendly and
down to earth character through the use of media language. Olly Murs is signed to a
major record label therefore he is cultured and breed to become a pop star. Olly falls
into the pop genre this is represented through out the video through media language
particularly mise en scene and the performance given. Olly Murs video is available on
various media Platforms, the main Platform been YouTube, Murs has his own channel
and from this video he got 39,147,207 views.

Audience
The main target audience for this video appears to be mainly female dominant even
though can appeal to both sexes. The age range in which this video targets is young
people and teenagers. As Olly Murs plays a character role within his video and
performs, his fans as part of the audience get to witness him within a narrative role.
As mentioned above the audience is predominately female this is because the video
focuses on a fairy-tale love story where boy Woo's girl, this is specifically popular
with the female sex and as the main character is male they initially lust after him as he
plays the role of a perfect boyfriend. For example the shots at the end of the video
where Olly is performing outside the girls window is immediately more appealing to
girls rather than boys. However the music from Olly Murs can be enjoyed by both
sexes and is not considered to be completely targeted to one specific gender even
though it seems to appeal more to one sex.

In terms of genre this video appeals to a pop audience because that is genre of which
the artist is associated with. From the video conventions indicate to the audience the
genre of this video, for example key conventions used are lip syncing and performance
elements such as a choreographed dance routine which are typically associated with
pop music videos. However overall I would like to think the narrative structure and
performance element appeal to a mass audience as the video is very mainstream and
does not have explicit content that may offend.

Representation
Women women in this video are represented from
two different view points. Firstly they are
stereotypically shown as to be idolised by men
through beauty and purity. For example the woman in
which Olly lusts after is stereotypically wearing a
limited amount of clothing, has a slim figure and has
long blonde hair. This representation links well with
Laura Mulveys Male Gaze Theory. However on the
other hand in the opening sequence we are
introduced to woman who goes against the male
gaze theory and stereotypical women represented in
music videos. For example through the use of mise en
scene we notice she is a police woman which instantly
gives her power and dominance which is not usually
shown in women. However she is sat behind a desk
which could connote that the desk is acting as a
barrier between her and the criminals coming into the
station which are typically men, indicating she needs
protection which falls back on the ideology and
representation of women being and weak and need
the security of a male figure.

Men- within this video men are given a

positive representation, through the use of
mise en scene and cinemtography you are
shown Olly being a cheeky chap and having
fun. The stereotypical view of a man is that
they are tough, rough looking and dont show
emotion. In this video this stereotype is put
into force at the beginning of the video when
we see Olly been held by two bulking
policemen either side of him. However
throughout the majority of this video this
stereotype is not seen to be true as the main
character Olly is shown to be wearing a smart
sharp suit and is pristinely clean, also he
shows his emotion by performing to his girl in
the street by dancing and singing. Another
aspect of the video that turn this stereotype
on its head is that its clear the men are
respective of women and see them as equals
as in Ollys friendship group one of his friends
is a female.