Planning Lighting and Colour - Miss Miller

The lighting and colour within a music video is essential because it can really create a particular vibe or atmosphere demonstrated in a scene. For example, low-key lighting puts a more negative mood on a scene which could change the way the audience interpret it and the representation of the artist. In contrast  to this, high-key lighting can reflect more positive and happy images, emphasising a specific emotion that may be displayed in the scene. The same is applied when making reference to colour. More vibrant and resplendent colours portrayed in the scenes give off a more positive atmosphere rather than darker colours. Particular colours can also display connotations which helps give the artist an accurate representation for example, black connoting depression. Having a variety of different lighting and colour can help distinguish between scenes, for example, some scenes may have a different atmosphere to others, which can be emphasised due to the lighting and colour. Having a variety of different types of lighting and colour also prevents the audience from feeling disengaged as it creates interest within the video. 

One of the colour aspects of the video is demonstrated most prominently through the black and white filter that will be used during the performance style scenes. The reason for using the black and white effect in these particular scenes is that it reflects the negativity of the artist's emotions at this point. We intend to display how she isn't happy with her life because of the people she has lost due to fame and the lacking of normality that she now has present in her life. The use of black and white here being so monotone in colour, suggests that she is lacking the positivity in her life which also mirrors her mindset being negative in the way she believes she will never be able to go back to the way it was before she became famous. This sombre tone is reflected in soul genre music videos as it relates to the negative personal experience in which they are singing about. Using a black and white filter is also used to help portray past in soul genre music videos and so is conventionally used in our video, however in a reversed effect. We are using the black and white filter on the present day shots instead of the past, as we want to illustrate how the artist isn't happy now but was in the past and so by using colour to help display this, we thought it would be successful in a way that the audience could easily identify this. This helps to represent the artist as being sad, depressed and overall negative about the current life she leads. Using a filter helps to do this as it is generally used to impact a whole scene, so instead of just making a particular section in the shot black and white, the extent of the use of filter mirrors the extent of how sad she is represented as being. The black is consistent through it also being the colour of the costumes worn by the artist in these black and white filter scenes. This emphasises the theme of negativity and depression with the impact on the artist which is conventional to the soul genre as making the artist wear black makes it more personal and as if it has had this effect on the artist specifically. It also shows how the negativity is sourcing from herself, but influencing what is around her (her wearing black acts as the source for the black and white filter - therefore, her negative look on her life has stemmed from her own thinking). This here represents the artist as being quite negative overall, with a lacking of hope and content feeling within themselves. 

A further colour aspect that will be featured within the music video is red - which has a high frequency of connotations. The red will be featured as the colour of the lipstick that the artist will be wearing during the performance scenes. The red connotes the love and passion of the topic that the artist is singing about. Because the red is illustrated through the colour of the lipstick, it reflects how fresh and personal it is as it literally shows the content of what is being sung that is being surrounded by love and passion. Red connotations could also be seen as reflecting anger or danger which mirrors the artist's emotions that she is angry that she cannot go back to the way it was before she became famous. As well as this, red lipstick is typically quite a classic makeup attire to represent the glamorous nature of the artist, therefore, demonstrating her fame and talent beneath the naturalistic way in which she is seen more of as in the narrative style scenes. This is conventional to the soul genre because most soul genre songs are linked to passion and personal experience that is portrayed to the audience as best as possible. The red reinforces this idea and will be displayed in a bold way in contrast to the monotone colours reflected from the black and white. It helps represent the artist as being open with their emotions and very expressive with their music as they find this is the best way in order to carry a message and feelings across. 

Other than colour, we have considered the variety of lighting that will be used within our music video. One of these types of lighting will be high-key lighting where the artist is with her friends during the narrative scenes. This will reflect the positivity of their presence and the happiness that she felt at this point in her life. The positive atmosphere created from this also further symbolises the innocence of her life. This emphasises how the artist had no worries or cares at this point in her life and she was clearly happy and content. In addition to this, high-key lighting exposes you and so, it is as if the artist doesn't feel the need to hide away, cover up or feel insecure about anything, which is in contrast to the performance style scenes where she hides herself through excessive use of makeup and by wearing black. This particular use of exposure through high-key lighting is not particularly conventional as soul genre music videos tend to use more low-key lighting in order to stress the negativity and rawness of the topic the artist is singing about. However, because exposure of emotions is reflected in a different way, through the music, this is conventional here. This helps to represent the artist in a way in which the audience can connect with the artist as they are able to clearly identify the contrast between the attitude and the way in which the artist feels in the narrative scenes as opposed to the performance scenes. 


A further type of lighting in which will be used in our music video is backlighting. We will use this during the stage performance scenes within our video in different ways. One of the ways is to simply put the light behind the artist leaving the artist outlined like in the picture to the left. As well as this, we were thinking of using the backlighting behind a screen so a more crisp silhouette of the artist is achieved. Depending on how the lighting looks, we will decide what we will actually use when it comes to filming due to the fact that we want it to look as professional as possible but the limitation of filming in school could result in the lighting not being as impacting as we'd hoped. However, we hope to use it in a successful way as it literally emphasises the presence of the artist and the power they have over the stage - especially being the only individual on it. In a more deeper connotation, it could show how no matter where the artist is, how ever positive the atmosphere is, she will always see the negative. The light acts as being symbolic for positivity and so, the way in which the artist blocks this out reflects the way in which her sadness and depression will overpower the positivity through the way in which she doesn't allow to retrieve the hope in which she is seeking. This use of backlighting is conventional to the genre of soul as it shows the artist in a way where she is expressing herself as feeling overall negative which is based on a personal experience. Additionally, the way in which you are not able to identify the artist from this light makes it conventional because it reflects insecurity and is as if they are hiding the facial expressions at this point, however, body language is emphasised. This helps to represent the artist as being insecure but resilient to feeling positive about her life now, rather than when she was younger when she was more open to positivity and welcomed the positive atmosphere that surrounded her. With this lighting, the darkness is resulted in the artist and the area surrounding the light, therefore demonstrating that around the artist is negativity as well, which is conventional as it shows to have had influence on the artist.


Our final use of lighting in which we have chosen to include within our music video is low-key lighting. This will be used throughout the video where the scenes are not trying to reflect positivity. The scenes that do reflect positivity are the scenes where the artist is with her friends and so, the low-key lighting will not be evident in these particular scenes. The low-key lighting aids to hide the identity of the artist and therefore, reflecting insecurity and a restriction on their appearance which is conventional to the soul genre as most soul genre artists tend to like to hide their identity. The contrast between the performance scenes with the low-key lighting and the more narrative scenes with the high-key lighting also demonstrates the artist's dependancy on the people around her. When she is with her friends she is portrayed as being happy, whereas, when she is alone in the low-key light, this emphasises the lack of people in which surround her. This represent her as being unstable individually and that people that surround her make her stronger. Adding to this, the lyrics of the song actually reinforce this idea as they remark 'the people I've met are the wonders of my world' which illustrates the extent of how much she admires the people from her hometown - in our video, her friends. This is conventional to the genre of soul as the artist is often represented as feeling alone or having a lack of trust for people around them. The way in which the lighting when complimented with the lyrics of the song emphasises this, makes the audience feel more sympathetic towards the artist. Having low-key lighting further demonstrates a more abundant nature of lacking light and therefore, a number of other connotations. For example, it also could symbolise a lacking of hope and life altogether, representing the artist in a way in which they feel trapped. The lack of light could present a lacking of sense of direction, representing the artist as lost in their emotions to the extent that they no longer know what to do to back away from the negativity in which they feel. This represents them as being miss-guided and unsure of what to do to improve their quality of life and to go back to how happy they were before. Therefore, the lighting will automatically help the audience's understanding of the emotions portrayed by the artist and further ensure that a relationship is created. This way, the audience feel sympathetic but also empathetic towards the artist as the lighting reinforces the drastic nature of their emotions. 

The target audience can build a relationship with the artist through the lighting and colours that we have selected for numerous reasons, the most prominent being how it emphasises the emotion the artist is intending to portray. The lack of lighting helps to reinforce the way that the artist feels negative and depressed about the current life in which she leads, demonstrating a clear contrast between how positive she felt when she was younger before fame. By having low-key lighting and monotone colouring in the performance scenes and high-key lighting in the narrative scenes, the audience are able to recognise the clear contrast between the emotions displayed by the artist at the different points displayed. This allows the audience to feel sympathetic towards the artist as they are enabled to see into the way in which they express themselves differently. The variety of lighting and colour displayed in our video will also help the audience build a relationship with the artist because interest will be ensured. With this, it enhances the audience's engagement in the music video and so they pay more attention to the artist and how in which they act within. This particular focus on the artist makes them analyse more intricately what they do and so are more likely to retrieve different emotions and feelings from them. This planning has helped me ensure that we will create a successful music video in regards to lighting and colour because it enables us to prepare what lighting we need to create and he limitations of the lighting we want to create. By knowing these aspects before filming, it ensures that we don't waste any valuable time that could be spent doing something else that is productive. For example, we know that the backlighting may be difficult to achieve to a standard in which we are aiming for due to our particular limitations. However, by planning this we have been able to test out the lighting beforehand to ensure that it will be appropriate for our filming. The planning for lighting and colour has also helped with creating a successful video as it has reassured us that the audience will understand the specific emotions in which the artist will be expressing.

Digipak Analysis - Miss Georgiou

The purpose of a digipak is to supply the fans with a more special edition of an ordinary jewel CD. A Jewel CD is a three-piece plastic case, which usually contains a CD along with the liner notes and back card. A CD is constructed into 4 sides which present most of the detailed information on the front and back covers, which are the parts of the CD that the public would see and is likely to influence them into buying the CD. CD's will also often contain the lyrics of the songs that are included in the album which allow the people who buy the album to learnt the songs making the meaning of the lyrics clearer for them and more understandable which consequently makes them relate to the artist more. Digipak's however, have a few differences to CD's - quality being one of the main ones. As a digipak is meant to be more special and deluxe, it is important that the aspects of it live up to expectations and that the extra money spent on the digipak rather than the CD doesn't go unnoticed. Digipak's contain higher quality images that reflect more meaning and in-depth connotations. As well as this, the audience get a more personal vibe from the way that the artist usually contains a direct note to fans inside which refers to the reader. Fans also get bonus features like bonus tracks that may not have been on the CD, which gives them an exclusive look at the artist's material that some fans may not be able to access. Instead of having 4 sides as a CD does, a digipak has 6, which allows for more information, visual imagery and content such as lyrics to be supplied. This is more likely to attract a potential buyer as it makes them seem as if they have bought something exclusive from the way that the digipak contains extra bonus features, which could also be seen as being a collectors item. The packaging of the digipak is more sustainable in the way that it is harder to break or damage. This is in contrast to the flimsy, plastic cases that hold the jewel CD's which are easily breakable and seems 'cheap'. Because all of the information and the features in the digipak are easily accessible, it makes it more appealing to the audience. I have chosen to analyse is Duffy's 'Rockferry' digipak. Adele did not have a digipak that was easily accessible and so, by analysing a digipak of Duffy's, it is similar in the way that both artists are from the same genre of soul and are generally similar in reference to their style of work. The digipak is shown below:

The digipak of Duffy's is demonstrated as being typically conventional to the genre of soul. The artist is represented as being insecure in the digipak from the distinct aspects that are included within. In-particular, this is from the way that she is not looking at the camera in all the pictures that are featured - especially the front cover where she is clearly looking down. This shows a lack of confidence from her inability to look directly into the camera which you would think would be the only way to connect with the audience, however, by doing this the audience feel sympathetic towards her and makes her relatable, therefore, still managing to create a connection. In another light, she is also represented as being creative and experienced as the artist was 24 years old when the digipak was released which means she would have written the content of the digipak (the songs) before reaching this age. The majority of the songs are based on love in reference to experience with one or more lovers. This is shown distinctively through the song names such as, 'Breaking My Own Heart', 'Oh Boy' and 'Enough Love', which also reflects her experience from a young age meaning that she can relate to older audiences as well as audiences of her age who would have likely gone through the same or a similar situation. There are many connotations of the digipak that reflect particular emotions or hidden meanings. For example, on the front cover, Duffy is shown wearing her cold but also holding it with her hands which would denote as her just being cold. However, the connotation of this would portray her as being quite reserved, restricting and held back and additionally, not feeling confident to be open about feelings though, her feelings are expressed through her music. This makes her more appealing as it demonstrates passion and commitment to something she loves. The general colour of black that is visibly a prominent feature throughout all sides of the digipak connotes depression and sadness. This reflects the content of the songs and the meaning behind them, which gives the audience an idea of what to expect from the songs on the album. The colours black and white illustrate the past and reflects the artist looking back and making reference to her past. The monotone nature of these colours mean that the past may not be referenced by the artist in a positive way - mirrored in some of the neutral and simple-sounding song names such as 'Stop'. The use of the black and white also make certain aspects of the digipak 'stand out' for example, the song names on the back of the digipak are highlighted and noticeable due to the contrast of the black background with the white writing. The design/layout shows the artist positioned roughly central on screen on the front cover. This ensures that all attention of the audience's is drawn to her and that she is the main focus, which is important from the way that this is on the front cover which would be the initial image that the audience would see. Therefore, by having her central, it also allows the audience to immediately recognise who the artist is and enables the name of the artist to be shown clearly in the top left hand corner. When reading something whether that be a magazine or CD cover, naturally we start by looking from left to right. Having the artist's name means that it can be clearly seen by the audience member, but also, doesn't distract attention away from the image as it doesn't interfere with the focus on the image at all (the artist) such as overlapping. Having the name of the album in the bottom left hand corner displays it being secondary information after the name of the artist but still illustrates relevance of being on the front page from the boldness of the writing. The CD's included in the digipak show the artist's name on on the left side and other information on the right side. This demonstrates the importance and identity of the artist and also, if the digipak owner happened to loose the digipak and only had the CD's, they would be able to clearly distinguish who's CD it was. The choice of images used in the digipak all display the artist looking away from the camera and all coloured in black and white. This is appealing and satisfying for the audience as it ensures that all the images in the digpak have a clear link and that the sombre tone is matched consistently throughout. Having the front cover image being a shallow focus of the artist, it emphasises her presence and authority over the digipak. It also enhances the detail of the artist, making the image appear more high quality and special. Even though the artist is looking down, the image still revealed the look of the artist and displays the aspects of her clearly. In one of the other images of the digipak, (top left hand picture) there is some sort of station sign remarking 'Rockferry'. This is the name of the album and so, shows relevance and a particular importance as to why choosing this particular image. By including this image, the sign helps the audience understand what the meaning of the word and the album is, also demonstrating the significance it has on the artist and their life. This appeals to the audience on a more personal level through the way it creates an effect of making the audience feel as if the artist is opening up to them. The typography within the digipak is very effective and conventional, demonstrating different ideas and representations of the artist. The way that the name of the artist is in a handwritten-like font makes her original and creates her own identity. It shows her individual identity as well, which makes her distinct from other artists in the industry. The typography font being handwritten in style, could emphasise the way that she writes her own songs which makes the audience appeal to the artist more as they feel that the content is more personal and relatable. It also makes her seem more open and reflects her personality as being quite creative and stylish from the sophisticated nature of the font displayed. This is conventional to the genre of soul as soul artist's tend to be represented in a way that makes then unique and distinct from others. Having this font only used for the artist's name reinforces the identity of the artist and illustrates a clear difference between the album name, songs and name of artist. The album name being bold could be mirrored in the content, suggesting that the songs are quite 'out there' in the way that they express a lot of raw emotion from the artist and their experiences. This representation of the artist is conventional to the genre of soul from the way that it helps to demonstrate the emotions based on the personal experience of the artist. The style of language within the digipak is very conventional as it complies with the simplicity demonstrated through the promotions of the soul artist. The song names are simple but make clear reference to love, which infers that how the artist could think that love illustrates simplicity. However, by having a simple title for the songs for example, 'Please Stay' , it means that the artist can elaborate on the feelings that the title suggests. Therefore, the audience appeal to the artist from the way that they don't get much from the title, though, just enough to get a glimpse and inference as to what the song is going to express. This is conventional to the soul genre as it illustrates emotion and expresses the first hand experience and elaborated emotions that the artist feels. By having the simplicity of the album name makes it memorable, as more audience members are likely to remember its one word name rather than if it had a longer more elaborated name. As it is not a familiar name, it shows creativity and a clear meaning and relevance to the artist and a glimpse into the life and feelings of them. The digipak promotes the soul genre as being based around and references love - negatively. This is displayed clearly through the song names and also the inferences that can be made from the images used of the artist and the body language of the artist, for example, the way in which the artist is looking down shows insecurity which has been caused or affected by love. The fairly neutral look of emotions demonstrated through her facial expressions are conventional and promotes the genre as demonstrating deeper meaning beneath the initial idea that is illustrated. It therefore, demonstrates the genre of soul as being sombre in tone, negative in reference to love and as having deeper and effective meanings. The digipak promotes the artist as being insecure from the distinct features and aspects of the digipak - the closed body language and lack of eye contact into the camera. The song titled 'I'm Scared' could infer this also from the way in which the artist is obviously feeling restricted from something and from reading the lyrics, it portrays how the artist is scared to live without their love interest. Therefore, this demonstrates a lack of confidence and a further hint of insecurity, as well as being dependant on someone. This is further emphasised through the including of the black and white filter used throughout the digipak. From this, love is illustrated in a negative light as it is suggested that love has caused her to feel in this particular way. However, from the flamboyancy of the typography in the artist's name, it promotes the artist as being creative and innovative, with a unique and distinct identity of their own - this representation is conventional to the soul genre. The digipak attracts the audience from the bonus features that is included within it. For example, there are two CD's in the digipak, rather than one - a normal CD and a deluxe edition. This makes the purchase that the audience has made more exclusive and special to them, giving it also a personal touch. The numerous images included in the digipak also attracts the audience to it, as they are able to see the artist in different ways and angles, making them familiarise themselves more with the artist.

This research has been very helpful when having in mind the type of aspects that we want to include in our digipak and for particular reasons. This research has outlined what needs to be included for different reasons and what would work well in attracting the audience, but also when sticking to the conventionality of  the genre of soul. I think the black and white filter is really effective in the way it influences the mood of the digipak as a whole, demonstrating its relevance and importance of its feature. As well as this, this research has highlighted how important the choice of image is within the digipak. This is the aspect that will initially attract the audience to looking at the digipak, making a decision if they are to purchase it or not. The image can help represent the artist in a particular way that allows the audience to have a glimpse of what the artist may be like and a hint into the content of the digipak. Therefore, we will highly consider what images we choose to use in the digipak carefully, in order to achieve success and create the representation of the artist of which we intend. We want to show our soul artist in a conventional way and so will comply with these particular aspects that are demonstrated in Duffy's digipak in order to do this. 

Planning Artist Image - Miss Miller

An artist representation is essential in a music video because it demonstrates personality and can create a common ground between the artist and the audience. If an artist is represented as being relatable to the audience in some way, it makes them more appealing as the audience feel as if the artist is just an ordinary person like them. As well as this, the artist being shown in a particular way can cause an opinion of the audience's in reference to if they like the artist or not. For example, if the artist is portrayed as being rebellious and arrogant, some audiences may not like this idea and may feel that an artist needs to display positivity and good behaviour. However, some people will like this representation as they feel it makes them different to other artists in the industry. This links to my next point which is that artist representation also defines one artist from another so that they appeal to different target audiences. For example, in the genre of soul, most artists are represented as being insecure and depressed which links to the content of their songs. Most people like this representation as it shows the rawness of their emotions and reflects the meanings behind the songs which could also show the passion the artist has for the music they create. 

There will be three main costume changes throughout the video, which are distinct through the different scenes in which she is present. 

The first costume I will be discussing is the casual wear for the scenes when the artist is with her friends. She will be wearing jeans and a top - keeping it fairly simple to mirror the way that her life was quite simple at the time from the way she had no worries or cares. The casualness of the outfit helps to display the casualness of the narrative where the artist is just hanging out with her friends, having a good time. This will also make her relatable to the audience as the simplicity of her costume will make her seem like an ordinary audience member. We are looking to either use a white top to display innocence of the artist and purity which also reflects her youth. Other than this, we may use a grey top to show how murky and unclear the artist is of the future as they are unaware of what is to come from her life. This acts as a sense of foreboding for her future as, other parts of the video illustrates her unhappiness of the present life she leads. This makes the audience weary of what is to come and maybe creates a slight sense of expectedness but not to the extent where they can fully predict what is going to happen in the rest of the video. We also want the shoes to be white to show that the path she is taking is innocent. By showing that the shoes are slightly dirty on the bottom reflects her journey and the struggles she would have had to face along the way to the career she now has. The makeup on the artist will be natural, as we want to still show her youth and innocence. It also shows that she is less insecure than what she is shown to be in some other scenes of the video - for example, the stage performance scenes. This is from the way she doesn't feel the need to use makeup to cover up or hide any emotions that may not be initial. This is partly unconventional to the soul genre from the way that the artist is shown to be natural and happy, however, is still conventional as it makes her relatable which is one of the main conventions of the soul genre. She is going to have straight hair to comply with the casual look we are going for the artist at this point. This will show her overall, as being relatable at these points in the video.This is therefore conventional to the genre of soul as making the artist being represented as relatable ensures the audience feel engaged and empathetic towards the artist, building a stronger relationship between them. 

As well as having a casual look for the artist, they will also be seen wearing a more contrasting, glamorous look. This will consist of a high neck black dress with black heels, complimented with a sophisticated red lip makeup look and curled hair. This will be worn during the stage performance scenes where the artist is supposedly at a concert of her own performing as if it was real. Therefore, making the artist more made up, it emphasises this and creates a clear contrast to the difference in lifestyle from with her friends to the way she is on stage. This drastic change also reinforces the distinct change from the performance and narrative scenes within the video, creating reassurance of understanding for the audience. This look is conventional to the soul genre as it demonstrates talent and glamour but also insecurity - a main convention of soul artists. The red lip aspect of the look also strengthens its conventionality to the soul genre as red has connotations of passion and love. In our video, passion is more expressed than love due to the way that the lyrics of the song do not initially express love in reference to a relationship but rather passion for the artist's hometown. So, despite the red lip coordinating with the glamorous look we are going for, it also has deeper connotations that comply with the conventions of the soul genre through the way that soul genre songs reflect the themes of love and passion. We are thinking of having a gold eyeshadow look within the makeup look to reflect the glamour of the artist but also the value. This can help to represent the artist as being world-class, talented and extraordinary from the connotations of gold suggesting value and rarity. This is conventional to the genre of soul because soul artists tend to subtly demonstrate the extent of their talents which prevents them from coming across as bigheaded or arrogant. The way in which the makeup look will consist of a lot of makeup, could be inferred that it is a way for the artist to hide imperfections and insecurities, acting as a 'front' or mask, which initially makes her look like a confident individual. Beneath the surface, the artist could actually be hiding more negative emotions which is inferred from other aspects of her look like the colouring of her dress. Having the dress being black connotes depression and sadness which makes the audience feel sympathetic for the artist. Having this connection is important and happens to be conventional because the artist singing about a personal experience needs to be able to be transferred and understood by the audience. Having this connection makes the artist more appealing and genuine to the audience. The way in which the dress is a high neck in style also could infer that the artist feels trapped in the situation of their emotions. In our music video, we intend to make the artist feel as if they miss their lifestyle before they were famous because of the people they have now lost and the lack of normality in their life due to fame. The style of the dress reinforces this idea from the way that the artist now feels trapped in this situation where she can now not escape fame and sticks to the conventionality of the soul genre from the way it links to the personal feelings of the artist. Moreover, having the complementation of wearing the heels as part of the outfit reflects the lack of stability that the artist feels that their life holds. This reinforces our narrative and the feelings behind the song from the artist's point of view which is conventional to the soul genre because of this. The use of these also help to represent the artist as fragile and ungrounded, making her perhaps relatable to some audience members. Having curly hair adds to the glamourousness of the look and helps to distinguish between showing the artist when they were younger and then older and famous. In a more deeper inference, it could also help illustrate the complexity of the artist's new life rather than the simplicity of the life before fame.

The final look in the video is a plain and simple look consisting of the artist wearing completely black (top, skirt, tights and pumps). The makeup look will be natural to create a relatable aspect of the look and also reveals he artist and the emotions they portray. This particular look will be featured during the piano performance scenes in the video. The plainness of the outfit reflects the neutral emotion displayed in this scene which is conventional to the soul genre as soul artists tend to be quite neutral in some parts of the performance scenes in their videos. This ensures relatability for the audience as she is perhaps shown in a more ordinary light and it also demonstrates rawness of the artist as a representation. Having an artist being represented as raw and genuine is conventional to the genre of soul as it shows how natural the talent comes to the artist. Black is the consistent feature throughout this outfit. There are many connotations of black and ones which tend to suggest negativity, for example, depression, sadness and weakness. This therefore, represents the artist's feelings towards the way in which her life is leading at this moment. She is unhappy with the fame she has received and just wants to go back to her hometown and the way it was when she was happier around people she valued. The artist is playing the piano at this point which has numerous black and white keys. The black keys could connote the present day where she is feeling negative at this point in her life, whereas the white keys, suggesting innocence and purity could symbolise the past when she was younger with her friends. Therefore, the artist playing the piano, dressed in all black could represent the artist as a whole being depressed and negative in reference to her emotions. Consequently, the way that she plays the piano could reflect that these emotions are impacting and influencing the way that she reflects on not only her present but also her past and so no matter what time of setting she is referring to, she still manages to find negativity in some way. For example, when she was younger, she obviously saw negativity where she felt that she wanted to seek for 'bigger things' and so grafted to achieve her dream. However, when becoming famous, she find negativity as she realises she has lost the people who have most value to her and that her life can no longer be normal. Having this hidden meaning is conventional to the genre of soul as there are normally more deeper, less obvious meanings and symbols within. This helps the audience connect with the artist more strongly as it adds to the understanding of how the artist is feeling and additionally, the extent of her emotions.

Overall, the theme consistently demonstrated throughout the artist images in which we have created refers to black, which connotes negativity. We have found that the target audience can build a relationship with our artist through this way effectively, as it helps reinforce the intended emotions and makes the audience appeal to the artist as they sympathise with them. As well as this, the artist is seen more raw and real from this, as their performance in the video seems more personal and genuine. By making the artist be shown in this particular way, it makes the audience feel valued and that the artist wants to share their feelings with them, therefore, making the audience feel more special. The way in which we have tried to stick with the conventionality of the soul genre makes the audience feel familiar with their expectations and how the artist will be represented however, the slight differences between the images prevents the artist from appearing repetitive or uninteresting throughout the different scenes within the video. The younger side to the target audience can particularly relate to the first casual look from the way that they may feel as if the artist could fit in with them, which means they could see them as being similar to them. The more older side to the target audience can relate more to the performance side of the video as the artist is shown to be more mature and more emotional which could be more relatable to older audiences as it shows a wider number of experiences that the artist has been through. The emotions conveyed could be relatable to audience members in a similar situation or in a different situation but feeling the same emotions as the artist expresses. This planning of artist image has helped out group ensure that we will create a successful artist image because it has outlined to us which images work best for the genre. It has also highlighted which images can demonstrate hidden, relevant meanings that could either link to lyrics or emotions portrayed within. We have also tried to satisfy all of the members categorised in the target audience, which will hopefully make it more appealing to them from the way that at least one of the images should reflect a relatable nature to them.

Planning Cinematography - Miss Miller

Cinematography is essential within a music video as it creates diversity and interest within the video from the way you can be creative with different shots. Particular shots such as low angle and high angle ones can help display dominance or authority linked to specific characters featured in the shots. Different types of cinematography enable different emotions or ideas to be displayed which engages the audience and creates a more deeper and real relationship between them and the artist. Cinematography is important as it needs to distinguish what is going on in each scene of the video for example, if there is a narrative, the cinematography needs to help display how this develops, but also making the shots flow together well and in a way that will not cause confusion. The picture below demonstrates my group's planning for the cinematography that will be featured in our video:

Close Ups

The first shot in which I will discuss is the use of close ups that we will be including in our music video. This type of camera shot will be used in the performance parts of the music video, particularly during the stage setting. We have chosen to use this type of shot here as the artist will be singing as if she is doing a real performance and so a lot of emotion will be expressed. In order to capture this emotion as best as possible, close up shots will ensure that the focus will be solely on the artist and the emotion in which they are expressing. This type of shot also helps familiarise the artist with the audience as they are getting a more detailed view of them. Close up shots are conventional to the genre of soul because soul genre songs tend to convey a lot of emotions and are based on personal experiences of the artist. In a way to help this reflect onto the audience, the artist needs to express it in a genuine and realistic way to make the audience feel engaged and understand the feelings they are expressing. Close up shots therefore, demonstrate this through the way that the facial expressions are primarily the focus of the shot. On the other hand, they could be seen as slightly unconventional through the way they are exposing the artist when they are sometimes represented as being insecure and held back. However, because of the rawness of their music, the close ups help display the emotion and therefore, they feel like they can open up as they feel the need to try and get their emotions across in the best and most understandable way possible. The use of the close up shots will help to represent our artist as emotional and passionate from the way they can express their feelings during the performance, which will make them seem genuine and real and the audience will appreciate this. As well as this, we may use the close ups in the scenes where the artist is enjoying herself with her friends so that we can emphasise the positivity of her manner and how happy she was before she became famous. This emphasis creates by the close ups will enable a contrast to be created between how she is with her friends and how she is once she is famous and carrying out her performance. 

High Angle Shots

Another shot that we will be using as part of the cinematography in our video are high angle shots. We will use this type of shot during the piano performance style scenes which will help us reflect how 'small' the artist feels. Because of the fame she has risen into, (and in a quick space of time) the artist misses how she was when she was just an ordinary girl. By using a high angle shot on the piano scenes it makes the artist appear smaller and will make the piano be a prominent feature in the shot. This could show the piano being in more of the majority of the shot, portraying that music is taking over her life and that now that is the dominant feature in her life. As well as this, the high angle shots allow us to capture the piano in the scenes, reflecting it's importance and relevance within the scene. The use of high angle shots are conventional to the genre of soul as they display emotion and the position of the artist. For example, most of soul genre songs show the artist in the video as being depressed, sad or negative in some type of way. To reinforce this in a way that is not direct and initially noticeable, high angle shots making the artist look smaller really emphasises this idea and can put the idea across to the audience more easily by giving them a different perspective of the scene. The camera shot will represent our artist as being fragile and vulnerable which is conventional to the soul genre also. This will help to ensure that there is a link between the narrative and the performance as the artist will be shown more negatively in the performance style shots whilst happier in the narrative ones. The overall mood of the video will be fairly sombre and negative which this shot also helps display and helps represent how this has been reflected onto the artist.

Panning Shots

To widen our range of cinematography and create interest, we have chosen to also include panning shots. These shots will be carried out during the piano scenes which will help to make them flow which can mirror the performance use of the piano. The panning shot across the piano whilst the artist is playing also reflects the elegance of the instrument and further can create a link between scenes as it acts as a smooth transition. The shot allows more of the scene to be captured and so, because the setting for the piano scene is small, we can really emphasise this with the use of this shot. We can also use this shot to cut out certain parts of the setting, for example, in the music practice room where we will be filming the piano scene, there is a whiteboard on one of the walls which we don't particularly want to capture in the shots for our video. The panning shot allows us to still use movement but stop at particular places for reasons such as this one. This shot will also be used when filming the active shots of London as it will illustrate a wide viewing of the setting. The panning shot is conventional to the soul genre as I have seen it used to circle the artist in a video which creates focus on them to express the emotion they want to convey. The attention the audience pay to the artist is important as it is essential that the artist is focused on in order to create different effects. Because conventionally soul genre songs are based on personal experiences, having the artist solely focused on by panning around the artist ensures that this focus is maintained and the audience fully attend to the artist. The artist will be represented through this shot as multi-talented through the way it will portray the piano in the scene. The moving aspect of the shot will also help to represent the artist as having many talents as it helps to show an everlasting, endless nature sort of effect - especially against the pattern in which the piano keys follow.

Point Of View Shots

A further effective shot that we will be using as part of the cinematography in our music video is point of view shots. This shot helps to display the view of a particular scene through the character within's perspective. We will be using this shot on the stage as the artist walks on to carry out her performance which will allow the audience to empathise with the artist and reflect the daunting nature of her career. It also offers an alternative perspective from a literal audience's point of view as it is as if we are giving the audience the opportunity to be the artist in these shots. We will also be using the shots in the parts where the artist is in her hometown. There will be a connection created here as the audience will be able to mirror the happiness that the artist feels when she is in the 'comfort of her own home'. Point of view shots are conventional to the genre of soul as they help reinforce the personal nature of the content within the songs. Because soul genre music is based around personal experiences, by putting the audience in a position where they feel like the artist, it helps to demonstrate this personal aspect of the content. The shots will help represent the artist as being overwhelmed and emotional as well as open with her emotions from the way it is like sharing her emotion with the audience. It is also like sharing her experience with the audience as they are able to feel empathetic towards her from the perspective that is displayed for her.

Long Shots

As part of our cinematography used in our music video, we will also use long shots. They will mainly be used in the still shots of London that will be fast-paced edited because it allows the majority of the overall scene to be captured in one shot. Because a lot will be going on in the shots in London, the long shot will be able to capture these movements which will look effective when the editing has been applied. The long shots will help to show the artist's journey to where she is now and emphasise the difference between this active and busy location to her isolated, small hometown. The long shots will also be evident during the performance style stage scenes where the artist will be performing. Body language is enabled to be captured through these shots, as well as facial expressions which helps the artist's way of conveying particular emotions or moods easier. The long shots will also help reinforce the feeling that she reflects of being alone as making her central in shot on a large stage will make draw the attention to her but also highlight the lack of people surrounding her. This will help represent the artist as lonely as, due to the fact that she has become famous, she has lost the friends she once had in her hometown, when she was younger before fame had reached her. This type of shot is conventional to the soul genre as it shows the artist as feeling unhappy which is the general sombre tone that is widely expressed in soul genre music videos. The long shots also emphasise the settings in the videos which are very prominent features of all music videos, not just soul ones. However, this makes it conventional to soul genre ones because soul genre settings tend to reflect a personal meaning to the artist which makes them relatable to the audience.

The target audience are able to build a relationship with the artist through the different cinematography in which we have decided to include in our music video. This is because the way that some shots such as point of view and close ups help to display a personal impact of the artist onto the audience makes it appeal to them as they will be able to feel empathetic and understanding of the artist's situation. The emotion of the artist can be clearly expressed through the use of the close ups as they can witness facial expressions of the artist, as well as details of the features on the face or particular emotions you may not see further away, such as crying. The other uses of shots help to reinforce the narrative and performance parts of the video and also help reflect the emotions of the artist. Close ups and long shots were highly favoured when we carried out target audience research and so, by complying with the preferences of the target audience, we will ensure that they will like the shots we have chosen to include. As well as the fact that the shots overall do abide by the conventions of the soul genre so some parts they expect to see which will appeal to them. This planning has helped us ensure that our artist will appeal to the target audience as it has outlined the way in which camera shots can help display the artist in a particular light. For example, we want to make sure she is relatable and that the audience can empathise with her which can be demonstrated through points of view shots. As well as this we want to make the audience feel sympathetic towards the artist as they are more likely to appeal to her in this way and so, the long shots of the artist alone on stage will do this by emphasising her loneliness. 

Planning Setting and Iconography - Miss Miller

The setting and iconography elements are very important within a music video. Firstly, the setting is very important due to the fact that it can help display a narrative that may be occurring in  the video. If a character/the artist is changing setting this makes the video interesting for the viewer but will also have significance in doing so. This could be for a number of reasons for example, if the song changes mood or the narrative takes a turn or a twist. Changing setting is a good way to help show how something has altered within the video, as well as building a connection between the audience and the artist as the change can often be emphasised in the particular way the artist acts. As a group, we planned the setting and iconography that we will choose to use in our music video, which is displayed below:

Setting

Firstly, one of the settings we will be using is a stage - during some of the performance parts of the video. We have chosen to use this setting as it is typically conventional of the soul genre and is used to realistically show the performance of the artist. It allows the audience to feel as if the performance is more live and as if they are there to witness it. Using the stage widens the interest of our performance due to the flexibility of the setting. For example, with this setting, the lighting is easily controlled and managed to ensure that the effects we intend to create are created. This allows us to use the lighting in ways that may not be so obvious such as using backlighting to create a silhouette of the artist which adds diversity to the video. It also helps convey the typical, dark and depressing emotion found generically in soul genre music videos as the silhouette is black and reflected from the artist. In addition, it also aids to show the artist in an extraordinary light, making her seem more glamorous and impressive. In the shots taken place at this setting, the artist will be shown performing as if they would to a real audience. This will enable the setting to be used in as much a realistic way as possible, as a genuine performance would be situated on a stage with particular lighting. The stage is going to be the one in school, which means that there are going to be a few limitations to using it as a setting in the video. Firstly, due to high demand and frequent use of the main hall (where the stage is), it may be hard to book the hall at particular preferred times of filming due to the busy schedule in which it owns. Furthermore, the stage is fairly small in comparison to a real life stage where an artist may perform on tour or at a more professional occasion. Because of this, we have to ensure that we only get in shot the parts of the stage that will look professional, ensuring that any aspects that may hint that this scene is in fact filmed in a school are avoided from being captured. The health and safety risks are generally fairly minimal for this setting, however because of the height of the stage, there is a possible chance of someone whether that be the artist or crew member of falling off, which could escalate in reference to injury. To prevent this from occurring, we will make sure to be extra careful, especially if anyone is to stand near the edge of the stage, but we will try to ensure that all of the footage is filmed at a reasonable and sensible distance from the edge. This setting is situated inside a building and so weather will not cause any disruption to our planning of using this setting. It means that whatever the weather happens to be like on the day we decide to film, it won't affect our setting that we wish to film in. 

The next setting is going to be in a school music practice room, however, this is not what the video is going to display. We want to transform the room so that it doesn't look like a music practice room as this would seem unprofessional. We would like to use a black drape/sheet to enable the room to have more of a sombre tone which is conventional to the genre of soul. In this room, various shots of the artist playing the piano  are going to be illustrated. It is going to show how the artist is just a normal girl who is just like a general audience member. We chose this location because the piano fits in the room nicely, also allowing enough room for us to carry out the shots we want. The size of the room is fairly small which will help us reflect how the artist feels enclosed in their emotions and that their past is closing in on them. The room being small also helps us to transform the room more easily as there is less of the room in which we will need to cover up. We want to show the room as being in an unknown setting rather than a school due to the way we want to prevent it from being shown as amateurish. Because of the smallness of the room size, this could prove difficult in creating the ideal shots that we want, however, we can still capture most of the shots we ideally want to use, by working around the piano and working with the space that we do have. Furthermore, the lighting in the room is uneven, making most of the light in the room coming from natural light through the window. The actual light that is in the room isn't that bright which makes the window enter the most key light into the room. There is no blind/curtain on the window to prevent this, however, it is possible to put something across it if we do choose to block out some of the light as there is a window sill ledge that will allow us to do this. There are limited health and safety risks in this setting as it is a small room with minimal props inside, however there could be a couple of risks. For example, the stool/chairs or piano may be tripped over and so, we will ensure that when the artist isn't at the piano at a certain point whilst looking back at footage or something similar, we will make sure to tuck the stool under the piano so that the possibility of someone tripping over it is prevented. Another possible health and safety risk could be that the way there is an exposed radiator in the room, during the time of filming being in the Autumn/Winter time, the temperatures will be low and so the radiator may automatically be turned on. The hot radiator could go unnoticed whilst filming and if someone is trying to capture a particular shot, they may move into position and unintentionally touch the radiator which could cause them to burn themselves. To prevent this from occurring, we will ensure that the radiator is switched off for this part of filming and if people become cold we will each bring coats to resolve this possible problem. The weather could only affect filming in reference to the lighting. If the weather is anything but sunny, this is fine because it will generally reflect even lighting in the room. However, if the weather is sunny, the light could reflect in the room unevenly, possibly making the shots seem unprofessional. The sunlight could also get into the artist's eyes, which could mean that they are distracted and the intended emotion is not transferred into the shots. To resolve this, we will place the black drape in-front of the window or film on a different day when the weather is different.

The next setting we have chosen to use for our music video is London. The general meaning and reference to the song is London when Adele is talking about her hometown, however, we want to display it in a way where the artist builds her way up to. This means having her hometown in a smaller more 'outskirty' sort of village which would generally emphasise the fact she is just a normal girl. London is the capital of England and known very much worldwide for its success and talent that disperses from it. Most impressive venues and studios are situated here and so having an artist seem as if they are performing in London illustrates success and graft. In the setting, shots of active, fast-paced edited London streets such as oxford street will be filmed to layer over the top of other shots in the music video - one of these shots will be the piano scenes. Having these two scenes overlap will emphasise the success of the artist from the contrast between the two settings. Using them in a fast-paced edited way will also reinforce the quickness of the artist's rise to fame, that we intend to show. We will also generally use the shots to layer over other shots on certain parts of the song, for example, the second verse. Goodwin's theory is also linked here as during the second verse, the song literally remarks about the 'city'. This use of setting will allow the audience to familiarise with it as they would have most likely been to or around the setting before and know the type of environment it is. It will also show the hard work and dedication the artist would have paid in order to reach such success as performing in the capital. There may be some limitations to this setting however. For example, because London is a busy, public place, there is a high chance that there will be people waving at the camera or walking too close to the camera. Though, due to the fast-paced nature that the shots will be edited to, this should eliminate the waves and not make them noticeable in the video. As well as this, we will need to ensure we can find positions where it is not in the way of people and that we can stay there for some time due to the length we need for the shots - which could prove difficult as it is very busy in London, but we will make sure we find a location. There are many health and safety risks in this location because of the high number of public that will be present in the shot. People could trip on the tripod, unknowing that it is present, which could cause them to fall over. To stop this from happening, we will make sure to place our camera in a place where it is not as busy and try to warn members of the public that the tripod is there as they walk past. The audio of the shots will not be used and so, by doing this, it will not affect the shots we take. As well as this, members of the public could knock the camera accidentally. This could escalate into the camera falling over and possibly breaking. To prevent this, we will ensure to hold the camera tripod as still as possible and make sure another person is on guard to catch the tripod before it hits the ground if this does occur. Because of the high frequency of people, this means there will also be a variety of different people - including thieves. The camera in which we will be using are expensive and also not property of ours, but the schools, so it is in our best interest to ensure that it is left in the condition in which we were given it. To ensure that the camera isn't stolen, we will make sure that we will surround the camera whilst it is filming and when the camera isn't filming, we will either carry the camera in a disguised bag or put it around our neck. This means that people will not suspect the camera is even in the bag and if someone tries to attempt to steal the camera from around someone's neck, this will prove difficult as the person will be in a position to restrict them from doing it. The weather may affect our filming as we wouldn't want the camera to get wet, however, if it does rain, we would ensure that the camera is covered by shelter and we would still manage to get the shots we want. Ideally, dry weather would be best, so before filming, we will check the weather forecast to ensure us of getting the most preferred shots as possible.    

The setting that will be used to represent the artist's hometown is Theydon Bois. This is a small village that will show the artist coming from 'nowhere' building her way up to performing in London. This setting was chosen because it reinforces the fact that the artist is just an ordinary person, and that of someone the audience can relate to. The setting is also easily accessible for all of our group members, which will make it easier for filming as we won't be wasting time trying to get to/find places where we need to be. Theydon Bois has many aspects of it in which we are able to film shots of the artist and her friends before she became famous. For example, there is a playground which we can film in and can be used to reflect innocence and youth within the artist and her friends. When filming in the playground, we will ensure that no other children will be captured in our shots due to the lack of permission in which we will have. However, we will try and film at a time in the day where the playground will be in least use to prevent this. We will use other locations within this setting such as 'the green'. This is an open space of grass in the middle of the village which features housing around the edge and a pond within it. With this particular location in the setting, we are able to capture long shots and more wider shots which will create interest within our video. It also allows different angles of the friends to be captured which could help to portray different effects and emotions within the scenes. There isn't many limitations for this setting. The only one that is evident is the lack of having what a city has - lots of different types of buildings and activities such as a cinema, shopping centre, etc. However, we wanted to have the artist's hometown being somewhere small, in a village where it makes the artist seem as if she came from a very much in contrast location in comparison to London. There isn't many health and safety risks in this setting. In the playground, there is a risk that a character could swing too high on the swings or fall off an apparatus. In order to prevent this we will ensure that they do not swing too high and not go on any apparatus that would be too high. There are also no streetlights in Theydon Bois, so if we are out late filming, it may be a risk getting back home due to lack of light. To prevent this we will use a torch, however, ideally we will film our shots during the day. As well as this, if the weather is raining, 'the green' being on grass may become wet, muddy and consequently, slippery. This could cause someone to slip and fall and so to prevent this, we will use the path next to 'the green' instead, which won't be as slippery as it is concrete. Therefore, the weather should not affect filming, if it does get particularly bad, we will film the scenes on another day where the weather is dryer. 

Another setting that will be used in our music video will be underground train stations. We have chosen this setting to show the transition between the artist being in her hometown to reaching London and achieving fame. It's a short and simple way to help demonstrate the change of setting to link the two and create a flow within the video. Using Theydon Bois train station and a London one such as Oxford Street, makes a clear connection between the settings. It also will display the ordinary representation of the artist from the way that this is a public form of transport that the audience can relate to using. The shots here will show the artist entering and exiting the stations involved to help display this transition between settings. The limitations of the setting are the fact that the setting is fairly small and we are not actually allowed to film inside the setting, so will just literally be filming outside it. This will leave us with some simple, limited shots which is actually fine because the shots don't need to be dragged out at all because a fully active scene will not be taking place here. Because of the smallness of the setting, the health and safety risks are fairly limited. Though, to ensure that the whole of the setting is able to be captured in shot, the person filming may need to stand in a road/car park whilst shooting this. They will need to ensure that the area is safe around them before doing it and also have someone else on watch to look out for other cars or obstacles that may approach as the filming is taking place. This is what we will do to ensure that the cars/vehicles do not harm the camera operator or any of the members of the group unintentionally. The weather will not affect the filming of these shots as, even though they are essentially outside, they are only going to be quick shots and the weather will not determine the effect of these. 

The next setting that will also be featured in our music video is a shopping centre. This is another location for the artist and friends to 'hang out'. It's a typical setting for socialising and shows comfortability between the friendship that will be displayed. This is a relatable setting as many audience members will be very familiar with it. In the shots the friends are going to be seen with the artist, laughing, enjoying themselves and shopping. Because this is a public place, there is likely going to be some limitations. One of which would be that members of the public are likely to wave at the camera or make gestures to the camera of some sort. This will make the shots more amateur and this is not what we want to achieve - we want to make the music video as professional-looking as possible. The large amount of public that may be in the centre at the time we film may be a limitation as they could prevent us from getting the shots we want. For example, in a long shot we may be trying to capture of all of the friends walking together, members of the public could just walk across the shot, blocking out particular characters of the music video. The health and safety risks in this setting are quite minimal. There may be a lot of people and so this increases the risk of them being bumped into by the artist and the friends or the camera operator(s). This could cause someone to fall over or for the camera to drop or for the shot being captured to be jolted. To prevent this we will ensure to have someone on watch and to look out for potential clashes. The weather will not affect this setting as the shopping centre is indoors which means the weather will not be needed to be considered. 

The last setting that will be included in our music video will be the artist hanging with their friends at their house or friends house. Showing the house as not being expensively furnished or decorated makes the house seem like a normal one that a typical normal family would live in - including the artist at this point. In the house we want to also show shots of the artist and friends together playing games, watching television and just generally having a good time. With this, we will hen have various shots of the friends in different locations which can help to reflect the normality of the artist's life before they become famous and also the strength in the friendship on the artist and their friends. Because the house we will film in will is one of the group member's, there will hardly be any limitations. The house is quite small in areas so we will just carry out the shots in the larger parts of the house to enable us to create the ideal shots that we want. The health and safety risks would only be the house appliances in the home, such as any lights that may be around, the kettle, radiators etc. We will ensure that all members involved will be careful around the appliances to ensure that nothing harmful will be a result. There is also quite a lot of wooden floor within the house which could be slippery, especially if the weather happens to rain. To stop anyone slipping over, we will make sure to take our shoes off so that the wetness of the shoes won't be transferred onto the floor, causing it to become slippery, but also just generally be careful when walking on it. Overall, the weather will not affect filming as the setting is inside and so what is going on outside will not matter. 

Iconography

Moving onto iconography, one of our most prominent uses will be a microphone. Ideally, rather than using a modern microphone, we would like to use a vintage style one to create the intended vibe within our video. The vintage microphone reflects the artist as being more 'old school', traditional and classic. This is also conventional to the genre of soul by including this as it creates this 'chilled' vibe usually found in soul music videos. The iconography will be used on stage during the performance parts of the video, where the artist will look as if they are genuinely singing into it - as if they would at a concert/gig. This is more effective than just having the artist sing on stage without one because, it makes the performance seem more professional and high key. It will also help us to distinguish the performance style parts of the video to the audience and create a clear and definite including of it. The performance looking more genuine can also allow the artist to perform more realistically, enabling them to make certain gestures and expressions that they may feel is needed. The microphone also helps to make the performance realistic as the song has parts where the artist would have changed the dynamics of their voice. Therefore, with the microphone, the artist can go closer to or further away from the microphone to help display this. Having this is conventional to the soul genre as the typical old vibe is created and it ensures prominence on the performance parts of the song. It also allows emotion to be illustrated more clearly and genuinely which is a generic convention found in nearly every soul genre music video. 

Another prominent use of iconography will be the use of a piano in the other coordinating performance shots in the video. This will be used by the artist as they sing and play the piano at the same time during particular performance shots which will coincide with the stage performance shots. This will show the artist as being talented and more extraordinary from the way they can play piano as well as sing - and at the same time. It helps to make the song more raw and real, and reflects to the audience the personal meaning of the song to the artist. Having the artist play the piano throughout reinforces the way that the artist wrote and composed the song themselves. Also, including the use of piano creates interest within the video and also elegance from the way that the acoustic nature of this instrument is quite calm and flowing. Expression can also be emphasised through the playing of the instrument, which is conventional to the genre of soul as having emotion as a valued feature is a key generic code. The general use of the piano is also conventional as it adds professionalism to the video and using a black piano reflects the sombre mood we intend to create for parts of the video (performance) - conventional to the genre of soul.

A less prominent use of iconography would be phones used when the friends are hanging out together. This shows the interaction between them and will help to emphasise the comfortability between them. They will be used to create laughter and a focus for the artist and friends to use as a centre point for a particular emotion. Some shots could also be as if the friends were filming on the phones to make the audience feel more involved and to also help make the scenes look genuine. However, reflecting on this idea, we want to make these particular scenes look as if they are in the past where phones wouldn't be such a dominant feature then as it is today. We also don't want to take the innocence away from the representation of the artist and friends and so including phones could potentially manipulate this. It also goes again the pure and raw nature of the soul music videos and so, on this particular idea, our group may reconsolidate this. 

Buses and cars could also seen as being iconography in our video as they will be featured. The artist will not directly use them themselves, however, they can be a way, likewise with the train stations, to show transition between settings. It will help show the audience that the artist is just an ordinary, genuine person like them. This will make the relationship between the audience and the artist more stronger as they will feel more relatable to the artist and feeling more as if they aspire to be like the artist. The buses and cars in London will also be shown in the fast-paced edited shots of the London streets that we will be including. This creates a clear link to the success of the artist as red buses are a distinct clue into showing that it has been filmed in London. This is conventional to the genre of soul because this clearly links the lyrics to the visuals which occurs very often in soul genre music videos. 

This planning has helped me prepare for filming our music video as it has helped illustrate how important the setting and iconography is. It has also ensured that we have a clear direction in where we want and intend to film, as well as having back up plans if particular settings or iconography are unavailable when we come to film. Moreover, it has made us recognise which particular settings would fit with the soul genre and of course, the narrative and performance elements of our video. As well as this, iconography used to make the scenes more realistic such as the microphone and also more raw like the piano have been planned out and are going to be accentuated as best as possible. Planning the setting and iconography will have saved us filming time as we wont have to waste time now looking around for places to film. We are now able to just get ourselves straight to the setting we need and film what we need to. Additionally, it gives us time to make sure that we can get hold of the iconography that we want to use before we begin to film so that everything is in place and prepared.