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.