Planning setting and iconography

 Setting and iconography are important in a music video as it helps to build up a relationship with the audience and allows them to follow the narrative. They help to build up the audiences expectations of what they should see, this could make our video diverse if we do not follow the expectations of the audience. The iconography helps to create a sense of realism and makes the artists story feel more real to the audience.

The first setting we have chosen to film our indie music video in is a field. This is one of our main locations as it is quite isolated which means the audiences attention will remain on the artist while she is performing. Furthermore, we think that is will help to display her as quite lonely and vulnerable which is a convention for indie artists, as they commonly write songs and lyrics about their emotions and feelings and their videos commonly mirror these feelings. Some of the shots that we have considered including for the field setting are long/mid/panning shots of the artists and her female lover dancing and mucking around together and having flash backs of happy time together. By having these shots in the field it shows them as free and expressive as they are not worrying about anything and just running around having fun together. We are going to include a time laps in this setting as well when the girls are having fun together to connote how time flies when your having fun. Another reason we have decided to film part of the video in a field is because it shows the artist in a real life everyday place that many of the audience can relate to, this links in with Dyer's star theory of an artist being more of a real person then star. A frame that is going to be shot in this location is the bonfire scene with the artist hanging out and staying out all night with her friends. Again this is relatable to the audience because it encourages them to reminisce about rebellious times they have had, as this is how the artist is portrayed. Some limitations and risks that we may encounter when filming in this location is the danger of being around the fire, as it can be quite dangerous and cause serious injuries. Therefore we need to make sure that we are extra careful when shooting with the fire and have the correct equipment e.g. matches, water, fire blanket. The only other problem that may occur when shooting in the field is the weather, as it is such a large open space we will have no cover what so ever if it is heavily raining or worse. As a result of this our actors and actresses may feel uncomfortable performing in the rain and not perform to the best of their ability. Also the rain could damage our camera. To avoid this we can make sure we are prepare, if the weather is only slightly bad then we can use more umbrellas and covers to make sure everything stays warm and dry. But if the weather is really bad then we will have to rearrange to another day to make sure we get the best out of our actors and camera.

Closely linking in to the field, within this we are going to have the location of a lake. Here we will shoot the two homosexual girls walking hand in hand together around the lake, being affectionate and loving towards each other. We have decided to shoot this around the lake because it has connotations of peacefulness which helps to represent the girls togetherness as they are not hiding away from anyone and are happy being together at that point. Similarly to the field the lake has the same health and safety risks, but an additional risk is the actual lake its self. There I the unlikely possibility that someone may fall in the lake, at the time of year it will be freezing cold therefore the person my become ill if this happens. Or if they fall in they may not be able to swim which would not end well. Therefore, we will make sure that none of the camera crew or actors go near the lake, ensuring that they keep a far distance away.

Thee second location we are going to film in is a house. This is a highly familiar setting for the audience and they would be very familiar with it, therefore will know what it includes and is in it. Furthermore, a house has connotations of love and a warming, inviting environment were people feel comfortable. Making it easy for the audience to relate to this setting and feel more involved with the scene and helps to gain a sense of realism. The frames that will be filmed in the house will be the two girls sitting around with each other and relaxing in each others company. This shows the audience how they interact together and are comfortable with each other is a private, intimate, warming setting. However, a limitation of filming inside the house is that it can be quite confined meaning that we may not have enough space to achieve all of the shots we want to include as there may not be space to set up our camera and tripod.  Additionally, a small space could end up representing the female characters as trapped and stuck together which is not what we want to portray to or audience. To overcome this limitation we will have to be adventurous with the way in which we set up our camera to make sure we make the frame look big enough so everything desired is in shot.

Linking in closely to the house setting we will also film in a bedroom. This is a more personal and intimate setting, which allows our audience to get to no the artist on a deeper level because they will see how they design their personal space thus showing a lot about their personality, which makes it conventional to the indie genre as they commonly show personal and intimate frames in their videos in order to help the audience connect and relate to them. The bedroom will further mirror the artists emotions because we will have a messy and untidy room which highlights her confusion with her relationship and that her head is a mess because she doesn't no what to do.  However, by having a messy room this could be slightly hazardous to the actors and crew because they may trip over some of the mess which could injure themselves. To over come this hazard we will make sure that everyone is highly aware of themselves and what they are doing when filming to avoid them falling. The weather will not affect us in the house or bedroom because they are both inside and will be dry and warm.

The next location we are going to use in the video is a street, this is a casual everyday environment that the audience will easily be able to relate to. This is conventional of indie as it is something that is used on a daily basis by herself and the general public. We are using the street to show the artist looking back on her life and portraying her as lonely as she is reminiscing. We are going to show one of the artists memories of her and her lover walking down the street together and are happy and enjoying themselves. And the a now shot of the artist walking own the street on her own displaying her loneliness and how things have changed for her. Also how she misses being with her partners. This setting could have limitations because it will have to be shot around the every day public therefore we have to make sure we are respectful of other people and make sure that we do not cause any disturbances. To ensure this we will have group meetings prior to filming to discussing what will want to achieve out of that filming sessions and asses how busy the street is in order to see if filming would be plausible. Also if we decide on a certain area that we want to film we can tell people on approach to this area that we are filming and then if they don't mind they can keep going otherwise could walk around us.

Our final setting that we are going to film in is the dance studio as we hope to include some choreographed dancing to represent that artists emotions as she is singing and the song. We have chosen to do this in the dance studio because it has the right amount of space to safely perform a dance routine and it also has the correct lighting and other various features that we need to help us e.g. black curtains which will assist in highlighting the dancers movements. This would link back to part of the chorus where it says "if these wings could fly" and the dancers would then reveal their wings to the audience, the features in this room will help to dramatize this. Although this room has the right amount of space for the dancers to perform it does limit the places that we can situate the camera and crew as it is not a massive room but to overcome this we will just have to make the crew be creative when thinking about camera placement and think carefully about the placement of the dancers.

Our first piece of iconography that we have chosen to include in our music video is smoke canisters, these are small tube looking canisters that have chemicals inside that burn quickly releasing a coloured smoke. We have decided to use this as it displays that the artist is having fun with her friends and doesn't have any worries at that moment, it also reflects excited by the bright colours used. Smoke canisters are highly conventional to the indie genre because I think the smoke represents the artists as being a free spirit (which is common within indie artists) and floating around without any stresses or fears. We are going to get our actors to dance with the smoke canisters, the colourful smoke that is being released while the dance could also have connotations of them being on drugs and tripping out, implying they are quite rebellious, this gives the video a sense of realism for the audience as is it something common people of this age would do. This is conventional to the indie genre as artists normally symbolise their relationships as a type of drug that they are addicted to and cant live without. Additionally the smoke will be quite thick which could portray her as quite shy and this is mirrored in the fact that she is partly trying to hide her feelings towards the other female and is shy about how she really feels, therefore is trying to hide in the smoke.

The follow piece of iconography that we have chosen to include is alcohol. This is commonly know as a depressant, meaning that is slows down the vital functions such as movements and reactions, it highly affects someone's ability to think rationally and distorts their judgement. One of the most common reasons for someone to drink alcohol is to help them loosen up and be more fun, however a large intake of it can be used by people to forget about issues in their lives and drown their sorrows. We are going to use It in the field scene of the music video when the artist is hanging out with friends and surrounded by her peers. This will help the audience to relate to the video as they are likely to have bee in the situation where they are drinking with their friends in order to forget about issues or stress in their lives. Similarly to our artist who is shown to be drinking in order to forget her troubles with her partner. The artist will be happy and carefree while under the influence of the alcohol because it is says that the truth comes out when you drink therefore she is happy being around her partner and friends without trying to cover up their relationship and it mentally unaware of what she is actually doing.

My third piece of iconography that we are going to use is fireworks because it helps to imply our artist as rebellious which is a convention of artists within the indie genre. They also portray danger and excitement which would resemble the artists relationship with her partner as they are not out as a couple together yet so are still sneaking around together. We are going to use these in the field/lake scene as it is a big open space which realistically is needed to have fireworks safely. We are also aiming to film this frame on bonfire night, as it will be helpful that the sky will be filled with other peoples fireworks as well, therefore helping to build up the story. As well as the actual fireworks we are going to use sparklers which is a handheld firework with releases a small spark. These can be used to draw shapes with and write things in the air if done quickly. We have decided to use these as it shows a youthful childlike side of the artists and her peers, showing they are all quite comfortable around each other and it is stereotypical of teenagers to try to be adult ie drinking but they are still quite childish at times like when they are playing with the sparklers. The artist and her partner will be able to draw heart shapes and each others names displays their love for one and another, this is conventional of the indie genre as there are often gestures of love and romance seen in them.


Another piece of iconography we are going to use is a tent, this is a moveable shelter that is constructed of cloth supported by one or more poles and pinned down by pegs and string. These can be easily put up and moved around. We will use this is the bonfire scene and will be used by the couple as they camp under the stars together. This represents them as love stuck and rebellious as they are staying out late together, not going home and do not seem to be worried about any sort of consequences that may occur. Implying that they live for each other and are so in love they would rather spend the night with just each other than family. Also as the tent is quite a confined space it creates a sense of intimacy and togetherness as they are in the field alone. To make our tent have more of an indie feel we will most likely create our tent out of rough pieces of cloth and fabric as indie videos are normally low budget this home made tent will help to represent this. Also the way in which we make our tent look will help to represent the artists personality and is a way they can express themselves. By them doing this youthful activity is shows them as quite an outgoing couple, which is a trait you would expect from this age group.

My final piece of iconography that we have decided to include In the video is a piano, this is a musical instrument, it is rather large and has metal strings that are stuck by hammers when a key is pressed to produce a sound. The sounds produced are quite mellow which is conventional of the indie genre as it matches the slow songs and helps to build up tension and intimacy which helps the audience to follow the story as they follow the music. It is also conventional to include a type of instrument in an indie music video as it shows them as extraordinary as they have a talent as well as being ordinary and relatable to the audience. To show that our artist has actual talent and knows what they are doing we are going to include a low angled shot of her playing the piano and singing showing her as multi-talented. It also helps us to included Goodwin's performance style in our music video which helps to engage the audience as we are using a variety of styles. A piano is also quite an intimate instrument due to the soft tones of the keys which helps the audience to build up a relationship with the artist as she plays.

This planning of setting and iconography has helped me and my group in creating our music video as it has allowed us to clearly map out what frames we are going to have in certain settings and what is going to happen there. Also what iconography is going to be used in certain frames this will help us to make sure we don't forget anything while filming. Furthermore it has shown any problems that may occur and also how we can overcome these, this will save time when filming if we encounter any of these problems as we are already aware of the risks.