Planning setting and Iconography

The purpose of a setting is to relate the lyrics and music to the visuals in the music video. Iconography is used to display this in more detail than just a setting. Goodwin's theory demonstrates this view and it helps to craft a music video. Also, a setting is used to entertain the audience and it could be obscure but it must relatable to the song. An artist will manipulate a setting in order to create a certain effect for the audience. Often, am artist will use a setting which their target audience can relate to. This is so that the audience feels as though the video is more personal to them and therefore has a greater effect. Iconography is also often used to promote an ideology or idea. For example a rap artist might use expensive jewellery in order to promote their wealth and display their rich lifestyles through this iconography.

One of our chosen settings for the music video is the view from the south bank in London over the river, which includes images of famous landmarks such as the London Eye. This will be our first scene and it will be set in the early morning. It will capture the audiences attention immediately as they will see these huge landmarks and they will identify these. This is a conventional setting for a dance music video as London is known for its party scene amongst other factors. However, it is also a unique setting as to my knowledge, no artist has used this setting before in a music video. The audience will be able to relate to this as the whole country knows the famous landmarks in London as it is the capital city and many have visited these. They therefore are grasped by it immediately and the video seems more personal for them. Here, we will include iconography such as alcohol glass bottles. This is so the audience knows that the video is addressing the partying lifestyle, which is so common amongst the youth of today.Other iconography that we will be using here are mobile phones. These will be used to link our current scene with the scene from the night before by looking at photos or videos. Many record companies use this type of iconography as a form of advertising. We will have to contact the company of the mobile phones in order to gain authority to advertise their product on our video.

The next setting that we will be using is the scene from a party. Here, the viewer will experience the artists lifestyle. This allows them an insight and they therefore they can relate to the artist as the audience can see the artists lifestyle. The party scene also relates to the lyrics and music, as we will cut to this scene as the chorus comes on and it is more up beat. This also shows the performance based technique that we are trying to portray. 'Wake me up when its all over', describes how the artist want to know when all this partying is over and he turns 'wiser and older'. Therefore the lyrics relate to this scene. There will be far more iconography here as the party scene is a lot more detailed and set up for the purpose of the music video, where as the city is already set up. Examples of the iconography that we will be using are, drinking glasses, champagne and party outfits. This is conventional as dance music often is associated with these props. For example, Flo Rida's 'club cant handle me' often displays champagne, promoting this partying lifestyle.

This setting is followed by a different setting which will show the two main characters making their journey home from London. Therefore the shots will display all different scenery from London as well as a scene in an underground train. This is so that the audience can follow the characters journey and they will receive honored to be able to see this journey of their idol. Also this scene is an integral part of the story line as it shows the characters interacting and their relationship and friendship before they part and go to their separate houses. The iconography that will be used is normal props such as a newspaper on the train. This will allow the audience to relate as they see that their idol is also normal like them and reads the newspaper. These are conventional to the dance genre as many dance artist want to create a normal video where by genuine settings are used in order to relate to the audience and so that they feel part of the video.

The final 2 scenes are shown alternately and run parallel with one another. This is because they show the two characters entering their separate homes and the contrast in these. This is because one character will walk into a nice house with his loving family greeting him and the other will be walking into a deprived flat by themselves. These settings will show our concept theme, which is that family is more important than the partying lifestyle and having a good time. Here, the iconography that we will use in the family home to give it a warm and comfy feel, are candles, paintings and nice furniture. This will contrast with the iconography in the other flat, which will display old pizza pieces, rubbish on the floor and smashed lights giving the scene a gloomy and miserable feel. This is conventional to the dance genre as it represents the end of the song and many dance videos end with a serious message and not a continuation of the party scene. However, as our story line is so specific it is unique to all other dance videos. This will build a relationship with our target audience as a concept is being highlighted and they will discover this serious hidden message in our video. The audience may then feel that they have learnt something from their experience watching our music video and will make the artist more popular and likable. This is because this effect makes the audience feel as though it is personally to them.