INDIE GENRE CONVENTIONS

SETTING

• Indie music videos are known to be quite low budget, the main settings of the video are in the studios, cities, parks and in tunnel etc. These are places which can be accessed easily and they can create a very mysteries. The setting are kept simple because it is typical of indie rock music video to focus more on the artist/performance.

MISE-EN-SCENE

• Mise-en-scene is a very important factor in the indie rock genre as it helps to portray the narrative much better. Indie artists often have a retro look which can be created through their costumes and also their makeup. There could be additional actors in the music video who are the main characters in the narrative of the video, they would have to portray the part through their appearance and also the way they act. Costumes would give people different identities making it easier to understand the music video and it helps to set them apart from everyone else. Props are also very important to ensure that the music video looks realistic. For a indie rock genre the key props would be instruments (e.g. drum kit, guitar etc.) which shows that the artists are actually the ones playing the instruments.

PERFORMANCE

• It is very common for indie rock genre to include live performance as it is a way to focus on the main artist, showing them doing what they really enjoy. It is very typical in indie genre to focus on the actual talents of the artist and the meat shots of the artist would promote the star. However, over the recent years it has been really popular to include an narrative in-between the performance to give more meaning to the music video. It helps the audience to relate to the lyrics of the song.

NARRATIVE

• It has been increasingly popular to include a narrative in the music video as it helps to tell a story which the audience could relate to. Usually the narrative would link in well with the lyrics which leaves room for more imagination. This would make the music video stand out more. Narrative has become really popular because it holds people attention better compared to a music video of live performance and meat shots. It makes it much more interesting as there are more variety of shots used.

SOUND

• For a music video, sound is a very important aspect, especially during the live performances where the audience can directly hear the instruments being played. If the music video adapts a narrative it might have diegetic sounds to make the scene look realistic. The diegetic sounds might be much clearer and louder at the beginning before the vocals start and at the end when the vocals end. Sounds might overlap e.g. the vocals could still be playing but the audience can hear someone crying as well. Effects could be added to the sound either to fade it or increase its volume to convey emotions.

CAMERA

• The most typical camera shots used in indie genre music video would be close up shots as it introduces the star and it helps to advertise the star. Close up shots highlights the artist’s talents when they are singing and it also show their passion and emotion. Crane shots are also popular when filming live performances as it allows different angles. Long and wide shots are used as establishing shots to set the scene of the narrative in the music video.

Low angle shot

Medium shot

EDITING

• Editing is very important to make the music video interesting. Most indie genre videos would have special effect to either make it run smoothly or to create an effect that makes the audience feel as if they are in the music video. Shots are usually cut either fast or slow to reflect the pace/beat of the music, which links in well with Andrew Goodwin’s theory. It makes it much more comfortable to watch. Effects are usually added over the top of the video to create a old and worn like video. The black and white effect is also very popular as it makes the video very old fashioned giving it a classical and sad feeling.

Black and white effect