Research Into Chosen Genre

Camera Angles & Framing

The most common camera angles used within the Indie Pop genre are close-up shots, long shots and mid shots used to make the music video look clean and attract the audience. In mainstream pop videos the artist will usually be in the centre of the shot however, in this genre the artist or focus of the shot will be off centre.


Characters

Almost all Indie pop videos feature and promote the artist within the music video where they will always be the main focus in the shot and centrally framed however, our chosen artist does not follow this rule as their very few music videos do not feature the band itself. Some music videos follow Propps theory of featuring a hero or villain character, these are usually narrative based videos that help to tell a story through the use of different characters.


Setting

In most music videos the band/artist will usually be the main focus therefore, there are a lot of performance shots in a recording studio or on a white background. The mood of the music video will also have an effect on the setting of the video for example, most music videos in this genre will be based in public places such as, woods, parks, towns/cities etc. this helps the audience to be able to relate to the music.


Narrative/ Performance/ Concept

All Indie Pop style videos are either narrative or performance based and it is fairly common for this genre to include both styles within a video the show individuality which appeals to the target audience as they are not a mainstream audience. However, most videos within this genre are narrative based music videos due to the potential to add more of a story line to the video and intrigue the audience.


Themes

The most common theme seen in this genre of music videos is individuality as this is what the audience like to see as they are not mainstream and the artist/band usually reflect their individuality within their music videos.


Editing

The editing will usually be in beat with the song to make the video flow nicely and appeal to the audience. Due to this genre being a bit edgy and not mainstream, filters/grains are commonly used to show this individuality within the genre which is found appealing by the target audience as they enjoy this style. A lot of music videos in this genre have a sad narrative meaning the mood of the video can also be presented through these filters for example, black and white tone is used quite often in this genre to express this emotion.

This 1975 music video is an example of an Indie-Pop music video that follows typical conventions of the genre. Similar to our performance shots in our music video, this existing music video is filmed in black and white which is typical of this genre. It creates a morbid/sad tone to the video which is usually what the lyrics in the song show.

The purpose of this research task was to gain knowledge of typical conventions of our genre which will help when creating our own music video. I have covered the key areas of music videos that are impacted as a result of genre for example in this genre I now know that being narrative based is very important as this is what the target audience expect from music videos in this genre therefore, they need to find this entertaining/ appealing.