Indie Rock Conventions- Vodcast

Genre Conventions- Indie Rock

Genre Conventions 

Indie Rock is the genre that I have chosen to look into more depth, as it is the genre that i'm planning on working on for my final production. Due to this, I've now focused on doing research which will mainly be focused around the 'Indie Rock' genre and target specific conventions towards it.

Performance

In most 'Indie Rock' genre music videos the performance is based upon the artist/ band (typically a band) having a live performance to an audience as that links into the Rock aspect of the genre, since typically in Rock genre music videos, the band/artists is presented through the visuals performing the song to an audience. Onwards, targeting more the 'Indie' aspect of it, the word indie itself is known as: independent. The way in which the performance is independent is that they're often Performance music videos this is one of three broad music video typologies identified by Firth 1988, as the band is not only lipsynching the song and playing an instrument, but they are also performing a story through dancing and direct address whenever they are trying to make a direct point to the audience. The way in which this makes the An example for this would be: Greek Tragedy by The Wombats , as there is a variation between the visuals of both a live performance to an audience and a more narrative based performance in order to relate to the lyrics.

Narrative

A typical convention for 'Indie Rock' Narratives is that they are linear because it will literally tell you the story of the song through the visuals, however these narratives are very abstract, as at first we would not necessarily associate the visuals presented on the screen with the lyrics being heard (this allows the audience to use their imagination and make try to make links between both the visuals + the lyrics), yet as it develops the audience is able to make the connection between both of these elements due to the fact that it is a linear narrative meaning that it's got a beginning, middle and an end. Furthermore, most indie rock videos present both a mixture between live performance and a story in order to keep the audience interested in the song and also to portray this persona of being unique and independent. In addition to this, the camera elements help with this idea of mixing the performance because some of the shots are done as a home video and others shot professionally to reinforce this idea of independence that relates to the name 'Indie' itself.  

 

Setting

Most indie music videos take place in two different locations. 1. being the stage in which the band is presented performing the song and 2. either an abstract environment (a sub-closed environment such as the one presented in the music for Diane Young- Vampire weekend, a clear/ white room with very little prop or decoration within it) or a location in which they'd typically be found at (a park/ city/ home). However, the setting could sometimes change depending on whether the song is telling a story or not. An example of this would be in the music video for 'The Killers- Mr. Brightside' because the setting is a ballroom to reinforce the idea that they are back in the 18th century as the props also help with this idea. Overall, most indie music videos choose to go for traditional and settings that are more familiar to the audience as it is cheaper, and the main focus they want the audience to have is on the performance and the music rather than the location.

Mise-en-scene

For the mise-en-scene most indie rock genre music videos focus on the costume as this helps reinforce the person that they are trying to come across as to the audience. Furthermore, most indie rock bands wear a similar trend of clothing to create Verisimilitude within the band members. However, bands from the similar genre although they have similar clothing conventions, share their differences so that people are able to identify them as a unique/ create individuality. 

Camera

Camera is another elements, which plays a major role in any genre of music video. In indie rock genre, the most notable shots seen throughout are mainly close-ups of the artists whilst performing to a live audience, as Goodwin would state, to act as a promotion for the artists and increase the profile sales for them. Furthermore, other notable shots would be long shots and medium-close ups in which the audience is able to see the artists in their environment and be able to relate/ associate themselves with it.

Editing

Most indie rock genre music videos tend to use a lot of filters to create this artistic music video to make it more interesting for the audience. Furthermore, lighting is another focus throughout indie rock music videos, as they tend to use low-key lighting since their songs just like rock genre songs have a background meaning to them to them. The lighting helps reinforce/ create this seriousness that the artists is trying to put across with the lyrics to the audience.

Sound

Diegetic sound is used when the music video is narrative based, however when the band is presented performing the song to a live audience, non- diegetic sound is used as we are able to see where the sound source is coming from on the screen. In addition to this, the audience seen at the performance is lowered down in sound so that the main focus stays on the band and its performance rather than the cheering loud crowed. An example for diegetic sound would be seen in the video for the Kooks- bad habit as it is just narrative based and the band in never seen throughout the music video performing the song, whereas in the music video for: Kodaline- One day, it is non-diegetic sound as we are able to see the band performing to a live audience.

Vid EG20 Editors- Life Is A Fear

ACT: Editors

Track: Life Is A Fear

Year: 2015

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 15-25+

Lyrics









Genre Characteristics:

• bass/guitar tempo
• Verisimilitude with costume
• variation of medium long shots and close ups ( start treatment) to act as a promotion and increase the artists recognition with the audience.

Fx:

• filters to create a gloomy/ sinister atmosphere (make it more interesting for the audience)
• dim lighting to reinforce the seriousness/ darkness of the tune and lyrics of the song
• Lights creating this disco light effect as the music does have a groovy vibe to it (the light rotating in a disco like morion help reinforce this)

Location/s + mise-en-scene:

• parking lot- known environment to the audience
• dark room to portray the sinister/ dark message of the song

Performance Style:

• The performance is mainly based along lipsynching as this is presented through close-ups of the band members singing to the camera.

Start Treatment:

• The are a lot of medium long-shot and close-ups of the band throughout the music video. This as Goodwin would argue, acts as a promotion for the band and enhances their individuality within the audience as it increases their profile and helps make the band the star of the video.

Vid EG19 The Kooks- Bad Habit

ACT: Band Of Horses

Track: The Funeral

Year: 2006

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 15-25+ (For this video, the audience would predominantly be male as the female character presented within has been made to appeal Male-Gaze)

Lyrics

Relationship between visuals + Lyrics:
'Baby got our head down
Baby got our head down to the ground
Looking for a stranger
Looking for a stranger to love'

When this verse is sang at the beginning of the song we are introduced with the female protagonist socializing on a network which we would associate as an online dating site, as there are various candidates taking part in the chat, and through the use of close-ups onto the screen monitor, the audience is able to read the conversation (flirty/ sexual like conversation). 

'Baby got your head down'- is representative of the female protagonist as she is referred to as 'baby' and 'got your head down' emphazises the idea that she remains anonymous throughout the video as we never get a visual of her face.

Notable Shots/ Framing:

• Medium close up shots of the female's body
• extreme close ups of  the webcam- creating this hostile/ stalking vibe
• extreme close ups of the on the female's body (especially her tattoos at the end) to reinforce this idea of a bad girl being presented

Genre Characteristics:

• title + artist/band name presented at the opening of the music video
• location + protagonist in the video make it easy for the audience to associate/ relate
• tune is mainly guitar/ bass based
• tattoos presented as a symbol to this idea of unique identity- reinforcing the idea that the song is mainly targeting the rock side of the genre as within the music industry, tattoos we would typically associate to the rock/ punk genre.

Male Gaze:

• female presented with limited clothing
• performance: female dancing and sensually touching herself 
• medium close-up shot on the female's mouth to present her biting her lip- reinforcing this sexual/ flirty idea
   Location/s + mise-en-scene:

• Female protagonist has tattoos around her body- reinforcing this idea of a bad/ rebellious girl (conventional to the genre as typically the artists have tattoos and since the are not present within the video, they are present in the form of symbols/ references)
• Girl's apartment- relatable to the audience 

Vid EG14 Band Of Horses- The Funeral

ACT: Band Of Horses

Track: The Funeral

Year: 2006

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 15-25+ (predominantly male as they are able to associate themselves with the band members) 

Lyrics







Relationship Between Visuals + Lyrics:

• The lyrics address the theme of dying as the amplified word throughout is 'funeral', said at the end of every sentence of the chorus. The sentence that mostly relates to the visuals is; " at every occasion i'll be ready for the funeral", because when it is sang, the visual presents an old man drinking, which we would associate as him drowning his sorrows away.
• Furthermore, the visuals are all presented in Black & White creating this atmosphere of death/ grief/ sorrow (relating to the theme emphasized by the lyrics).

Star Treatment:

In this music video the artists/ band remains anonymous within the video as they want the audience to focus more on the meaning behind the lyrics and create a relation between them and the visuals. This helps the audience understand the message that the song is putting across.

Linear/ Closed Narrative:

The video is a linear narrative as it has a beginning, middle and an end. The beginning is when we are introduced with the character of an old man in his car, the middle is when we are presented with his conflict/ what he is going through (binge drinking) and the end is the fade to white which we would associate with the character crashing into another car due to his alcohol problems.

 Director Style:
The Director for this music video has used a black & white filter alongside a film effect to create this outcome of anticity. This relates to the time period shown through the visuals as we would recognise it to be the 70s/80s.

Vid EG18 Peace- Lost On Me

ACT: Peace

Track: Lost On Me

Year: 2014

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F

Lyrics

Genre Characteristics:

• title + name of band presented at the beginning (similar to Hoizer- Work song)
• all members of the band wearing similar outfits (all in white) have taken upon this idea from the Bee Gees to create this idea of unity and make it easier for the audience to be able to recognize them  from other artists.
• band performing their song on a stage
• simplistic locations- makes it relatable for the audience (park with a picnic/ rural area/ backstage- studio/ street in an urban area)

Audience in Vid:

In this video a family is presented having a picnic. This reinforces the idea that the song is fun and has a groovy tune to it, which is why the band main performance throughout is them dancing.

Performance Style:

It is mainly dance based as the band is presented dancing to their song in various locations to reinforce the idea that it is a danceable song. This breaks the conventions for indie rock, as it could be portrayed more as a boy band genre rather than indie rock. Judith Butler would argue that this music video is gender performative as it is not following a traditional binary, because in this video the men are dancing wheres in most indie rock genre videos they would more likely be seen performing their song on stage, and if dancing were to be included, the females would most likely be taking on that role.

Performance, Narrative and/ or Concept:

This video is focused more on the performance and the concept of the song rather than the narrative being imposed by the lyrics. Steve Archer argues that this is because the video only focuses on fragments of the lyrics, an example would be when the band sings 'In stolen shoes' and it cuts to a close up of the shoes that they are wearing, however in general the band is singing about a female charcter, yet she is never seen throughout the video meaning that the video is disjuncture. 

Vid EG17 The National- I Need My Girl

ACT: The National

Track: I Need My Girl

Year: 2014

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F (Predominately male as they would be able to associate themselves with the lyrics as the artists is singing about 'his girl') 

Lyrics







Relationship Between Visuals + Lyrics:

• Literal representation of the lyrics as different couples are presented in the video showing affection for one another. It's the man presented with their wife/ girlfriend (in association to 'their girl'). It could be interpreted as the artists speaking for the couple presented on the video as he amplifies the verse 'I need my girl'.

Fx:

• Green Screen- used to overlay the images and create this idea of movement
• Slow Motion- reinforces the seriousness of the song
• Black & White- emphasizes the seriousness that the song is putting across to the audience

Pace + Any Variation of Pace:

The pace of the images mirrors the tempo of the song. It creates this soothing/ calm atmosphere as there is a variation between long takes and short takes depending on whether the tempo of the song is increasing or decreasing. This idea is further reinforced by Vernallis as she argues that images shown on the video have been chosen to reflect on the choice of lyrics.

Representations:

The video shows a variation of age because not all the couples seen on the visuals are the same age. There are; old people/ young people, however they all share something in common, in this case it would be 'love' as they are all presented with their partner recreating the same movements/ dance, suggesting this idea of equality regardless of the age difference.

Vid EG16 Hoizer- Work Song

ACT: Hoizer

Track: Work Song

Year: 2015

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 15-25+ 

Lyrics









Genre Characteristics:

• Artist performing the song to an audience
• title of the song +artist name presented at the beginning of the video
• tune is mainly guitar based
• artist is dressed in neutral colors- wearing clothing that is relatable to the audience

Performance Style:

• Lipsynching
• Instrumental playing
• contemporary dancing as this song is portrayed as a ballad (unconventional to indie rock)

Star Treatment:

As Goodwin states; this is a promotional video for the artists as he is the main focus throughout the video, and the audience is presented with the development of the artist because if we compare this song to his 'take me to church' one, there is a variation in tune as one has a stronger bass line than the other suggesting that the artist is able to perform both styles of music.

Representation:

Ethnicity plays a major role throughout the song as we are presented with characters that come from different cultures, however all share a similar social group because they are all contemporary dancers regardless of their cultural difference. This expands the target audience as the viewers will be able to associate themselves with one of the dancers due to the different cultural representations within the video.

 

Vid EG15 The Wombats- Greek Tragedy

ACT: The Wombats

Track: Greek Tragedy

Year: 2015

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 13-25+ (for this video specifically females as they will be able to associate themselves with the female protagonist in the visuals)

Lyrics







Linear/ Closed Narrative:
This is a closed narrative video as we are introduced to the protagonist at the beginning of the video through the use of medium close up shot however, shots from the ending of the song are presented through a different camera technique (home video style) referencing to the female protagonist recording the clips.
As Todorov would argue, this music video has been broken down into 3 different stages:

1. Situation (equilibrium)- girl presented as a fan of the band
2. Conflict (disruption of equilibrium)- she becomes overly obsessive and comes up with a plan to posses the band (audience is taken through the different stages of her plan and how she comes about doing it)
3. Resolution (new equilibrium)- concludes with the girl possessing all 3 members of the band after killing them and positioning them in a performance position creating this sinister vibe

Location/s + mise-en-scene:

• stage (conventional to the genre) where the band performs to a live audience
• girls house with posters of the band pinned up all around her room (helps develop the character) makes it relatable for the young audience as typically teen girls will have poster up in their room of their favorite band/ artist
• girl is dressed in casual everyday clothing (jeans and a T-shirt)- audience is able to associate themselves with her\

Genre Conventions:

• band performing their song on stage to a live audience
• band members all wearing similar clothing- audience is able to identify them as a group

Vid EG13 One Day- Kodaline

ACT: Kodaline

Track: One Day

Year: 2014

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F

Lyrics









Genre Characteristic:

• The performers are all dressed similar, however in different colors to create this unique persona for themselves. Most bands addressed to the indie genre will follow this characteristic, they create this persona by which people will be able to identify them and also relate to them as they wear clothes that we would associate to our everyday outfits.
• The video has been made in a location that is familiar/ relatable to the audience, in this case it's been filmed in a school to make it relatable to the young audience that they are targeting. (This is conventional to most indie rock genre videos as they are trying to make the audience feel related not only to their music but also to the band themselves.

Performance Style:

Lipsynching + band performing the song on stage

(This is typical for most bands whether it's indie rock genre/ alternative rock or just rock, the band is always found performing the song within the video when it is a narrative video)

Star Treatment:

The lead singer is on the spotlight to show that he is the leader/ head of the band. To further reinforce this, the singer is shown through a variation of long close ups and medium close ups, also to emphasize that he is singing. Throught the shots he is making direct address to the camera in order to address the audience and make them feel; vulnerable, intimidated and make them think, as he is proposing a question to them "How are you still holding on?" This is repeated throughout in the music video, or as Andrew Goodwin would state, it is being Amplified to manipulate the audience in making them think about the question.

Locations + mise-en-scene:

• abandoned school/ hall with a stage
• instruments for the band (guitar, microphone, bass, drums)
• Chairs, posters, bottles of beer, confetti- create this idea of prom, especially since the main location throughout the music video is the hall where there is glitter on the floor to reinforce that is where the prom was held.
• Low key lighting, further developing the seriousness of the song.

Fx:

Slowmotion- reinforces the seriousness of the song 

Rewind- creates the idea that the song is going back to the beginning/ start (to when the prom began before the whole school was trashed down.

Pace + Any Variation of Pace:

There are a lot of long take shots to mirror the tempo of the song. This helps exempliate the seriousness of the song and really get the audience to think about the the question that he is proposing to them.

Audience in Vid:

Students are at their prom and the band is performing live for them as he is questioning how do they feel about graduating and leaving?

Vid EG12 Song2- Blur

ACT: Blur

Track: Song2

Year: 1997

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: Mainly male 15-25+ who are into 
Director: Sophie Muller (same as for Mr. Brightside- The Killers)

Lyrics






Performance, Narrative/ or Concept:

• Lipsynching + instrumental playing
• Performing the song in a room that looks like a basement (However it's made to look fancy due to the tapestry walls) this is conventional to the genre as it's typical that the artist/ band start off with the idea of composing their music in their garage/ basement.

Star treatment:

Each one of the performers/ band members, is presented with an individual shot to suggest that they each play an important role within the band, but also to introduce each member individually to the audience by presenting them with what role they specifically play within the band. There are times when the band is shown together to show that they are a group (this is conventional to the genre as indie rock bands are typically presented through medium shots/ medium close-up shots to the audience to portray unity and the bond that the members share).

Furthermore, the lead singer is typically presented through close-up and medium close-up shots to exemplify that he is the leader of the group.

-This is conventional to indie rock because just as in rock genre music videos, we are presented with the members of the band performing the song. These genres of music share some similar conventions in the sense that they all have; a lead singer, a drummer, a guitarist and a bass player, which are the typical members found within a rock band.

Representation:

• Represented as a group of teens starting off with producing a single in their basement/ garage. This makes it relatable for the audience because teens when creating a band their base where they produce their music would be their basement/garage as it's the place that they'd find available for them within their house. Furthermore, this idea has been influenced by rom-com movies when a rock band is the main focus within the movie because they are shown in a location where they start off and create this unity within a band.

Pace + Any Variation of Pace:

• Short shots to fit the variation with the track
• Shots transition the fastest when the chorus comes on as it's the strongest point within the song. As Carol Vernallis states, that visuals and lyrics have been made to work in a temporal flow.
• Furthermore, she also argues that videos have been made to reflect the choice of lyrics, however this video conforms to her idea that it's disjointed as the video appears in fragments and has no set narrative to depict the lyrics.
• Onwards, the video agrees with Vernallis argument that the music is more important than the video as the video has been made to design images of the song rather than create a narrative that explains it.

Vid EG11 Mr. Brightside- The Killers

ACT: The Killers

Track: Mr Brightside

Year: 2004

Genre: Indie Rock

Main Audience: M/F 15-25+ 
Director: Sophie Muller

Lyrics







Setting/ Location:
The main location is a cabouret + a stage (where the band performs)
The color scheme throughout is red+ gold to represent love and wealth as this song focuses on both of these themes because the artists is singing about an experience of his ex-lover cheating on him with another man (in the music video the other man is represented as wealthy and powerful- representative of the gold colour).
Another location found in the music video is when the couple is found outside by the bacony creating this idea of Romeo and Juliet as they are sneaking away to meet one another. (Reinforcing this idea of an affair going on). The color Schemes are blue + grey to create this mystery vibe as the visual being presented is a couple sneaking away to meet each other). However, the blue also connotes sadness as the girl quickly moves away from him reinforcing the idea that there is a barrier between them.

Performance:

• Lipsynching + instrumental performance (conventional of Indie Rock genre)
• Dancing (ballet/ Contemporary) this goes with the narrative as it is told as a fairy tale and this style of dance is representative of a love story.

 Fx:

Green screens have been used to change the location where the couple is found at. This is the most noticeable at the balcony scene from the video.

Smoke machines are used when the female protagonist is solo/ on the spot, to portray her as mysterious and the desired girl.

Mise-en-scene:

Props: Women are dressed in provocative cancan dresses (targeting the Male Gaze) Their makeup seems abstract as it's not done to represent them as elegant and attractive but more like clowns to reinforce this idea that they are entertainers, because the ambiance and the setting help strengthen this. (It relates to the song as its got an upbeat sound making it not sound depressing, although the artists is talking from a personal experience of his ex cheating on him. The clown like makeup is representative of the fun side of the song).

Vodcast for The Heart Wants What It Wants- Selena Gomez

Vodcast using Vernallis and Goodwin's Theories

Vid EG10 Cherry Bomb- Joan Jett

ACT: Joan Jett

Track: Cherry Bomb

Year: 1984

Genre: Punk rock/ Hard Rock

Main Audience: Predominantly females as Joan Jett is a female rock star, however the secondary audience would be Males as they may be attracted to the Rock Genre. 15-25+

Lyrics

Relationship Between Visuals +Lyrics:
The relationship between the visuals and lyrics is disjuncture as we are shown a montage of the artists hosting her concerts, signing autographs and line up of people. This does not relate to the lyrics as the visuals are not illustrating the actual picture of them. However, the montage does represent her rock star character as the sequences from the montage mentioned are typical conventions of a rockstar.

Genre Characteristics:
The artist is dressed in dark rough looking clothing, she is set in an environment which is conventional to a rockstar because she's mainly presented at a stage, backstage or signing autographs. Another genre characteristic would be that there is a live crowd watching the artists performance.

Pace + Any Variation of Pace:
The pace variates throughout the video. There's a mixture of both long and short takes mirroring the tempo of the music. However, they are tracking shots to create the feel as though the audience is present in the crowd waiting for the autograph or watching the artists concert.

Audience in Vid:
The audience is present in various different occasions throughout the video such as when waiting in line for the concert to start or whilst being at the concert. This is because it is a typical convention for a Rock genre music video as the crowd represents the wild and lively vibe that the music is giving off for the audience.

Locations/ Mise-en-scene:

• Backstage
• Stage with a crowd
• shopping mall (where she's signing autographs)

Notable Shots/ Framing:
The most notable shots are; long shots and medium close ups to show the artists surrounding which help reinforce her person (a wild and rebellious character). The long shots are mainly used when the artists is sown at the stage performing her concert as it is a genre characteristic.

Performance Style:
The performance is mainly lipsynching and the artist performing on stage with her guitar. This is seen as a typical convention for a rockstar as they are usually presented performing their song live on a stage not only lipsynching but also playing an instrument, typically a guitar.