Research: Genre

This section of my blog will help me research music videos in my decided genre (indie pop) so that I can understand what conventions I would like to conform or subvert to

According to the Spotify artist metrics, these are the current most popular indie pop artists:

I will research the music videos created by these artists to better understand what is expected by the audience in typical indie pop music videos

Genre Conventions

Steve Neale's genre theory suggests that a genre needs to conform to genre conventions to engage audiences through something that they are used to enjoying while also subverting some aspects of the genre to keep it interesting so that audiences do not get bored.

As independent artists, indie pop music videos are typically lower budget. Their music videos usually reflect this through conventions that would allow them to produce music videos that cut their spending by using conventions such as natural lighting (avoids needing to get expensive lighting equipment), casual outfits (saves costume budget) or focusing on the artist (avoids needing to spend money on actors). 

However, as pop means popular, some indie pop artists are able to grow enough to afford higher budget music videos (such as Chappell Roan). Even so, some artists choose to stick to making their music video conform to the low-budget convention aesthetic (such as Beabadoobee).

By creating high budget music videos, these artists play on the success appeal according to Dyer's theory of stardom which engages audiences by showing the audiences how they've managed to afford higher productions despite being independent artists. On the other hand, conforming to low-budgets would allow artists to appeal their audience through their aspect of ordinariness. This makes audiences feel that the artist is more similar to them

beabadoobee - Glue Song

Genre/Sub-genre: Indie pop

Produced by: Liam Wallace-Cook

Conventions

Conform

• Homemade, homey feelings: A lot of the scenes in this music video were shot in homes and local Filipino neighborhoods which contained cultural codes that created a comforting homey feeling that the audience can connect to. It also features shots of families doing everyday things (kids playing with each other, an older woman cooking, eating together etc.) which makes the content relatable to audience, allowing them to think about their own families and reminisce on their own bonds.
• Low-budget: Most of the camera shots appeared to look like archival footage or were from a hand-held camera without much editing (beyond cuts) which gave it a cheaper looking feel. The mise-en-scene also mostly consisted of simple clothes and settings. These elements come together to make the music video feel more DIY
• Primarily features the artist: Like most indie pop music videos, this artist appears frequently in her music video. She is mostly seen lip-syncing and interacting with the other subjects in the music video. She remains the focus throughout the music video as she is shown looking into the camera, creating a direct mode of address (making the viewer feel a part of the music video and feel involved with the artist and other subjects), and in close up shots that causes the audience to focus on her and her facial expressions. This perhaps aligns with the social relationships uses & gratifications as the audience develops a sort of bond with the artist

Subvert

• Romantic love: Although this music video's narrative features love, it focuses on familial love rather than romantic. The artist is seen frequently interacting with these families rather than a romantic partner. One of these interactions features the artist flipping through a photobook with an older woman (which the audience can assume is related to her as we see them sitting close to each other and fondly looking at the photobook). This interaction is shown through over the shoulder shots, close up and medium shots that make the scene feel more intimate, allowing the audience to form an emotional connection with the narrative
• High-class settings: Most music videos in the pop genre feature settings from high-end urban areas such as cities, malls or luxurious restaurants but this music video features lower to middle class settings from rural areas. This follows Dyer's theory of stardom, rather than focusing on the artist's success by showing her in high-end settings, the familiar middle to lower-class settings places importance on the artist's ordinariness instead as the artist's appeal now comes from her relatableness
• Vibrant colours: The colours on this music video are muted. Vibrant colours typically create a more 'artificial' feel as, although we associate these colours as being fun, it can make something appear more exaggerated effect. As the narrative focuses on the simplicity and value of familial love, it needs to be more relatable to the audience to make the intended preferred reading to come across. Muted colours tend to appear more realistic as we see them more often than vibrant colours. Muted colours also often invokes nostalgia in the audience as they are often associated with older cameras

Representations

• Family: Family is represented positively as the narrative focuses on the positive interactions between family members with a song about love. This is shown through close-up shots (allows the audience to focus on the emotions and actions of a subject, making them feel closer) and hand held camera movements (feels more 'homemade' and nostalgic) which make the shots feel more intimate. 
• Southeast Asians (Filipino): The music video showcases Filipinos in positively through the interactions the artist has with them. Long shots and medium shots allow us to see the body language and actions of the subjects clearly. Through these shots, we are able to clearly see the subjects doing activities such as sharing food or playing with each other which allows us to understand the relationship they have with each other and how they value one another, making the audience empathise with them. We also receive a direct mode of address as we see the artist and some children wave at the camera through a long shot, establishing an emotional connection with them. Perhaps the reason for this positive representation can be attributed to Stuart Hall's representation theory as the artist herself is Filipino therefore may want to show her ideals to the audience

Technical elements

Camera:

• Hand held: This helps create a homemade nostalgic feel as it could be a semantic code to home videos that families often record for memories. It may cause the audience to feel like they are looking back at one of those old videos
• Close-up: Makes the shots feel more intimate as the audience is made to focus on the emotions and actions of the subjects, literally bringing the audience 'closer' to the subjects. It also brings a lot of attention to the artist which may be used capture the attention of audiences who are fans of the artist and watching the music video for more content of her
• Shallow focus: We often see medium shots of the artist with other subjects in the background through a shallow focus. This keeps the attention on the artist as she becomes the main focus against background interactions while still showing the relationships between other subjects in the background, reminding the audience of their closeness and reflects on the theme of the video

Mise-en-scene:

• Casual clothing: We see all subjects wear casual clothing, this makes them more relatable to the audience. We also see the artist wearing casual clothes however hers is slightly higher budget which sets her apart from the rest of the subjects by making her appear more fashionable which builds her brand image by making her more recogniseable than the other subjects
• Natural setting: A few clips consist of the artist lip-syncing in a natural setting making the video feel less artificial as the presence of more nature rather than urban structures makes it feel less informal. 
• Neighborhood setting: A neighborhood setting creates familiarity in the audience

Sound:

• There are no additional sounds in the music video other than the song. This allows the audience to focus on the song itself and listen to the lyrics that help them understand the narrative that is being built

Editing:

• Glitchy film effects: This makes the music video appear older therefore creating a sense of nostalgia for the audience

girl in red - rue

Genre/sub-genre: indie pop

Produced by: Aleksander Aurdal

Conventions

Conform

• Mainly features the artist: the artist is the main subject throughout the entire music video. She is seen wearing red, a warm colour palette, amongst a background that features cool colours. This sets her apart from the background making her stand out
• Follows a narrative: most music videos follow a narrative that is usually symbolic to the story

Subvert

• Vibrant colours: throughout the music video, the colours are dark saturated hues. This makes the music video feel more moody
• High key lighting: most indie pop music videos feature high key lighting to make it standout. However this music video features low key lighting which helps add suspense and mystery to the narrative

Representations

• The artist: the music video shows the artist being vulnerable and dressed in simple clothing. Perhaps this aligns with ordinariness aspect of Dyer's theory of stardom as it allows the audience to relate to her
• Personal struggles: the music video consists of a lot of scenes where the artist is running as we hear the songs lyrics. As the song is about running away from your problems, this could be a semantic code to that. 

Technical elements

Camera:

• Long shot: Long shots make the artist appear smaller and more vulnerable which makes the scenes feel more tense and emotional

Mise-en-scene:

• Red clothes: Not only could wearing red be a reference to the artist's stage name (girl in red), it also makes the artist contrast and stand out against the cooler coloured background and isolates her from the settings, making her appear kind of alienated

Sound:

• No additional sound was used other than the song. The song is fast paced fits the urgent pace of the scenes

Edit:

• Fast paced: The edits are fast paced cuts that add to the sense of urgency. This matches well with the chase scene in music video as the artist is running, it makes this feel faster

Now I will be conducting less detailed researches to focus on what I want to incorporate into my own

IDKHOW - Leave Me Alone

Genre:/Subgenre: Indie pop, indie rock

Target audience and how they're appealed to:

• 15-25 year olds: The music video consists of a narrative that may be harder for younger children or old people to decode as it isn't constructed in a simple manner. It also contains a lot of neutral colour which may be boring to a child audience however the sci-fi themes and upbeat music may be appealing to young adults and teenagers

What I would like to use:

• I enjoy the presence of a narrative that creates a story-like element in the music video as I find it engaging so I would like my music video to have a narrative.

What I would like to avoid:

• The narrative here does not really match the lyrics which I personally don't like. I feel that as a music video, it should relate to the song
• I also don't think it's possible for my team to do a similar production as this music video consisted of a lot of props that may make it too expensive to produce

Pavement - Harness Your Hopes

Genre/sub-genre: indie pop, indie rock

Target audience and how they're appealed to:

• 15-25: the music video follows a retro style. Retro styles are becoming more popular as a trend in younger generations

Use:

• I like the usage of the colours in the music video. I feel like a lot of the colours are vibrant and are complementary colours which makes it pop out and might suit my own music video

Avoid:

•  The music video is very abstract. Perhaps this is to match the abstract lyrics but I dont think this is something we should apply to our own music video

Clairo - Juna

Genre: indie pop

Target audience and how they're appealed to:

• 15-30: the music video doesn't seem to target a certain age in particular however the shots are very high quality and cinematic which is typical of contemporary media so a younger audience may enjoy it

Use:

• I like the filter used on the music video. It makes it look like it's being shot using old film so I like the retro style

Avoid:

• The video featured a lot of wrestling. I trust that all subjects involved are professionals but as students I want us to stay safe so we will avoid any activities that may be dangerous

Chappell Roan - Casual

Genre/sub-genre: indie pop

Target audience and how they're appealed to:

• 16-25 yr old sapphics: This music video's narrative follows a sapphic relationship is a semantic code to the song's lyrics that discuss a lot of themes that may be relatable to a sapphic audience. I assume it's target towards younger people as romantic struggles are often more relatable to a younger, less experienced, audience

Use:

• I really really like this music video as I enjoy the symbolism in the narrative. I want our music video to also feature a storyline that consists of symbolism. The way that this music video uses fantasy elements makes me consider how I can incorporate such elements into my own music video and if they would work well with it

Avoid:

• This music video consists of a lot of underwater scenes. Although beautiful and cinematic, this is unrealistic for us to do as we do not have the equipment necessary to make this possible.

Will Wood - Tomcat Disposables

Genre/Sub-genre: Indie pop

Target audience and how they're appealed to:

• 13-50 yr old, animal lover: The music video portrays the story of a mouse, the audience is made to empathise with the mouse as we watch this wooden mouse try to survive (allowing the audience to create an emotional bond). The music video features a simple wooden stop motion that makes it suitable for all ages but the narrative may be harder to decode for very young or very old audiences

Use:

• I wanted to look at this music video as it's another music video that features a strong narrative with a lot of story telling. I like how the scenes we see on screen match the lyrics as it builds a stronger narrative

Avoid:

• This music video is a stop motion animation using wood. Although interesting, this is unrealistic as it would take too much time and require skills we don't have. It also doesn't feature an element of performance which is what our teacher recommends our music videos to have.

mxmtoon - mona lisa

Genre/sub-genre: Indie pop 

Audience and how they are appealed:

• 13-20: I assume that the audience consists of teenagers as the music video features a heavily decorated bedroom. This is a semantic code to how must teenagers decorate their room, making it more relatable to them.

Use:

• I like the warm colour palette as it connotes love and comfort. I think since our music video is about love, we could also use a warm colour palette to communicate this

Avoid:

• The music video features a lot of outfits that are reminiscent to historical eras. If we did this, it would be expensive and hard to find so I want to keep our outfits simple and within our budget

Here are some additional videos that helped me with ideas

How it helped me: I previously had no experience shooting a music video so this video helped me gain a basic understanding of how to do this. Through this video, we thought of the idea to incorporate a base performance of our star (1 in long shot, 1 close up) in case we needed extra clips to put into the song

Reflection:

• As during the time we were supposed to do research I was busy with other Cambridge exams, I was behind and had to rush the research. This experience was valuable as it helped me learn how to work through an upcoming deadline in a packed week
• I really enjoyed conducting this research. It helped me understand the elements that I could to incorporate to my own music videos. I found it fun to think in the director's point of view