media coursework

1. Indie RockArctic monkeys -- Do I wanna
know?
Polaroid (alt rock) or thief —
imagine dragons
Originated from the
1970-80s
Indie rock is typically
male singers or bands,
with bands growing in
popularity over the
years.
In music videos- very few
women
Due to the ‘indie’ part of the
genre, budgets are usually
low
but major labels have
began to purchase indie
bands/singers therefore
budgets have risen.
Narrative and
performance –
rock music
videos hold a lot
of performance
Narrative is used to present
the ‘true’ meaning of the
song
Lighting and colours- low key,
dark colours (black, blue,
grey), usually to fit with the
meaning of the song and
allows a sense of mystery
needed for an interesting
music video.
Rock is typically
a ‘rebellious
genre’ and music
videos often
reflect this
Nirvana- Smells like
teen spirit

2. Nirvana- Smells like teen spiritLIGHTING -> dark lighting, slightly monochromatic
of orange, which symbolises the rebellion and
anger typical to an indie rock song
LONGSHOT-> Long shot of artist in the distance,
makes them appear small and victimised. This
give the song a feeling of revolution and helps the
audience sympathise with the bands intentions
Audience looking (Goodwin) at the band- focus
on the music but also emphasises the star appeal
of the video
CLOSE UPS-> close
ups are typical to
music videos as they
allow the audience
see the band/artist (to
play to the
demographic (fans of
the band))
However the faces are distorted either using
bright light or the artists hair and dark lighting,
this suggests that the music video is simply about
the music and not the artist. Which creates
alternative tone and plays to the rebellion against
the industry which is usually typical the rock genre
The only shot of women is that of
cheerleaders which are sexualised, which
supports the idea of the male gaze. By
limiting the amount of women to
insignificant roles in the video the typical
conventions of an indie rock video is
reinforced.
Male gaze- females are used for a sexual
advantage and only seen in this
perspective
NARRATIVE -> By having characters other
than the band there is use of narrative as
well as the vast amount of performance
MIDSHOT-> frame is dominated
by people to exaggerate the
power of the band, it also
ignores the simplistic setting,
which reinforces the indie aspect
of the genre with little expense
spent on the video.

3. Overall, by focusing on performance and the star appeal of the
singers the video plays to the demands of the record company by
using multiple aspects of the video (numerous close ups, sexualised
women) as hooks for pulling a larger target audience in order to get
profit.
Visuals and lyrics: the visuals and lyrics are conceptual as they use a
typical concept ‘teen spirit’ which evokes a sense of pride and unity
and juxtapose it with the rebellious visuals of the band in high
school but at night and standing as a representation of the outsiders
within that high school.
 The video is showing a lot of disjuncture as the visuals don’t fit
the lyrics, which evokes this outsider perspective and draws in an
audience of ‘outsiders’

4. Green Day- Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Narrative-> the only time other
characters are involved are in sexual
positions (only females of the
video) in a quick passing, which
draws focus on the stars and the
music
Voyeuristic- sexualised viewing
Performance-> the
main aspect of the
video – but it is mixed with
narrative, both aspects are combined
within the video
Faces are distorted (Blurred focus, with back lighting to create a silhouette
, post edit distortions) which follows the typical idea of focusing all
attention on the music rather than the star. This may be criticising the
conventions of a typical music video as close ups are essential in music
videos to sell the star- typical of the rock genre to ‘rebel’ against
institutions
Goodwin- looking at the camera- repeated- creates a synthetic relationship
between the stars and audience
Colours-> dark
colour typical to the
rock genre music
videos, symbolises
the depressed but
rebellious tone to
the video
The rustic and simplistic setting conforms to the
natural tone of rock- the cheap and personal
creation of indie rock is pushed forwards

5. Overall, the video focuses on performance which I have found to be
typical of an indie rock video. Whilst the faces in close ups are
blurred or distorted to create a rebellion against the conventions of
music videos, close ups are still used to draw attention to the stars
and play into the profit aim of the record label. This distortion of
face whilst still having close ups could being following Stephen
Neale’s repetition and difference theory, which is used to create a
unique rebellious stance for the band whilst also maintaining the
conventions needed to gain a profit.
Visuals and lyrics: ‘I walk a lonely road’, whilst walking down a road,
used to illustrate the meanings of the video whilst also creating a
hermeneutic code by keeping the visuals illustrative and not giving
away extra details and explanations to the lyrics.

6. Oasis- Don’t Look Back in Anger
‘summertime's a new’
By having flowers the mid shot is quite illustrative
and may suggest
that the message is significant,
which conforms to the genre
as most videos and songs
are made to create some type
of critical message
Builds up a narrative by having the stars arrive
and leave in the same car – reinforces the
messages of the video being one of change and
acceptance- by leaving something behind
By having all other characters in white the attention is drawn to the main stars, which
is a convention of music videos as it is a promotional tool to sell the stars. This sale of
the stars is also reinforced through the majority of the video being performance
(which is typical of the indie rock genre) which is used to sell music and create a sense
that the stars are humble and are only in it to spread their message through music
There is a narrative created through the colour
of clothing with the white clothed characters
used to represent the main stars passed that
they have left behind, this creates a story –
narrative style
There is a binary opposite (Strauss) created
between the stars and other characters, by
having this the colourful stars are made out to
be the hero (Propp) when contrasted with the
colourless and inhumane “villains”, which
creates a positive opinion of the band
Blurred imagery- makes the video seem hand-
made, makes the star seem
relatable and humane –
typical of indie top have
a cheaper looking video
Looking at the camera by the
main singer is a motif
throughout – draws star appeal
and creates a personal message
for the song
Use of British flag- loyalty and presents them as
a niche band

7. Overall, the video supports the convention of performance but
does hold narrative aspects that aren't as typical.
The women shown with a high angle shot evoke a sense
of superiority and worship, which could be used to
sexualise the women, also the use of looking (Goodwin)
from the women is also used to create this effect.
Visuals and lyrics: the focus on lyrics in the video by focusing on
performance is typical to indie rock to show that the true and
authentic message of the video is the importance of music and not
an attempt to show off wealth and fame
The narrative visuals that is included is mixed with the performance
to amplify the message of change for the band

8. The Killers- Somebody Told MeLong shot- against
the typical convention of
music videos using a lot
of close ups to draw on
star appeal (focus on the music). Draws attention to the lack of
audience showing how the band doesn’t sing for the fame but for their
own enjoyment, which creates a more humane band that stands out in
the very restrictive and controlling music industry
Female characters are shown with back lighting to create
silhouettes to accentuate their female figure and to sexualise
the female body- this is a clear alignment with Mulvey’s male
gale theory, which could suggest that the target audience are
male and this shot is a
way to gain a larger
demographic .
A feminist stance (Van Zoonen)
would be to see these shots
as demeaning and hold a
stereotypical view of women
with the sexualised image
against the pink background
Different characters adds a
narrative to the video and song
Performance throughout- focus on the music, could suggest that a narrative
isn’t needed to spread the message of the band as the song does it well
enough – causes audience to pay attention to the music.
High key lighting when there is a close up on an individual- creates star appeal
(Goodwin), however, the low key lighting on the whole band once again draws
focus on the music
Looking at the camera- music is sang straight to the audience – creates a
‘personal concert’ and relationship between band and audience
By having a large projector of the stars behind
the stars themselves there is a extreme
emphasis on the power and importance of the
stars which creates a wider star appeal. The
light from the projector juxtaposes the dark
desert, which suggests that the band is
bringing the ‘light’ to the audience. The lack of
props or setting other than the instruments
and projector align with the low budget videos
of a typical indie rock music video

9. Overall, the video attempts to
create a hermeneutic code with the
starting transitions being psychedelic lighting which distorts the shots along
with the backlighting creating a silhouette of the stars, which could suggest
that the visuals are attempting to draw focus on the video. However, the
creation of a hermeneutic code could also be a way to build up on the fans
excitement towards the band and be a ploy to play to the record labels want
for profit.
Visuals and lyrics: as the video is primarily performance the visuals aim to
amplify the meanings of the video with quick shots. For example: the song is
to a girl about relationships therefore the only other characters in the video
are women placed in voyeuristic shots, which use back lighting to create
overly sexualising silhouettes of women.

10. Catfish and the Bottlemen- Longshot
Focus on performance-
performing on a stage
with no audience,
shows a focus on the
music and conforms to
the indie genre by
acting small and human
rather than music
sensations.Long shots make the band
seem human and small, which
suggests a lack of power. This
could go against Goodwin's
idea that all music videos use
star appeal but may also be
conforming to the indie genre
once more to target a more
niche audience who want a
band who aren't making music
for profit and haven’t been
influenced by fame
Close up of main singer drawing on the star appeal, whilst
maintaining a down to earth and humane persona through the
use of casual clothing and low lighting.
Looking- Goodwin- creates a personal but synthetic relationship
as the star looks at and sings directly to the audience member
making them feel special whilst also directly pushing the
message to its audience, this direct address expects a mutual agreement and affection
between star and audience.
Long shot- a hermeneutic code is
created through the lone car, which is
reinforced through the black and
white colouring that evokes a sense of
mystery but also creates an old school
traditional tone for the video.
Lack of other characters in the video- focus on the singers by
removing any distractions (completely rely on star appeal –
performance).
However, the lack of women from a feminist standpoint (Van
Zoonen) may be seen as an attempt to reinforce a patriarchal
stance.

11. Overall, the video uses performance to express the bands complete talent and
sell the song based on star appeal. The video is edited to appear like one
continuous shot, this adds a sense of authenticity to the video to make it
appear like a literal live concert for audience. By adding this personal
relationship between audience and artist the video manages to gather a
larger audience which will continue to follow them through other snogs,
which will gain profit – this is the aim of the record company.
Visuals and lyrics: The video acts as an amplifier of the lyrics, as the lyrics
represent “taking a chance on something” as said by the band. This video
amplifies this through the use of the car at the beginning and end to
symbolise the changing of time and the band leaving to move onto something
else.