2. Live Performance
The Strypes – Hometown Girls
Foo Fighters – The Pretender
It is very common for artists in the indie rock genre to do a live performance for their
music video. This way the main focus is on them as performers doing what they love to
do. It also keeps the focus on the actual music itself and the talent that the artists have.
This is very typical in the indie/rock genre as the genre itself was never about success but
more the music and the passion that people have to perform and play. A modern twist is
now often put on this with a narrative included in-between to break up the music video
and give it a story for the reader. Also there is more room to play around with the video if
a narrative is included so many artists tend to use this technique a lot. It also helps them
to compete with other artists of other genres who do narrative videos that are heavily
based around a story to make it more memorable. Live performances also promote the
artist as people will realise how natural they are and that they can actually sing well and
sound the same when live. It takes a lot of charisma to be able to play an instrument and
still perform so the live performance option highlights artists talents in a good way and
can therefore attract an audience.
3. Narrative
A narrative video is used to tell a story throughout
the video by using a sequence of images and videos
that relate to the song. This is done in such a way
that it makes sense to the audience so they can
follow and link it to the lyrics. This is very popular
with all genres as it leaves room for the imagination.
There are so many different variations of this used
and there's a lot of room for creativity which can
leave a video very memorable to the audience. This
is a great way of making a music video stand out
from the crowd and making it popular. This is
because there are many variations so you can make
it as different and wacky as you like. Also, now due
to new developments in technology, new storylines
can be created using special effects and after affects
to make the video look more realistic but also
exciting. Narrative videos also hold peoples attention
better in comparison to a live performance as what
you are seeing is constantly changing and keeps
people entertained at all times. Even people who
aren't necessarily a fan of the artist may still enjoy
the video so this method often helps people gain
success and status.
4. Mise-en-scene
Mise en scene now plays a large role in a lot of music videos and especially the indie rock
genre. This Is because indie artists often have a retro look and this can be created through
the sets they use, props and also their own appearance themselves. Props can change the
look of a video completely for example in The Foo Fighters – Best of You a 60’s microphone
is used in the first shot of the video. This immediately shows an indie convention of being
retro. This is also the case in the video for The Cranberries – Zombies.
The Cranberries Zombie
Foo Fighters – Best
of you
Costumes give people their identity and set them apart from the rest. A good example is
King Charles whose known for his extremely elaborate choice In clothing and image. In the
video telephone we know she wears a hate with a build in phone and this reinforces the
message that’s in her video. As this was a memorable look, people now remember that
video because of her appearance.
King Charles
5. Sound
Sound is obviously very important in a live
performance as we are hearing it directly from
the instruments being played and therefore
can appreciate the talent.
The Stone Roses- She Bangs the Drums
Different effects can be added to the sound to
either distort it, fade it or even increase it to
convey different emotions in the video or even
different characters if voices are changed. The
1975 are a great example for this as most of
their songs use a distorted echo sort of sound
over the lead singer.
Diegetic sounds are also used throughout a lot
to help set the scene at either the end or the
beginning before the main song is introduced.
An example of this is in Arctic Monkeys –
Why’d You Only Call Me When Your High as
previous to the song starting they’re all stood
In a bar and with enhanced sound of
glasses, people playing pool and mumbling
The 1975
Arctic Monkeys – Why’d You Only Call Me
When Your High
6. Camera
In music videos extreme close ups are the most common shots used as they introduce us to
characters or the artist in the video. It may be done to highlight that they are singing or may
to be show which emotion they are trying to convey to the audience. Full length shots are
also commonly used to show the setting of the video and also give us a clear view of the
artists and their outfits. This is important as a lot of artists are seen as style icons and
therefore they need to be seen fully in the videos. The setting also needs to be seen as it will
help us understand the message behind the video and the reasoning for it. Crane shots are
used mainly in live performances as it allows you to get the artist from many different angles
and also helps to keep the focus on them throughout. This looks effective in videos as its
very continuous and hardly leaves the artist. Tilts or pans are used to make the setting clear
and can move from left to right so we see the full set and get the most out of the choice of
location. This can often help to tell the story as it may be a key feature to the video.
The Fratellis – Whistle For
The Choir
The Zutons - Valerie
The Pigeon Detectives - Lost
7. Editing
Editing is now relied on a lot to make a music video successful especially in the indie genre to
give it that old fashioned effect. Almost all videos now will have some sort of effect on them
to make it either run more smoothly or to even add special effects to make it more
interesting. Fast and slow cuts between shots often reflect the pace of the music and link
with it well. This helps to put across the mood in the video and also how they want the
audience to feel.
For example
this on the left
would look like
this on the
right!
This interlinks with the editing used in the actual video, for example if a green screen is used
like in Coldplay’s- Princess of China to create a set behind and make the story look believable.
Effects are often added over the top of videos to make them look old and worn like they are
being played from old tapes. This links into the indie rock genre and is very common in videos
today. A black and white effect is normally used to convey this but sometimes a sepia tone
works too, to make it seem more rustic and raw. Finally, special effects used in videos to
make the artists fly or anything else that’s unusual make it more interesting for the audience
and once again highlight how new advances in technology are very important and beneficial
to the music industry.
