This document provides an analysis of various music video shots and techniques used in indie pop music videos that inspired and informed the creation of the author's own music video. The author summarizes shots and techniques they found effective from music videos by artists like Hayley Kiyoko, Melanie Martinez, MS MR, and Bjorn. These include close-ups, two-shots, point-of-view shots, the use of props, color grading, and more. The author explains how they incorporated similar shots and techniques into their own video to tell the narrative and convey emotion.

1. EXISTING PRODUCTS

2. LVNDSCAPE ft. Joel Baker - Speeches
An existing indie pop video, Speeches, the use of this shot I really liked because we
see the way he is looking at her and the emotion seems quite stern, almost like he’s
deep in thought about her but not in a romantic way we would expect someone to
be looking at their girlfriend. In my product I used the same action where she is
looking over at her with little emotion, seeming unsure about what she thinks. By
having the other girl asleep it shows how they’re oblivious to how they’re feeling.

3. LVNDSCAPE ft. Joel Baker - Speeches
• Another shot at the end of the video is the shot of the man and woman hugging. I
found this shot was quite conventional over videos which involved couples. It
generally is to show the end of the story when the issue has been resolved.
Although I chose to frame my shot with them at the right side of the shot instead
of in the centre like the existing video.This was because I wanted to show all of the
bed where the scene had been set.The existing video used a deep depth of field
where the background is heavily blurred so all the focus is on them.The
background of my video is blurred but not quite as much because I felt the main
characters stood out enough.

4. Bjonr – Fade IntoYou ft.Tom Bailey
• Another indie pop video, I really liked this shot where the ginger girl is hugging her
side however she seems oblivious to her presence. I took inspiration from this shot
with her coming over her shoulder to in a caring way however her response is the
same as the girls where she seems oblivious.

5. Bjonr – Fade IntoYou ft.Tom Bailey
• Again in this video, I thought this was a lovely shot which is showing how the girl
at the front is looking at the girl behind. I thought this was a good shot to have the
girl in my video ‘sing’ directly to the other girl, the lyric, ‘what's wrong with me’
however I didn’t have the other girl look back at her because I wanted it to be a
one sided question, likes she speaking to herself. I used similar framing to the
other video having the main focus on the front girl.

6. Bjonr – Fade IntoYou ft.Tom Bailey
• Here the use of the prop of an apple was very effective, it not
only brought colour to the scene but drew attention to the
knife which as the two where fighting was quite significant. I
used an orange in my video which I wanted to use as a prop
similar to how the apple is used, the tight grip she has on the
orange shows how she's holding onto all her frustration,
when she digs her fingernails into the orange it shows how
she's holding in so much tension its being released into
digging her nails into the orange, ‘so dark and foul’, when
the girl takes away the orange at the end, I wanted it to show
how she's removing the doubt and frustrations she had.

7. Bjonr – Fade IntoYou ft.Tom Bailey
• I really liked the framing of this shot, with the counter being level with the bottom
of the camera. I felt it gave a long shot of the scene and by using a similar shot I
could get both girls in so the audience can see them both.A long shot also lets the
audience see the mise-en-scene of the kitchen

8. Hayley Kiyoko – Cliffs Edge
• Another indie pop video is Cliffs Edge by Hayley Kiyoko which follows the romance between
two girls.This is a shot near the beginning which pans over just the legs of the girls.The fact
their legs are entwined shows they’re most likely in a relationship, it also sets the scene up as
the following shots show them in bed together. I decided to start my music video with a similar
shot however their legs are not entwined to show the separation between them both. It is also
consistent when the following shots show the girls in the same position.
Also I was inspired by the
use of colourings on these
clips which showed the
romance between the two
characters, I didn’t make
the colour as strong as it is
in Cliffs Edge but added a
slight pink tinge to the
clips where she has
accepted and let the other
girl in to represent the
romance and a happier
state of mind.

9. Hayley Kiyoko – Cliffs Edge
• A convention in indie pop videos which contain narrative and performance is to have the artist
singing on their own to the chorus and also lip syncing at various points in the narrative. In this
video, Hayley Kiyoko is singing in the water, the shot is a medium shot which I also used in
mine, it allows the audience to see the full costume of the actress but also being close enough
to notice their lip-syncing and emotions.The placement is normally in the centre which I also
did because this means all the focus is directly to the middle where she is. Again I used a blue
colouring on this clip, which was to represent the darker and depressed state of mind she is in,
when the other girl comes to bring her out of it, the clips are more rose-tinted, I took the idea
of the colourings from Cliffs edge where they are used to create a certain mood and represent
the atmosphere of the events.

10. Hayley Kiyoko – Cliffs Edge
In this video, the chorus setting, (Hayley in the water)
who had been lip-syncing during the chorus, the colour
of the setting changes and the main narrative story then
merges with this clip.The other girl comes rushing into
save her. I used this technique in my video where leading
on from the chorus it goes into the break where the
narrative then joins the chorus setting, as the other girl
joins her and takes her from there. I felt this was a good
way of tying up the narrative and keeping it running
smoothly.

11. Hayley Kiyoko – Cliffs Edge
• This birds eye view shows both girls and their expressions. It also shows them as equal,
neither one is in a higher position than the other. I decided to use a birds eye shot however
decided to have them head to head but the opposite way to each other.This was so the girl
now lip syncing could raise her hand to her head and show how she is now protecting her and
welcoming her to HER world where she accepts herself and lets go of her insecurity.

12. Hayley Kiyoko – Cliffs Edge
I liked this shot because it draws attention to the character who is looking at the other, and
their expression. We see how they’re looking at them. I decided to use a similar shot which
changes up the shot from a birds eye view showing how the other girl is directly singing to her

13. Hayley Kiyoko – Girls Like Girls & Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse
In both these alternate pop videos they have the use of mirror reflections. In the
Melanie Martinez video, she is looking directly into the mirror/camera and lip syncing
which connects with the audience and is showing how she is viewing herself. I decided
to have the main girl in my video looking straight at herself to show the concentration
and how she's viewing herself in the mirror. I framed the shot similarly as we can see
on the left side of the shot of Melanie Martinez we see her fringe and the side of her
face, which is also like the shot I used we can see the side of her face slightly. However
the depth of field use has blurred this out meaning the focus is all on the mirror
however the audience and still aware of them.The reason for still including her side
profile in the shot shows the audience that it is a reflection and they aren’t edited into
the mirror and its not a ‘magic mirror’. Again like the Cliffs Edge video, Melanie
Martinez has purple lighting in her video a common convention of indie pop, the use of
coloured lighting. As I didn’t use coloured lights, I edited in the rose-tinted appearance
to these clips. Below shows Girls Like Girls by Hayley Kiyoko, again the use of a mirror
which allows us to see the mise-en-scene of the mirror. I was happy with the mirror
shots I used.

14. Hayley Kiyoko – Girls Like Girls
Commonly in music videos with couples in there is close up two shots, which show
them embrace. Like below in Girls Like Girls there is a two shot close up used so we
can see their expressions, it lacks any distraction from the clip and the attention is
purely on them and their emotions. I also used a similar shot in my video as I wanted
the audience to look at the emotions of the girls and show the intimacy between
them.

15. Hayley Kiyoko – Girls Like Girls
Here a two shot is used, which is commonly used to show the relationship between
two people. In Girls Like Girls it’s used to establish the shot and the setting, so we
see what they’re doing. In mine I used a two shot here to shot the positions they’re
in, it also created tension as they look like it’s a face of and the audience will wonder
what is going to happen next.

16. Hayley Kiyoko –This Side of Paradise
InThis Side of Paradise Hayley is in the centre of the shot, sat down it makes her
more vulnerable as she is at a lower level. She was also lip syncing from here. In my
music video the main character who is lip syncing is sat down showing her in a lower
position than the other girl, however I altered my shot slightly so she is level with
the camera and directly looking into the lens.

17. MS MR - Hurricane
I had previously seen this video before choosing this song to make my music video
from, and after I tried to refrain from watching it so that I wouldn’t be heavily
influenced with it and end up with a similar product. However, I did remember this
shot from it and really liked cinematography, the camera is a high angle looking
down on the girl, making her more vulnerable, the direct eye contract with the
camera also makes it feel more personal like she is directly singing to the audience. I
used the same shot in my work.

18. MS MR – Painted. MS MR - Fantasy
• The use of extreme close up and close up shots on
eyes in these indie pop videos, give the clips a
personal feel as we are so close to someone. It also
allows the audience to see the ‘expression’ in the
actress/actors eyes. I decided to use extreme close ups
of her eyes in my music video as when she looks over
to the girl in the first scenes the audience only see her
eyes looking over instead of any other distractions
therefore know she is planning something or thinking
a certain way by looking at her. In the shot to the left
where she opens her eyes and looks directly at the
camera it is to represent how she is keeping her eyes
open (lyric also) for any sign of danger in the
relationship.

19. MS MR - Fantasy
• Although the framing of this shot wasn’t influenced by this product, the prop was. In indie
pop videos, there is usually unique props used, such as the glitter below. I thought it was
really effective the way it looked, therefore wanted to incorporate glitter into my video.
When hearing the line ‘make ash and leave the dust behind’ it made me think of the girl
leaving the bad parts of her mind behind.The ‘ash’ part reminded me of the substance ash
however it’s a dull colour and I thought golden glitter would add to the scene more and make
it more aesthetic. As well it appears that she is blowing this ‘magic glitter’ into her (gold –
colour of good, happiness) which has a positive effect on her.

20. MS MR - Criminals
• In this video, there is the use of hands with the water,
which is a very conceptual shot, I also varied my shots
and the content and used a close up of hands which is
similar to other indie products which have shown hands.
The effect of this draws all the attention to the hands
and what they’re doing. For instance if it was a medium
shot and we saw the girl as well, the audience might
miss what she is doing with the orange.The close-up on
her digging her nails into the orange also creates a more
‘eugh’ feel for the audience as it’s quite disguisting as
she is squeezing the orange.

21. Melanie Martinez – Soap/TrainingWheels Double Feature
• Point of view shots are used to give the audience a sense of how the persons who view shot
it is are feeling. It can also be used to show a memory where someone is remembering
where they was or what they saw. In Melanie’s video she is swinging around in a playful way
with a boy, this is from his point of view how he sees her, it makes the video fun and
interactive for the audience as they’re part of the playfulness of the video. In my video I used
it to show how she’s looking directly at the girl which shows the girl being happy and playful,
singing to her whereas the line which sings over it is ‘what you saw in me’ which is a more
negative line as the girl is directly saying to her I never saw what you saw in me.This brings
the audience into the video and lets them see how the other girl acts towards her. Point of
view shots are common among indie pop videos, as they are a good cinematography
technique to use when part of a narrative video.

22. Melanie Martinez - Dollhouse
• A similar shot using the use of a side profile shot.This
draws the attention to the cheek and face, as we can see
in Melanie’s video the tear which falls down her face is
more noticeable from this side angle then it maybe would
be from a front profile. In my video I used a similar
technique when she is wiping the mud on her face, this
means all the attention of the audience is on this side of
her face and we can see clearly what she is doing.