Indie/alternative Documentary

1. Indie/Alternative Bands
Documentary
Jasmin, Amy, Nicole

2. Genre codes and conventions
We complied all of our findings into a mind map so that we could refer to this
when making our own music video. We thought of bands within the
indie/alternative genre, the type of music performed and the video conventions.
Within the videos that we looked at, almost all (or if not all, some) were followed
by each one.

3. Music video research
As part of our research into the indie/alternative genre, we watched music videos from
different bands within this genre in order to collect a range of genre conventions that we
found we common within these videos that would help us to create our own video. We
looked at a range of videos from different bands and where some aspects were the
same, some were different. For example, 7 – Catfish and the Bottlemen was a video that
we looked at. It was a performance video, with a main colour scheme of black and white
and it included different shots of the band with their instruments, with a scene at the end
of the band performing on stage. (insert video) The video was similar to other videos
such as Girls – The 1975, which has a black and white colour scheme, which is to
represent how this genre is different to the pop genre, the rock genre and so on. By
researching different videos and looking at the codes and conventions and analyzing
them in detail, it helped us to see what to include or what not to include, in order to
adhere to or challenge the genre convention and whether to make a stereotypical or
challenging music video. The videos that we looked at adhered to most of Andrew
Goodwin's theories, such as a lot of the videos that involved the band had close ups so
we got to feel as if we knew the band on a personal level and it shows us their
appearance which links to costume, a way that is used to express the band's identity.
Also, the videos we studied did not include voyeuristic views, something Goodwin says is
evident in a lot of music videos, so the indie/alternative genre somewhat challenge this
theory, making us think that they want to focus on the music and not how people see
them through scandalous music videos.

4. These are some examples of close ups and
medium close ups from three of the videos that
we studied. The idea that Goodwin says that
close ups are used to sell the artist is true, in
our opinion, because we feel like we can study
the band members when we are close to them.

5. Another of Goodwin's theories is that music videos can contain
intertextual references and we found that intertextual reference was only
recognisable within one video (The Sound – The 1975). This told us that
indie/alternative bands would possibly rather create their own image
without the help of other influences, or they would rather not show their
influences so that the audiences can focus on the band itself. We found a
lot of the songs to be either a form of amplify or disjuncture. A lot of the
videos that we looked at illustrated the lyrics and had deep meanings in
them, and the videos amplyfied the lyrics, for example The Sound video
by The 1975 and When The Sun Goes Down video by the Arctic
Monkeys. However, some videos had no relation to the lyrics, such as
the video 7 by Catfish and The Bottlemen. Indie/alternative bands could
be amplyfying the lyrics with matching visuals in order to send across
deep messages about hard hitting topics but they could also not
represent the lyrics through their videos in order to create the image of
being different, both genre conventions linked to these bands. As well as
adhering of course to some of Andrew Goodwin's theories on music
videos, some showed us that they challenged his ideas, something that
could show the indie/alternative bands wanted to do so that they could
portray the image of being different and try to corrupt the stereotypes
associated with them already.

6. Mise en scene:
The mise en scene throughout the videos was quite similar, linking the videos
and bands to each other, even if they were trying to be different. It was interesting
to see that even though these bands want to be different from other bands of
other genres, they are all quite similar to each other (obviously). In the music
videos that we looked at, these were things that we noticed -
●Dark colour schemes, sometimes black and white.
●Quite low key lighting or sometimes very bright, unusual lighting which created
the originality and surprising effect of being different.
●Scruffy, monotone coloured outfits, messy hair, quite an unkempt/careless
appearance.
●Settings were different but tended to be places like empty rooms, stages/arenas,
places that are 'well known' to us (we know what they look like, they aren't
exciting) which could show that by trying to be simple and realistic,
indie/alternative bands are actually being quite complex and unique.
●Props were often instruments, showing the passion for music from the band.

7. Digipak research
As well as creating a video, we have to create a digipak, the CD cover that comes with the album. To
understand what things to include we researched some digipaks too, looking at key elements such as
mise en scene, typography and other information included on the digipak. As with the music videos,
we found that each digipak held some similarities and some differences to each other but all had genre
conventions.
We found that the digipak for the Arctic Monkey’s
album and the digipak for The 1975’s album were
similar in the fact that they were both quite simple
but had the same monotone colour scheme and
simplistic looks however the images (or lack of)
represent more compelx messages about the music
on the album and the band’s identity, something that
indie/alternative bands like to do in order to get
audiences to listen to their music.
The Nirvana album digipak was
interesting to study because the bright
colours and unique images mean it isn’t
as stereotypical to the genre as the other
digipaks, which suggests that the band
want to be different from other
indie/alternative bands as well as other
bands in general.
The ALT – J digipak is futuristic, signifying that
this genre of music is beyond any other, and will
continue to be great into the future. It, too, was
different from the other digipaks, as it was
simple but the vivid splashes of colours and the
original font made it interesting.

8. The digipaks, like the music videos and adverts all followed
a similar theme of 'being different', with characteristics
expected of the indie/alternative genre. We thought that on
the whole, although the digipaks look different from each
other, with different mise en scenes and themes, these
elements created an overall identity of 'being different',
something a lot of these bands want to achieve. The
digipaks each had individual identities that represent the
band and each hold their own originality, whilst also being
linked together through the same genre and themes. The
unusually unexpected colour schemes for some of the
digipaks and the plain schemes for others showed that these
bands are just trying to be different in their own ways and
having an individual identity matters a lot because they can
be identified easier by fans and having a unique identity
possibly proves that they are different and this is something
a lot of the bands try to achieve.

9. Poster/advert research
As well as creating the actual music video and digipak, an advert in the form of a print
poster is necessary to spread the word about the album and band. We looked at
numerous different posters and again, found that they were all similar in some way and
that they mostly adhered to the genre conventions.
Each poster has its own unique look with colour
schemes, fonts, images. The Arctic Monkeys
poster was the most genre conventional, with
no images, simple black and white colour
scheme and the band name, creating the
atmosphere of complexity within simplicity and
enigma, ‘what kind of music is this band?’,
‘what’s the tone of their music?’
The Oasis poster was the most
unconventional, with the vivid colours
possibly signifyignt hat the music is more
light hearted and happy being a main
factor. The image is unique, which is what
the indie/alternative genre is all about and
the title of the band was in the iconic font
and colours of the band, black and white,
which could be considered to be typical of
the indie/alternative genre as the band
have their own motif in order to be
remembered by and it is in typical colours
we’d associate with the genre.
The idea that the poster for The
Killers is that they don't have one
identity, they have many, shown
through the face central in the poster
that shows more than one face and
is made up of several, one not even
human which could suggest that
their music and image is of 'another
world' or is extremely different and
edgy.

10. The posters, similar to the digipaks, all follow the theme of 'being
different', even though they all look different. Each is unique to its
band, with different compositions and colour schemes and fonts
but these elements have things in common that link to the genre,
such as the colours, with the exception of one poster may not all
be dark greys and blacks, what is expected of the indie/alternative
genre, but they all create moods and tones that we'd associate
with the genre, for example cool tones and relaxed, carefree
moods. The images used on a lot of the posters are quite
enigmatic, creating questions for the audiences that make them
want to listen to the band in order to find out the answers to their
questions. “Are the bands as simple as they seem through their
posters?” or “Are the band actually rather complex?”

11. To conduct and aid our research into the audience that we are targeting, we created a survey with questions
to do with the genre. We asked around eight or nine people, boys and girls, in order to get a range of
responses. We chose to give different types of questions, such as drop down menus and normal answer
boxes to give variety also. We asked general questions to find out more about our audience, such as ‘how
old are you?’ and more in depth question, such as ‘what colour scheme would you associate with an indie
music video?’. We compiled all of the answers and collected the data which made it easier to read.
Audience surveys

12. Focus groups
The focus groups allowed us to find out more about our audiences and we got to
talk to them personally and by asking them questions on the spot we got their
immediate response on what they thought about the indie/alternative genre. We
asked three people five questions, two girls and one boy, of the age range we are
aiming our product at, which of course is most helpful. The questions that we
asked were based on a ‘whole package’ from the Arctic Monkeys, the Arabella
music video, the Arctic Monkeys digipak and the AM album poster advert.
• What idea/ image do you get of the band?
• How do the Arctic Monkeys represent the indie alternative genre? Is it effective?
• What image is created from the advert?
• Do you think the whole package represents the indie genre well?
• Would you buy this album?
These are the questions that we
asked, all relating to the Arctic
Monkeys package that we
researched.