Genre theory- Indie Rock

1. THEORETICAL
APPROACH
TO GENRE
Katie Thomas

2. Conventions of Indie Rock
• Outdoor locations
• Dark clothing
• Non-glamorous but casual costumes
• Use of instruments
• Few props due to lower budgets
• Combination of both low and high key lighting
• Narrative is based around the concept of love and
relationships
• Cinematography- medium close ups in order to establish
star image. Use of establishing shots to emphasise the
scenery.

3. Examples
•The Kooks- Naive: use of low and high key lighting, casual
costumes and style
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkaMiaRLgvY)

4. • Bastille- Pompeii: outdoor locations, dark clothing and use
of medium close-ups
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F90Cw4l-8NY)

5. • Coldplay- The Scientist: despite the more entropic
narrative (running backwards) still appears to be about a
relationship. Also use of outdoor locations
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RB-RcX5DS5A)

6. In our music video…
• We have chosen to use a number of these characteristics
in our music video. We will use an outdoor location, the
narrative will surround love, medium close ups of the
singer and casual costumes.
• The main reason for our choices are that they will create a
narrative that is interesting and yet also relatable,
because of the appearance of real life. Further, we are
aiming to create a ‘normal’ star image about the band
through our use of costumes, which again should make
them more relatable to fans and so they would want to
buy their music. The blank look however, maintain Dyer’s
theory that the star should be relatable and yet distant.

7. Goodwin
We are planning to use most of Andrew Goodwin’s conventions for music
videos:
- Typical of the indie genre our visuals will amplify the lyrics of the song to
give them another meaning. This is different to other genres such as pop,
in which the visuals would usually illustrate the lyrics
- We will edit to the beat in order to establish a link between the visuals
and the music. This is done in most Indie music videos because
emphasis is always put on the music and this re-enforces this idea.
- We will also use close ups of our singer to establish star image. This is
important because you are not just selling the music but the people
behind the music too, this means the label can make more money.
- Voyeurism will also be used, when the singer is stalking/watching his ex-
girlfriend.
- There will be some examples of intertextual references, such as
Facebook, laptop and iPhone. This will make the narrative seem more
realistic because our target audience will recognise these objects from
their everyday life. It will also help establish the ‘normal person’ star
image which is typical in Indie.

8. • While we have used most of Goodwin’s characteristics in
our video, what really sets it apart is the narrative. The
idea of twisted love and stalking is quite sinister and
entropic because it isn’t just another love story that ends
happily ever after.
• This, however, is a characteristic of the Indie-rock genre,
so therefore it may be more redundant.

9. Redundancy and Entropy
• As I have already discussed, our music video will mainly
be redundant,; due to the use of Goodwin’s
characteristics. Although, the narrative is more entropic,
this is only compared to other genres. So it is more
redundant within the Indie genre. We have done this
because, established fans of the Indie genre will
recognise the characteristics and be more likely to buy the
music. Therefore, adhering to convention, provides a
safety blanket because you know there will definitely be a
certain amount of sales.

10. Quotes
• Nicholas Abercrombie “producers set out to exploit genre
conventions... It... makes sound economic sense. Sets, properties
and costumes can be used over and over again. Teams of stars,
writers, directors and technicians can be built up, giving economies of
scale”
I agree with this because genre creates a set of characteristics that
provides a safety blanket for producers of music, because fans will
recognise them and automatically be more likely to buy the music.
However, I do not really think this is a good thing, because it just leads
to a lot of repetition in the industry. Furthermore, genre characteristics
are not always used and they don’t just use the same sets again and
again.
• David Buckingham - “Genre is not simply given by the culture,
rather, it is in a constant process of negotiation and change.”
I agree with this comment because it highlights that genre is important,
but it is also ever-changing. It also shows that it isn’t a necessity in
making successful music.