Conventions of Genre

1. Conventions of Genre
Stephanie Dagg

2. Definition of Genre
• A style or category of art, music, or
literature
• When identifying the genre of a song if I am not
sure as to what category it fits into I found that
using iTunes is a good way of finding out.
When you search for a song all its details are
available to view. I wasn’t 100% sure about the
genre of my song so having this research tool
was helpful in being more precise.

3. Definition of Alternative/Indie
• A genre of rock music that emerged from
the independent music underground of the
1980s and became widely popular by the
1990s.
• Also known as ‘independent’ alternative
music was the result of a rise of
independent labels cropping up around the
country that produce different music and
had no affiliation with the major labels.

4. Alternative Music
• The term ‘alternative’ came about because of
how the music is generally identified by the
mainly rock sound, but other genres are
incorporated into it. At the time of it’s surface,
the style it did not fit into a particular group,
therefore it was given the name ‘alternative’.
• The name ‘alternative’ also comes from the
idea that a lot of the bands that now played in
this genre were non-conformists. They had
different or alternative ideas about society.

5. The Beginnings
• At the start of the rise of alternative music,
darker themes were addressed in songs.
Stories of alcoholism and depression were used
to portray bands anti-establishment views.
• Because of their non-conformist ways the
media paid very little attention to these bands.
Mostly playing gigs in small clubs getting
noticed and becoming popular was all about
word of mouth.

6. Progression of the Alternative Genre
• Alternative bands built up underground
followings because they were not being widely
recognised. However after the launch of MTV
many new undiscovered artists were being
given opportunities to have their music
listened to by large scale audiences.
• One of the first alternative bands that became
part of the mainstream music scene was
‘Nirvana’. They then paved the way for other
alternative bands.

7. Cinematography
• The cinematography within the indie/alternative
genre often uses a lot of close-up shots. This is
because the lyrics of the songs in this genre are often
more meaningful and personal to the artist when
they have written it themselves. The use of these
close-up shots can emphasize the emotion of the
performer.
• Often the settings of a music video in the
indie/alternative genre are very important,
therefore establishing shots, or wide shots are often
used to show the audience the surroundings in
which the performer is in.

8. Examples of Conventions;
Close - Up
Mid - Shot
Black & White
Lip syncing

9. Editing
• Often alternative videos follow a narrative structure,
and therefore continuity editing is used to show
progression of the story.
• Slow motion effects are also used frequently in
alternative/indie videos. As a lot of songs in this
genre have a slower beat, longer edits and shots are
used and slow motion creates diversity.
• Some videos in the indie genre are converted to
black and white during editing. This effect often
creates a darker and more solemn feeling, and indie
songs are often sadder compared to more colorful
pop songs.

10. Examples;
Black & White

11. Mise-en-Scene
• The mise-en-scene within the alternative genre is often very
important because things such as location and costume can
connote different things, therefore creating a video in the right
location and dressing the performers in a suitable costume can
help the video to put across the intended message.
• For example, in indie/alternative songs the mood or message of
the song is very rarely happy and joyful. Therefore artists and
performers are not often seen wearing bright colours and
dancing around.
• For indie/alternative artists their videos are more often about
the performance of the song itself and their musical talents
rather than creating a meaningful narrative. So therefore for
performance videos, big stages and musical instruments are
used to show the viewer that the artists are serious about what
they are doing.

12. Examples;
Musical Instrument