The document discusses how the media producer's music video for the band The Crystal Whites uses and develops conventions of the indie rock genre. It analyzes influences from other indie rock music videos to incorporate key elements such as close-up shots of instruments, scenes of the band playing, and narratives that focus on the emotions of the song rather than self-promotion. While including these conventions, the producer aims to add their own creative flair and give the video its own distinctive style. Footage and influences are discussed from bands such as Oasis, Bombay Bicycle Club, and Jake Bugg to showcase how conventions are implemented in signed and unsigned bands alike.

1. 1. In what ways does
your media product
use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real
media products?

2. The development of our media products was focused around the indie-rock genre derived from our use of the
song ‘To Anyone’ by ‘The Crystal Whites’. The indie-rock genre is that of generally recent recognition and
creation having broken onto the global music scene in the 1980’s, it depicts a feeling of small, independent
individual bands. Bands such as ‘The Strokes’ and ‘The White Stripes’ are examples of successful mainstream
indie-rock bands. The Crystal Whites’ various influences meant that their sound is rather unique with distinct
sounds similar to those of ‘The Libertines’ and ‘The Arctic Monkeys’. The band have played at numerous London
venues such as the well-known ‘Troubadour’ in Earls Court, with an already formed target audience we had a
general focus furthermore influenced by traditional conventions of the genre whilst adding our own distinct
creative flair, to give the media products their own creative dimension and stand-out effect.
The
Strokes
The
Libertines
The White Stripes
The Arctic
Monkeys

3. There are a wide number of conventions traditionally associated with the indie-rock genre.
Image is a key element of any indie-rock band and is usually a main focus of their videos and
posters etc. Indie-rock music videos tend to revolve around a performance element of the
band, as indie-rock music usually depicts artists doing it for themselves and the love of music
rather than self promotion and greed. Focus on instruments is a key focus of many indie-rock
bands once again revolving around the fact that they are trying to produce real music and to
show their passion for music. Although many indie-rock genre videos contain a narrative
sequence it is unusual for a music video of this genre not to show a connection to the attitudes
and live musical ability of the artist.
In terms of music videos, those of the indie-rock genre generally contain close up features of
the artist to capture the emotional connection with the song. Artists of this genre usually write
their own songs with specific individual meaning unlike the artificially constructed electronic
sounds of the pop genre for example. Furthermore close up shots are also used to focus upon
the musical instruments of the band such as guitars, bass, drums and maybe keyboard which
are traditional instruments associated with the genre. Establishing shots usually consist of a
performance shot showing all members of the band playing together.
Jake Bugg’s music video
for his song ‘Broken’
provides emphasis on
himself as the artist as
well as focussing upon
his guitar.

4. Narrative is also a key element to any indie-rock music video, unlike other genres such as pop,
narrative of this particular genre usually help to tell a story and fulfil the emotional value and
connection between lyrics and artist. Although it is rare that an indie-rock music video will
consist of purely narrative it is usually used to explain the meaning behind the song. Whereas
in for example pop or R&B genre female dancers may be used to attract the attention of a
male audience it seems that in the indie-rock genre, narrative is used for the singular purpose
of meaning and to connect its audience with the song and to not in the case of
aforementioned other genres attract mass audience for the sake of fame nor money.
In terms of editing indie-rock videos tend to be cut to the beat of the song to emphasise the
musical element of the video this may include fast paced cutting, or slow lengthy segments of
film depending on the song. Although editing is a key process of any music video it is probably
used least or less exaggerated in the indie-rock genre. Everything about the indie-rock genre is
focussed upon the band and music and so overuse of editing would detach the video from its
sole purpose of simply displaying the band, the song and their connection. Editing may be
used to add affects such as out of focus and blurred shots to create a live atmosphere in parts
of the video showing the band playing live to create the feeling of a live performance.
The narrative sequence in the Arctic
Monkey’s music video for the song ‘Why’d
you only call me when your high’ visually
explains the lyrical make-up of the song.

5. Generic conventions of music videos:
The style and layout of a music video can differ greatly depending on the genre and purpose, however
there are various conventions which all videos contain.
• On the most part music videos usually reference the artist in the video as a form of self-promotion and
connection with the viewers.
• Music videos are usually either narrative or performance based with some containing both elements.
Shots types vary a lot throughout different videos however long establishing shots and close ups to
focus solely upon the artist are commonly featured in most videos.
• Editing is used within almost all music videos, and it is very rare that a video would be shot in one take
unless on an extremely low budget. Editing can take on a number of various styles depending on the
genre however one element of editing which is prolific throughout all videos is cutting to the beat,
which allows the song and music to match and flow with the on-screen visuals.
• Lighting is also a key staple in music videos and it used in varying amounts depending on the budget of
a video. Whereas natural lighting may be used in certain genres such as indie, artificial strobe lighting
would be associated more with pop genres, used in scenes which contain dance routine etc. to help
promote the artist as a brand.
In the production of our music video we used and displayed a number of conventions of the indie-rock
genre, this allowed us to promote the band in a proven way to suit their music style, but also allowed us
to add our own creative dimension and fulfil the individuality of the band which alludes to the theory of
Turow who suggested that media can ‘encourage organisational continuity whilst not necessarily stifling
creative dimension’.

6. Above is a comparison of the narrative used in the indie/rock genre. Narrative is not always used within the
indie/rock genre but can be used as an explanation to the reasoning behind the writing of a song. Unlike for example
the pop genre which may use high profile stars dressed up in creative costumes to draw attention to themselves,
narrative within the indie/rock genre is generally used to describe the feeling and emotion behind the song. To
encapsulate this emotion within our own video we used the songwriter and lead singer of the Crystal Whites, Adam
Ferguson. In two segments of my video Adam can be seen to follow the camera directly looking and singing at the
camera, creating a relationship with an on looking audience. I took influence for this specific camera angle from the
likes of Coldplay’s song Yellow which for the entirety of the song shows the lead singer and songwriter Chris Martin
following a camera down the beach singing and looking directly into it, this creates a feeling of intimacy with the
lead singer and helps to create a relationship between the audience and the feeling and emotion of the song.
Similarly within my own music video I felt that the use of this specific shot would allow an audience to engage with
the specific lyrics of the song and the emotions felt by the lead singer Adam Ferguson when he wrote the song.
During feedback sessions of my music videos it
was noted that this style of camera angle related
heavily to other bands videos such as the Verve’s
song Lucky Man which much like my own video
follows the lead singer Richard Ashcroft for the
duration of the narrative. My individual use of
Adam Ferguson in the narrative of the video
compares to that of mainstream indie/rock genre
where the narrative usually only displays the lead
singer of the band. I did this firstly because Adam
is the song writer of the band and so therefore
can connect with the meaning of the song and
secondly as the lead singer would engage an
audience during the narrative. As aforementioned
the indie/rock genre is all about the music and
less about the idea of artificially forced self
promotion as often seen in the pop genre and this
can be seen through the use of the band playing
within my video.

7. One key convention of the indie/rock genre is footage of the band
playing, with key camera shots and angles displaying the musical
instruments played. A key convention of the genre is the production of
‘real music’ using instruments and individual song writing rather than
mass manufactured electronic music as seen in many songs within for
example the pop genre.
Above is the establishing shot of the band
scenes within my music video, these scenes
add to the feeling of a live performance and
the real base of the genre. This shot shows
the whole band, showing the importance of
each individual member contrasting with
the usual individual focus of a pop or RnB
artist.
The use of live band shots in my video took influence from
videos of bands such as Oasis which nearly always use scenes
of the band playing in their music videos. The use of these
scenes is key as they show the intent of the band and the
style of music they play. Footage of the band playing was an
essential element of my music video because as with any
indie/rock band the idea of playing live to an audience is a key
aspect and drive.

8. In Oasis’s music video for their song
‘Whatever’ the entirety of the music
video is focussed upon the band
playing in live performance. There is
no narrative in the video which
creates a direct link between the
musical intentions of the band and
the audience. I had an idea of using
solely scenes of the band playing
however after research and feedback
came to the conclusion that it would
be hard to make the video of over
three minutes entertaining.
Furthermore the Crystal Whites are
an unsigned band so unlike the likes
of Oasis do not have the draw and
presence of the like of the Gallagher
brothers. I felt that to engage an
audience a combination of both live
performance shots of the band
playing and a narrative explaining the
context of the song would be the
most successful combination.

9. The fact that The Crystal Whites are an unsigned band played a large role in the research
into the conventions of the indie/rock genre. Furthermore, the young age of the band
meant that I researched bands with similar style and sound to The Crystal Whites who
have already developed the likes of music videos.
The Jungle Doctors are an example of a band who I took
influence from whilst creating both the music video and
ancillary texts for The Crystal Whites. Like the Crystal
Whites, The Jungle Doctors are an unsigned band and so
therefore deal with the same issues that we faced when
creating the media material such as a low budget and
maybe a restriction to venues and areas to film which
signed bands with agencies would not face.
The influence of both signed and unsigned bands
gave me a balanced outlook of professionalism
and also what I could realistically achieve with
the budget, equipment and time frame I had to
create the media products. Furthermore the most
important element was that all of my influences
were of the indie/rock genre so I was
continuously hitting the key conventions of the
genre.

10. In the music video for the Jungle Doctors single ‘Falling’ the band are situated in a recording studio. I thought of
this of as an option for my video as I thought that despite the small space and singular location in which the video
was filmed the video was very effective with sound lip-synching and conventions on the indie/rock genre. The use
of the recording studio was very effective, however I felt that this would involve finding a studio with adequate
space and more importantly meant that we would have to book time slots which with two members of the band
coming back from university was not an ideal situation. Overall I felt that despite the successes and key
conventions of the indie/rock genre fulfilled in the Jungle Doctors video the use of a music studio would not fit the
lyrics of the song ‘To Anyone’ and would not be diverse enough for a song over three minutes long.

11. Another unsigned band which I took influence from was Pretty Vicious and their video
for single ‘Cave Song’. The young band from Wales, like The Jungle Doctors are
unsigned and of a young age, similar to The Crystal Whites. The ‘Cave Song’ music
video uses footage from a live performance of the band, having watched the Crystal
Whites live numerous times this is another angle I could have taken however firstly the
venue sizes were not that large, secondly in a live set the song ‘To Anyone’ is only
performed once meaning that we would not have the comfort to do regular takes, and
would definitely need a number of camera and cameramen which we did not have
access to.

12. As an unsigned band it was important for me to establish the home of the Crystal Whites so that if they
eventually reach an international stage it is recognisable where they come from and the places which
influenced their songs. One influence I took for this particular idea was from Jake Bugg and in particular his
song ‘Two Fingers’ which in the video has reference to where he grew up and where he wrote his songs. The
music video is has a very natural feel and is not forced like other genres.
This picture shows an insight into where
Jake Bugg grew up and wrote his music, in
Clifton Nottingham, unlike most other
genres indie/rock bands take pride in
showing their origins as much of the song
writing takes influence from where the
band grew up and experience the
emotions present in their songs.
Similarly to the music video for ‘Two
Fingers’ I wanted to incorporate the
location of where the band grew up. On
the left shows the establishing shot of
the music video which displays a
panoramic shot of the Southbank area of
London, capturing main iconic sites such
as St. Pauls Cathedral behind the lead
singer Adam Ferguson.

13. The final scene of my video ends
with the narrative and once again
shows reference to the
hometown of the band. This is
shown through the iconic
landmark of Big Ben.

14. The setting of the band playing was also of key
importance. I decided to locate the live scenes
of the band in Radnor park, Twickenham in a
shack where the band used to jam and
practice their songs. The ‘To Anyone’ single
was the first to be released and also it is the
first to claim a music video therefore I thought
that it was the perfect opportunity to show
the routes of the band and where they play
their music.
A similar location can be seen in the music
video for the song ‘Always Like This’ by
Bombay Bicycle Club. Both locations are
rather unforced and seem very natural, there
is nothing impressive about the location of
either video however this would only distract
the audience from the music. The setting for
both videos represents the places where
music was practiced and written and so
seemed an obvious place for me to set my
music video. The success of bands such as
Bombay Bicycle Club using simple locations
gave me the confidence to stick to the true
routes of the Crystal Whites and not have to
show them as something which they do not
stand for.

15. One main convention of the indie/rock genre is the use of close up camera shots and focus upon musical
instruments. The genre takes pride in the creation of real music through the use of instruments and this is
reinforced by the use of scenes of the band playing in most videos of the genre. Throughout the scenes of
the band playing there are a wide variety of camera angles showing the different music instruments used,
and I took reference and influence from a number of different bands both signed and unsigned. The
influence taken from signed bands showed me a level of professionalism in shots and complete videos
and the emergence of unsigned bands helped to show me the raw nature of the genre and what is
included in unsigned videos.
To the left is a close up camera angle of the lead singer’s guitar, on the right is
an example of the influence for this shot which came from a close up shot of
Noel Gallagher’s guitar in the Oasis video for ‘Whatever’. The close up angle
shows the importance of the electric guitar in the indie/rock genre. Throughout
the duration of the song their was a multitude of similar shots as through
research I found it to be a regular and repeated convention of the genre.

16. Here is another comparison of my video and that of Foal’s music video for the song ‘Inhaler’ which
shows a close up shot of the bass guitar, another key convention of the indie/rock genre. The close up
shots of instruments adds emphasis to the music they create. Furthermore visuals of the instruments
whilst they are being played creates the feeling of a live performance for an audience.
Once again mirroring shots show the influence I have taken from key conventions of the indie/rock genre
and incorporated them into my own video, this example is from Bombay Bicycle Club’s ‘It’s always like
this’.

17. Another key convention that I placed in my video was extreme close up shots of the lead
singer which allows the emotions of the vocalist to be expressed. I took particular
influence from ‘The Strypes’ in this case.

18. Despite my use of many indie/rock genre
conventions throughout the duration of
the music video the use of a female figure
in the narrative can be seen to contrast
with this. On the most part videos of the
genre contain mostly scenes of the band
playing whether it be live or deliberately
for the video and then may contain
narrative which usually may be made up
of footage for a tour or live gigs. The use
of a female figure was in my opinion
essential to providing a deeper insight
into the lyrical make-up of the song.
The use of a female figure would
tend to be found in a Pop or RnB
genre music video, perhaps
displaying ideas of the male gaze.
However I incorporated the girl
within the narrative because the
song was written about a girl
with constant reference to ‘she’
throughout the duration of the
song and this alludes to
Goodwin's theory that there
should be a relationship between
lyrics and visuals.

19. Indie/rock conventions in the from of digipaks/posters

20. Key Points
The first thing to notice about the Digipak front
cover is that it is very simple, alluding to
conventions of the Indie/rock genre. Through
research I discovered that most Digipaks of the
genre were very simple but visually stimulating the
simplicity and uncomplicated nature is what makes
them stand out on shop shelves. The bold white
text and band image are in my opinion rather
simple but extremely effective, the unsigned
nature of the band meant that I felt it important to
reveal the band members across both the Digipak
and poster and this is also a convention of both
products which I discovered during research.
Main Influences

21. One of the main influences for the front cover of the Digipak was The Strypes and
their album ‘Snapshot’. The simplicity of the front cover really attracted me and
furthermore is stereotypical of Indie/rock genre digipaks. There are numerous
connections between The Crystal Whites digipak front cover and that of The Strypes.
1.
2.
3.
1. The first connection is the image of the band upon the front cover, this is a
stereotypical convention of Digipak front covers in the Indie/rock genre.
2. The second connection is the name of the album, which is firstly smaller than
the name of the band and secondly in a different colour to help it stand out.
3. The final connection is the large bold font of the title allowing a buyer to
instantly know who the band are.

22. Other connections to real texts include The
Charlatans ‘Tellin’ Stories’ and The Kooks
‘Inside In Inside Out’
Similarly to The Crystal Whites digipak front cover both The Charlatans and
The Kooks covers consist of bold writing revealing the name of the band. This
is a true convention of the Indie/rock genre and allows easy recognition of
who the band are. Secondly another connection is the use of band members
on the digipak cover, another key conventions of the genre showing band
culture. A connection between The Crystal Whites and The Kooks digipak
front cover is the use of a different colour font, in this case red to easily
separate the name of the band and the title of the album.

23. The still image for the CD was taken upon filming the narrative section of the music video.
The use of Big Ben on
the CD as well as in the
video created a
reflection of where the
band are from, through
research I found that
many bands especially
in debut songs and
albums reference
where they come from
firstly to introduce
themselves in a sense
and secondly to
provide a visual
stimulant for the lyrics
in their songs.
The main image on the
CD is of the lead singer
smoking. This shot was
taken during a break
when filming the
narrative sequence of
the music video
however I felt it
corresponded to
stereotypes of the
Indie/rock genre.
Through research I
found that many
Indie/rock bands
videos/Digipaks/Posters
had reference to
smoking and alcohol
which relates to the
attitude of the genre.
However, unlike other genres
smoking for example is not
glamorised nor forced in the
Indie/rock genre but instead
relates to the normality of the
bands who create this type of
music.

24. Influences
The front cover of the
Arctic Monkeys album
‘Whatever People Say I
Am, That's What I'm Not’
shows an ambiguous man
smoking relating to the
Rock&Roll element of the
genre.
The CD like the front cover
of the Digipak has reference
to smoking this time
through the visuals of an
ashtray. Furthermore joint
ends may allude to drugs
sometimes associated with
the Indie/rock genre.
This image reveals Alex Turner
the lead singer of the Arctic
Monkeys taking place of the
male figure in the first image
furthermore revealing the
stereotypes of the genre. This
links to the lead singer used
on the Crystal Whites CD.

25. Another artist which I took influence from is Jake Bugg the visuals
of cigarettes in his video for ‘Two Fingers’ revealed the social side
of smoking relating to the band culture of the Indie/rock genre. The
use of smoking in the video related to the natural and unforced
footage of the genre unlike for example pop and rap genres which
may use a cigarette as a prop rather than a natural part of the
artists life.
The cigarette is a key stereotype of the rock genre popularised
by bands such as The Rolling Stones and more recently young
artists such as Jake Bugg. I felt the visuals of the lead singer
smoking would help define the Crystal Whites as an Indie/rock
band.

26. Following conventions of the Indie/rock genre
the lyric booklet is very simple. I used faded
images from the ‘To Anyone’ music video
revealing key conventions such as the band
playing. The faded form of the images allowed
the lyric text and song titles to stay prevalent
and stand out.
I felt that it was important to use a lyric booklet
within the Digipak because of the lyrical
emphasis in the Crystal Whites songs.
Furthermore in my research I discovered that
most Indie/rock bands included a lyric booklet
in the Digipak because of the emphasis placed
on songs within the genre.

27. The Arctic Monkeys Digipak has similarities to that
of the Crystal Whites, mainly images of the band
and the simple layout of lyrics.
Both Digipaks use bold titles to
show the name of the song, with
the lyrics beneath in a standard
font.
Whilst the Arctic Monkeys lyric
booklet has pictures and text
separated I chose to place lyrics
upon a photo backdrop.

28. The Back cover
Following on with the style of the
digipak the back cover is again very
simplistic yet creates in my opinion
delivers key information whilst
remaining aesthetically pleasing.
The back cover consists of key
aspects of all digipaks such as firstly
a song list, secondly a production
label and also a barcode for retail
purpose.
Influences/Connections
to real media texts.

29. All three back covers
show the key
information of the
production company
this is a generic
element of any album
back cover.
Another generic
element is the
inclusion of a
barcode for retail
purposes.

30. One comparison to real texts which I used as an influence for the back cover
of the digipak was the band Foals and their album ‘Antidotes’. The reason I
like the album I because it fills many conventions of the Indie genre, it is
understated, simple but effective. One main connection to be noted is the
handwriting like text on the back of both covers, I chose to use this type of
text because the style makes it look as if it has been written. Through speaking
to The Crystal Whites and songwriter Adam Ferguson I was able to look at the
actual lyric booklet Adam used to write songs and I took this as influence for
the text on the back cover. Like the back cover of the Foals album I tried to
keep it uncluttered and minimalistic with just the barcode, production logo to
accompany the generic song list and background photo.

31. Another link to real texts is the Arctic Monkeys album ‘Whatever People Say I
Am, That's What I'm Not’ which again fulfils conventions of the Indie/rock
genre through its simplistic nature. Unlike many digipak back covers I chose to
use an image as a backdrop for the song list and this can connect to a similar
concept used for the Arctic Monkeys album back cover. Generic links to be
found are the barcode for retail purposes as well as the production label logo.

32. Magazine Poster
Generic Conventions
One generic convention of
any artist magazine poster is
the name of the band and
promoting album.
Another generic
convention is the
background image,
every poster has a
main background
image.
In the modern day
social media sites
are frequently used
as a way of
promotion and are
usually found on
magazine posters.
Positive reviews are
often found on
magazine posters as a
form of positive
promotion.
Websites are a generic feature of
magazine posters another form of
promotion.

33. Comparisons to real media texts can be made to both The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys
magazine posters. The first comparison is that all three posters use a picture of the
band as the base of the poster, the use of all members of the band suggests the unity
of making music which the Indie/rock genre is well known for as opposed to the self
promotion of image often seen is the pop genre. Furthermore all three posters use
bold black font to make the name of the band standout, the simple fonts used once
again responds to the simple conventions of the genre. Institutional information is also
present on all of the posters with key information such a the bands website.

34. Another real text comparison which can be made is to Conduit’s album
‘Funeral for a Friend’. The most important link is the use of the digipak cover
on the magazine poster, I felt this was important firstly as a method of
promotion and because of the unsigned nature of the band. Furthermore the
words ‘Out Now’ are not usually found that often on Indie/rock magazine
posters so this is a borrowed convention from the likes of the pop genre. One
main connection of the two posters is the use of band members once again,
showing the importance of the group mentality rather than the forcing
promotion of the artist as an ‘image’ often found in the pop genre.