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1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE,
DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND
CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

2. CONVENTIONS OF INDIE MUSIC VIDEOS
• Indie music videos are known to be quite low budget. The main settings where you would expect one to take place are
locations such as parks, tunnels, studios, etc. They are locations which can be accessed easily and often are very atmospheric in
their aesthetic.
• Mis en scene is a very important factor in the indie genre as it helps portray the narrative and semiotics within the video and
lyrics. Indie artists often have an individual look/style in which they aren’t afraid to stand out. Props can also play a major role
in indie music videos as they can help convey the narrative or just add to the aesthetic look which gives the indie genre its
appeal.
• It is common in indie videos to include a performance element in the music video. This can be either with or without props
(instruments, microphones, etc). There is also more of a focus on the artists in these video than before. This is because as Steve
Neal said, genres are dynamic and evolve over time- indie is evolving and appealing to more popular culture so it doesn’t fade
into the background, and it is conventional of more popular videos to feature lots of shots of the artists.
• It has been increasingly popular to include a narrative element in the music video as it tells a story that the audience can relate
to. Usually the narrative will pair up with the lyrics and create a deeper meaning which can be decoded by the audience. This
also makes the video more interesting as there is more opportunity to use a variety of shots.

3. COMPARISON BETWEEN MY VIDEO AND ANOTHER
INDIE VIDEO
• Sunflower Bean’s video for ‘Easier said’ is a concept and performance video which definitely displays an indie
aesthetic. I feel this is a great example of a conventional indie music video as the mis en scene, editing, and camera
angles are all very generic of the indie genre. For example, the lighting is quite dark and there are no bright or
unnatural colours, which is a very indie convention.
• My video is also partly concept, but also performance and also carries a loose narrative. I feel that my music video
can also be considered quite conventional in reference to the mis en scene, camera, and editing as I feel that it works
for this genre, and my focus group agreed. However, the main thing that is very unconventional of any music video is
the fact that the lip sync is done by someone of the opposite gender to the person who sang the song. I felt this was
very successful because although it seems unconventional at face value, some members of my audience may decode
this as having a deeper meaning about subverting gender stereotypes- this is an important issue in todays society.
• Overall I feel that there are quite a few similarities between my video and Sunflower Bean’s video. The fact that this
video is a few years old suggests that these codes and conventions haven’t really changed as much as one would
expect. The audience still expects to see certain things for it to feel like indie genre.

4. HOW I HAVE EITHER USED, DEVELOPED OR CHALLENGED THE
CONVENTIONAL NARRATIVE STRUCTURE OF MUSIC VIDEOS?
• My music video follows a loose linear narrative structure. I think this is the best choice because it can be interpreted
in many different ways. Because of the diversity of music video types within the indie genre, I feel that I have both
used and challenged conventions as there are so many ways to make an indie video. The conventions I followed are
the use of a strong mis en scene that creates a particular atmosphere. Also the fact it was a low budget production is
incredibly conventional of indie music- indie is about the music not the artists or the fancy videos or even sometimes
making money.
• The performance element in my music video uses and challenges convention as although there is lip sync, there are
performance props such as microphones or instruments which are commonly used, and the song has been recorded
by a male and the video features a female. This can be seen as hugely unconventional as it is controversial and
challenges gender identity, but as it is an indie genre video it may not seem as outlandish as one would imagine.
• Because my video has a loose narrative, it is both conventional and unconventional. This is because it doesn’t stray
too far away from convention in terms of editing or structure, but the open end, use of canter angles, and general
vagueness isn’t what you would expect from a music video. I thought this worked well because it added to the
mystery created by the song and the mis en scene, leaving the audience guessing and able to decode their own
meaning from it and decide for themselves how it ends.

5. HOW HAVE I USED, DEVELOPED OR CHALLENGED
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS IN MY MUSIC VIDEO?
• Because this is an indie video, my actress needed to wear clothing which fitted this genre. If you search
for indie clothing on google is comes up with very similar clothes to what she is wearing in the video.
• I didn’t think I needed to challenge this convention because wearing any other clothes against the
locations I used wouldn’t have looked right and could have impeded the verisimilitude of the world
inside my video. Also, this is the style that my audience identifies with, making the music video more
appealing to them because they relate to the clothing and appreciate it.

6. CONVENTIONS OF INDIE MAGAZINE ADVERTS
• Indie magazine advert conventions follow a similar aesthetic to indie music
videos. However, the artists are rarely featured on these because indie music is
about the music and not the public image of the artist. This means that the advert
is usually a still from a video, or some original artwork created specifically to
promote brand identity.

7. HOW HAVE I USED, DEVELOPED OR CHALLENGED
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS IN MY MAGAZINE ADVERT?
• I feel that my advert is conventional to an extent as the typeface, colours, and lack
of artist follows indie convention. On the other hand, the fact that my image is
sideways landscape isn’t conventional of any magazine advert. I did this because
I felt it was important to challenge at lease one convention in order to make this
new artist stand out from the crowd and draw the audiences’ attention. This was
definitely successful as this was picked up on in my focus group.

8. CONVENTIONS OF INDIE DIGIPAKS
• Indie digipaks follow the same conventions as indie magazine adverts in order to
establish continuity between the products. Continuity is important to form brand
identity which is essential for both established artists and those waiting to be
discovered.
• This means using the same typefaces, colours, etc. Also using original artwork
instead of the artists is very conventional.

9. COMPARISON BETWEEN MY DIGIPAK AND
ANOTHER INDIE DIGIPAK
• I found when looking at similar products, they all stuck to a colour scheme. For
example, The 1975 used a black and white colour scheme. Mine is similar in the
fact that I also use a specific colour scheme of blues and purples throughout my
digipak and magazine advert. There is also the lack of artist imagery and The 1975
use their logo along with neon signs to promote their brand identity.

10. HOW HAVE I USED, DEVELOPED OR CHALLENGED
FORMS AND CONVENTIONS IN MY DIGIPAK?
• I feel that I have not challenged conventions with my digipak as I wanted it to be
clear to the audience what genre my digipak was. I thought this was more
important to an undiscovered artist than breaking convention without a specific
brand identity.

11. CONCLUSION
• Overall, my promotional package both embraces convention and challenges it. I
think I have created an effective balance of the use of convention as indie is
about thinking outside the box yet creating a certain aesthetic that is
conventional. I have followed enough conventions for my products to be
understood and decoded in the preferred way by audiences, but also keep it
interesting and new.