1. Indie is a genre of music
that has developed
significantly over about a
30 year period.
Music Video
Conventions

2. Pop is a genre of music that hasn’t changed a great deal over the past
few decades and that is the same with its music videos. To show this I
have picked Material Girl by Madonna, which was released in 1985, and
have compared it alongside 21st century pop videos.
Call My Name – Cheryl Cole Material Girl - Madonna She Makes Me Wanna - JLS
http://www.muzu.tv/cheryl/call- http://www.muzu.tv/ma http://www.muzu.tv/jls/jls-feat-
my-name-music-video/1376788/ donna/material-girl- dev-she-makes-me-wanna-music-
video-music- video/1007280/
video/1031933/

3. Conventions
•The costume in these videos is very co-ordinated which the other people around
them. For example in the JLS video, were Aston is wearing a pink t-shirt, Oritsé has
pink trainers and a pink jacket on. I think co-ordination of clothing gives the pop
group a bigger sense of unity. Also, pop videos are dominated by image and so to
look at, a co-ordinated group is seen as more attractive than a miss-match of
colours.
•As well as this, in the majority of music videos the overall colouring is often very
bright and vibrant to match the usual upbeat, happy-go-lucky vibe of the song.
•Pop videos are usually performance videos and sometimes have bits of narrative
intertwined (Material Girl).
•They usually, if the song is upbeat, have a dance routine performed by the
artist/group. If it is a solo artist, a lot of the time they have a group of dancers
around them. There are obviously exceptions to this rule.
•Pop videos generally have a lot of close-ups/extreme of the artist/artists singing
because the video is all about them and the way they look.
•The mise-en-scene in the video is often used to represent the lyrics of the song.
For example, in the Material Girl video there are close-ups of her diamond jewellery
and rack of expensive clothing emphasising the “I am a material girl” lyrics.
•In upbeat pop songs, fast paced cuts are generally used to keep in the tempo of
the song.

4. Indie is a genre of music that has altered significantly over the past 30 years or so.
And not only has the music changed, but the style of videos are different too. The
1980’s was a decade in which indie music became popular with the likes of The
Smiths, The Stone Roses , The La’s and R.E.M.
She Bangs The Drums – How Soon Is Now? – The Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy
The Stone Roses Smiths Division
http://www.muzu.tv/th http://www.muzu.tv/thesmi http://www.muzu.tv/joydivisio
estoneroses/she-bangs- ths/how-soon-is-now- n/love-will-tear-us-apart-
the-drums-music- digital-music- music-video/994763/
video/267008/ video/1157707/

5. Conventions
•A lot of the indie videos from the 1980s, particularly the ones above, are
distorted or the whole shot has a colour tint. The distorted colours is used to
give a grunge and gritty appearance which could be linked to the style of music.
Also, indie music in the 1980s/1990s was associated with the ‘alternative
lifestyle’ and heavily influenced by drugs and alcohol which could explain the
unusual use of colours.
•The three videos I picked are all performance based videos which represents
most indie music videos. I think this type of video is used because indie bands
normally had a low budget and a ‘do it yourself’ kind of attitude – performance
videos being the cheapest and easiest to make. They were also not as
mainstream as bands of other genres of music. So instead of pop videos for
example which were generally based around image, these videos were based
solely around the band and their music.
•The mise-en-scene, particularly clothing in indie videos from the 1980s had no
real co-ordination or purpose. They were pretty much whatever the band
members had in their wardrobes. Again it shows how the genre was less
mainstream and image dominated.
•The music videos are basically the band performing the song on stage and very
rarely have any form of narrative in them.

6. Modern indie however is a lot different to what it was in the 1980s. Indie has become a lot
more mainstream and therefore bands have a larger budget to produce music videos.
Norgaard - The Vaccines Rabbit Heart- Florence &
http://www.muzu.tv/thev The Machine
accines/ http://www.muzu.tv/floren
cethemachine/
The similarity in the conventions of indie music videos from the 1980s and the 21st
century is the performance element of these videos because at some point throughout
the video you see the artist singing the song. However its not solely dominated by
performance and includes a lot of abstract narrative elements.
The videos are often a lot more centred around the image of the band, and they dress in
much more fashionable clothing compared to indie bands from the 80s.

7. Rack City - Tyga
http://www.muzu.tv/tyga/
Ridin’ - Chamillionaire
http://www.muzu.tv/chamillionaire/ridin-music-
video/252228/
Candy Shop – 50 Cent
http://www.muzu.tv/50cent/candy-shop-music-
video/736519/
Conventions
•Hip-hop videos are very much dominated by image and money.
•A common convention of hip-hop videos is that the artist is the main focal point of the video. The majority of
shots are focused on them. There are also lots of variations in the camera shots used with lots of close-ups,
long shots, mid shots etc.
•Mise-en-scene plays a big part in hip-hop videos. Because they are often all about the image of the artist, they
are often dressed in expensive clothing. Particularly in the three videos I have focussed on, money is a large
element. In the Rack City video a lot of gold has been used to signify wealth and at one point he is even sat at a
table piled high with coins.
•Hip-hop videos by male artists often objectify women. Candy Shop emphasises this convention as all of the
women that feature in the video are dressed in next to nothing performing raunchy dance routines. The lyrics
are often very sexual too (50 Cent again) which is also shown through the skimpy clothing and dance routines.
• The majority of hip-hop videos are driven by image, money and sex.