This document analyzes the conventions used in the indie music video for "Hey There Delilah" by Plain White T's. It discusses the narrative of a long distance relationship between the singer and Delilah. Key conventions discussed include a simple, low-budget setting; casual clothing; use of a guitar as a prop; fast pacing; close-ups of the singer; and a focus on the artist over elaborate visuals. The analysis found indie music videos emphasize showing the artist's talent through straightforward filming style and narrative.

1. Hey There Delilah- Plain White T’s
I have chosen to analyse Hey there Delilah by The Plain White T's. I chose this song as it fits with a lot
of the typical conventions of an Indie music video. The purpose this research to further expand my
knowledge of the conventions and style of Indie music. By doing this the music video we create will
replicate a real Indie music video.
Mise-en-scene
This music video is very narrative. In the music video there is a girl walking around New York on her
own and she appears to be lonely. I'm assuming the guitar player in the song is her 'boyfriend' they
are in a long distance relationship and he is singing about how they will be with one another soon.
The atmosphere of the song is very dark and sad because the couple are a thousand miles away from
each other. The song is set in Times Square, New York City, a train station, and the apartment that
the singer is in. This setting is conventional for Indie music as they keep their setting simple and low
budget. There are many other conventions of form in this music video, for example the use of a guitar
as a prop is normally conventional for indie music, and this allows the artist to show their talents. For
the performer himself , he is costumed in very basic simple clothing , wearing a t-shirt and jeans, this
again helps the narrative of the song; suggesting he had let himself go and doesn't care since Delilah
has moved away. Delilah is also shown not wearing much, this could connote that she is poor and
doesn't have a lot of money. The fact that she is always filmed outside also helps us to believe that.
The Mise-en-scene of the music video is also very dark this connotes a feeling of depression that
Delilah and the singer may be feeling due to being apart. In all the shots of the singer is shown alone
in empty apartment, this shows that he may be moving out of the apartment as it is empty and has
boxes surrounding him.
Editing
The video has been edited to look like a collage with a split screen, they have created this affect to
show different scenes at once, this helps the audience to physically see the distance between the
singer and Delilah. The music video is also quite fast paced and is driven by the tempo of the music,
the shots are quite long which makes the music video more romantic and thoughtful; this helps to
impart confusion on the audience so that they can empathize with the long distance couple. Post
production colour filters are added to the shots. In the sots of Delilah she is shown with a blue filter
over the shot and when the male is on the screen he has a grey filter over him. Blue and grey connote
loneliness and depression, this ties in with the theme of the song. Having the 2 different colour filters
helps to emphasizes opposing lives.

2. Camerawork
Throughout the music video the camera is in motion and at no point does it stay in a fixed position,
this could suggest the chaos and confusion in both the characters’ lives. Most of the shots used are
close ups of the singer and medium shots are used for Delilah. Using close ups when shooting the
male singer helps us to focus on his facial expressions and emotions, this helps the audience to feel
empathy with him. There are also a few extreme close ups of the guitar, this shows us the talent of
the artist which is conventional for an Indie music video. Using medium shots of the girl helps to show
us her situation, showing us the scenery around her whilst her costume helps to give the audience an
idea of her current situation. The shots show her wondering around New York alone using medium
shots helps us to identify her isolation while still maintaining focus on Delilah herself. Most of the
angles stay quite simple throughout the music video using flat eye line angles of the singer and low
angled shots of Delilah in Times Square. Using eye line angles of the singer ensures that focus stays on
him because it’s as if you are looking directly at the singer, this helps the audience connect with the
music more. Using low angles of Delilah again reinforced her current situation of being alone and
poor.
Sound:
All the sound in the music video is diegetic sound. Juxtaposition is used in the lyrics “don’t you worry
about the distance” the image which shows the female character catching a train. This shows how far
away they from each other. The lyrics mirror what is on the screen. For example when the lyric
"what’s it like in New York City" is played this shot is shown:
This shot shows the chaos and loudness of New York City compared to the calmness of his location.
In conclusion I have found out that Indie music videos stay quite simple and have a homemade feel
about them. The music video also focuses a lot on the artist themselves rather than drawing the
attention away from him with a music video. This is unlike, say maybe a pop genre music video where
the music video is more about the abstract art or the story itself. In indie music the main focus of the
music video is the artist, this helps draw attention to the talent of the artist. This will help my
planning as when I come to plan my music video I will apply these same conventions to reflect the
Indie style of music video.