This document discusses conventions commonly seen in indie music videos. It is typical for indie videos to focus on live performances of the main artist/group to showcase their talent. While performances were traditionally the central focus, many indie videos now also include narratives to give deeper meaning to the music and help audiences connect. Effective techniques for indie videos include close-up shots of the artist, location filming on budgets in studios and outdoor areas, and vintage filters or black and white to portray an old-fashioned style.

1. Grace Flame
INDIE MUSIC VIDEO
CONVENTIONS

2. PERFORMANCE
It very common for indie rock genre
to include l ive per formance as it is a
way to focus on the main
ar tist/group showing them doing
what they real ly enjoy, per forming.
It is very typical in the indie genre
to focus on the talent of the ar tist
and the main shots would promote
the ar tist and song, rather than
incorporate brand deals. However it
has become very popular to include
a narrative between the
per formance to give more meaning
to the music video. This helps the
audience relate not only to the song
by the lyrics as wel l .

3. NARRATIVE
 It has be increasingly popular to
include a narrative in the music
video as i t helps to tel l a story
which then audience can relate
to. Usual ly the narrative would
l ink wi th the lyrics which leaves
the viewers room to use thei r
imagination. This would make
the music video stand out more.
Narrative had become real ly
popular because i t holds
peoples attention more
compared to a music video of
l ive per formance, i t makes i t
more interesting for the variety
of shots used.

4. SOUND
 For a music video sound is a very
impor tant aspect, especial ly
during the l ive per formances
where the audience can di rectly
hear the instruments being played.
If the music video adapts a
narrative i t might have diegetic
sounds to make the scene look
real istic. The diegetic sounds
might be much clearer and louder
at the beginning before the vocals
star t and when the vocals end.
Sound might overlap e.g. the
singing could sti l l be playing but
the audience can sti l l hear the
diegetic sounds as wel l . Ef fects
could be added to the sound ei ther
to fade in or increase in volume to
por tray emotion and feel ings.

5. CAMERA
 The most popular camera shots used in
the indie genre videos would be close
ups of the star, this helps adver t ise and
int roduce the ar t ist . Close ups highl ight
the ar t ists talents i t also show thei r
passion and emot ion. Close ups could
also be used to show the int imacy of the
song as indie ar t ists are known to play
in smal l venues and are more about the
music then product ion, they may be
t r ying to convey this in thei r videos.
Crane shots are also popular when
f i lming l ive per formances as i t shows
di f ferent and interest ing angles, this
may include a crowd and fan react ions
to thei r per formance. Long a wide shots
are used as establ ishing shots to set the
scene of the nar rat ive in the video.

6. EDITING
 Edi t ing is ver y impor tant to make any
music video interest ing. Most indie
genre videos would have special
ef fects to ei ther make i t run smoothly
or to create an ef fect that makes the
audience feel as i f they are in the
video wi th them. Shots are usual ly
cut ei ther fast or slow to ref lect the
pace/beat of the music, this l inks
w i t h A n d r ew G o o d w i n ’ s t h e o r y. I t
makes i t much more comfor table to
watch. Ef fects/f i l ters are usual ly
added over the top of a video to
create an old and worn l ike vide, the
black and whi te ef fect is also ver y
popular as i t makes the video look
ver y old fashioned giving i t a
classical and sad feel ing.
Different ^
filters
being used

7. SETTING
 Indie videos are known to have
quite a low budget, the main
setting of the video are in the
studios, cities, parks and tunnels.
The are places that can be easily
accessed and sometimes free to
fi lm in, this would keep costs
down and can be used to make
the storyl ine very mysterious. The
setting is kept simple because it
is typical for indie rock music
video to focus more on the music.

8. MISE EN SCENE
 Mise en scene is very impor tant factor in the
indie rock genre as i t helps por tray the
narrative much better. Indie ar tists of ten have
a retro look about them, which can be created
through thei r costume and make up. There
could be addi tional actors in the music video
who play the main character in the narrative,
they would have to act the par t through thei r
appearance and also the way they act.
Costumes would give people di f ferent
identi ties making i t easier to understand the
music video and i t helps to set them apar t
from everyone else. Props are also used to
ensure that the music video looks real istic, for
this genre the main props used are thei r
instruments which shows they don’t have a
band behind them and they are actual ly the
ones playing the instruments themselves.