The document summarizes the elements of an indie music video and how the author incorporated them into their own music video. Specifically: - Live performance shots were included and intercut with narrative clips showing a character attending the band's performance to reinforce authenticity. - A narrative was included showing a mother and daughter wanting to attend the band's show but needing to alter their appearances, commenting on obsession with image. - Locations included a rehearsal studio, streets, and houses to suggest a grassroots identity and appeal to different demographics. - Mise-en-scene featured indie aesthetics through clothing while settings used graffiti and posters to distance the band from commercialism.

1. Evaluation question 1:
music video
In this evaluation I will be talking about the elements that are conventionally included in
an indie music video. I will then discuss how I have incorporated these elements into my
own music video, conforming to many of these expected tropes while still attempting to
create a distinctive brand identity for the band. Specifically, I will be talking about the use
of live performance shots, narrative shots, and how the use of camera, mise-en-scene
and choice of setting help to both reflect the indie genre and generate a memorable set
of ideas that audiences will respond to.

2. Live performance:
Live performance is often used in indie music videos as it helps to keep the main focus of the audience on the artist/band, clearly
raising their profile as performers. More importantly, that performance footage represents the band as real, authentic, musically
talented - the antithesis of ‘manufactured’ pop stars. These shots remind the audience that the genre of indie has always been about
the actual music and the relationship between the band and the audience, with an additional benefit being that the footage reinforces
the band’s status as a good ‘live’ act. In my video i intercut performance footage with narrative clips: my narrative is of my character
walking past a poster of my band and then later on is of her getting ready to go see that band, as such not only are the performance
parts of my video are set on stage as a live performance but the narrative also reinforces the grassroots authenticity of Paradox.
Below are examples of some of the different angles that show the live performance, I haven’t included all of them as there are too
many different shots to fit in and some are from the same angle. Nevertheless, the shots reflect the variety of distances and angles I
attempted to use to create a dynamic impression of a band full of energy and verve. I also took shots from different distances away
from the band, like close ups of the instruments and close ups of the band’’s feet moving and hands playing the guitar and drums.
This montage of shots presents the band as professionals, skilled musicians and personalities, making sure that Paradox are seen
as a band full of character and presence.

3. Narrative:
Most performance in a music video is broken up with narrative. Narrative helps to keep the audience interested in the music video as there is
always something new and it is always changing and telling a story;more important than this visual variety though, is the way narrative can make
a music video more memorable, more engaging and capable of linking the band to ideas, depth and ideological intentions. In my video I have the
plot of two characters, one a daughter and one the mother. The daughter sees that a band is playing and asks her mother if she can go see
them; her mother tells her that she can't because she is too young.The mother has also seen that the band is playing and also wants to go see
them. There are shots of both the mother and the daughter getting ready after the daughter googles “how to look older” and the mother googles
“how to look younger”. They then both end up meeting at the venue in a moment of dramatic irony. The omniscient understanding that the
audience has is created by cross cutting from mother to daughter. This hopefully makes the video seem more playful and amusing, attaching
connotations of wit to the band. In addition, the video implies the appeal of the band to two demographics - older and younger listeners -
suggesting the breadth of Paradox’s appeal. I chose to make the plot for my narrative about a mother and a daughter because it ends up linking
to my performance as that is the band they are going to see, it also links with the lyrics which are about desperation, the daughter is desperate to
look older and the mother is desperate to look younger, however this doesn't make them happy. The imagery and text link to our culture of
people obsessing over their images and adds a deep, serious criticism of this culture that makes the band seem to have something to say.

4. Setting:
Indie music videos are often quite low budget. As such the main locations are usually a limited number of interior
sets (for example in a studio, on stage during a live performance or in a house) or outside walking around the
streets. Gritty urban environments are frequently used to once again connote the raw, truthful, grassroots identity
of indie bands. I have used around four locations in my video, inside one house shooting the mother getting ready,
inside another house shooting the daughter getting ready, in the studio with the band performing and also around
outside shooting the characters walking around the streets. Setting is very important in any music video as it gives
context to the footage, for example having a band performing in a studio suggests they are recording or
rehearsing, having them on stage or in a big room suggests they are performing to a crowd. Setting in narrative is
also important, it shows where the character is and lets the audience imagine the scenario, and imagine what will
happen next which keeps the audience engaged in the video. Paradox are presented in a rehearsal space,
connoting the way they take their music and musicianship seriously. The locations in the narrative present
ordinary, working class people who see seeing the band at a local venue as a lifestyle choice, making the band a
prize or something to crave

5. Mise-en-scene:
Indie artists have quite a retro/minimalist look and style. This is normally shown mostly through the mise-en-scene
of costume and props. Creating a style for performers/characters in a music video means that the audience can
identify them as a certain group or genre the viewers may also be able to relate to them and want to take
inspiration from their style. The hairstyles, bomber jackets, plaid shirts and vans trainers give the band an indie
aesthetic, while the minimalist setting allows the audience to focus on the props of guitars and drums. All of this
mise-en-scene is in many ways uncomplicated and distances the band from glossy, overproduced pop. I have two
characters in my narrative, one whose style is mostly rock and one whose style is mostly indie, this fits in with the
video as the story line is them both going to the bands performance which means they must like the band and
must like indie music, which is portrayed in the way they are dressed. The use of the street scenes, ripped
posters, graffiti and small town venue also connote a band who cares more about the music than fame or money.

6. Camera:
Close ups are normally the most frequently used shot in the indie genre, it introduces the band members and
characters to the viewers and close up detail shots also show the band playing their instruments. It allows the
audience to match a face to the names and can identify the individual band members and characters. I have
included this convention in my video, i have included individual close up shots of each band member to build up
some sense of them as a charismatic group. Medium shots reveal their ‘look’ and style while low angles and
central framing give the impression of a conflict, iconic lead singer who the audience look up to with some awe.
meanwhile , in the narrative clips static camera set ups are used as, because the editing rhythm is so fast, too
much camera movement seemed dizzying and distracting.

7. Techniques:
I decided to alter my performance footage and turn it black and white while keeping my narrative in colour,
this means that the footage is separated and allows audiences to clearly see what is performance and
what is narrative. Distinguishing them in this way avoids confusion but also has meaning too. The black
and white performance footage looks gritty and minimalistic, implying they are not drawn into the image-
obsessed world of the two women in the narrative.
I have created layers at certain points in my video that include the lyrics, these are words i feel are
important or words that stand out in the song. These selected lyrics draw out some of the key meanings
and ideas in the track while also making the video seem punchier as the text is edited to appear in sync
with the moment when they are sung.
At the start of my video words flash up like ‘beauty’ and ‘youth’, with question marks at the end. This text is
linking to the rest of my video which shows how my two characters are desperate to be considered
beautiful and place too much emphasis on superficial things like image and appearance. The text also
anchors the meaning of the video: the daughter wants to look and be older and the mother wants to look
and be younger. After youth flashes up underneath it is you with an exclamation mark, telling the audience
that age or youth does not define you or beauty, conveying the ideology of the narrative that we should
just be who we are and accept ourselves rather than trying to change