CODES AND CONVENTIONS
They are typically used in order to create meaning by using signs. Codes are divided into two categories: symbolic and technical. A technical code is a way of creating a meaning through media equipment e.g camera work/mise-en-scene
Conventions are how something has been made in order to be able to identify the genre in general. For example, dark costumes and a band playing could be identified as a Rock genre.
The conventions of a music video depends on the genre of the song as different genres bring out many different atmospheres to reflect their lyrical/musical expression. The general conventions may include: The Style, The Camerawork, The Editing Techniques, The Sound, Mise-en-scene, notions of looking.
Sound:
Regarding the use of digetic sound (as the non-digetic is the music track), more often than not indie music videos will use it. Be that through the use of an opeing (something other genres also do) or interpreting points of sound that would be present in the video to underlie the music. I have seen that in many music videos it helps draw out a style of realism whislt maintaining the inital realm of the video.
With parallel sound however, this is where indie music videos diverge from the norm. Most of the time the video doesn't fit to the pace of the music. Being out of time with the rythm of sound, the videos have a tendency to film longer shots and cut them together to focus more on the visual aspects. Doing this it allows to have more freedom with the shots and the beat of the music doesn't hold back. Pacing often comes in with performers movements rather than the editing.
Lighting:
The lighting can vary from being very dim to being very brightly lit. The darkness adds connotations of fear and the unknown and allows the audience to have an enigma.
The colour blue is used a lot in alternative pop music videos to add very calming tones to the video.
The sun is the main and almost always used source of lighting for indie genre music videos, as they mainly use natural lighting. On the off occasion for indoor scenes, artifical lighting is used to leep a crisp and visually appealing shot for audience viewing. Artifical lighting examples woudl be in Kodaline- High hipes on the lowe row, where the use of proffesional lighting is subtle enough to make the hospital lights look as though they're powerful and realisitic. Though most music videos in the genre use predominantly the sun as a lighting source for the more 'natural' effect. Using shadows cast to create particualr moods.
Narrative:
Live performance:
Camera:
In music videos extreme closeups are the most common shots used as they introduce us to characters or the artist in the video. It may be due to highlight that they are singing or may to be show which emotion they are trying to covey with the audience. Full length shots are also commonly used to show the setting of the video and also give us a clear view of the artist and their outfit. Crane shots are used mainly in live perfomances as it allows you to get the artist fro many different angles and also helps to keep the foucs on them throughout. This looks effective in videos as its very contoinous and heardly leabes the artist. Titlts or pans are used to make the setting clear and can move from left to right so we see the full set and get the most out of the choice of location. This can often help to tell the story as it may be key feature to the video.
Shots are normally worm eye view angle and birds eye view.
Mise-en-scene:
Most alternative music videos have a wonderfully weird and wacky vibe when it comes to props.
The clothing can sometimes be out of the box depending on the artist but on a general basis, most alternative pop artists wear normal clothing to not take attention away from the actual production. It plays a large role in various of music videos and especially the indie rock genre. This is because indie artists often have a retro look and this can be created through the sets they use, props and also their own appearance themselves.
Props:
They can change the look of a video completely for example Lana del Rey's- National Anthem we can see her posing around her glamorous and expensive house. This highlights that the character she is playing is wealthy and well respected.
Costume: give people thier identity and set the apart from the rest. A good example is Lady Gaga whose known for her elaborate choice in clothing. In the video telephone we know she wears a hate with a build in phone and this reinforces the message that's in her video. As this was a memorable look, people now remember that video because of her appearance.
Maekup: it was also important as it can give us an indication as to which era the video is meant to be set in. For example Paloma Faith has very subtle make up in her videos with a pale face and red lipstick and this highlights that her music and her video is similar to that look from the 50's.The main shots used that involving the singer are mid-close ups of her actually singing in a dramatic manner.
Close-up of face used to show facial expression which coincides with lyrics- most alternative music videos use this to express the emotion of the song
Mid close up- this adds a slight performance to the song which allows this to be considered a mixture of narrative and performance. Also allows audience to see clothing that contributed to the American horror story theme.
Wide shots are not used so much as most alternative singers take advantage of the wide shot and close up to not only express themselves but show what they're representing.
Editing:
There aren't any fades to change into the next scenes. Though there are some edits in the filters which sets that eerie atmosphere. This has been found amongst other alternative music videos such as Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games'.
Special effects are also used in order to contribute to that weird and wacky theme. Though special effects aren't typically always used in an alternative pop video.
Editing techniques used in indie genre are broad. Regarding cutting and shots, they usually consist of clean cuts and a variety of shky shots (to mimic a hand-held camera) and smooth ones (using a tripod for stability.) The trick of the indie genre is to keep it organic looking but also professioanl, this requires a balance between amateur looking shots and expertly conducted ones.
Costume:
Not all alternative pop artists stick to a certain dress code. I have taken screen shots from artists: Melanie Martinez, Halsey, Lana Del Rey and Marina and the Diamonds. Some of them choose too dress casually depending on the genre of the song. A lot of them are very different and aren't seen to be like everyday clothes which makes them stand out. The colours also very and they all seem to go with the back lighting as well as the theme of the actual room their in.
Some alternative pop female artists, such as Melanie Martinez, prefer to be weird and wacky by dressing as a doll to go with their concept of their album.
Location:
Most alternative pop music videos are in someones house or in a large deserted building that no one knows the true location of. Though like I mentioned before in 'Melanie Martinez's' video, the opening shot of the strange horror house doesn't give off much idea or expectation.
Props:
The props tend to be a mix of something to represent teenage youth such as drinking smoking to go with a group of friends having fun. It could also be something wacky like using masks to fit the concept.
Most alternative pop videos do tend to use alcohol as a prop along with cigarettes in order to create a theme. Those are signs of a downfall in the character being portrayed in the music video.
The mask is used to hide the true identity of the people behind it which adds mystery and creates more of an enigma.
Props play a role in both the performance and narrative of Indie music videos. Focusing on Indie- Folk, there's a theme of instruments being used as props in the performance side of the video. In the narrative, instruments (commonly acoustic guitars) may be used for the lead role when they're lip-syncing- the performance becomes part of the narrative. The Paper Kites- Blookm uses not only the instruments that each band member plays, but with the story, the only props used are tin cans and string. They are based on being simplistic and fouces on the aesthetic rather than complex CGI.
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