Fostering Friendships - Enhancing Social Bonds in the Classroom
Indie Pop Genre Conventions
1. Indie Pop Genre Conventions
Rhys Ward Advanced Media Portfolio
2. The Genre
Indie Pop is a genre that is made up of alternative pop and rock pieces of media.
It opposes the tone and purpose of the mainstream pop genre.
The genre originated in the UK in the late 1970’s from British post-punk artists.
The indie pop genre is pleasant-sounding, less harsh and anger free, and this is how it differs form the
indie rock genre in of which generally shows the opposite of these properities.
This alternative pop/rock genre became popular from being featured in small music magazines and
shop-based record labels.
3. Setting and Location
It is common knowledge that the music videos of indie pop songs are very low budget. They like to take
on that DIY work ethic, where the artist feels like they can construct a music video without the need of a
paid expert.
The majority of music videos in this genre are set in studios, cities, parks, woods and other locations that
are easy and cheap to access. I think that using these settings/locations adds to the music video and
gives it that indie pop effect, and it also makes the audience focus on the video that bit more.
4. Performance
It is conventional for the artist to feature a live performance within an indie pop music video.
This is visible in most music videos, including the ’Skinny Love’ music video by Birdy, which I have
textually analysed.
This is used because it is low cost and therefore fits in with their relatively low budget, it makes the
audience focus on the artist’s raw talent, and gives the audience the ideology that the artist wants a
career around their music more so than success or their image.
These live performances also act as a promotional tool for the artist too. An audience is able to see the
effect on the atmosphere as they sing, and can then use that to determine whether or not it would be
beneficial to watch the artist live in concert or at a small gig.
The full music video will not feature the artist performing because this would make it tedious and boring
for the audience. Instead it is usually broken up with some sort of narrative to keep the audience
entertained and to add some memorable content to the it.
5. Narrative
In the previous slide I stated that a narrative is shown in a typical indie pop music videos in sequences
with a live performance of some sort.
A series of images and videos are used to tell a story that relates to the song in one way or another. It
supports the audience in understanding why it was given that specific narrative. There is evidently a link
here between the generic indie pop music video and Goodwin's music video theory; he says there is
normally a link between either the music or lyrics and the visuals of the video.
Forever developing technologies allow for the directors of these music videos to create different,
alternative variations of storytelling. Special effects, for example, is one way an indie pop music video
could be made more interesting and appealing to an audience, therefore entertaining and engaging
them.
Intriguing music videos, and especially narratives, can be beneficial to the success of both the artist and
director.
6. Mise-en-Scene
The low-budget that is associated with indie pop music videos means that they’re usually quite simple.
All elements of mise-en-scene, such as props, make-up, etc., is always linked to the visuals or the music.
Props can totally make a scene from an audience point of view. They can be used as signifiers, which
allow the audience to develop their understanding of the song/lyrics. As an example, Ed Sheeran’s A
Team music video shows a girl doing a sort of drug. This links with the lyrics., and confirms this concept
to the audience. This use of mise-en-scene helps the audience understand the struggles the artist is
trying to convey to us regarding drug use.
Other elements of mise-en-scene, including costumes and make-up, help to create characters within the
narratives. From these elements an audience can determine the age, wealth, status and era of
characters. Taylor Swift uses clothing and make-up to portray the 1900’s period clothing, which allows
the audience to determine the narrative is set within this era.
7. Sound
Sound is an extremely significant aspect of an indie pop music video. When live performances are being
shown or if there are non-diegetic effects added in to add emotion, they all need to be handled with
care to ensure everything fits together well and successfully.
During performances the audience must be able to hear the vocals of the artist for what they are, and
therefore no other sounds should be playing. This will help the artist produce the effect they would like.
Alternatively when a music video features a narrative, there may be diegetic sounds included from the
recording to aid continuity and to make the music video look as realistic as possible. These diegetic
sounds are going to be much more clearer at the beginning and end of the music video, when there is
not as much happening within the music video.
Sound elements may overlap within the music video to add effect. For example, the vocals could be
playing whilst simultaneously you can hear a crying sound effect.
8. Camera Work
Close up shots, wide shots and establishing shots are the main camera shots used within an indie pop
music video.
The close up shot allows the audience to focus on the artist or the subject of the music video and not
much else. They will still get a glimpse of the surroundings that will help to set the scene and add effect
to the music video. The artist’s talent can be highlighted, as can the passion and emotion of the music
video via a close up shot.
Wide and establishing shots both serve the same purpose. They are both used in order to set the scene
of the narrative within the music video. Usually, they are seen at the start of the video. These shots can
also set the character and help the audience with understanding the message behind the narrative or
video.
Handheld shots are another shot commonly used within indie pop music videos because it conforms to
that DIY ethic, that I have previously mentioned, that is expected from a music video of this genre. The
unstable handheld shots are very good for conveying emotive sequences, such as a sad memory.
9. Editing
Filters are often added in to the music video at the post-production stage. These are commonly seen
over the top of ’memory’ sequences, such as Ellie Goulding’s ‘Your Song’. In this music video, Goulding
has a filter displayed over the top of the memory sequences to convey to the audience that it is in the
past and she is reminiscing.
Black and white filters and sepia filters are the main ones and are used to construct a rustic and retro
look. These appearances are conventional to the indie pop genre because they are alternative and
different to what is seen in the mainstream pop genre.
The pace of editing changes throughout an indie pop music video. It is used to reflect the pace of the
music, and it also creates an atmosphere for the video. Birdy’s ’Skinny Love’ music video changes its
pace as and when the music speeds up t the chorus.
