Key Conventions of Music Video’s

By Fabiha Ferdous

OverviewIndie Pop music are known to be low budget. Main settings are in studios, cities, parks, the word.These locations create mysteries which makes the audience focus more on the performance.

PerformanceMost Indie Pop music videos includes a live performance from the artist which makes tha audience focus on the talent the artist has. Live performances promote the artist which enables the audiences to see the atmosphere the artist creates in their concerts encouraging the public to watchPerformance is often partnered with a narrative to break up the music video thus, creating the music video memorable

NarrativeA Narrative is to tell a story by using a sequence of images and videos related to the song. It is not always literal but it allows the audience to understand why it is given that certain narrative which links with the songIn Indie pop songs we have a lot of narrative however, there are also a lot of abstract scenes making the video more gothic and dark

Mise en SceneIndie pop videos are generally simple. Props, costumes make up etc. are all linked to thisIn Indie pop songs the artist is likely to dress very simple in casual clothes. For example, in the video ‘West Coast” by Lana Del Rey she is wearing a basic top, with a leather jacket and skinny jeans. However, the artists can also wear very glamorous clothes such as elegant dresses as we see in the music video ‘Burning desire” by Lana Del Rey

Sound

Dialogue are often used in the beginning or end of the music video to tell or conclude a story. For example, in the video ‘National Anthem’ by Lana Del Rey she sings happy birthday in the memory of JFK.It is also sometimes used to either distort, fade, increase or decrease the tempo to express ones emotions.Diegetic sound is used when filming scnes, to match the lyrics with the actions, but in the end the song is not diegetic

Camera AnglesExtreme, close ups are the most common type of camera shots. In indie pop music video’s this is used very often. This type of camera angle is more personal and intimate making the audience understand the video on a deeper levelLong shots, establishing shots are used for the audiece to see the location. Slow pans of scenery is also very common in this genre. Long shots allow the audience to identify the artists clothing, starting trends.Hand held shots are used to show a memory

Editing

Filters are often used over the top of an entire video to give a certain idea to the viewer, such as a memory . The colours used are often dark, colours like sepia (a brown filter) is used or the video is in monochrome. This is suppose to give the audience different feels and vibes. Purple filters are also often used, which connote that this is a parallel universe