MUSIC VIDEO

After researching into numerous music videos from the indie genre and looking into narrative structures, performance and illustrative based videos, we have decided that we want to make our music video both performance and narrative based. This is a common convention used within indie music videos, with both aspects filmed in very contrasting locations making the music video a lot more interesting and watchable.

POLAROIDS

Another idea for our music video was the use of polaroids. Polaroids instantly are related to old cameras, and the actual photos give of a real vintage feel to them and it is very common in indie videos to follow a theme of a vintage/retro feel or looking footage. The video below shows the use of polaroids along with the use of stop motion.

The Streets music video to 'Fit But Don't You Know It' uses the technique of polaroid pictures with moving footage inside the frames. This effect is one that we as a group are interested in using as it produces an interesting video. They have effectively used this technique, making the only moving part of the photo the singer singing. 

MUSIC VIDEO TECHNIQUES.. STOP MOTION

As indie videos try to steer away from conventional music videos we wanted to look into different editing techniques that would make our video stand out and be different. Stop motion creates a really interesting effect on footage, it is essentially the manipulation of photos or footage during the editing process. It is an animation technique that can create the impression that objects are appearing or disappearing .

Above is an example of a music video that uses stop motion throughout.

After researching this I watched music videos that I had previously seen many times and noticed there was use of stop motion in some, for example M.I.A - Paper Planes uses stop motion when there is a close up on the till with money appearing one at a time.

AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE

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MUSIC VIDEO IDEAS

SIMILAR ARTIST DEMOGRAPHICS

Artists similar to our chosen songs artists genre and sound are Ben Howard, Paolo Nutini, Ed Sheeran, Jack Johnson, Bobby Long, Damien Rice, Jake Bugg, John Mayer, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Jason Mraz. To have a look at  the different audiences that listen to artists similar I've looked at YouTube videos and Facebook pages in order to see the ages and sex of online audiences.

Ben Howard

I decided to look at the statistics of his song Keep Your Head Up which has nearly 5 million views, with the most popular places of viewing are in the  UK, Netherlands and Jersey with females aged between 13 to 24 years old being at the top of the demographics and also males aged between 18 and 24. Most of his views are referred from other videos of his or from his facebook page.  I think that he appeals to these age ranges especially because of the content of his songs, about relationships, break ups and tough times.

To back up these demographics I looked at his facebook like page on which the most popular age group was 18-24 which links in well with the top demographics from his   youtube songs.

He has well over 260 thousand likes on facebook with lots of people talking about him and people are able to keep up to date with gigs, new releases and any personal updates. A lot of the younger generations use these social networks so it makes a lot of sense to use them to stay in touch with the audience.

I also had a quick look at his twitter followers with near 170 thousand he doesn't have as many followers as likes on facebook but I think that is because the majority of his audience are aged between 18-24 so they are more likely to use facebook to keep updated about his music. There is also a clear mixture of males and females within his followers which shows he appeals to a mixed audience.

Damien Rice

Damien Rice, a slightly more established indie acoustic artist who sings and writes his own songs. Some of his most known songs are Cannonball, Blower's Daughter and Delicate each with over 2 million views.  

Damien Rice's video for Delicate on YouTube which has over 2 million views. His music is popular within the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland with the top demographics showing that females aged between 13-24 and males aged between 25-34 view him and his songs the most. To confirm this research statistics, we looked at Damien's Facebook like page where he has received 938,269 likes with the most popular age group being 18-24 years old.

Benjamin Francis Leftwich

The next artist we decided to research into the demographics of is Benjamin Francis Leftwich who is an indie acoustic artist as well. However he is less established and well known then Damien Rice yet this makes more similar to Lewis Watson, our chosen artist and fit in with the indie scene better.

Benjamin's YouTube video on the left for his song Atlas Hands received 1,322,917 views which is a fair amount less than Damien Rice but still more than Lewis Watson. Therefore this shows that he is an up and coming artist. His top locations in which he is popular in is United Kingdom, Jersey and Ireland. His top demographics are females aged between 13-24 and males between 18-24. These statistics are very similar if not exactly the same as both Damien Rice and Lewis Watson. However he differs from Damien Rice as he has only received 49,752 likes on Facebook which shows how he is less popular, as of present, than Damien. 

GENRE CONVENTION RESEARCH

After looking at a some music videos from bands from the genre of indie I wanted to make a quick post that includes the most common aspects so when we start planning ours we are able to know exactly what is expected to be in the video.

Sound

The sound of indie music videos could be seen as heavily influenced by artists such as The Beatles, Oasis, The Kinks so the sound is recognisable and appealing to those who like this sound.

Camera 

Typically indie music videos are made to look like they are amateurly made, some look like home videos but all are usually filmed on handheld cameras, some even on mobile phones and others are even filmed on film cameras to be really authentic.

Shots

The use of close ups, long shots and extreme close ups are essential within the indie genre. 

Editing

Fits in with the pace of the song and changes with the beat, quick changes when the pace gets faster and longer shots when it's slower.

Lighting

Outdoor shots use the advantage of natural lighting and indoor shots tend to be darker and more subtle. 

Colour

Colour is a key part of getting the right feel to the footage, being able to give it a vintage vibe is key to an indie music video so the hues and tones are often edited and a lot of them are commonly black and white or cut between this and colour.

Props

Usual props of a video of the indie genre is usually an acoustic guitar and an old film camera, there isn't very many props in these videos as they tend to be very simplistic.

Clothing

Male artists of the indie genre are usually seen wearing smart-casual clothing with their own individual influences. Typically many of the clothes and outfits worn have been inspired by vintage and retro styles apposed to high street clothing and mainstream fashion. This down to earth and casual look gives of the impression that they are just normal people to the audience. I would say indie bands and male artists take inspiration from bands that they are both musically and style influenced by. Common brands used within their wardrobes are probably Fred Perry, Rayban sunglasses or signature pieces and for more one off individual style clothing many pieces would be bought from vintage stores such as Rokit and shops in Brick Lane.  Indie artists construct their individual image to fit in to the image they want to portray and the music and image mirror each other.

Locations

The majority of indie music videos I have seen have an outdoor location, typically in a random forest or field with the sun light creating a really striking image of the scenery. They tend to be in summery locations in this sense, some are filmed at beaches. Also a town location is common  but is usually an outdoors in an urban area. 

Characteristics

Male indie artists come across to the audience as relaxed and casual people and also appear to us as a natural artist in the sense that they haven't been overly worked on and constructed to be something they're not this image could be made in order to appeal to the target audience though.

Instruments

Often indie artists really emphasis the playing of instruments, especially the use of acoustic guitars but in some music videos by the indie band Mumford and Sons they have included more classical instruments and Ben Howard, an indie/acoustic artist has also included the use of more unusual instruments in some of his latest videos.  

CONVENTIONS OF MUSIC VIDEOS

In order to see the similarities and main concepts of music videos in general I'm going to look into the conventions of different genres music videos. Any music video should contain a mixture of camera shots and movements, a heavy use of editing, and a big focus on mise en scene, these alongside the right use of sound, colour, lighting, props and costume are what make each music video unique to the song and artist.

LISTENER PROFILES/RADIO STATIONS

For up and coming artists especially it's important for their music to be heard everywhere and anywhere and the radio is a key platform to succeeding in reaching out to lots of different people through the right radio stations to which the artists main target audience tunes into. Radio is probably the fastest way artists are able to get recognition in the music industry and as a result of their songs being played on major stations the popularity of them increases and the more successful they become because of this. 

Heart listeners are mainly female and aged between  25 and 44 years old.  They are fashion conscious yet family orientated and fun and make time for themselves despite juggling many roles as mothers, wives and professionals. They are able to make the most out of life and listen to heart to get tips on how to do so. 

Listeners of XFM are opinionated independent individuals with disposable income and a good social life. They tune into XFM as they trust the station to play the music they want to here, a mixture of todays hit music and old classics.  

Plays mainly chart music and popular hits throughout the day and the station is aimed mainly at the ages of 15-29 but the average age of the audience is actually 33. 

STEREOTYPICAL VIDEOS OF THE INDIE GENRE

Indie as a genre is more of a cultural movement rather than a specific and well defined genre similar to alternative as bands described as indie take elements of well known and established genres, combining them together and making them a lot more original and more difficult to point out. It's also about the rebellion against what is mainstream, by rejecting it and trying to be unique and is basically about the artist being themselves more than anything. To gain a bigger understanding into what is expected to be included in a typical indie video I've decided to look into a few different videos by indie artists.

This video by Bombay Bicycle Club for their song called 'Always Like This' has been filmed, put onto a video and onto a tv which has then been filmed so there is a sense of intertextuality of the same video in it and the footage cuts between the tv view and real view. I've not seen a video done in this way before and it's cleverly done, with quick cutting rates that fit into the beat of the song. The mise en scene is typically indie through their dress sense as they're casual and look a little nerdy. The use of instruments is very typical of any music video but especially one from this genre. The use of the tv adds a vintage/retro feel to the video which again is common with the indie genre as old is not new or mainstream especially since video players are not commonly used anymore. The speed and rate of the video looks as if it is being controlled, and which could be interpreted as if they're being controlled by a remote by someone. The video and the song don't really link too well together, there isn't a specific story line to it or main characters just the band and their instruments. The video also goes through the day to night time and is filmed in random town locations such as parking lots and shops and bus stops and then it's rewinded. 

The music video for the song 'Trouble Town' by Jake Bugg is typically indie because of the use of derelict an worn down locations, the acoustic guitar, presence of the artist and the massive vintage/retro look to the video as well as the cut between digital footage and film footage. The use of black and white in some shots add to the old fashioned feel and the colours have been adjusted give that vintage vibe. The video and song relate to each other because of the lyrics 'trouble town' and it's clear that it has been filmed in a town location. His dress sense is also typical of the indie genre.

Ben Howard's video for his song 'The Wolves' shows the presence of instruments from the start as we see a group of people carrying guitars and double bass' and it's already clear that the footage colour has been edited giving off a heavy vintage feel through the use of muted colours. We see the performance from the band in a natural habitat, after seeing dark clips that are quickly cut between each other which proves difficult  for the audience to really understand what is going on until we are shown a wider shot of the full band playing in a shed/garage type place. The words 'we lost faith' relate to the outdoor setting as he is in a church yard so there is a link to faith and religion. In the video he's seen to laugh and joke around with friends and it connects the audience to him as an artist more because they're seeing what he is like behind the scenes. There is a strong contrast between each outdoor and indoor shot, ones dark and ones more natural and light.  The mise en scene is very typical of this genre as the dress sense of everyone in it is very casual and the location is random.