In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Music video

Indie music videos

The conventions of indie music videos often rely on the narrative, which are heavily based around either a live performance or a story. Through this narrative technique, audiences can give full attention to the video, and are also given room for creativity with their own imagination, and therefore appeal to everyone not just those who listen to indie music.

In this genre of music videos, the most common shots are close ups or extreme close ups. These enable the artist to introduce themselves to the audience. Often, it is done to convey emotion, clearly evident in the majority of indie music through the song lyrics. Full length shots are also common in indie music videos, as they set up the general understanding of the video.

I have found that indie music videos have a straight linear narrative, finishing with a closed ending with no confusion or ambiguity, meaning that the audience will therefore feel satisfied with the ending. There are disadvantages to this style of ending as opposed to open endings, as it prevents the audience from wanting more and keeping an interest in the story, which could be detrimental to the artist and their profit sales or number of fans, however, there are also disadvantages to open ending, as some people may not feel satisfied by the end of the video.

The general outcome of my research into mise-en-scene in indie music videos found two main styles of mise-en-scene, one being simplistic in clothing and makeup, using little to no props, neat and simple titles and fonts and bright and clean lighting. The other style of music video used also used natural makeup and clothing, having a ‘boho’ style, but with props such guitars or other instruments, lighting done in a ‘vintage’ style, with the fonts and titles following through with this by using a handwritten typeface.

As well as this, I found that indie music videos often use the setting of the woods or a beach.

The majority of music videos are edited on the beat and have a pace to them that will keep the audience interested in the video, and use some kinds of effects, for example, within transitioning between two shots, or the overall lighting and colouring of the video.

In terms of narrative structure, my music video challenges indie genre conventions. This is because it involves no real narrative with a chain of events because it is a Point of View video from the perspective of the person behind the camera. However, like conventional indie genre music videos, the Point of View narrative also leaves space for imagination and allows the audience to be fully emerged in the unfolding of the events. The Point of View style of filming also gives a sense of intimacy and connection to the video, with the model smiling and looking directly into the camera, giving a sense of relatability.

This technique of directly looking into the camera is uncommon in indie music videos, however the theme of intimacy and romance is frequent in indie acoustic/singer songwriter music videos. The decision to film my video in this style was influenced by other artists from a wide spectrum of the indie genre, with my main influence coming from the music video, ‘Ultraviolence’, by Lana Del Rey. Although this technique isn’t the most favoured in the indie genre industry, I decided to film this way because through my research, I found that my audience were not fans of mainstream music, and all had individual styles and preferences. This is the main reason why I decided to film a different style of video to strengthen audience appeal.

The camera shots in my music video definitely follows genre conventions. I have used many close ups to show express emotion conveyed through the lyrical interpretations. The overall theme of my music video is heavily focused on emotion, so therefore using close ups is beneficial to my video, as well as keeping in with the genre conventions.

I have also used more midshots than full length shots, as I have tried to continue the sense of intimacy throughout the video. The first shot establishes the location and the genre of the video. The setting of the woods help with the establishing of the indie genre, which is reinforced through the warm, earthy colours of the shot.

The narrative of my music video, there is no real ending, however, it could be seen as a closed ending, because it leaves no confusion and ambiguity. Overall, my video has a linear narrative, with no particular compression of time and fragmentation. I decided to keep the narrative this way to keep the audience interested in the story.

The mise-en-scene in my music video follows the conventions of indie music videos. I decided to take the route of the simplistic and clean aesthetic. I did this by using simple, white clothing, along with simple, very natural makeup. For me, this look conveys the warm atmosphere I wanted in my music video which is also one of the indie conventions. I also used natural light which reinforced the natural, earthy aesthetic of the video.

This visual style was mainly influenced by Keaton Hensons’s ‘Flesh and Bone’ music video, which used natural lighting and colours, as well as using the woods as a location.

I also used the simplistic font and typeface to emphasise and not to distract from the visuals of the video.

The setting of my music video was Mousehold Heath. By using the woods as a location, I was able to really keep within the conventions of an indie music video, and overall, this helped with all aspects of filming and the visuals of the video itself. The colour of the video is enhanced by the location. The use of warm, earthy colours of browns, greens and yellows follow the indie genre conventions.

The editing of my music video also follows the indie music genre convention. My music video cuts to the beat throughout the video, but keeps with the pace expected from the song and genre. In my music video, I have used no transition effects, however, I have edited the colour and lighting of the video – I have made the shots brighter and clearer, and corrected the colour of the shots to have warmer tones using the fast colour corrector, and adding orange tones

My music video could have different interpretations to different people. I have tried to represent youth and the lifestyle that surrounds being young. After analysing my audience research, I have found that the majority of listeners are young, so to represent youth fitted with my music video. The theme of romance and relationship in my video represents ideas about the curiosity of youth within sexuality. It could also be said that the person behind the camera is hidden and so a sense of mystery towards the gender.

Digipak and magazine advert

The conventions of these products are usually continuous from the music video in the album, and employ a warm atmosphere using colour and props. Often, they are located outside in nature during the spring/summer, and locations often include the beach, the woods, and a field or are art pieces. They’re often have a minimalist look and are not cluttered with text or additional information. I have essentially followed these conventions in terms of locations, style of font and minimalistic look.

The codes and conventions of indie

digipaks and magazine adverts

follow through with the same conventions

as the music videos to continue the sense of brand identity and

representation.

I found that they usually use close up

or medium shots. This helps to

establish the setting and the artist, as well

as the genre and what the audience

can expect from the promotional package.

These products usually have some sort of ambient quality that enhances the mood. The lighting of the images are often bright and warm and have a summery atmosphere.

However, I also found that many indie artists use artwork as part of their digipak or magazine advert. Through this technique, they are able to attract an audience who will be more likely to listen to and enjoy their music, as well as those who appreiate art and what could further be implied. Artwork also creates an association of the artist and the genre and unique style of music, which reaches a niche community, separating the products from others on the shelf, clearly stating that the album will include indie tracks.

Other mise-en-scene found in indie digipaks and magazine adverts is the style of clothing and make up, which often aim for a simple look that does not detract from the main artist or titles.

Fonts that are used in indie digipaks and magazine adverts either have a handwritten, messy style, or use a clean, neat typeface, depending on the sub-genre of indie.

For my digipak and magazine advert shots, I used the woods as the location, and the composition mostly contains the sky as the background with a medium shot of the model. Most shots are medium, half shots of the model, with other shots being simply of her hands, and all shots use the sky as a background.

The angle at which I shot the photos was from a low shot, influenced by Noah and he Whale’s ‘First Days of Spring’ magazine advert.

This style introduces the minimalistic look of the products, which is further enforced by the integration of text and image. I have used a handwritten typeface, which follows indie genre conventions, and I have looked at the composition as a whole in trying to decide where the font should be placed. The digipak title and artist name is placed in the middle at the top, with a line between the two to separate them and make it clearer for the audience. The back panel of the digipak has the font lining the edge of a plant that goes through the middle, halfway up the panel. By lining the font along the line I have created a composition that looks clean and minimal. I have tried to keep this minimalistic quality throughout the rest of the digipak and magazine advert.

The placement of the additional information has also been placed in a way that doesn’t distract from the main focus. By using no other text on my digipak, I have continued this minimalist aesthetic, which is carried through to the magazine advert. I have used the same typeface as the digipak and also placed it in a similar place. However, I have lowered it to be more centred and larger. I have also used no extra, unneeded information that would clutter the ad. By enlarging the font and making it central, as well as having minimal text on it, it will attract more people to the advert as the text is easy to read. looking at other indie products, I found that magazine adverts use a different typeface for the additional information as to the one used for the title. Through this, more attention can be brought to the title. However, it also makes the additional information (of reviews, dates and website) stand out too, and both complement each other.

The mise-en-scene of my music video also follows the indie genre. Looking at other indie products, I have found that they use minimal style clothing, props and lighting, which I have followed in my products, continuing from my music video.

The images I have used for these products were taken with a Polaroid camera and so reinforces the indie genre, as I have found through research and feedback. The Polaroid adds a vintage feel and colouring to the image that a normal camera would not be able to achieve. Other artists who have used this style is Taylor Swift, in her ‘1989’ cover, and I think this niche technique attracts the indie genre. Because I used a Polaroid, the photographs were a bit experimental and the results were uncertain

I found that some of the photos came out a bit darker, however, in editing, I fixed the colouring of the images and added purple tones. After taking my photos, I found that half had light, blue tones, and the other half had a darker, purple tone. I decided to use the light photos on the front cover panel, back panel and outside panel, and to use the darker ones as the inside panels. In doing this, I have challenged indie genre conventions as I haven’t continued the aesthetic of the music video. However, the products also follow conventions as the use of the Polaroid and other techniques have enforced this genre.