Typical Synopsis of 4 Indie Pop/Rock Videos

Lily Allen- The Fear 

Similarly to our initial ideas, Lily Allen's video begins in a rural environment, making in simplistic and similar to other Indie Pop/Rock videos. There are shots of the artists reflection singing in the mirror, this is another idea that we already had to include in our own music video. Although the video contains dancing which I would not consider a key convention for Indie Pop/Rock videos, the dancing comes across comedic and comedy is an aspect that is often featured in Indie Pop/Rock music videos.There are a lot of close ups of Lily Allen to showcase them as an artist, which is key to include in our music video as the song we are using is similar to a song that Lily Allen would release.

Frank Turner- Recovery 

At the start of the video we immediately see the artist with his guitar which is a key convention of Indie Pop/Rock Videos as viewers would usually expect artists to play the instruments heard in the song. Animation is used throughout the video which is an idea that we were hoping to include in our own video. As well as this, stop motion is also used throughout the duration of the video which is another technique we were hoping to include in making our video to 'Mouthwash'. The use of other band members is also interesting as Frank Turner is a solo artist however by having band members included in the video, the conventions are met of 'live' music being displayed in the video. A lot of postmodern elements are included in this video, including dividing the screen into three and switching the shots which could be to represent the 'mixmates' toys where you can mix and match the legs, bodies and heads of the characters.

Coldplay- Charlie Brown

The numerous establishing shots at the beginning of the video show to the viewer that video is set in a city, and at a closer look, the viewer can tell by the big red buses that the video is specifically set in London. The video sticks to the conventions of Indie Pop/Rock videos by featuring the band playing their instruments throughout the video. The lyrics in the video were often represented by the actions taking place in the video, for example when the lines 'I took a car downtown' are sang, the actor in the video is shown stealing a car and driving away.  Strobe lights are featured in the 'performance' part of the video which according to our audience research is a convention that they expect in Indie Pop/Rock videos. 

The All-American Rejects- Gives You Hell

This video contains the comedic element that is often featured in Indie Pop/Rock videos, similarly to The Black Keys 'Tighten Up' video.  The video conveys a story that relate to the lyrics throughout the duration of the video. The video like the majority of other videos in this genre, shows the band playing their instruments, so create the impression that the viewer can see what they are hearing being produced. 

5 Seconds of Summer- Nine frame analysis (class work)

5. Conventions

1. Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics 
The Black Keys video has visuals of the band 'performing' which is seen in many indie rock videos.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. 


3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. 
This is shown in The Black Keys video as the band members are seen playing the instruments heard in the song, this is a common element in the indie rock/pop genre.

4.The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist. 
This is exemplified in the video 'Royals' by Lorde as a large proportion of the shots are of the artist herself.

5. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work


6. There is frequent reference to the notion of 'looking' and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body 

7. There are often intertextual references- mostly to film, television and popular culture. 

What My Preliminary Task Taught Me (Task 4)

Digital Technology /Post - production

Many problems were encountered through the use of the green screen. Firstly, natural lighting the room tends to change the shade of green on the screen and this effected our video later in the editing process; making the person standing in front of the green screen look either a lot paler and brighter or much darker. 

Another problem we encountered when using the green screen was filming to full length shots; this was made more difficult as the screen we used was relatively small as well as the room that we were filming in. We struggled to fit everyone from head to toe into the shot however we overcame this by filming it in two separate takes (one with just 'Snoop Dogg'  and another with the backing dancers) we then edited them over each other later to give the impression that the two dancers were standing behind Snoop Dogg.  

 Creativity

In our video we tried to match the outfits in the original video close enough so that our version of the video at least gave off a similar vibe; we used snapbacks, hoodies and t-shirs and fake beard drawn on with eyeliner to do this.

Research and Planning

Whilst filming and editing we often referred back to the original video to ensure we were watching shots as well as we possible could, as well as this we also used a story board that showed each shot and the time that it should appear; this made the editing process a lot easier. 

Preliminary Task! (Task 3)

Using conventions

Definition
The expected ingredients in a particular type of media text- usually associated with genre.