Pop Indie Artists

Below is a list of some of the indie bands/artists we looked into. When researching these indie artists, we looked at many of their youtube videos, websites, facebook pages and listeners on last.fm and by doing so we were able to look at the codes and conventions throughout their music videos, what recurring techniques were used in the video, the bands' website and the layout, and also the target audience in which we wanted our music video to appeal to:



Ed sheeran
Lana Del Rey
Imagine dragons
Rhye
The Smiths
The temper Trap
the xx
artic monkeys
the vaccines
vampire weekend
Kodaline

Research - Indie Pop

The genre of music we have chosen for our video is indie pop. Indie pop is a genre of alternative rock which originated in the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Originally and often still a form of independent music, it is closely associated with indie rock, both genres are similar, yet there are differences between both. Indie rock tends to be edgier, rougher and harsher-sounding, contrasting the more melodious indie pop. Indie pop additionally takes influences from 1960s girl group music and power pop, often giving it retro elements, and makes usage of jangly guitars. We aim to create a music video for a slow indie pop song, with this video we could create a sense of romance and love in a romantic acoustic sound. 

With indie pop music video certain codes and conventions apply, in that a light sunshine filter is usually added to the image. Also the way in which the story of the video is conveyed is very similar in a lot of indie pop videos, a story is shown with shots of the band playing the song.

Live Performance-

It is very common for artists in the indie genre to do a live performance for their music video. This way the main focus is on them as performers doing what they love to do. It also keeps the focus on the actual music itself and the talent that the artists have. This is very typical in the indie genre as the genre itself was never about success but more the music and the passion that the people have to perform and play. A modern twist is now often put on this with a narrative included in-between to break up the music video and give it a story for the reader. Also there is more room to play around with the video if a narrative is included so many artists tend to use this technique a lot. It also helps them to compete with other genres who make narrative videos that are heavily based around a story to make it more memorable. Live performances also promote the artist as people will realise how natural they are and that they can actually sing well and sound the same when live. It takes a lot charisma to be able the play an instrument and still perform so the live performance option highlights artists talents in a good way and can therefore attract an audience.

Narratives-

A narrative video is used to tell a story throughout the video by using a sequence of images and videos that relate to the song. This is done in such a way that it makes sense to the audience so they can follow and link it to the lyrics. This is very popular with all genres as it leaves room for the imagination. There are so manny different variations of this used and there’s a lot of room for creativity which can leave a video very memorable to the audience. This is a great way of making a music video stand out from the crowd and making it popular. This is because there are many variations so you can make it as different and wacky as you like. Also, now due to new developments in technology, new storylines can be created using special effects to make the video look more realistic but also exciting. Narrative videos also hold peoples attention better in comparison to a live performance as what you are seeing is constantly changing and keeps people entertained at all times. Even people who arent necessarily a fan of the artist may still enjoy the video so this method often helps people gain success and status.

  

Camera Shots - 

In music videos extreme close ups are the most common shots used as they introduce us to characters or the artist in the video. It may be done to highlight that they are singing or may be to show which emotion they are trying to convey to the audience. Full length shots are also commonly used to show the setting of the video and also give us a clear view of the artists and their outfits. This is important as a lot of artists are seen as style icons and therefore they need to be seen fully in the video. The setting also needs to be seen as it will help us understand the message behind the video  and the reasonings for it. Crane shots are used mainly in live performances as it allows you to get the artist from many different angles and also helps to keep the focus on them throughout. This looks very effective in videos as it is very continuous and hardly leaves the artist. Tilts or pans are used to make the setting clear and can move from left to right to see the full set and get the most out of the choice of location. This can often help tell the story as it may be a key feature to the video.

Sound - 

This is obviously very important in a live performance as we are are hearing it directly from the instruments being played and therefore can appreciate the talent. Different effects can be added to the sound to either distort it, fade it or even increase it to convey different emotions in the video or even different characters if voices are changed. Diegetic sounds are also used throughout a lot to help set the scene at either the end or the beginning before the main song is introduced.

Editing - 

Editing is now relied on a lot to make a music video successful especially in the indie genre to give it that old fashioned effect. Almost all videos now will have some sort of effect on them to make it either run more smoothly or to even add special effects to make it more interesting. Fast and slow cuts between shots often reflect the pace of the music and link with it well. This helps to put across the mood in the video and also how they want the audience to feel, this interlinks with the editing used in the actual video. Effects are often added over the top of videos to make them look old and worn like they are being played from old tapes. This links into the indie pop genre and is very common in videos today. A black and white effect used to convey this but sometimes a sepia tone works too, to make it seem more rustic and raw. Special effects used in videos to make the artists fly or anything else thats unusual make it more interesting for the audience and once again highlight how new advances in technology are very important and beneficial to the music industry.

Visually, we were inspired by photographic double exposures. Fragmented portraits, created by using human figures as windows into partial landscapes, served as a great way to show characters that are marginalised or internally divided. In this style of image manipulation we would like to show the true internal feelings of our characters and double exposure is a great way of portraying this. In researching this method of visual editing we realised that a photographer called Dan Mountford was very influential in this movement. Here are some of his images:

Also, during our research of this type of photography we wanted to examine whether there were any moving images that featured double exposure. As we explored this we came across the title opening on a TV show True Detective. This features a number of double exposure images to portray the internal challenges of the characters. 

These opening credits are an interesting blend of character portraits and landscape. I hope to include double exposure either in my main product or my ancillary pieces as it is an effective way of image manipulation to create a theme for the band.

Target Audience

Indie bands can attract large crowds at concerts. These crowds are usually made out of young adults who are familiar with the online environment and like to impulse buy things like ticket concerts and different online products. They are the perfect audience for many online businesses which are very interested in creating ads in order to attract these crowds.



Fans of the indie genre are typically introverted, intellectual and creative. According to researchers, they also tend to be more laid back and less gentle. Passivity, anxiousness are other common personality characteristics.

Generally male audiences aged between 15-24 years old are the target audiences for indie. This may be because they have similarities in the clothes they wear and the indie culture and lifestyle may relate to the male audiences.

We found that fans of the indie genre generally all listen to the same artists and would hang around with the same people and in the same environment. They tend to be of a younger generation and up to date with all new music, it's product and the way of consuming it. Indie music has a very big fan base, however, this could make it harder to appeal to the target audience. We believe the best way to appeal to the target audience is to try and follow the normal codes and conventions of the indie genre as closely as possible, which would hopefully result in our video and band appealing to the majority of indie lovers.

Indie genre- what is indie music?

The term "indie" traditionally refers to independent art -- music, film, literature or anything that fits under the broad banner of culture -- created outside of the mainstream and without corporate financing. In music, for example, the term refers to music produced and funded by any band or label not affiliated with the four or five major corporate labels like Sony or Epic. The same holds true generally for the music and film industry.

Ryan Schreiber, the editor and founder of Pitchfork Media, a popular online magazine that chronicles the indie music scene, said the definition also embodies a sense of idealism and an anti-corporate attitude.

Eugene Hernandez, editor-in-chief of indieWIRE, a site dedicated to independent movies, said the definition of indie was founded on the virtues of self-publishing and self-releasing books, magazines, tapes, records, and just about everything else from buttons to clothing to posters. "If you're going to be as strict as possible, the only definition was DIY -- do it yourself," he said, referring to the ethos of the punk bands and labels that flourished in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Since the scene's inception in the late 1970s with the advent of punk, some say that the term indie has evolved into something that has far less meaning than the original rebellious, creative, do-it-yourself aesthetic. "For me indie is convenient to use as a term, but it's hard to actually accept that it actually exists on any meaningful level now," said McCabe, who is best known for his work with Interpol -- a popular band from New York City who, coincidentally, just left their indie label to sign with Capitol, one of the largest major labels around. According to critics, indie is now nothing more than a branding tool: a highly commercial and money-driven movement, more concerned with marketing a particular image instead of culture with a truly independent nature and passion for its art.

Another factor that has erased the line between what it means to be indie and what it means to be corporate is emerging technology like the Internet and file-sharing systems that have allowed for more accessibility and better distribution for smaller labels and imprints. "The Internet is definitely the most significant influence on indie culture at the moment," Schreiber said. Online outlets such as iTunes and MySpace have made it easier for fans to find original music, or for bands to set up their own sites and distribute their own music. And video uploading sites like YouTube allow aspiring filmmakers to showcase their work to potentially millions of people, without viewers ever having to step inside a movie theater.

The term "indie" is used to describe any music produced by artists working within the network of independent record labels.

Research - Music Genres

For our A2 practical piece in media studies, we must create a music video. To choose the correct genre to reach a certain audience we are going to research different types and genres of music to give us an insight on what is popular and the certain conventions of these genres. How we are going to determine the type of music we are going to use for our video is to ask people from our school some questions about their favourite genre of music, and how this music is portrayed through music videos.


The most popular genres of music are:
Pop
Rock
Indie

Pop -
Pop music is typically shown as fun, upbeat, colourful and happy. The music videos for this genre is usually fast-paced and edited in such a way that attempts to make the audience feel happy about what they have watched.



In this video the colours are very vibrant, and it is edited to make the audience feel excited and to make the actions of the people on screen look exciting and fast-paced.
If we chose this genre of music we would have to make sure our video is as colourful as this one.

Rock -
In these videos the artist or band are usually featured and they tend to include many long shots, close-ups and mid shots. This is to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotions. Also, close-ups are used not only to show emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist.



In this video the band are the main feature of this video and keep a sense of the music. They maintain the rock vibe held by the video and they effectively use a combination of live performance and images of victims of war which work together to make people aware of the goings on in the world. The way this video is made, shows a contrast between the band who are standing together and the people in the images, who are alone. Rock videos almost always feature live performance, but they do not always feature narrative. If we chose to make a video for a song in the rock genre, we would have to ensure the live performance in the video has the energy and passion of the band when they recorded their song.

Indie-

In these videos there is very often both live performance and narrative, with also a filter of the video which makes the video have a rugged look to it. The narrative in the videos often tell the story of the song and the live performance elements are added to make the profile of the band bigger and to showcase their talent.




This video features a lot of live performance with the band showing up in random locations, playing instruments and singing. This gives the video a sense of bewilderment and is much like videos from the alternative genre. This videos colours are very bland and suit the indie genre.