Indie Genre Conventions

The conventions of an indie genre for the music industry is very simple, the reason why I like the indie genre is because of the simple edge and different vibe they give off to the audience. Indie music videos are usually very focused on the artist/band, therefore the location is usually a normal place to make the band stand out more compared to the setting, for example a great location to film my music video would be perhaps a city, studio, tunnel, forest, or anything really easy to access, nothing too major as I have mentioned the focus needs to be on the band and the location should not over power them and take away the attention. Mise-en-scene for the genre is very important as the narrative for the music video needs to be portrayed well. The bands look needs to be very personal, for example in a band each member usually has a different look to them to make them stand out and be recognised easily, whilst if there is only one artist they should also have a very unique and memorable look, such as seeing a silhouette of the artist the fans should be able to recognise them instantly. Props also help if there is a band due to each member having their own instrument which again links to the personality differences. Instruments such as guitars and drum kits are very popular in the indie genre. Indie bands/artists usually have live performances, this is usually to be able to connect them to their fans to show them that music is their passion, the way indie artists promote themselves is based on their actual talent rather than the way they dress or anything like that. In a music video they try to connect their lyrics to the video so that the audience can connect better with their artists and their music. With having a strong narrative they use a wide variety of shots to keep the video interesting. Many indie bands/artists are well known for their live performances as it allows them to be able to connect to their audience more. Camera angles and shots wise many indie artists are shown in close ups on their music videos as it allows them to show their passion and emotion more which allows us as the audience to get into the narrative more. The black and white effect is the most popular effect to feature in music videos, their edits are usually either fast or slow and not really in between which makes it comfortable to watch for us.