Indie-Pop video analysis: Phoebe

The Kooks-  "She Moves in Her Own Way"

  Within the Indie-Pop genre, there are several typical elements within their music videos that helps classify them as Indie-Pop music videos. 

 Length of video:

  In this genre, the typical length of the songs and videos tend to be around 2-3 minutes long. This is shown in the above video, which is only 2:51 minutes long. This is quite different to pop/rock videos as they're usually 3+ minutes. The song we have chosen to do for our own music video, "Girls and Boys in Love", also reflects this typical length as it's 2:34 minutes long. 

Performance:

  Another typical feature of Indie-Pop music videos are that they usually always feature some sort of performance. From the video above, the majority of the video is of The Kooks performing (instruments and singing). Showing the band playing their own instruments would be pleasing for the audience because it gives them the satisfaction of knowing that the band can play their own instruments. It also benefits the band as they're showcasing their talents to a large audience meaning this could result in attracting more of a following. 

Narrative:

  Indie-Pop music videos can typically;

• not have a narrative at all
• narrative links loosely to the song
• there is a performance with a narrative mixed within
• narrative has nothing to do with the song

In the above video, it shows that there is a performance with narrative mixed within. The majority of the video, it shows the band playing and singing in several different locations. It also links with the last point; probably the most common of indie-pop videos. The video for 'She Moves in Her Own Way' doesn't have anything to do with the lyrics. The song is about love, yet the video shows the band on their tour bus, different locations and some of the local people. In no way does it show signs of  a love narrative. This is very common for indie-pop videos. The lack of direction when it comes to narrative is typical for indie-pop videos because they focus more on the performance than the story. However, when they do have a narrative they can be very experimental and usually have nothing to do with the song. They can do this because the majority of indie-pop bands don't have to please the mainstream audience, so they can afford to be much more experimental and quirky with their videos.


Colours/Lighting:


 Typically, videos in the indie-pop genre, don't over use colours and light the scenes as naturally as possible. This is to give it more of a 'real' feel to it, unlike other genres like pop as they're usually really bright and use high-key lighting as to attract a young audience. Therefore, there are scenes where it's quite dark, like when they're in a club. Or when they're outside, sunlight would be their main source of light. Again, this gives this particular band and indie-pop bands in general, a 'down-to-earth' feel so their audiences can relate.


Cinematography, Mise-en-scene and Editing:


  Indie-pop videos, typically don't have a narrative at the beginning, in the middle or at the end. It makes the song continuous and therefore, it flows better from start to finish. This helps the audience focus mainly on the song and not on the story.
 They use a lot of close ups of the singer and band members playing their instruments. In this particular band, the close ups are shared quite equally, however, in most cases it's just the singer who gains the most close ups. They use a lot of close-ups/medium close ups on the instruments especially because, again, they want to show the audience that they're 'real' musicians who can not only sing, but play their own instruments also. The long shots tend to be of the surrounding locations or of other minor characters featured in the video.
  The costumes worn in indie-pop videos are just like the costumes they'd wear in photoshoots or on stage. They never wear anything over the top or something that couldn't be found on the high street, for example, one of the members of the band wears a white t-shirt which is something anybody could wear. One exeption to this would probably be the band, 'Florence and the Machine', as they are much more pop with the way they dress, however, in most cases indie-pop bands tend to be very down-to-earth with their costume.
  The editing in indie-pop videos can be quite experimental. The video above doesn't show this, however, some can use different types of transitions, that you don't normally see in pop/rock videos, like wipes or fades etc. These can be entwined into the narrative, leading it to be much more visually interesting. This is quite different to typical mainstream videos as, for example, pop videos would use just straight cuts and not really mix the editing in within the narrative.

Audience's reactions:


 Audiences who watch indie-pop videos, like the one above, would enjoy the typical conventions of the videos. These audiences are usually more interested in music and the instruments etc, unlike pop music audiences who'd, typically, wouldn't be as interested in these things or wouldn't be as bothered if their favourite pop artist played instruments or not. However, for an indie-pop audience they'd gain pleasure in knowing that their favourite band does play the instruments on the song. It helps them to select favourite, guitar player or piano players etc because they've seen them play.
 Audiences would also be able to relate easily to the bands. Again, taking pop music as an example, within their videos they usually wear very theatrical costumes or things that their fans wouldn't be able to copy. However, within indie-pop videos, it shows the band members dressed very casually and their audiences would be able to copy their style much easier than they would a pop artist. This also helps the audience to think that indie-pop bands are much more likeable, down-to-earth and grounded which is appealing to them.
 
Our video:


  When we do our music video, we have to keep in mind these typical conventions. For example, we have to show a lot of performance shots as this is the most typical element within indie-pop videos. Also, we can either have a narrative in our video or not, as both are normal conventions of this genre. Whilst doing our video, we have to make sure we dress, and present our band in a down-to-earth style because this is what the audience would enjoy and expect to see.