My music video is and indie-rock video and I have chosen to produce a performance music video with an overarching narrative theme, so we can identify a storyline through the performance sequence of my music video. To do this I recorded a performance of actors who played as a band with instruments and also recorded a segment of an actress lip-syncing who acts as the love interest throughout my music video. I then cut these two segments together in the editing process at vital points in order to tell the story of conflicted love throughout my production.
The conventions of an indie-rock video include lots of shots of the band members, typically as instructed by the record label in order to start selling the band members to the audience and begin to generate them fame and popularity. I have done this in my music video as I have include many shots of all the band members which clearly show their identity so that the audience will recognise them if seen else where and start to build a relationship between the viewers and the band members.
Indie-rock videos also tend to create iconography for the band or include existing iconic items if they are already an established band that the audience will immediately relate to that specific band. I have done this in my music video since I instructed all the band members to wear Hawaiian shirts, this may not be the most flattering clothing however it is original and now iconic to my band meaning that when viewers see a Hawaiian shirt they may think of my band.
Conventionally Indie-Rock videos are very low budget and shot in very simple, easily accessible locations as the focus of the video is on the band members and the music itself rather than the production value of the music video. I did not have a budget to produce my music video therefore I spent no money during the entire production which fits this convention, and I also filmed it in my garden shed which is a very simple set, and easy for me and my actors to enter.
A lot of indie-rock videos tend to be filmed hand held to give a more 'real' feel to the video and try to put the audience in the action. I did film a lot of shots using a hand held stabiliser to try and conform to this convention and give a more fluid and 'real' feel to my music video.
Finally the editing of indie rock videos is very important in order to captivate the audience and keep them interested in your video; conventionally this includes clips being edited to match the tempo of the music usually being cut on the beat as this is what your brain expects, which makes it more comfortable for the consumer to watch.
Composition
Throughout across all media there is always headroom for actors in shots unless you are trying to portray the feeling they are trapped or nervous, in my media production I did leave enough headroom throughout the performance segment with my band members and purposely cut down the headroom when filming the shots of my actress. I did this because at the time we see the actress it is over the audio of "I'm talking to myself again" therefore I wanted to represent this in my shot, reducing the headroom so she appears trapped which is meant to symbolise being trapped in your own head.
I did try to use the rule of thirds when filming my music video as this is conventional for indie-rock videos as it makes the audience feel comfortable, however I wanted lots of movement and energy from my subjects so it was hard to maintain this composition however I did create one shot using the rule of thirds.
In this shot the lead singer is in the foreground at the centre of the screen being the main subject in the shot however in the background the two guitarist are positioned on the two vertical lines in the rule of thirds.
Camera Shots
Indie-rock videos tend to include a wide variety of shots however the main ones are usually medium a close up shots as the video is produced around the artist and the music they play, so establishing and long shots don't tend to fit in with this convention. I conformed heavily to this convention as the main shots I used were medium shots of the actors and also close ups of the band members playing their instruments.
Camera Angles
Indie-rock videos are conventionally shot from eye level or low angles this is because eye-level shots help the audience connect with the band on a more personal level as it gives the impression that the viewer is watching the band through their own eyes; low angle shots are also used so that the audience is looking up to the band members which makes the viewers idolises the band members. In my music video I used lots of eye level shots and a couple low angle shots to conform to this convention.
Camera Movements
Conventionally in indie-rock music videos the camera movements tend to follow and trace the artist in the video as they are the main focus in frame. Typically this includes camera movements such as pan, track and hand held. The majority of my music video is shot with the camera being hand held which conforms to this convention, I also used tracking when filming my lead singer as I wanted to keep him as the main subject in the centre of frame. I also used a couple of quick pan shots in order to create invisible cuts within the movement of these camera movements.Mise-en-scène
In the frame there is all four actors the majority of the time, which each represent a member of the actual band, this also generates some sort of community on screen seeing these actors playing together. We also see the corrugation of the concrete walls surround the set which are constantly in frame which represents the simplicity and low budget conventions of indie-rock music videos. It is evident that my music video is shot at two different locations for the two different performance segments. The second location is filmed in a school classroom where there is just an actress in frame in-front of a blank white board, I created this frame so that the actress was the main focus in the frame and the audiences attention was just on her.
I did use props throughout my music video as it was essential for creating a realistic music video as it would confuse the audience if the band did not have any instruments. I used props such as: drum kits, two guitars, a microphone and an amplifier, this was so I could create a realistic image of the actors playing their instruments in time with the music, giving the illusions that they are playing the audio the audience can hear.
My actors are dressed in everyday clothing which the viewer is most likely have at home however the only difference is my actors have Hawaiian tops over the top of these clothes. This then gives the viewer belief that maybe they could be like the band members if they dressed like them and provokes more interaction from the audience.
I also used lighting as a key feature throughout my production, colours such as yellow, red, blue and purple in order to give a feel of warmth to my production so it could be perceived as more 'live'. The lighting I used is also effective to create professional lighting techniques such as half and half, 45 degree and racoon eyes in order to create a vast amount of compositions throughout my music video.
All of these elements combined help to represent the emotion behind the song lyrics and also the illusion of these actors playing their instruments so that it is believable to the audience. It helps create a sense of excitement with the changing colours and the odd clothing, it makes the audiences think they are seeing something different and unique, which in turn will help the band grow.
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