Conventions of Indie Pop MV
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Indie pop
Conventions of
Music videos
Costumes
The costumes play an important role in establishing a clear genre of a music video. In indie pop music videos, costumes are used that include neutral and dark colours. Distressed black jeans are common for male artists along with many artists wearing leather jackets. These types of clothing create an idea that the artists wearing them are rebellious, as well as giving the video a retro style, and making them unique. Sometimes the costume can be changed near the end to something vibrant and colourful, contrasting the rest of the video. Examples of dark clothing are used in most The 1975 music videos, for example Chocolate and an example of where the costume is changed at the end to something bright is Lana Del Rey - West Coast.
props
The use of props in indie pop videos is somewhat minimalistic. This means that no too much attention is drawn away from the artist and the song. Props may include things such as cigarettes, matches, retro glasses, vintage cars and the musical instruments that can appear in the music video in points. For instance in The 1975's music video fro Chocolate, cigarettes and matches are used and in their music video Girls, instruments are heavily used. The most dominant and recurring props being the the vintage cars and cigarettes which can be seen in Lana Del Rey - West Coast.
Locations
Within indie pop music videos, the locations used are usually empty or seemingly lifeless. Large groups of people are rarely shown. This may show how the artist is isolated or different from most people and stands out from the crowd, which is true in the case of the music video of Robbers by The 1975. It also leads to less distractions and more focus on the artist. Locations such as empty urban streets or empty beaches can be used. An example of the use of an empty urban street is in Bastille - Pompeii.
The colours used in indie pop music videos are often very dark, neutral, faded colours - similar to the costumes as can be seen in Batille - Pompeii. The videos can also be entirely or partly in black and white. The music video for The 1975 - Somebody Else is in black and white for the fist 3 minutes.
Colours
Lighting
The lighting in indie pop music videos is often low key lighting. Chiaroscuro lighting is also used. Usually there is one strong light surrounded by darkness. This may show the harshness of the topics mentioned and the low key lighting may show the dark undertones of the songs and music videos. This is true for many of the music videos by The 1975, including Robbers and Chocolate.
Indie pop music videos tend to not have a strongly structured narrative, however there sometimes is and usually serious issues are presented such as drug and alcohol abuse, domestic abuse or relationship problems or other things crime related. Themes of isolation are often common. These themes are presented in The 1975 - Robbers, and are presented in a different way in Troye Sivan - Fools and Hayley Kiyoko - Girls Like Girls.
Storyline
Shot types
Indie pop music videos usually consist of a lot of close ups of the artist. This may be to show the emotions on the artist's face, as the songs are usually quite emotional. For example this is used in Troye Sivan - Wild. It may also be to create a more personal bond to the artist. Tracking shots are used to follow the artist which may depict importance as they depict where the camera moves. Also slow dolly's are used to keep the slow pace and handheld camera's are used to create a more personal, unique feel. This is used in Lana Del Rey - West Coast and Lana Del Rey - Video Games.
Editing styles
Indie pop music videos can use editing that cuts on or off the beat. The video not being cut to the beat gives a somewhat disorientating, unpredictable feel as well as making the music video more unique as most music videos for other genre's do cut to the beat. Long takes are used to keep the slow pace of the music video along with slow motion for the same reason as well as to draw attention to certain important aspects and looking visually pleasing.
A common editing method that appears to have been used within Indie Pop music videos is adding a desaturation filter. A desaturation filter removes brighter, bolder tones from a video clip, giving it a muted and more dull look. Many Indie Pop music videos contain dramatic, sombre or intense narratives, so a desaturation filter is added to reflect the bleak atmosphere that the storyline creates.
An example of use of desaturation is in Ghost (Room 93 version) by Halsey.
Another editing technique used is layering. This is where two or more clips have been layered over each other and their opacity has been decreased so that both clips are visible together. This technique is quite artistic and creates a certain ambience that works well within the genre of Indie Pop.
Use of Layering in an Indie Pop music video:
'California Nights' by Best Coast.
Dancing
Dancing in indie pop music videos isn't a dominant aspect. There can sometimes be backing dancers, (e.g. in The 1975 - Girls) but usually the artists just perform a sort of head-bob or minute movements to show that they are somewhat engaged with the music such as in The 1975 - The Sound and Bastille - Pompeii. But in cases where the topics are too serious, it would seem inappropriate to have high energy, fun dancing.
