CONVENTIONS OF THE INDIE ROCK GENRE Victoria Norton

Three popular Indie rock artists:

The Killers Florence and The Machine

My Bloody Valentine

Are the music videos performance, narrative or concept?

The Killers – When you were young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0oWESdmH0This video is both performance and narrative. The storyline tells the story of a young woman in her 20s. In the beginning of the video the woman can be seen mourning by a giant white cross, she is later comforted by a worried man who has been looking for her. After this the following scenes tell the story of how they got to the cross. The first flashback is of the woman at church. She leaves after praying and is greeted by a man, they kiss and soon enter a romantic relationship. Throughout the video we see clips of the band performing and more flashbacks of the couple’s memories. The woman walks in on the male cheating on her which then leads to the woman going to the cliff edge.

Florence and The Machine - Kiss with a fist:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SmxVCM39j4This video is mostly performance with a small amount of narrative. We see Florence lip singing throughout the video while holding and being filmed with props that link back to the lyrics. This video has a eighties-styled theme and takes place in a room with a white coloured background. It features Florence dressed in a cheeky punk themed outfit, running around – kicking and screaming. This video was made to show how forceful love can be which relates back to the lyrics being sung.

How have the music videos created meaning through the use of technical elements: camerawork and editing.

The Killers: In the beginning of the music video there is an eyeline match between the male and the mourning female. He is looking down on her. This connotes a sense of venerability and how caring the male is. Close-ups of band members and instruments throughout video. Around the 2 minute mark we see the man is higher up then the woman, he then pulls her up to his level. This suggests that the woman felt powerless and venerable until the powerful male came along which also made her feel powerful. Voyeurism is seen around the 3:30 mark with shots of the woman pouring water over her legs. The makers have also “Edited to the beat”, they edited so the cuts match up with the drum beat. Finally the lead singer engages with the audience by making eye contact.Florence and The Machine: Audience engagement (eye contact) is made to the audience throughout the video. The video amplifies the lyrics, for example: the lyrics “a kick in the teeth” is shown by Florence kicking the air. High angle shots are also used a lot throughout the video this could connote a sense of power. Editing to the beat has also been used with the fast passed cuts and short clips. Hand-held camera style of filming has also been used a lot throughout the video which could connote a sense of venerability, this fits in with the lyrics as they are about abusive relationships.

How have the music videos used mise-en-scene? (location, clothing, hair/make-up, colour/lighting)

The Killers: the locations for this video is like a Spanish/western like setting. The lighting is low key and soft which could connote the depressing/upsetting storyline that lies in the video. The costumes match the Spanish/western like setting with cowboy boots and jackets. The fact that most of the male’s costumes are missing the sleeves to their shirts and jackets suggests that they are filming in a hot or desert/western like country. The white material on the cross, the fact that the cross is white and the woman being dressed in white suggests purity. This suggests to us early on that she is innocent and pure. Also when we see the woman praying in the church, she is holding prayer beads, again suggesting her purity, innocence and her faith.

Florence and The Machine: At the start of the video we see Florence holding flowers which have been arranged into the shape of a heart connoting love. Around the 50 second mark we see her holding a baseball bat while she is surrounded by red lanterns. The red on the lanterns amplifies the lyrics “I spilt your blood upon the floor”. The paper fire seen on the bed amplifies the lyrics “I set fire to our bed”. Around the 1:35 mark we see Florence hitting a man over the head with plates amplifying the lyrics “You smashed a plate over my head”. In the video she is seen wearing a punk like outfit connoting a sense of rebellion against the man she is having this abusive relationship with. Her hair is purposely styled to make it look like she has just been in a fight (messy hair) connoting the abusive relationship theme that is obvious throughout the lyrics.