Wednesday, 13 July 2011
A Definitive Guide to the Indie Pop Genre
A Definitive Guide to the Genre of Indie Pop
Denis McQuail says ‘The genre may be considered as a practical device for helping any mass medium to produce consistently and efficiently and to relate its production to the expectations of its customers’, this theory applies to the Indie pop genre. An example of where this theory has been applied is in the Marina and the Diamonds music video for ‘Hollywood’. The artist is portrayed as a strong and powerful female due to the frequent low angle shots of her singing, the audience expects this style of representation as she is a solo female artist and this shows her independence.
Typical Codes and Conventions Found in Indie Pop Music Videos
Camera shots and movements that are frequently used in this genre are:
- · Point-of-view shots
- · Close-ups
- · Handheld camera movements
An example of where all three of these elements can be found is in the video for Ellie Goulding’s song ‘Under The Sheets’. The use of point-of-view shots here allows the audience to have a connection with the artist, as she is singing to the camera. Close-ups here allow the artist to clearly be the focus and create an identity for the audience. By using handheld camera movements, the audience feel part of the action and the jerky movements of the camera gives an unusual feel to the video, as it doesn’t seem perfect.
The style of framing and editing in Indie Pop videos are commonly styled as:
- · Artist/Band in the centre of the frame
- · Straight cuts
- · Fast edits
The use of straight cuts and fast edits creates continuity and verisimilitude, as well as linking to the up tempo style of the music genre. The use of having the artist/band in the centre of the frame frequently, allows the audience to clearly see them as the focus and as important.
Most videos that fall into this genre use unusual props and vintage style costumes. An example of where these two elements can be found is in the Kate Nash video for ‘Foundations’. Props such as toothbrushes, socks and watches have all been used to link with the lyrics but create a quirky tone to the artist and video. The artist’s costume consists of an old-fashioned vintage style dress, which is considered fashionable at the moment, however as the style is dated this gives an unusual feel to the artist.
Typical Codes and Conventions Found on Indie Pop CD Covers
The image used on the front cover and inlay of a CD from this genre tends to be:
- · The artist/band
- · An unusual image
- · Patterned background
When an image of the artist/band is used on the front cover, the style is usually simple such as a plain or patterned behind the artist/band, allowing the band/artist to be the main focus and eye-catching to the viewer. This also helps the audience to recognise the artist/band therefore creating a connection with the viewer. An example of where an unusual image has been used is on the Two Door Cinema Club album cover for ‘Tourist History’. The image is a cat, which does not relate to the band, but creates intrigue for the viewer, as they want to find out why it has been used.
The inlay usually contains a recurring theme that is seen on the front and back cover of the CD such as a colour. This style is evident in The Kooks album ‘Inside In Inside Out’. One side of the inlay tends to show another image of the artist/band, again allowing them to be the focus of the whole album.
The style of text used on the cover of an Indie Pop CD tends to be:
- · Handwritten, feminine style
- · Block, simple style
- · Usually white text
- · Simple/unusual album name
- · No tagline
The font style usually used for the female artist/band is a handwritten style which is quite feminine. However, for the male band/artist, such as The Drums, the style is a simple block font. This allows the audience to clearly see the difference between the types of artist’s that fit into this genre. The text is normally white, allowing it to stand out clearly against the image or background, therefore making the text clear and stand out to the viewer.
The album name of an Indie Pop album is usually short and simple, such as Florence and the Machine ‘Lungs’, allowing the title to be memorable for the viewer. However, some album names such as Lily Allen ‘It’s Not Me, It’s You’ are unusual and immediately give a quirky feel to the artist. The album do not normally have a tagline features on them.
The back cover of the album lists the tracks featured on the album. The text is usually in the same font and colour style as the front cover, keeping an overall feel to the album. The artist website can also be found on the back cover, allowing buyers to find out more about the artist/band. There is also a barcode on the back cover.
Typical Codes and Conventions Found on an Indie Pop Album Advert
The image used on an album advert for this genre is:
- · An image of the band/artist
- · Same image as the CD cover
- · Unusual image/background
The image used is usually of the artist/band, and normally the same image as on the CD cover. This allows the audience to recognise the album in a shop, as well as showing the identity of the artist/band. The use of an unusual image or background helps to create intrigue around the album as it appears different, for example the Arcade Fire ‘Neon Bible’ album advertisement uses a square style image that links to the album name. The use of not seeing the band/artist also creates anticipation for what the band/artist is going to be like. When this style of image is used, the picture appears dated which links to the style of the artist/band.
The fonts and colours used on the album adverts tend to be the same as the styles used on the actual album. This again allows the CD to be recognisable as well as keeping to the recurring themes such as colour.
The use of having comments and star rating by trusted critics, for example the Ellie Goulding alum advertisement for ‘Lights’, allows the artist/band to appear respected, which will persuade people to buy the album more. The advert lists popular and well-known songs, which again will help persuade viewers to buy the album.
Representations, Narrative and Lighting used in the Indie Pop Genre
The representations usually portrayed in this genre are youth. The elements that indicate this is the use of on-trend costumes, quirky props and the artist/band themselves tend to be young. Women can also be seen as represented as strong and independent, such as Lily Allen, by the use of low-angle shots and unrevealing costume as well as the fact they are solo female artists.
Indie Pop music videos do not tend to have a clear, linear narrative. They also do not tend to follow Todorov’s theory or Propp’s theory.
The style of lighting used throughout the Indie Pop genre is unusual lighting such as mix-match colour like reds and blues. The use of back lighting puts the emphasis on the artist/band and creates a bizarre feel to the artist/band.
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Audience Profile
The target audience for this genre is females who are in their late teens, such as 16-18.
These audience members would also prefer to watch Orange Unsigned Acts than the X-factor, indicating that they try to be different and less mainstream in their music tastes. The questionnaire also revealed that these viewers use iPods to listen to their music which they download songs from iTunes and illegal download sites mostly. This way of getting music is very popular with this age range. The target audience also prefer Indie Pop from the other sub-genres of Indie music. The audience prefer to see a band in an Indie Pop music video; however a solo artist had a very similar amount of results. The audience relate to the artist/band through eye-contact with the camera by using point-of-view shots. The questionnaire showed that audience members prefer to see a story that relates to the lyrics of the song in the music video.
The target audience expect the colours on an Indie Pop CD cover to be dark, simple colours such as black, green and red. The audience also expect the album name to be simple or unusual, which links to the quirky style of Indie Pop. On an Indie Pop CD back cover, the viewer also expects the font style and colour of the text to be the same as on the front cover.
The questionnaire also told us that the audience expect the image used on the magazine advert for the album to be the same that is used on the actual CD, making it easy to recognise the band/artist. The audience also expect the font and colour used on the magazine advert to be the same as on the CD cover, creating a theme throughout the whole album. The target audience also like to see star ratings, popular/well-known songs and the band’s/artist’s website to be featured on the album magazine advertisement.
Wednesday, 6 July 2011
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