Deconstruction of an Indie Music Video

Pre-production Deconstruction of an Indie Music Video

Indie music was known as music made from Independent Artists, now it is known more as a genre, such as indie rock, indie pop and so on. It’s a hard category to define, but they are usually bands and the music is quite easy to decipher from other types of music, it is very close to rock music but usually not as harsh.

SHOT: Mid shot

ANALYSIS: This whole music video is filmed by the members of the band themselves rather than someone filming them from afar, they hold the camera themselves or hold it to film each other, this particular shot shows the lead singer holding the camera himself as he sings into it, he’s also looking directly into the camera, both of these combined make this really personal and intimate but also quite intimidating especially with the music, it sounds quite sinister. The clothing is very simple, which is what is different from other genres, other genres have a specific style, where as indie music is just your day-to-day wear, however their hair is usually of a type, the short back and sides with the slick top. They also have a particular singing voice which is often different from others. This is filmed in black and white, which is an element we see often in rock videos, which is why they are so similar.

EDIT: There are no cuts atall within the filming which means that this was very well planned and so it runs slickly.

MUSIC/LYRICS:

       “I guess what I’m trying to say is”

This is good with the lyrics as he is actually speaking directly to the camera, so the lyrics fit really well, as if he’s trying to tell his audience something.

  

SHOT: Mid close up

ANALYSIS: Another thing that indie music videos are known for is their randomness, these women in masks and cowboy hats have no relevance to this whatsoever, we at least in the way their dressed, the lyrics here are ‘Are you mine?’, which does make sense with the facial expressions and so on.

ANALYSIS: This shot goes to another conventional aspect of an indie video, the instrument playing, this is another reason it is so close to the genre of rock, they, like rock music videos, like it to be about the music rather than what’s being presented, that’s their main focus, so it is often you will see them playing for the majority of the song. The location is an empty piece of ground next to a warehouse, which is like what you see in rock music videos, the location to them isn't particularly important, it’s very simplistic so their audience can focus on the music.

EDIT: Again, there is no edit, its one long shot, which means it was cleverly thought about beforehand.

This deconstruction allowed me to understand by doing an indie music video it would allow me to explore different avenues using things I wouldn't usually use as it’s a lot more conventionally random, it often differs to what their saying within the song, which makes it stand out from the usual conforms you see in mainstream music video and also makes the video more fun as well as giving it a relaxed and not taken too seriously approach. It is so apparent that the videos are focusing on the music rather than what people think about them or what they’re doing, this is why their instruments and the randomness is highlighted so much rather than the band itself, it lets the music do the talking allowing people to really understand what the bands about, which is why their audience is such a niche. This will help me when I think about creating my own music video.