Genre Codes & Conventions

Indie Folk is an unusual genre in terms of the music video. In an ever changing world where the technology is constantly developing and allowing music videos to become more exciting and allows the director to add a wow factor and make the effects look very extravagant and very exciting. As every other genre is developing and adding a lot of colour and effects in the video  acoustic folk  is seen to be old fashioned as the conventions have not changed over time. This is due to this genre being very naturalistic and simplistic as the main focus tends to be just the artist and their music.

Natural looking:

This is one of the main things emphasied in Indie Folk music videos as it allows the soul purpose of the music video to be the artist and the meaning of the song only. Different things are used in the music video to help it be very naturalistic and one of these things are the narrative. This is usually a real life situation which has a lot of emotion in it. Different things are also incorporated withing the narrative to help the music video seem even more naturalistic examples of these are make-up, location, filming style, lighting and clothing.

We are planning to include this in many ways throughout our music video. Through the make-up, and mise-en scene. By doing this we are making sure we follow the codes and conventions of music videos as the main focus of this indie folk music video is for the audience to give their attention to the lyrics and the artist or the performance.

Filming Style:

Filming style is very simple, sometimes seen as old fashioned due to lack of manufacturing in the music as well as the videos. The main focus of  Indie Folk  music video is the artist and the music and by having a simple filming style the director can be sure that the only thing the viewer will give a lot of attention to the music and the artist.  Indie Folk  music is seen to be old fashioned in terms of the music video and the sound of the music it self there is little to no manufacturing.  Indie Folk  music videos stick to the old style of filming and has no special effects or that 'wow' factor which is found in nearly all videos now. A very common thing that the music videos include is a narrative. By placing a narrative the director is able to control how the viewer feels by telling a story that's either happy or sad.

We are planning to do this throughout our music video in many ways to ensure that we stick to the codes and conventions of indie folk music videos in many ways. Firstly we are planning to do this by having little to no editing effects throughout the music video. Another thing we will add to the editing to make it look "old fashioned" is adding a sepia effect on it, this will make the video seem even slower and emphasis the narrative and the theme of decay that is placed throughout the narrative of the music video. The only editing effect we are planning on using is split screen, this may be one of the only ways we go against the codes and conventions as we are planning of placing an emphasis to show are both the character's lives are different but somehow connected. 

Mise en-scene:

Indie Folk has a very distinct mise-en scene as it does not follow other genres. In Indie Folk music videos the setting is very natural due to the genre having a high emphasis on narrative and the artist. By having the music video set in a simple place the director can be sure that the audience will focus on just the music and the artist, nothing else. Another very important thing in this genre is having a mise-en scene which is strongly linked to the narrative as it adds more to the story, there is almost always a very strong link between the character and the environment they are in. This allows the artist to manipulate exactly how he or she wants the viewer to feel by having things played out in a certain way therefor making the audience feel sorry for a certain character or angry towards another. Again this highlights the whole idea of the genre focusing on just the artist and their music. A very typical place to have a scene set in a music video is a stage while the artist is either performing or rehearsing, this is due to the idea of the viewer being able to see where the music is coming from. By setting it in such place the stage can also be lit in a way that allows the director to manipulate how the audience feel for example by having the lighting as a cold blue the viewer would feel unease and very upset on the other hand if it is a warm tone similar to natural lighting the viewer would feel at ease and it would add a happy tone to the music video or that particular scene.

In our production we have are planning to sick to the codes and conventions of indie folk music videos by following the codes and conventions regarding the mise-en scene. The locations we have chosen to film in are a bedroom, a park and a city. This helps us stick closely to the codes and conventions as the bedroom will add to the narrative and help the audience understand the video a bit more. The park is another thing that sticks closely to the codes and conventions, this is due to the genre being all natural and by placing the artist in an open space where there is not much focus on the surrounding the audience are able to focus on just the music and the artist which is one of the main things in acoustic folk music videos.

Instruments:

The use of instruments is a very important thing in this genre as they are seen as part of the artists identity and style which is what is a major highlight of this genre. In almost every music video of the Indie Folk genre there is a guitar or a piano. This allows the viewer to connect to not only the lyrical side of the song but also the musical side which adds more emotions. Due to this genre having a very big emphasis on just the musical side of the song the use of instruments can become very handy. By showing the artist play an instrument in the music video a great deal of talent is shown which also allows the fan to connect with the artist due to many of them playing instruments as well. Adding an instrument in the music video also appeals very highly to the fans as they are able to play the song later on in things like local gigs where they are able to showcase their talent.

In our production we are planning on using instruments as it is one of the main things that are found in indie folk music videos. We are doing this by having many scenes of the music video to show the artist playing the guitar along with the music. This was a key aspect of the music video as it is one of the main things that is seen in almost all music videos.

Fashion:

The clothing style in  Indie Folk  music videos tends vary depending on the artist's style but they still all follows a very similar style in terms of colours. There are two main ways in which the fashion sense of the artist are. They are either dressed in very simple clothing such as flannel shirts, blue jeans, white t-shirt and jumpers or they are either dressed in a formal attire (shirt, tie and smart trousers but without the blazer) these two fashions sense depends on the style of the music video. Performances based music videos tend to have a very formal sense to them such as the Muffed and Sons- little lion man. However, when a music video is narrative based the clothing tends to be very simple to suit the narrative and the story being told.

The fashion sense we are planning to have in our production is very similar to this as it adds to the narrative.We are planning to have very simplistic story and to emphasis just how poor the guy is, we are planning to have certain clothing available. This will be done by making him wear blue jeans, white t-shirt and a jacket or something very similar to this with a few changes in different scenes in the music video. The girls clothing style will also be very similar to the guys as it is going to be plane and dull to suite the theme of the music video. By doing this we have managed to stick to the codes and conventions of the music video as it is plane but also relevant to the narrative.

Performance:

An artists performance in an Indie Folk music video is very important as it helps the emotions in the lyrics to be passed through to the audience. This is very important in indie folk music videos as the main focus of the production is to portray the feelings of the artist and make the audience understand exactly what is going through the artist's mind and how they are feeling, this can be done in a very effective way throughout indie folk music videos as the director is able to manipulate the audience's feeling by showing certain things in a certain way. The main important thing about indie folk music videos is the amount of emotion shown through the performance of the artist to allow the audience to connect with the artist as well as giving a clear understanding which helps the audience understand the narrative better.

This will be done during our music video by the actors/ artist. By doing this we will be able to follow the codes and conventions of indie folk music videos as the main aim of them is to help the audience relate to the artist and the lyrics as well as feeling an emotional connection to the lyrics. So by having the artist perform and show emotions we will be able to successfully follow indie folk music videos. We are also planning to have the artist sing the song on a stage as if he was rehearsing for a show by doing this again we are following the codes and conventions of  indie folk music videos as stage performances ten to be seen quite a lot.

Lighting:
In this genre lighting is used in a very smart but subtle way. The lighting tends to be plane on most music videos with a soft golden glow to it, this being done is very smart as the lighting is used to represent the sunlight as a reference to nature.