Indie Band Name

As shown in a previous post, I have done some research into established indie bands and their specific names and reasons for choosing them. As part of my coursework I, with the help of other people, will have to create a music video and therefore that music video will be from a band and that band will need a name. So, after a while of coming up with different and possible band names we finally decided on one: 'The Interpretation'. We decided on this because being an indie artist is all about being independent and unique. Therefore calling ourselves The Interpretation it portrays that our music can effect people and is open to individual interpretation as well as allowing listeners to perceive it in their own way. Therefore 'The Interpretation' illustrates our overall aim for the music; to be interpreted by the individual listener.

Preliminary Task Shot Timings & Props

We decided to completely break down Ben Howard's Keep Your Head Up and timed how long each camera shot lasted for and the props which could be seen in each shot. This will help us to recreate the video  more effectively and hopefully be able to mirror the original more accurately. Below is the poster showing this:

Album Covers: Indie Genre

As our chosen genre is Indie, I decided to research into what was a typical album convention in order to hopefully create one of my own which will fit with the conventions on the indie genre. Through my research of album covers I have discovered that a recurring theme throughout indie album covers is the use of art work; especially water colours. However their is such a wide variety in terms on style with indie album covers that it is hard to not fit with conventions. As long as the image is independent and portrays the bands personality, characteristics or what their music stands for then the possibilities are not confined. Below are only a few on some of the album covers I researched:

Recreation of a Music Video

Location
In order to find recreate Ben Howard's Keep Your Head Up music video as well as possible we've decided on a field and forest located in Great Barfield; this will hopefully match the location of the original video.

Filming Schedule
The date of which we will film is Thursday 28th of June from 12:30 pm up until approximately 9:30 pm. The reason for us filming late is that the video itself starts at sun rise but as we are unable to film early in the morning we decided that the sunset should hopefully give us the same effect. Furthermore, having checked the weather for this day and the time of the sun setting, we should be able to match the weather of the original video.

Prop and Equipment List 

In order to recreate this video we will need the following equipment and props: a black bucket, handheld camera, tripod, bubbles, bubble maker, a shovel and a spade. 

Actors

As Ben Howard is a male and the only person seen within the first minute of the video, I will be acting his role as I am the only male in my group. 

Preliminary Task: Recreating A Music Video

As the title illustrates, my preliminary task is to recreate a minute of an artists music video. Due to my interests and love of indie style music, Ben Howard's Keep Your Head Up was what I decided to do. Below is the video for that song:



Reasons for choosing Ben Howard - Keep Your Head Up
My reasons for choosing this particular song are as followed:

• As our preliminary task states we only have to film a minute of the song and the first minute of the video is relatively easy to both recreate and act out. However our main issue will be with the editing, as their is a strong edit on colour and lighting within the first minute so recreating that will prove a challenge.
• The song fits perfectly with the Indie genre as it as an absence of auto-tune (a common factor within mainstream artists), relies heavily on the use of instruments; in particular a guitar and also the video is independent as it is a more relatable and 'normal' occurance (which indie is all about) rather than a mainstream video which would be typically set in a club.  
• The location/ setting is in a field and a forest with a stream or lake of some sort. As we have suitable locations in the surrounding areas of where we live, finding a similar place to film should be easy enough and should cause much distress.
• In terms of Mise-en-Scene, the props we need to use are simple as they are: a shovel and a sack. In terms of costume, the artist wears rolled up jeans and a plain t-shirt which portrays a casual, down to earth impression and therefore should be easy to mirror.  
• The camera shots are mainly an array of close ups shots, tracking shots, mid shots and POV shots which will provide minimal difficulty in recreating as myself and other group members are all familiar with using cameras. 
• Throughout the entire the video, the artist chooses not to have shots of him singing and focuses more on his actions and movement in the video. Therefore, as I will be performing the role of the artist, I will not have to work on perfectly mirroring the artist singing as well as working on my ability to mime. 

Analysis of album cover: Amy Winehouse

Poster showing digipack analyse 

In order to gain a greater knowledge of how an artist image is portrayed on their album cover; I, along with other group members, analysed various album covers from Amy Winehouse's. The image above highlights what we have analysed into the way she is illustrated on the covers and the reasons behind it.

Indie Band Names

As part of research and planning, I looked at established Indie band names to gain an idea of not only the choice of names but the reason for it. Some indie band names are as followed: Bon Iver, The Smiths, Paolo Nutini, Bloc Party, The Klaxons, The Neighbourhood, The Kooks, Bombay Bicycle Club, Daughter, Atlas Genius, Lydia, Fun, Pegasus Bridge, The Perishers, The Tallest Man On Earth, The Films, The Fall Of Troy, Parachute.

A recurring theme, which can be seen throughout the list above, is that the band names start with 'The'. This could be because they are describing a particular thing or person such as 'The Neighbourhood'. What can also be agreed upon is that the names are all unique and in some cases like 'The Tallest Man On Earth' illustrate examples of metaphors; possibly because they are aspiring to become something.

Shot List: Ben Howard - Keep Your Head Up

Conventions of the Indie Genre

History of Indie
Indie, derived from "Independent", is an alternative rock genre which originated in the 1980's within the United Kingdom and United States. The term 'Indie' became associated with the music the bands or artists produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. Due to hip hop and pop becoming more mainstream in the 1990's, Indie was used to describe the 'outsiders' or artists which subverted the typical mainstream genre. Then, in the 2000's as the rise of internet was in full swing, access to these bands became easier and they began to develop more commercial success. 


Characteristics of Indie
Indie is used to describe the bands with the "do-it-yourself" attitude or the use of relativity small, in comparison to mainstream, labels used to sign them. Indie bands have a lesser interest in appealing to the mass mainstream market so instead stick to niche markets which allow them to explore and create their own sound of music. 


Allmusic defines Indie as "too sensitive and melancholy; too soft and delicate; too dreamy and hypnotic; too personal and intimately revealing in its lyrics; too low-fidelity and low-budget in its production; too angular in its melodies and riffs; too raw, skronky and abrasive, wrapped in too many sheets of Sonic Youth/Dinosaur Jr./Pixies/Jesus & Mary Chain-style guitar noise; too oblique and fractured in its song structures; too influenced by experimental or otherwise unpopular musical styles."

Another characteristic of Indie artists and bands is that they tend to highlight the fact that they are talented musicians who can all play at least one instrument. This can be seen on album covers with the band members holding an instrument as shown below: 

As of more recent years, Indie genre has been growing in popularity due to the increasing ease at which anyone can produce their own music through cheap recording programmes found on computers and the ability to upload it to sites such as YouTube which allow for a wide audience viewing which is free!

Analysis of video: Emeli Sande - Next To Me

The video is about the artist, Emeli Sande, majoritely in a warehouse with nothing but her piano and another musician playing drums. As the video progresses various lights within the warehouse such as a spotlight come on and give the impression that she is putting on a show.

In my opinion, the music video could be considered alternative mainstream as she is showing off her talent of musical instruments as she plays the piano for a great deal of the song. Furthermore the location of the video, being mainly a warehouse, is alternative to the usual 'typical' mainstream videos which are often set in clubs, parties, mansions or abroad.

The target audience for the song is approximately 18 - 30 year old as the style of the song as well as the topic of being faithful to a partner ("next to me") is aimed at a more mature audience. Also, the song is typically aimed at a specific gender; women as she sings "you'll find him next to me".

Artist Image

• Due to the long coat and the artist being covered up, their isn't as much of a sex appeal about her which, in turn, makes her seem more ordinary and relatable by her fans as she has not changed dramatically due to fame. 
• As her hair is not a normal choice in style it makes her seem alternative and trying to not conform to the mainstream image.
• She is also portrayed as being a talented musician as their are various camera shots showing her playing the piano.

Mise En Scene

• By her playing in a abandoned warehouse, it makes her seem independent as well as confident to be on her own.
• Long coat covers her up, making her have a less sexual appeal.
• The piano also has a rather tattered, worn out look which implies that she is not interested in money or materialism. If she were, a grand piano would of gave the impression. 
• The artist's hair is rather alternative and quirky which could be linking to her characteristics and personality. 

Camerawork and Editing

• Establishing shot emphasising the loneliness and emptiness of the warehouse.
• Close up shots of artist hands playing the piano is an indication of her talent.
• By the artist looking directly into the camera creates a connection with the audience, as if she is singing directly to them. As a result of this it builds artist and audience relationship. 
• Fast cutting rate progressively builds up as video continues.
• The overlay of a moving image of the artist breaks away from the start of the video which appeared to have an absence of effects and therefore makes it seem adhere to the mainstream genre. 
• The use of blur editing used to blur the background of the artist makes her stand out and seem more significant.
• As the video progresses, there is a change in lights; from house lights to spot lights to give the impression of a performance or show that the artist is putting on.
• The jump cuts to the artist singing in different locations which are brightly lit with a variety of colours contrasts to the plain and dull warehouse.

Sound

• There doesn't appear to be much auto tune on the artist's voice which would make it seem less realistic and therefore further highlights how the artist is potentially wanting to be portrayed as a rather ordinary and relatable person.

Factors of a music video

In our first lesson back we divulged straight into what it is that makes a music video as well as how the audience are drawn into appreciating it. This is done through a numerous amounts of ways:

Image of the Artist/ Band

This is a very important factor within the music video as it shows how the artist wants people to perceive them as well as the image they want to convey. Take Lost Prophets' song Rooftops for an example (video shown below) the entire band are conforming to the punk/ rock n' roll style appearance as shown by the skinny trousers, long hair and mainly black attire. All this, accompanied with the camera shots highlighting the use of instruments enables the band to gain popularity from the audience as they are conforming to the punk/ rock n' roll stereotype and also creating a relatable image for the audience. 

Camera Angles and Editing
Within any music video there will be an array of varying camera angles to allow for either the artist or bands' actions to be seen for example playing the guitar, singing etc or to encourage a inter-personal relationship between the audience and the artist/ band. Below is the music video from Florence + The Machine - You've got the love and, from the offset, it uses a close up camera shot closely followed by a zooming out shot of Florence (the artist) which, in turn, identifies to the audience who the singer is and their image as well as starting to build the relationship between the two.





In terms of editing, the use of synchronised editing as shown by the use of jump cuts allowing for a change in action and position for the artist which enables the excitement and suspense of the video to continue fluently. The use of the quick cutting rate and matched cuts in the video above add to the continuity of the video and allow for a more believable artist image.

Representation
Representation in a music video covers many aspects from stereotypical representations for instance school girl, undiscovered talent, pop princess and all the way to the representation of a certain genre for example a rap artist to a punk rock band.  All these areas of representation help to define the persona of the artist and how they choose to be perceived by their audience.

In majority of cases, the way the artist decide how they want to be represented often influences their fans to copy them and see them as potential role models. Therefore, as a result of this, they become fixed on becoming more like them and conforming to their actions and personal image.

However as time progresses the artist can change their ways in terms of style and choice of image. This is mainly influenced by both age and popularity/ fame.

Start To Blog

On this blog, I will post everything and anything I do within the lesson and at home that will assist, explain, inform and highlight whatever I do throughout my A2 coursework.