What elements do the music videos have in common - in terms of genre and form?
The videos all contain a similar use of iconography, many props were similar such as guitars,cigarettes and alcohol. These props mean that the audience can easily identify the attitudes of the people on screen. The male dominance is very common within the indie genre music videos i looked at, most of the people on screen are male. The females are only appearing in the videos as the girlfriends, there are all attractive and well dressed, in the stereotypically indie style clothing. All of the videos contain the band members, or a person we could assume is the band member, this allows the audience to identify with those on screen and this means the fans can relate to the band, increasing the bands popularity. Similar settings such as the city, gigs and parties seemed to appear several times, these places were probably used as they are associated with this type of music, band members and the fans. This again helps the audience to relate as well as enjoy and be entertained.
How is youth/gender/ethnicity represented?
Youth
The youth are represented as rebellious and uncontrollable through most of the music videos. The use of alcohol and cigarettes means that there are presented as anti-Christian etc. These things are often associated with violence, trouble and relationship problems, all these (because of the use of the certain props, micro elements etc.) mean that the negative connotations are anchored to the youth of today. Due to the stereotypes given to people such as hooded teens the society we live in creates their own assumptions as to how social groups and individuals are. This is not in all of the videos I have looked at, as in the ‘Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses’ video, the youth are in fact hardly represented as negative and are given positive imagery such as the peaceful birds etc, however this video is almost an anomaly in comparison to the conventional attitudes of the other indie videos.
Gender
As I have said earlier, the male dominance within the videos was clear, most of the videos seemed to be shown from the male perspective, reinforcing the idea of a patriarchal society. The women that appeared in the videos seemed to come across as attractive, almost an item for males to look at. This could influence the way in which the female audience are affected by the video, for example the care of appearance that the females seem to show could mean that female fans of the band want to take care of their appearances as well, they are influenced by the clothing style, the attitudes and the relationships portrayed.
Ethnicity
Throughout the videos I looked at there was a particular dominance within the white ethnicity, all of the band members/actors were white males, or white females. This white dominance was particularly notable within ’The Kooks - Naïve’ video, as the male singer walks through the gig he is at, the other party-goers all seem to be white. The dominance suggests a strong preference to the demographic audience for this genre being white. However I did notice one reference to another gender, this was in the ’Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses’ video, as well as contradicting the youth representation, the video contradicts the white dominance and includes pictures of an asian family.
How is narrative theory used within the videos?
Throughout the videos that I looked at, narrative theory was not always obviously used. For example, ‘The Maccabees – Toothpaste Kisses’ video, the onscreen action did not follow a story at all, the different images (although symbolizing certain things) did not specifically need to be put into a certain chronological order. However when looking at other videos, it was clear there was a following of Todorov’s narrative theory, equilibrium etc. This immediately creates an enigma, as the audience want to see how the narrative turns out. The lack of conventional narrative suggests that the genre is perhaps unconventional and shows a lack of conventional structure within the videos.
How do they appeal to their target audience?
The videos appeal to their target audience through the use of many technical codes but mainly the use of the elements contained in mise en scene. The elements such as costume appeal to the target audience as they are easy to relate to, items such as hi-top trainers, leather jackets and skinny jeans are often associated with the younger generation. So by using these items in the videos the artists are demonstrating the kind of people they want to attract. The settings also appeal to the intended audience as they too are linked with where the audience will go or know of. For example a party in a flat, a garden and train stations are seen in some of the videos within the genre, this attracts the target audience as they can again relate to it. Props are also key for the artist to appeal to the target audience, in many of the videos we see reference to alcohol, drugs and cigarettes, these items are significant as they are things often associated with the younger generation. So by using them in videos the artists are sending across the message that these are the things you need to do to fit into the genre.
How are technical codes used generically?
Technical codes such as camera shots are used throughout the music videos to show key elements to the genre. For example a close up shot of the lead singer is used in most music videos to identify to the audience their importance. Shots of props such as guitars, drums and pints are used in the majority of videos; the shots of the instruments put across to the audience the ingredients to the indie genre. The pints however could be interpreted as appealing to the male gender as many stereotype men with drinking pints many colours are used repeatedly in a range of videos, these colours such as red, blue and yellow stand out and make the video look energetic and appeal to a younger generation.
How might the audiences make use of the video?
The audiences can make use of the video in many ways. Firstly videos allow the audience to interact with the artist. For the audience they get to see what the artist is like, from there gestures, costume and location throughout the video. It allows the audience to feel as though they know the artist. Secondly videos can be used to share, for example someone may like the song, so by embedding it onto a social networking site they can show their friends the music. This in fact benefits the artist as well as their music is shared with a wider audience.
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