Codes And Conventions Of My Chosen Genre Essay

Every genre within the music industry have very different codes and conventions, these are used so that the audience of the music video can easily see if it's to there taste by what category it gets put into for example pop. Music videos can also be categorized in terms of style, these are:

-Performance
-Narrative
-Mixture-both performance + narrative
-Animation 

My chosen genre for my music video is alternative rock/indie rock and music  videos of this genre I have viewed on YouTube for example have many similarities in form of cinematography, editing, sound and mise-en-scene which make them easy to identify what type of people these artists are targeting.

Cinematography
Alternative rock music videos frequently use high angle shots, although this is usually used to show venerability it also can have another meaning.  In most music videos, the high angle shot is used for effect, to make the overall music video look more stylish and artistic, which is also what I like about this shot. An example of a music video that uses high angled shot for effect is Drumming Song by Florence and the Machine. This shot rarely also can be used to establish the setting of a video. 

Close ups are used to show bad members faces in more detail. I believe it is used to portray more attention to a person or object with higher importance or composition. This shot is also used to show a persons emotion so the audience are more likely to connect and feel like they're part of the 'band'. 

As many bands in the alternative rock genre are known for being very confident and different hence the word 'alternative' low angle shots can portray this by showing the dominance of the person in a shot. This person usually will be the main singer.

Lastly medium long shots and long shots are usually used in music videos with a performance to show body language of band members. The use of these shots can show the audience how poor or good they are at performing live and if they are entertaining, in result this could start a chain reaction of the audience buying tickets. 

 Example of medium long shot - Foo Fighters- The Pretender (Narrative and Performance)

Editing

Fast paced shots with cuts are commonly used in this genre to connect with the pace of the song, this is used to create an interesting and eye catching to make the music video match the beat.

Another technique I have identified from Radio head-street spirit is how tempo can effect the audiences mood. The slowed down movement of the video and the slow tempo of the music seems quiet transe like and gloomy. Another reason I belive this type of genre uses this editing technique is because it's very artistic ( photography like ) and because this music isn't main stream it can be unconventional is it targets are smaller audience.

Lighting

Some music videos are black and white which can help emphasise a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting which but the artist/s in an enhanced look.

Sound

Sound is mainly just the vocals or it can be inserted in post-production to make the music video into a short film.

Mise-en-scene Props include instruments on a regular basis in the rock/indie genre as performance based music videos are very popular as well as narrative. Instruments usually include guitars and drum kits which are used in the creation of the song. I believe that performance is used a lot as it gives the audience a glimpse of how they are in live performance and may persuade them to buy tickets and go. Costumes of this genre usually include casual clothing such as shirts, cardigans and leather jackets to show a sense of individuality as indie/rock music isn’t commonly mainstream. Common sets include the streets, gigs with an audience, pubs/clubs and basements.