Research into similar products: Mise en Scene & Props

Mise-en-scene is French for 'everything in the scene' but as I have already researched costume, location and lighting, this section of research will be focused on the different camera angles, transitions, body language and props used in alt & indie rock music videos. I have used http://makeagif.com/ to display the body language more professionally.

In 'Best of you' by alt rock band Foo Fighters, a big close up is used of the lead singer to begin the video. The large microphone is arguably used as a prop, and it should be noted that similarly to other music videos I have analysed, this one also features a plain white background.

"Best of You" features a large range of shots, which cut between Dave Grohl's big close up with the microphone as a prop.

In 'This is the new sh-t' by Marilyn Manson, this mid shot is continuously cut back to in between other scenes. This is effective as it creates a holistic music video amongst the anarchy in the remainder of the video.

Similarly to 'Best of you', a wide, rapid range of camera shots are used, including long shots, extreme long shots, mid-shots and close ups all within the range of a few seconds.

Marilyn Manson as an actor very rarely has any form of dance routine, which is common with most indie &alt rock music videos, but instead allows himself to move with the music.

In this music video, a mobile phone is used throughout the video, to great effect, as it appears that the band is reaching out to the actor in this scene.

In this scene, the actor lip syncs to the track. This creates an inclusive effect as this is an action the fans on Placbo may often do while listening to their music. This is an important feature to note as it frequents all genres of music videos.

A cigarette is used as prop, which may represent an act of defiance as smoking is well known to be unhealthy and anti social. This prop could be used to represent an actor as beginning to not care about the things around them, or alternatively to relieve the stress coming from the things around them.

Research Conclusion:

It is vital in indie & alt rock music videos to have a large variety of different camera shots and angles. Both musical props and alternative props such as lipstick and cigarettes are used frequently in this genre of videos. These findings must be incorporated into my music video.

Research into similar Products: Lighting & Tone.

Lighting in Alternative & Indie Rock videos:

In this music video, red orange and black are heavily used, which as I learned in AS are common conventions of Rock music artists. In 'Hero' these colours are used triumphantly, representing the burst of music coming from the band as positive and impressive.

However, in 'Why'd you only call me when you're high?', red and black are used to represent deviancy, as the main singer (and actor) is drunk and later takes drugs in the music video.

In contrast to the previous two videos, a large amount of natural lighting is used. This is used to emphasise how normal the protagonist feels around his love interest, which is of huge importance as the remainder of the music video takes place in a mental illness care home in which most patients are not considered 'normal'.

In Placebo's 'Song To Say Goodbye' naturalistic, yet dim lighting is used. Dim lighting is often used to represent dark emotions such as loneliness and sadness. which aids emphasis on the subjects negative emotions.

Research Conclusion:
In alt and indie rock there are similarities, but no set conventions on lighting and tone. This means that when I create my music video I should use a range of lighting to represent the different tones in the track I choose.

Research into similar products: Location and background

Backgrounds and Locations in Alternative & Indie Rock videos.

In this alt rock music video, Marilyn Manson features on a dusty white background, which contrasts with his black costume. This approach forces the viewers interest onto the music artist.

Similarly, in 'Cocoon' by indie rock band CATB, a dim white background used. In contrast, the background matches the actresses costume, which makes her seem 'part of the furniture' instead of someone to be focused on. This is fitting as she is not the protagonist of the video.

In this video the actress is filmed in her 'natural environment',which is a (quite messy) bedroom. This is quite a common background to use in indie/alt rock music videos as it adds an element of social realism.

For a large part of this video the actor (Turner) is stumbling around outside in a dark city setting. This video also uses elements of social realism, as he passes various shops which his fans would be accustomed to (eg. chip shops). I want to use this tactic to some extent in my music video.

Research Conclusion:

For the most part, indie/alt rock music videos are filmed in casual locations, such as in bedrooms and on metropolitain streets, which differs greatly from the more 'impressive' scenes filmed in pop or rap music videos, such as the locations and backgrounds featured in Nicki Minaj and Rihanna's videos:

Secondly, when a less casual background is used, a rather plain one is used (as seen in TDOASDB). This contrasts greatly with pop music videos such as:

My research has shown me that the location and background in my music video should be casual and quite plain, as this is what the audiences of current indie/alt rock music videos like.

Research into similar products: Costume

Out of the three tracks I have analysed 2 are indie rock, and one is alternative rock. To keep within the codes and conventions of alt / indie rock I have decided to research the costumes wore in both the music videos and on stage by the artists / band members.

Jack Savoretti- Chemical Courage

Savoretti can be seen wearing a casual jacket both in music videos and on stage.

Arctic Monkeys- Love Is A Lazerquest

There isnt an official music video for this track, however, in videos of Turner performing the track he most often wears black jackets are T shirts.

Members of Arctic Monkeys have also been known to similar black outfits, T-Shirts with band logos and slogans, and casual jackets similar to Jack Savouretti during on-stage performances

Placebo - Too Many Friends

Placebo have produced multiple music videos for this singular track, so I will research both these tracks and the band members on-stage clothing.

In the 3rd official music video for "Too Many Friends", the protagonist wears extremely casual, almost scruffy clothing, while the secondary actress wears a more "indie" outfit of a jean jacket.

Lead singer Brian Molko is most often seen performing in almost all-black outfits. His bandmates wear similar black clothing, although occasionally they can appear as scruffy as the protagonist in the main video.

Research Conclusion:

To conform to the conventions of alt/indie rock videos, I should dress the protagonist in mostly casual clothing, and perhaps a band T shirt. The secondary actors and actresses in the video will be dressed similarly, unless it is to create an effect.

Research into similar products: Genre research 2 - Alt Rock

Research into similar products: Genre research - Indie Rock

Pictured: Drowners, Catfish and the bottlemen, Arctic Monkeys

Research into similar products: Magazine music adverts.

In my research I found a limited amount of inner magazine adverts for my chosen genre (alternative rock and indie rock) so I downloaded the best indie/alt rock advertisements I could find so I could study the similarities.

Research Conclusion: 

Although the adverts have similar elements to them, such as big main images, release dates and titles, there seems to be little cohesion. To form a better understanding of magazine adverts, I will research conventions of magazine adverts in the future.