MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

Indie folk, R&B and Country

INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

Clothing:

• Clothes are very natural, usually what the artist feels comfortable wearing. The more natural the clothing, the greater the focus is on their music rather than their image.

•The artist usually dresses to match their settings.

•Some artists wear either smart or vintage clothing like buttoned up shirts, waistcoats and blazers. The band Munford & Sons famously style their appearance this way which singles them out from other genres such as hip-pop or R&B. Their style fits in with the indie folk genre and the music that they produce.

Settings:

•The music videos and photo shoots are usually taken outside. This is to portray a realistic and natural atmosphere which relates to the tone of the music and their star image. By choosing outdoor locations, this allows the artist, especially unknown or unsigned artists, to select a setting and create a music video on a low budget and focus more on their music. This differs from Hip Pop music videos as they are created to look expensive and fancy which narrows the focus on the music.

• In George Ezra’s ‘Blame It On Me’ music video, the whole sequence follows George walking down a street dressed in a blue shirt and jeans whilst playing his guitar and avoiding being caught in the middle of trouble. The whole music video was filmed outside using a small group of actors, a range of props and one location. Altogether, the music video portrays and follows the typical conventions of a indie folk music video.

Munford & Sons – Winter Winds

George Ezra – Blame It On Me

INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS Instruments:

• In this type of genre, there are a variety of different musical instruments used to create the chilled and mellow sound. These instruments include;

•Banjos

•Acoustic guitar

•Violins

•Double bass

•Piano and more.

•Many artists in this genre, such as James Bay, will feature in their music videos playing an instrument which is included on their track. This tells the audience that these artists are talented song writers and performers who produce their own work. This creates a bigger focus on the music as well as showing off their own star image.

Narrative:

• The Indie Folk genre usually includes a storyline in their music video. This enables the audience to visually see and understand the lyrics or experience the artist’s feelings. In some music videos such ‘Little Talks’ by Of Monsters and Men, the artists do not feature in the music video, but there is a strong narrative throughout using other actors. This music video is very visual and although it has a slightly disjuncture approach at first glance, the more the audience view and understand the lyrics, the more illustrating it becomes.

• In contrast to this, many indie folk artists do feature in their own music videos. This gives the opportunity for the artist to show off their musical talent and allows the audience to connect with the artist and their story. In Lewis Watson’s music video for ‘Into the Wild’, he features throughout, simply playing his guitar. At first, the whole music video is shot inside a small room; however as it progresses, he finally ‘steps out into the wild’ which amplifies the meaning of the lyrics and tells his story.

James Bay – Hold Back The River

Of Monsters and Men – Little Talks

Lewis Watson – Into The Wild

INDIE FOLK – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

Camera, edit and lighting:

Camera: The shots uses are usually simple. They include close-ups, mid-shots, long-shots and establishing shots. If the artist is a band then all members are usually in the frame. This stops a hierarchy between each band member and allows everyone to get equal recognition for their music.

Edit: Most music videos in this genre will be created to give it a more vintage appearance. This is achieved by adding filters on top of the clips. In Ellie Goulding’s ‘Your Song’ the filters mixed with the settings gives the video a chilled and vintage vibe which relates to the nature of the song and the fact that she is covering an old song of Elton John’s.

Lighting: Ambient lighting is often used in these music videos and photo-shoots to give a relaxed and natural atmosphere.

Ellie Goulding – Your Song

R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS Representation of Women:

• Women are usually objectified through male gaze due to the clothes and make-up they wear.

•Most women wear minimal/tight clothing. The lack of clothing exposes their bodies and attracts male viewers as well as inspiring women to work-out and look like them. By also wearing items such as high heeled shoes, their legs appear longer and more model height.

•The accessories that they wear includes big, hooped earrings, chains and diamonds which shows their expensive and glamorous lifestyles as the promote a variety of different brands.

•Beyoncé is an R&B artist who is well known for her looks and sex appeal. In the majority of her music videos, she wears revealing clothing and is surrounded by men, giving her power and status. This set a trend for other upcoming artists such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj since this image made Beyoncé successful.

Rihanna – Pour It Up Beyoncé - Partition

Ciara – Love, Sex and Magic

Young Money – Bedrock(Nicki Minaj wearing Barbie Brand)

R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

Representation of Males:

Male artists are presented in a sexual way which is illustrated through their lyrics and their music videos. To appeal to a female audience, the male artist will either remove their shirt or choreograph a dance routine, usually using other females dancers to make their female audience jealous. In Chris Brown’s concert music video ‘Take You Down’, he is fully dressed in black clothing; however as soon as he pulls his shirt off, there is a roar of screams from the females at the show which shows their desire and attraction towards him.

Jason Derulo is another example of a male R&B artist who depends on his image to attract his audience. In the majority of his music videos, he appears topless with his female co-stars. This is to make him seem irresistible to attractive females and will inspire his male audience to be like him in order to gain female attention.

• If not topless, R&B male artist may usually wear baggy or quirky shirts along with low denim jeans and trainers. Pharell Williams’ image is based around experimenting with clothing. This is usually done to promote a specific type of brand and to make their male audience wish to own their style of clothing.

Chris Brown – Take You Down

Jason Derulo - Breathing

Jason Derulo - Wiggle

Jason Derulo – Want You To Want Me

Pharell Williams - Happy

Usher – Yeah

R&B – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS

Settings:

• In this type of genre, money and attraction is an important theme. To express this, the setting is a key element. Most video are set in expensive clubs or house parties where the artists have the opportunity to show off their expensive accessories, cars, clothes and can dance with the opposite sex. This makes the audience jealous of their party-packed lifestyle which they wished they could be part of the fun.

•Lighting:

•There is a strong use of strobe light in these videos to create a party atmosphere.

•The colour blue is used throughout the sequence. This colour has become a very common convention in the R&B genre and is associated with wealth and the type of music.

The Black Eyed Peas – I Gotta Feeling

Kerri Hilson – Love Knocks You Down

Rihanna – Pon De Replay Usher – Love In The Club

COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS Iconography:

•Country singers, especially female artists, are seen as very sweet and innocent people.

•They are known to be good singers and talented song writers who play their own musical instruments. The songs they write are usually based on their past experience which relates and helps them connect to their audience.

•Country songs have a simple melodies with a deep meaning or social message.

•The lyrics usually have a strong storyline.

Shania Twain – Still The One

Miley Cyrus - Jolene

COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS Narrative:

•Country music videos should enhance or reinforce the storyline in order to bring it to life visually.

•They usually follow a narrative in order to portray the storyline empirically.

•As country singers write their own songs about their personal experiences, it is important for them to feature in the video as they can display their emotions and connect with the audience.

•Most artists are the main protagonist in their own music video who faces problems and tries to store equilibrium.

• If a music video does not have a strong narrative, then there is not a storyline within the lyrics.

• Instead of using a narrative, the director can organise a montage or a live performance instead. In Taylor Swift’s music video for her song ‘Red’ she uses footage from her tour, showing off all her fans and her performance skills instead of using a illustrated music video.

Taylor Swift - RED

COUNTRY – MUSIC VIDEO CONVENTIONS Mise-en-scene:

• Country music videos associate with trucks, the countryside, cowboy boots/hats and checked shirts so conventionally there must be an element of truth.

•The setting is usually in the countryside either inside or out. This gives it a natural and realistic vibe and they are locations where the narrative can be told.

Uncle Kracker – You Make Me Smile

Carrie Underwood - Two Black Cadillacs