During research into the genre of my music video, Indie Rock, I found that the artists tend to wear very laid back, casual clothing which, tend to be of dark colours. For example, skinny jeans, hats and black suits. The connotations of the costume worn by bands relating to Indie Rock genre are "roughed up"articles of clothing that are often old. The costume worn can be seen as representing a rebellious nature towards the mainstream fashion trends. Though the members of an Indie Rock band tend to shy away from co-ordinating their outfits, many do in a sense. For example all the members would wear some kind of skinny fitted trousers whether they are jeans or smarter trousers. They will all have some form of jacket on and usually sport some ‘tatty’ vintage footwear (however it could vary from trainers to boots). It is all about variation of similar things when regarding fashion.
In all of these costumes that are worn, they are never the same color and are never worn in the same style as the next members. This reveals that people associated with the Indie Rock genre are comfortable with expressing their individuality without going overboard e.g. Like pop sensation Lady Gaga. They do it in a simple way with variations of the same style, this further increases their ‘cool’ reputations as they don’t try too hard to be something they are not. Many are not fussed when it comes to what they wear to play at gigs. They know that it’s going to be hot and sweaty so they adopt the attitude of ‘may as well wear the week old tee-shirt, I’m going to be smelling anyway’, this attitude represents a maverick lifestyle.
Also, the artists facial expressions are usually minimal, keeping them plain and therefore quite serious at times. They are rarely seen smiling in their videos as it is not associated with this genre of music and usually the topic of their songs are based around something dark or sad and so the seriousness of their facial expressions is in keeping with the tone of the song.
In terms of camera shots, there is usually a lot of close ups of lead singers are used in these types of videos so that the audience can associate their band with their music and so that you can see their facial expressions. The settings of these music videos tend to be more urban than rural in indie rock music videos, for example back streets are common settings in the music videos as this goes with their sound and intended look. In relation to the editing, straight cuts are extremely common and are used repeatedly. They do this because it gives the music video a better flow and could suggest that their lives a quick paced or that an element in their life is passing by quickly.
In the image to the left is the Indie Rock band Dawes, in which you can see that no band member looks similar in terms of the style that they adapt, even though the use of certain colours e.g. black, are featured more than once.
Because of this, an audience is able to see the individuals personalities shine through the choice of tops worn. It can be suggested that the lead singer of the band is positioned with his feet further forward than the rest and in the darkest clothing, as this strategically draws the audiences attention towards him and usually the public face of the band is positioned in a way that the readers will notice them first. There is also the use of outdoor clothing (the denim jackets) as it adds a different visual element. The other two members of the band adapt the casual style of t-shirt and unbuttoned checkered shirt over plain colours tees, expressing their relaxed attitude towards fashion.
The preferred choice of trousers of the band are rolled up skinny jeans, however the lead singer is wearing his differently. With regards to their footwear choice, they have all chosen smart boot/brogue type shoes of all the same colour. This highlights the fact that they are a band and therefore have to co-ordinate slightly. There is a minimal use of accessories used, however it is common to see pierced or stretched ears as well as frayed festival bracelets.
Because of this research I have made, I have decided that I am going to have the cast I have chosen in very casual clothing. The girl in my video will be wearing skinny jeans with a grey t-shirt and the boy in my music video will be wearing skinny jeans with a plain grey t-shirt, covered by either a checkered shirt or a hoodie (with or without a black sleeveless denim jacket).
The settings I will use will be in a bedroom, to tell the story of the music video (progressing the narrative) but also in the street where I will be filming the performance element of the music video in order to incorporate the convention of having a rural setting.
As part of my set design plan, I used a floor plan to map out where would be best to place my camera in order to get the angles that I wanted and where to place the two people I have cast as my artists.
These two images show the two people I have cast for my music video. I chose them because they are very reliable and I have used them for a lot of my work. Also, they fit well into the genre I am using (indie rock) as they both usually wear casual clothing and both look like ordinary people rather than a 'star' that has been constructed, which is what I wanted. Another reason is that they both look like a couple, which is important to the context of my video as I try to make this look as real as possible.
Communication
Before filming I kept in contact with both people that had agreed to be in my music video in order to make sure they knew it was definitely going ahead. I double checked when both people were free to film so that there would be no cancelling at last minute and asked them both to help film on a day they both agreed they were free.
When the filming date was agreed upon, I constructed my own risk assessment in order to allow myself time to prepare for anything that may go wrong.
