Research into chosen genre

Intro: The genre I have chosen to do for my media coursework production is indie. We have chosen Jake Bugg as our artist and his song two fingers. The indie genre mainly consists of bands that are funded by and release off of independent labels. Although the indie group is made of predominately bands, the artist we are basing our work on is Jake Bugg and our group decided that a solo male artist from the genre is best as we only require one person as an artist, which will be me. The artists I have analysed as example indie artists are Hozier and Bob Dylan.

Hozier's song "Take me to church", a 2013 release has accumulated over 250 million youtube views and was a number 1 hit in 12 countries. The target audience for this video is for both genders, aged between 15-25. It is aimed at slightly older teenagers due to content that may be harmful for younger ages. The whole video is shot in black and white, showing that this video features a dark theme. This music video is not performance based, as we never see the artist, it is instead a narrative and concept themed video, that revolves around homosexuality. This is unconventional, as although indie artists may sing about personal situations or issues in society that their listeners can relate to, homosexuality is not a common theme or topic when it comes to the Indie genre. The video shows a story of two men in love, who's homosexuality is discovered by a gang, their homosexuality is condemned and the gang are hunting them down. This is significant, as it is known that Hozier is from Ireland, a very strict catholic religious country that has only very recently finally accepted the idea of homosexuality as a country. This video about violence against homosexuals is used by the artist to spread awareness, Hozier himself has expressed his frustration with the Catholic Church's traditional teachings, as quoted in a rolling stone magazine "Growing up, I always saw the hypocrisy of the Catholic church, the history speaks for itself and I grew incredibly frustrated and angry. I essentially just put that into my words." The artist is clearly trying to spread a message, and get his listeners in support of homosexuality and feels that the old attitudes are outdated and ignorant. Although it's not common for homosexuality to be talked about in the indie genre, it is conventional for artists to sing about issues in society or situations that listeners can relate to, which Hozier has in this song.

An example of mis-en-scene in this video is costumes, with the hoods and scarves the antagonists are wearing. They are wearing these to hide their identity in case cameras catch them hunting down the male or trashing the house and also to appear intimidating so they scare who they're after, which relates to the concept of the video. The chained box is also another instance of mis-en-scene in this video, as it resembles something they are locking away to try and hide, and the two things they are trying to hi

de are their homosexuality and also their love for eachother, when the box is found by the gang, it is destroyed and also thrown in the fire, which shows not only has their love and homosexuality been uncovered, but also destroyed, as they relationship is going up in flames. Another example of mis-en-scene is the log fire which is shown

numerous times throughout the music video. The fire could resemble the couples passion for each other, or also the "burning" hatred of the pair from the gang members and could also connote violence and a fiery atmosphere. Cinematography is used in a number of instances in this video, it's shown with a close-up when the couple are kissing, which shows to the audience the characters love for each other and also their emotions, which connects the audience to the story as they feel maybe they can relate, even i

f they aren't homosexual as the emotion of love is shown, which also therefore makes the characters relatable to the audience. The second instance of cinematography is at the end of the video, which is a long shot of all the characters in the music video. It gives the audience a clear view of everything that is happening in the shot, the gay man being violently beaten by the gang, the fire and then his lover arriving to the scene to discover him being beaten. This is conventional as like many indie songs, it tells a story and involves the viewer into the story. The long shot itself is an establishing shot to set the scene of the narrative in the video. An example of editing used is a black and white effect, which is present for the whole music video as it shot entirely in black and white. Editing is essential to make a music video visually interesting, and most indie genre videos will tend to use special effects to run things smoothly or make the audience feel that they are in the video. The shots in this video are cut generally slow to link in with the tempo of the song, which relates with goodwins theory. Black and white editing is popular because it gives a sad feeling and can help tell a sad story better and make the audience feel the emotion more, also it can connote that something is old, in this instance it may be that the violent and nasty attitude towards gays is old and that this video is the past and shows how gays were treated before and conveys to the audience that treating gays like this is a past thing and shouldn't happen in the present, where gays are far more openly accepted, welcomed and talked about. Another example of editing is also that there are many straight cuts, which is used to switch the different parts of the story as there are always two simultaneous events happening, for example, the couple together throwing rocks across a lake and kissing, whilst the gang at the same time are together and after them. Using straight cuts helps tell the story to the audience and switch to different parts of the narrative and what is happening in the story. 

The target audience for this video is both genders, aged 15-25. I'd say this because it cannot be aimed for anyone younger than 15 as there are upsetting themes and harmful content, such as violence and also that today there are more gays "coming out" that fall into that age range. Although there isn't one female in this video, lesbians can relate to this too as it is not just male homosexuals that have been condemned and suppressed over the years. The characters all look like they are either late teens or early adults, the same age range as the intended target audience, meaning viewers can relate as the characters are around the same age and also the emotion and feeling of love is present, another theme many can relate to, not just homosexuals. The artist is not seen once in the video, but he is shown to be a relatable character that stands for more modern viewers by many in society, accepting homosexuality. He speaks for young people that may have been condemned when they expressed their sexuality and also people that in general feel angry about how gays are treated and the ignorant attitudes some may have towards them. It is a dark themed narrative and concept video, a story is going on inside the video and the meaning is that gays should not be condemned and it tells and shows a sad story of just an example of how someone was, which may even be a true story that the artists wants to share with his audience. This music video links in and relates to goodwins theory as there are genre characteristics shown, as the video is shot in black and white like many other indie videos, The Courteeners' "Are you in love with a notion?" is one example. It is also tells a story about a personal experience or society that the audience can relate to, just like many other indie songs too, which also further shows the presence of goodwins theory. 

"Blood In My Eyes" is a song by indie artist Bob Dylan. He is one of the earliest artists of the "indie" genre, with his rise to popularity occurring in the late 1960's into the early 70's. He has been very successful over the course of his career, selling over 100 million records. His song "blood in my eyes" is conventional to the indie genre in a number of ways. Just like Hozier's, Bob Dylan's video here is shot entirely in black and white, further showing the popularity of black and white videos in the indie genre and that it is conventional to the genre. Although Bob Dylan is an old artist, this song was released in 1993 when colour was widely available, showing the artist purposely chose using black and white as he wanted to be effective and set the tone for a sad story to tell his audience. Like a lot of indie songs and just like Hoziers, the main theme of this song is love, a relatable theme and emotion that many listeners can relate to. An example of mis-en-scene in this video is a pen seen numerous times, it is used to sign fans that appear in the videos autographs. This is a way of connecting with fans, which indie artists often do with their relatble lyrics and themes, showing this is conventional. An example of cinematography in the video is when Bob Dylan is shown very close-up singing to the camera, which is used to show his emotions and further connect with the audience. It also shows his facial expression as blank and that he is hurting and that he desperately wants the girl he is singing about. Another use of cinematography is a mid-shot of the artist as he walks through a city street. This again relates to the audience, as he fits right in with the public, showing he is just like one of them. An example of editing is fast paced editing, shown when the artist is walking across a bridge with people behind him. This makes things run smoothly and is an effect that keeps the viewers interested and also ties in with goodwins theory as the music links with the visuals, as the people move suddenly closer due to editing every time Bob Dylan changes a string. The second instance of editing is a black and white effect, since the whole video is in black and white from start to finish. This is used to show his emotions and that it is a sad story, hence him singing about a girl he wants but can't get. It may also show that with the colours used that his life is boring and dull and if he had the girl, maybe his life would be colourful and he would be happy. The target audience of this video is males aged 18-55. It is a man singing a love song about his feelings for a girl and also how in love with her he is, that any male from young adult to around Bob Dylan's age can relate to, as people don't really experience "true love" until they are adult.  The age range goes up to 55 as the artist is of a similar age in this video (Bob Dylan being 53 at the time of this songs release). Bob Dylan similarly to Hozier is represented as a person who the audience can relate to and is pretty much just like them, but in a different way, as in his video Bob Dylan blends in with the public and shows himself as just another ordinary person. Unlike "take me to church", "Blood in my eyes" features the artist himself throughout the entire video, making it primiarly performance based and also linking it in with goodwins theory. Another example of goodwins theory being present is that the video shows genre characteristics, with it being a theme that many listeners can relate to and also the artist making himself a relatable character.

Overall, many similarites span across both videos and both videos also showcase genre characteristics and conventions. Both are shot in black and white, which shows this a popular thing done across indie music videos and they also have a relatable theme of love, something that listeners feel conncecting to a song by, that it's an issue that may be in their lives or they were once affected by it and they can relate to an indie artist who appears just like another human being to their fans. Typically indie genre music videos are low budget, very rarely do they have inticing visual effects nor do they feature expensive locations, the reason being for this is that it makes it easier for many to relate to if there is a relatable story and not many extravagent or unordinary items or settings in the video. My video may contain similar settings to my examples and it is also a low budget video like the two above. These videos have inspired me to make myself a relatable character that the audience see as I want my audience to feel they can relate to my production and that I appear as just another person like them, however at this point I have decided it is unlikely I will use a black and white effect in my music video, as I believe that it is becoming overused in this genre and can become dull and boring and I want my audience interested and drawn into my music video. This has inspired me to use a point of view shot in my own production, as it establishes a connection between the audience and the artist, the audience can see things through the artists eyes and it involves them in the story and situation that the artist is in, which therefore creates a relationship between the two and shows conventions, as the audience and artist here are showing a clear connection and an indie convention is an artist connecting with his fans.