Initial Ideas

Brainstorming our initial ideas

Now that we have chosen our track 'Weekends', we decided to start off by brainstorming a few ideas for our music video:

As mentioned in the mind map above, we had an idea to use Polaroid cameras in some way, as there is reference to them in our chosen song. One idea which we particularly liked, was to use the border on Polaroid images around our music video, however we were not sure how we would achieve this when editing our music video together. 


We also decided that we would use a low budget venue. As well as this being a benefit to us as we would not to have to pay as much for our venue, it would also conform to a convention of the indie rock genre, as well as being something which The Jacques often use themselves. We decided that a preferred venue would be a small pub/bar. 

As I found when researching into indie rock bands, a majority of them base their videos mainly on performance so we decided that our video should also conform to this stereotype. Despite this, we did have a few ideas where we could combine a performance with either a narrative of a concept. For example, we had an idea to have the lead singer of the band wake up somewhere and realise that he is late for their gig. We would then show him running to the venue, making it just in time to start singing, cutting between him running and the band playing without him. 

Lyric Analysis

Our Chosen Song- Weekends

After confirming with the band that we could make a music video for one of their songs, we needed to decide which song we would chose. In the end we decided on 'Weekends'. After choosing our song, we decided to analyse the lyrics of the chorus of the song, to try and get some inspiration for our music video, and to make sure there were links between the lyrics and the visuals.

Audience Research

Our Target Audience

We decided that our target audience for our chosen artist The Jacques is teenagers and young adults. To decide our target audience, we looked at the genre indie rock to see with what age group this genre was most popular. Indie rock music is typically found at music festival, which are normally more popular with teens and young adults. The Jacques themselves have also already played at several festivals, confirming their target audience of teenagers and young adults. With this target audience in mind, we wanted to make sure that our music video was both fun and edgy, so that it would appeal to younger people.

The Jacques

Analysing our chosen artist

Our chosen artist, The Jacques, have, in the past, produced music videos which conform to the stereotypes of their genre- indie rock. The band themselves are typically seen wearing dark, baggy clothing with a slightly grungy vibe. Their hair is often messy, giving them a rougher, carefree appearance, conforming to one of the conventions of indie rock bands. As the band only started up fairly recently, they do not yet have many music videos. However, from the few music videos which they do have, it is easy to see that their videos have a certain style. The videos are almost always in urban settings, and lots of shots are used to show this, e.g. shots of road signs and built up areas. 

As well as this, the camera moves around a lot, creating a rough feel to the video, which is a common feature of indie rock music videos that I've seen when researching other indie rock bands. Some of their videos are in black and white and they have used boarders around the screen, which is similar to the techniques used in 'Debaser' by the Pixies, where they overlaid lots of shots, which I looked at earlier. 

Use of a low quality camera and a boarder in The Jacques' music video 'Weekends'.

Use of a low quality camera and overlaid shots in the Pixies' music video 'Debaser'.

Analysing Music Video Genres- Indie Rock- Part 3

Pixies

The Pixies are an American band formed in 1986 in Boston. They are associated with the genres indie rock and alternative rock. Their style has been described as a mixture of surf music and punk rock. They have said that they try to be dynamic, but their music is usually either loud and intense or quiet and relaxed. 

Debaser is an example of one of their songs. The music video features shots of a live performance, overlaid with letters and effects which make the video look as if it is malfunctioning. The video itself is very dark in colour and it is very hard to tell what is going on, as the video seems to have been shot using a lower quality camera, making the video seem more unfinished and different. This conforms to the indie rock genre, where videos are typically performance based. Indie rock videos are also often of a lower quality, to reiterate their 'alternative' feel which they have about them. 

Analysing Music Video Genres- Indie Rock- Part 2

The Strokes 

The Strokes are an American rock band formed in 1998 in New York City. The band is associated with the genres indie rock and garage rock. 

An example of one of their songs is Reptilia. The video for it is entirely performance based, a typical association with indie rock bands, however, all of the shots used are close ups. As I found out through earlier research, the stereotypical music video has an average of 60-70% mid shots and close ups, compared to this music video which is entirely made up of close up shots. In doing this, they have managed to create an interesting music video using only one shot type. This could be viewed as a technique that the band chose to employ, in order to stand out and seem different from other bands, which is something which most indie rock bands try to do in their music videos. 

Analysing Music Video Genres- Indie Rock- Part 1

As our chosen band, The Jacques, is an indie rock band, we decided to study other similar bands who incorporate similar ideas/concepts into their videos so that we could represent the band's genre as best as possible. 

The Libertines

The Libertines are an indie rock band formed in London in 1997. Their music videos typically had quite a low sound quality making the video come across as more raw and unpolished. Conforming to stereotypes of indie rock bands, a vast majority of the band's music videos are performance based and the band has often been compared to many classic British rock bands. 

An example of one of their songs is 'Don't Look Back Into The Sun'. The video opens with the band walking around somewhere in Britain (which we can tell from the British flags) with some of the band members wearing the uniforms which the grenadier guards wear- a uniform typically associated with Britain. Throughout the video, we see a live performance from the band, as well as seeing the band walking around wearing their uniforms. The camera quality is low, and the shots look as though the brightness has been slightly decreased, giving the video a very amateurish look which is also often associated with indie/alternative bands. As well as this, the shots are often shaky, as if filmed on a low quality/home video camera. This technique is also often used in indie rock videos, to give the video a more rough look.