Conventions of Genre

Stephanie Dagg

Definition of Genre

• A style or category of art, music, or literature

• When identifying the genre of a song if I am not sure as to what category it fits into I found that

using iTunes is a good way of finding out. When you search for a song all its details are

available to view. I wasn’t 100% sure about the genre of my song so having this research tool

was helpful in being more precise.

Definition of Alternative/Indie

• A genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the

1990s.

• Also known as ‘independent’ alternative music was the result of a rise of

independent labels cropping up around the country that produce different music and had no affiliation with the major labels.

Alternative Music

• The term ‘alternative’ came about because of how the music is generally identified by the mainly rock sound, but other genres are incorporated into it. At the time of it’s surface, the style it did not fit into a particular group, therefore it was given the name ‘alternative’.

• The name ‘alternative’ also comes from the idea that a lot of the bands that now played in this genre were non-conformists. They had different or alternative ideas about society.

The Beginnings

• At the start of the rise of alternative music, darker themes were addressed in songs. Stories of alcoholism and depression were used to portray bands anti-establishment views.

• Because of their non-conformist ways the media paid very little attention to these bands. Mostly playing gigs in small clubs getting noticed and becoming popular was all about word of mouth.

Progression of the Alternative Genre

• Alternative bands built up underground followings because they were not being widely recognised. However after the launch of MTV many new undiscovered artists were being given opportunities to have their music listened to by large scale audiences.

• One of the first alternative bands that became part of the mainstream music scene was ‘Nirvana’. They then paved the way for other alternative bands.

Cinematography

• The cinematography within the indie/alternative genre often uses a lot of close-up shots. This is because the lyrics of the songs in this genre are often more meaningful and personal to the artist when they have written it themselves. The use of these close-up shots can emphasize the emotion of the performer.

• Often the settings of a music video in the indie/alternative genre are very important, therefore establishing shots, or wide shots are often used to show the audience the surroundings in which the performer is in.

Examples of Conventions;

Close - Up

Mid - Shot

Black & White

Lip syncing

Editing

• Often alternative videos follow a narrative structure, and therefore continuity editing is used to show progression of the story.

• Slow motion effects are also used frequently in alternative/indie videos. As a lot of songs in this genre have a slower beat, longer edits and shots are used and slow motion creates diversity.

• Some videos in the indie genre are converted to black and white during editing. This effect often creates a darker and more solemn feeling, and indie songs are often sadder compared to more colorful pop songs.

Examples;Black & White

Mise-en-Scene

• The mise-en-scene within the alternative genre is often very important because things such as location and costume can connote different things, therefore creating a video in the right location and dressing the performers in a suitable costume can help the video to put across the intended message.

• For example, in indie/alternative songs the mood or message of the song is very rarely happy and joyful. Therefore artists and performers are not often seen wearing bright colours and dancing around.

• For indie/alternative artists their videos are more often about the performance of the song itself and their musical talents rather than creating a meaningful narrative. So therefore for performance videos, big stages and musical instruments are used to show the viewer that the artists are serious about what they are doing.

Examples;Musical Instrument