Jumana Ismail

Forms and Conventions of Indie Folk music videos

Due to my initial research of analysing music video’s within the Indie Folk music genre, it has

helped me to be able to know what the forms and conventions of music videos within that

genre are and therefore I am now able to use them in the product I will produce which is

also a music video within the Indie Folk genre.

Camera work:

One main convention that I realised was present in all of the music videos I have analysed

was the constant use of the close-up shots on the protagonist’s face.

In all three music video’s I have analysed, there are many close-up shots on the main

characters face which allows the audience to clearly see their facial expressions and as a

result the audience may be able to sympathise with the protagonist and feel more

emotionally attached to the song and the music video. In addition, the close-up shots allow

the audience to focus mainly on that specific character and therefore it is made clear who

the main character is.

Other additional conventions of camera shots I have found present in Indie Folk music

videos:

Extreme long shots are highly popular within the Indie Folk genre as it enables the audience

to view the beauty of the nature and clearly see it. It allows the audience to understand

what the purpose of the scenery is in relation to the song and the rest of the music video.

A panning camera angle is also frequent and popular within Indie Folk music videos in order

to portray the protagonist as going on a journey, conveying the fact that the camera is

following them, in order to allow the audience feel part of it, as they may believe that they

are following the characters themselves.

The Lumineers - ‘Stubborn

Love’ music video.

Bon Iver- ‘Holocene’ Mumford and Sons – ‘The

Cave’

Jumana Ismail

Mis-en-scene:

The music videos that I have looked at and analysed all had very similar settings as well as

lighting which has a big impact on the music video as a whole.

When looking at all three music videos I realised that there is a lot of reference to the earth

as well nature. As Indie Folk music talks about the future and going on a journey, a lot of

reference to the earth is important as it highlights the fact all three characters in the music

videos are going onto a long journey, and using the earth to guide them. In addition the

earthy bright colours add a sense of realism to the music video and allow the audience to

feel as if they are part of the music video and living within the present time with them. The

colour blue symbolises spirituality and contentment, as well as serenity and futurism. In two

out of the three music videos I analysed, the characters were going through a struggle and

used nature as a form of escapism.

Other additional conventions of mise-en-scene I have found present in Indie Folk music

videos:

In addition to the reference to earth and colour schemes, I found that abandoned buildings

in the middle of nowhere were also frequent in many indie folk music videos. The

abandoned buildings emphasise on the isolation and the struggle the protagonist is going

through and therefore allows the audience to visualise the lyrics of the song. This i s in

relation to Andrew Goodwin’s theory, in which one of his key aspects was the relationship

between the lyrics and the visuals on the screen.

As part of my research within music videos within the indie folk genre, I have realised that

there is also a distinction within their clothing. For example, in the music video ‘postcards

from Italy’ by the indie folk band ‘Beirut’, the characters seem to be dressed in very simple

and quintessential everyday outfits. This is very effective as it allows the audience to

connect with artists by feeling equivalent to them. If the characters/artists are dressed in a

The Lumineers - ‘Stubborn

Love’ music video.

Bon Iver- ‘Holocene’ Mumford and Sons – ‘The

Cave’

Jumana Ismail

normal way like how the audience would dress, the audience may not feel inferior towards

them.

Editing:

One thing that personally stood out to me in all three music videos is the duration of the

shots. When the camera is focusing on each main character, the shot lasts for about a good

20 seconds which emphasises on the fact that they are the main character. In addition to

this, the longevity of the close-up shot on the protagonists face enables the audience to

deeply analyse the characters face and therefore consider their actual feelings. I also found

that the use of consecutive jump cuts when the sound is very fast paced is common within

this genre. This may be used in order to emphasise the change that has occurred within that

protagonists life, thus interesting and captivating the audience more.

Sound (Musical instruments used):

A very common and popular convention of Indie folk music is the variety of instruments

used throughout in order to produce a recognisable and natural sound that is similar to

ambient sound we may hear outdoors. This is connected to the convention of nature, and

The Lumineers - ‘Stubborn

Love’ music video.

Bon Iver- ‘Holocene’ Mumford and Sons – ‘The

Cave’

Screen shots of the characters

outfits in the music video ‘Postcards

from Italy’ by Beirut.

Jumana Ismail

when nature and the instruments are used together, the combination creates a strong sense

of realism.

Instruments that are present a lot within indie folk music videos include the harmonium,

piano, violin, acoustic guitar, a variety of drums. After listening to and analysing music

videos, the most instrument that stood out to me was the harmonium. The sound of the

harmonium is very peaceful and in fact similar to natural, ambient a sound which is why I

believe it is used alot in many indie folk songs.

Categories of music videos (narrative):

After analysing music videos and researching on the topic of music video categories, a

convention of indie folk music videos would be the fact most of them are narrative based.

Alot of the music videos within this genre tend to portray the protagonist going on a journey

or fighting through a struggle. Including a narrative makes it easier for the audience to

follow what is happening in the music video, as well as captivates the audience as they

would like to know what may happen in the end. This is why having a treatment and a

proposal as part of our planning was extremely vital, as it allowed me and my group to show

a clear distinction between the beginning, middle and end.

Although a convention I found in indie folk music videos was the fact that they include a lot

of narrative throughout, many artists tend to combine a performance based and narrative

music video together in order to enable the audience to feel as if the artist is also

contributing and telling them the story.