The genre of my chosen song

The genre that my chosen music video falls into is the Alternative/Indie genre


Alternative rock (also called alternative music, alt rock or simply alternative) is a genre of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s. Although the term was most commonly associated in its commercial heyday with a loud, distorted guitar sound, its original meaning was broader, referring to a generation of musicians unified by their collective debt to either the musical style, or simply the independent, D.I.Y. ethos of punk rock, which in the late 1970s laid the groundwork for alternative music. At times, "alternative" has been used as a catch-all description for music from underground rock artists that receives mainstream recognition, or for any music, whether rock or not, that is seen to be descended from punk rock
The name "alternative rock" essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in the wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s.Throughout much of its history, alternative rock has been largely defined by its rejection of the commercialism of mainstream culture, although this could be contested ever since some of the major alternative artists have achieved mainstream success or co-opted with the major labels from the 1990s onwards (especially since the new millennium and beyond). Alternative bands during the 1980s generally played in small clubs, recorded for indie labels, and spread their popularity through word of mouth. As such, there is no set musical style for alternative rock as a whole, although The New York Times in 1989 asserted that the genre is "guitar music first of all, with guitars that blast out power chords, pick out chiming riffs, buzz with fuzz tone and squeal in feedback." Sounds range from the gloomy soundscapes of gothic rock to the jangling guitars of indie pop to the dirty guitars of grunge to the '60s/'70s revivalism of Britpop. More often than in other rock-styles since the mainstreaming of rock music during the 1970s, alternative rock lyrics tend to address topics of social concern, such as drug use, depression, and environmentalism. This approach to lyrics developed as a reflection of the social and economic strains in the United States and United Kingdom of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include indie pop, jangle pop, C86, and lo-fi, among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock.  
Indie rock, derived from "independent", describes the small and relatively low-budget labels on which it is released and the do-it-yourself attitude of the bands and artists involved. Although distribution deals are often struck with major corporate companies, these labels and the bands they host have attempted to retain their autonomy, leaving them free to explore sounds, emotions and subjects of limited appeal to large, mainstream audiences. The influences and styles of the artists has been extremely diverse, including punk, psychedelic, rock and country. The terms alternative rock and indie rock were used interchangeably in the 1980s, but after many alternative bands followed Nirvana into the mainstream in the early 1990s it began to be used to distinguish those bands, working in a variety of styles, that did not pursue or achieve commercial success.

 

The conventions of Music videos

Camera Shots – Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. This tends to create emphasis on the artist or subject that is the main focus in the video, locations and emotions. Also, close ups are used not only to show emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist or the subject which is the main focus.

Camera movement – The movement of the camera is used to follow and trace the artist or band. Camera movements include tilts, tracking and crane shots

Mise-en-scene – This refers to the arrangement of performers and props on stage or in a scene for a production of a music video or any other media text. Mise-en-scene puts importance on the representation of something. For example the themes of isolation within the song will be reflected through the use of empty rooms or streets or the main subject being alone in a situation.

Editing - Jump cuts and rhythmic editing are the predominant editing technique used in music videos. This is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another and it will match the beat of the song. Similarly, transitions such as fade and dissolve are very common in music videos as they create a different effect to cuts.

Lighting – Some music videos are black and white which help emphasise a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting which put the main focus subject in an enhanced look.

Sound – Sound is mainly the vocals or the song but in some cases such as Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ the producers can turn the music video into a short film.

Props – There are vital in aiding to add to the scene and create significance on particular objects or people.

Costume - This goes with the scenes in the song and reflects the genre. Costume is an important factor because it has a slight influence on how the viewers will dress because they use some of the celebrities as role models.

Colours – Colours tend to set the mood of the song through creating an atmosphere. For example, dark colours are used more in rock songs and bright colours are used more in hip hop songs, but of course these rules can be broken and are from time to time.