Research into chosen music genre- Miss Georgiou

For our music video, we have chosen to use the song 'Blue Jeans' by Lana Del Rey with an RAC remix. We chose to mix two styles together to appeal to a wider audience. The genre is indie pop mixed with a house music remix. Indie pop is extremely popular within this genre as more and more indie artists are in the charts for example Ed Sheeran and Paloma Faith. This kind of music is extremely lyrical, making the songs more meaningful and if we wanted to fulfill a narrative or concept structure, we can use the lyrics to influence us. We all also thought that if we added a house remix of the song, it reaches a wider audience and makes the songs more enjoyable as some would say the original song is slow and 'depressing'. Within this post, I will be analysing two songs of the two genres used within our songs; indie and house.

The first song I will be analysing is Ellie Goulding's "How long will I love you" as it is the same style as Lana Del Rey and possesses the love song vibe as well as containing a slow beat, expressing the same ghostly/'depressing' sound as our artist's music.

The codes and conventions that are evident in this indie video are usually low key, with no elements that are extraordinary/expensive. This can be seen through the use of mise en scene within the setting of the town and the studio. The local town is extremely low key and inexpensive, and an 'everyday/casual' location will cause fans to bond with artist further as she becomes more relatable.


The use of these two different settings also provides elements of Dyer's Star Theory to the music video as the artist appears ordinary due to the use of the conventional town setting as well as appearing extraordinary because of the the use of a recording studio which promotes another part of her lifestyle which causes her to have depth and devoted to different parts of her lifestyle and also puts forward the idea that she puts in a lot of hard work as well as showing her fans her talent.



Linking to this, the music video is also filmed with a nokia phone camera, which is evident as it is shown through the video and by the use of the POV/hand held camera work. These elements again cause the artist to become relatable to fans as she uses technology that they use in everyday life. The iconography of the phone cause the video to become more personal as she films the male/love interest with the camera phone. This links to indie videos being diverse and inexpensive and containing a 'home video' element. The camera angles used by this phone also seem more personal and authentic. Overall, this shows codes and conventions of a typical indie video as it highlights a sense of narrative and reflects authentic life experiences and creates something different to other music videos from this genre.

Mise en scene is expressed further, providing the video with a casual vibe that relates to the audience. This can be seen through the use of costume as Ellie Goulding is dressed in casual clothes (a cardigan/jacket  and a beanie). This promotes the indie genre further as she becomes more relatable and ordinary as an artist. This also conforms to the indie genre as artists within this usually wear casual clothes that do not take attention away from the music. The look appeals to the audience as they can relate to this and the artist's everyday attire causes her to possess a 'girl next door' vibe which gives off an effortless look, showing that she doesn't try too hard and that making music is the focal point.






The sceneries within the music video are also shown through the use of cinematography as mid shots are used to show the room at the beginning. The artist is shown sat at the piano which links together the paradox of the star theory as she both ordinary as she is sat in a normal room in a house and is extraordinary due to her talents as an artist. This causes the audience to respect her and look up to her due to the talents that she possesses.


Next, the artist is shown throughout the video due to the use of cinematography as close ups are used to highlight the appearance of the artist. They also show/sell the artist to the audience. This links to Goodwin's theory as the artist appears throughout, promoting herself and her music. This causes her to become the focal point of the music video, promoting her image and crediting herself for the song and the video. This is conventional of the indie genre as artists are usually shown acting within their own videos. The use of this element excites the audience as they get to see their idol throughout the music video.

The instruments within the music video act as pieces of iconography as a piano and a guitar are used within the video including a microphone that the artist uses. These elements are conventional to the indie genre as these types of instruments link to the music that the artist creates, for example an acoustic guitar being the main instrument used within these songs and overall, being a theme within indie music.

The editing style of cross cutting is used to juxtapose between the narrative and performance. This again highlights her ordinary/everyday life and relationships and then her performing and recording in a studio. This allows her fans to see every part of her life. The fans/target audience to this video would be mostly females as this is a love song with meaningful lyrics which is stereotypical. However an extremely small group of this audience would be males as they are typically interested in "attractive", young females. As highlighted, the artist is represented as ordinary/extraordinary and appeals to the target audience as the filmed clips with in the video are relatable as she exposes the idea that she's a 'girl next door' type, gaining a larger audience.


This video also contains a number of elements of Goodwin's theory. The first are the links between lyrics and visuals for example, the line 'how long will I love you? 'as long as stars are above you' in synchronisation with clips portraying memories of a happy and fun relationship. The artist is showing moments of her life to her fans, by using this element which causes a bond between them.


Lastly, this music video includes another aspect of Goodwin's theory as the promotion of brands such Nokia and VW Golf are included which highlights this theory as artists typically promote other products by the use of close ups or having the brand in view within the video for more promotion purposes due to converging with other companies.

The next music video I will be analysing is 'My Love' by Route 94 which is an upbeat house track that possess the same style as the remix I will be selecting.

The first convention of the house genre that is included within this music video is the use of a heat recognition style. The use of this shows the conventions of the genre as bright colours are used, making the video more entertaining to watch and reflecting the club scene. These colours also link to the style to the song as all the maroon colours represent love and all of the colours highlight people's different emotions of the night, which causes fans (ie teenagers/party goers) to relate to these aspects that appear within the song.



Linking to this, mise en scene is featured as the music video contains the conventional setting of a club containing  drinking and dancing and a DJ playing the song. This again reaches the artist's target audience as older teenagers and young adults will relate to this feeling and experience. This location/environment gives of a positive atmosphere that relates to the beat of the song.


Mise en scene is featured again through the use of neon lighting within the club, which is extremely conventional within the house genre. Not only does this reflect the setting, but these colours also add to the beat and sound of the music and causes the club and overall music video more enjoyable and visually pleasing to the audience due to the bright colours and liveliness.


Cinematography is evident further within this music video as panning is used around the club setting to highlight different identities and actions. This again shows the liveliness of the club and is fitted to the song as the camera pans around the populated club to the beat. This also sets the scene for the audience as it is relatable and appeals to teenagers/young adults.




This video also contains elements of Goodwin's theory due to the promotion of the artist. This is evident through the use of cinematography as there are many close ups of the artist and panning around him. This shows that he is the centre of the whole club which highlights his importance within the video and the music industry and further promotes him and familiarises the artist to the audience.


Next, editing styles such as fast editing is used when the music picks up and jump cuts to events that happen around the club. This makes the video look more interesting and changes up the pace and look of the video, so that the visuals are changed up, causing the audience to enjoy what they are watching. The use of this is also conventional of the indie genre. This overall causes the audience to relate to the video and enjoy the layout as the target audience for this video/genre are older teenagers to young adults as the beat/sound creates a 'club life' vibe that the audience that these age categories can relate to. The audience bond with the artist also as he is represented as a typical male, quite ordinary and relatable especially males within the audience.

Next, Goodwin's theory is again covered within this video as there are links to the visuals and music as when the music speeds up, the scenes/editing becomes faster to represent the idea of a party/what occurs in clubs. Linking to the last point, the video becomes easier to follow as well as becoming more enjoyable as the use of this conforms to the house genre as the video sequence fastens up like the music. Linking to this theory, females also wears shorts and vest tops, showing off their bodies and highlighting typical club wear. This allows the audience to relate to the club scene. This shows a clear representation of voyeuristic images of females as they show of their body/wear revealing/short clothing. This is what is typically seen in clubs and causes the video to become even more relatable to the audience.

To conclude, I have found that the research that I have carried out will be extremely beneficial as I am more aware of the elements used within both indie and house genres of music and how to mix them together. These elements will assist me in planning my final music video and what conventions to use during production. I will use these videos as inspirations as they show elements of the genres that I will be using and I now possess the knowledge of what a successful music video should contain.