What Is A Music Video - Miss Miller (added more indie genre)

A music videos initial purpose is to bring a visual aspect to a song. It is a way for the artist to add a short story or show of there performance skills. 
There are three main types of styles that can be represented through music videos and these are performance, concept and narrative. Performance is what makes up the musical side of the video, things such as singing, dancing or playing an instrument are all ways of being able to available to the audience and be seen as an actual performing artist. Concept is where an artist may try to have an inner meaning of themselves. They may want there music video to represent them in a particular way. Showing them in a different light being portrayed differently to how media or fans perceive them. Finally narrative is another popular aspect that many singers include in there video. This is there unique way of portraying a particular story in there music video. It may be between a couple or friendship etc. This particular element often makes music videos look like a short movie or trailer and can be effective when being released to an audience as it can keep them engaged with the particular narrative. Overall all three of these music video types can be seen in a music video, sometimes just one or the other. Music videos are overall made to give a picture to the audience they are able to involve the audience on a more personal level. 

Gabrielle Aplin is a well known indie singer. One of her first hits came from a cover of 'The Power Of Love' and since then she has produced many successful soundtracks that are targeted at the indie genre. The music video 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' follows narrative and the performance aspect of the 3 music video styles. This can be seen through Gabrielle actually singing towards the audience and camera as well as having two actors perform a few scenes together. The overall story line displays a struggle between the two in there relationship. This is conventional to the indie genre as it provides a very realistic display of a real relationship which presents the relationship as real, but imperfect. The indie genre is typically known for conveying to this particular type of relationship. The styles she has chosen to present in her music video allows the audience to relate to her through the narrative, the story of the couple engages the audience further instead of just having her mime to the camera throughout the video. The main reason this is successful in her music video of 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' is because it displays a more organic and relateable approach to the relationship in the music video. Although she is displayed as loving her partner it demonstrates fears and insecurities that can take place in some relationships. She/he may be insecure and this may cause issues for them as seen in the music video. The audience are then able to gather the same insight and look further into there own relationships with people and find that they are very similar to her in the sense that they themselves are not the most confident when it comes to talking and building friendships/deeper relationships with people.  

Being an indie genre the mise-en-scene in the video is able to connote to the genre perfectly. The iconography in the scene shows the girl to be holding a flower headband and reading a book, this connotes someone who is very into very artistic things, in addition to this the headband represents the hippie era, which also fits the conventions of the indie genre as most songs are about love and contain a particular style of vintage. The atmosphere remains very old fashioned, due to the iconography and setting in the music video. This fits the conventions of the indie genre as it is stereotypically known for involving vintage items such as old guitars and etc. The overall theme allows the indie genre conventions to blossom as it does it great justice by incorporating the mix of old and new. In this clip both the book and the headband fit the indie conventions has she is seen as someone who is very intellectual and enjoys original things. The flower headband suggests that she is very floral and simplistically beautiful. The books also adds to this particular feeling in the video as she is seen to be intelligent not a materialistic woman that may be present in a pop video. This enables the music to be able very original to other genres that may be present in the top charts  at the moment. The fact that this narrative is using iconography to fit to the particular indie genre used shows us that as a performer she wants to incise the audience further encouraging them to think outside the box and be original in everything they do. The audience will then see this as a way of communicating and motivating with the artist. In result, they will appreciate the detail further the begin to feel as though Gabrielle is a very peaceful and original artist who doesn't rely on other themes that may be proactive to get her noticed.

The lighting in the this scene remains to be very naturally beautiful. In many scenes the sun rays of light are seen to be shining through which is an aspect that I will consider and try to involve in my own music video as it makes the video seem very pure and natural. This is typical to the indie genre as it uses a normal and natural way of displaying light. This is because the sun, being the man source of light on the earth, is much more natural then having flashing lights like you would see in a club and a dance or electro music video. This is because the topics that are usually presented in the indie genre are very eye opening and relatable as it usually consists of something real. For example the love story in this particular Gabrielle Aplin's video, as we are able to see the couple fighting and having to deal with the struggles of love. Pure lighting of the sun represents that both people in the relationship are harmless and just require some confidence in themselves. This will enable the audience to feel as though they are good enough. They can be beautiful and they are and this allows them to be able to feel as though Gabrielle Aplin is reaching out to them. The lighting is also affective at blurring out the background and having the light focus on the character, this is a good way of showing how indie artists manipulate natural elements to make there videos seem and appear more beautifully shot. 

Near the start of the scene a shot of their car and the surrounding countryside is the main focus in this particular part of the music video. There are a lot of tall grassy areas and big bushes, again sticking very closely to the natural country theme. When creating my own music video I wish to incorporate some very simplistic country scenes, involving natural light into the scene which is a very popular aspect of the indie genre. This particular setting will be able to make the music video a lot realistic as it is not an expensive venue and it provides us with a lot of green and yellow colours. This connotes the genre by being original in the indie genre and by having this particular video filmed in a very natural area it makes the video already differ to the other genres. This is because the indie genre is able to create and often use real life settings to create a cosy, relatable atmosphere whereas other genres, may use tight enclosed club spaces or have green screen and fake settings set up in order to create the feeling they desire in there videos, whereas Gabrielle has used this in her video to make herself appear like she herself lives in a very normal, country area with beautiful surroundings. The audience will overall be able to relate to the particular setting used in the music video as typically it is somewhere that is most likely to be available to them. A local park or a forest could be an example. All very similar and accessible to the audience enabling them to make there one journeys and enjoy the naturalistic aspect of the indie genre and be inspired to appreciate it more often.

In the indie genre most videos are based around a couple or love story. During the narrative part of the story the couple in 'Please Don't Say You Love Me' is seen as having a slight disagreement as the boyfriend goes back to the car. This is common in the indie genre narrative part of the video and is often used to let the audience relate to the artist as they tell them that not every relationship can be perfect 100% of the time. This is because as an indie artist they are able to pride themselves on how real and natural everything is in there videos. After analysing many indie genre videos I notice that the acting between the characters in the music video is always very sincere and remains to display positive as well as negative vibes. The main focus on this is to gather that indie genres are commonly pushed towards the romance side and contain very deep lyrics and video content about love and relationships this is something I wish to add in my own music video as it consists of me being able to manipulate the relationship as being realistic to my audience just like the artist in the indie genre's try to do for there own audiences. Overall the effect of this is to make the music video more emotive. The audience may be able to find themselves in a similar situation and be able to provide a very realistic take on what is happening. They may even think back to personal experiences that have made them who they are today. The may also look at how the artist Gabrielle Aplin is persuading her opinion over what is happening and what may occur in a rela life situation. They will appreciate her for doing this and it may contribute to how much they actually like the indie genre overall.

This particular music video would appeal to young adults mainly. This is due to them having to make a lot of choices. People at a young age are able to decide what they like and dislike, this overall makes it enjoyable for them to discover new things such as the indie genre. Instead of just listening to house music, some people may wish to listen and watch a more relatable music video, with a more average artist that is not all about showing off her figure and being able to perform really well. Sometimes an audience may like the idea of a celebrity singer being 'normal' and not being portrayed as overly beautiful and successful, sometimes people like to be able to see the real side of an artist, which is the impression that more indie artists give off, they seem to sing and perform in a way that relates better to the audience and there specific needs. This is due to the fact that the people are more likely to build a relationship with someone that they feel are more like them. They will then look at the artist and watch the music videos and feel although there is a higher chance of them feeling more connected. The content in the music video which involves the relationship of the two characters are shown to be a lot more relatable to the audience also. This means that as a whole the feeling between the two characters is very realistic and provides a rather comforting atmosphere for the audience. This is due to the fact that as a whole the audience are able to compare there own relationships with the two of them and if they see similarities they are more likely to feel further connected to the artist. 

Through analysing Gabrielle Aplins music video I have found that narrative is something that I want to incorporate in my music video as the audience is targeted to enjoy this. This means that as a whole people are able to relate to the artist and in particular the attitude towards her. People are more likely to be able to relate to her because she is having a relationship in her video that is not necessary perfect. It does have its ups and downs and most people will find this relationship. I want to follow the indie genre as it allows me to create something in a simplistic but unique way. This particular genre allows me to be independent and have a very open mind with what i can create. Going to any lengths to present the simplistic natural beauty in a video. I would be able to access natural locations and settings that provide me with views that would look beautiful in the sun and have golden lighting. In addition to this the narrative that I come up with can have more emotion in it and be a lot more specific to the storyline that I want as many indie genres have an in-depth connotation or moral behind the story. Overall I think music videos are effective as they give off a very detailed character and artist viewing and story for the audience, this enables them to be able to see even deeper into the artists life and know what there aim is as an artist, for example if someone is showing off and wearing revealing clothes the audience may feel jealous of them and want what they have whereas if they are more approachable and try to have more realistic things in there music video then it is a possibility that the audience will warm up to the artist more quickly as well as showing them how there song relates to them visually and not just through sound.