Bastille are a British indie pop band who came on the scene in 2013 when they released their first official album called 'Bad Blood.' Since then, the indie pop band has had a phenomenal amount of successful chart songs and have done numerous global tours.
GENERAL CONVENTIONS OF THE INDIE POP GENRE
SETTING
Indie Pop music videos are known to be low budget. Many of the videos of the genre tend to be set in studios, cities, parks, woods and places that are cheaply and easily accessible. These locations create mysteries which makes the audience focus more on the performance or the messages that may be hidden inside the video.
PERFORMANCE
Most Indie Pop music videos includes a live performance which can make the audience focus on the talent the artist has.
It makes their career about their passion for music rather than success or making money in the music industry.
Live performances promote the artist/s too. This enables audiences to see the atmosphere the artist creates in their concerts encouraging the public to watch the artist/s live. It helps with the promotion of tours etc as it makes the audience interested and stimulates them making them want to experience something similar.
Performance is often partnered with a narrative to break up the music video which can make the music video memorable and can make it more relateable for certain audience members, potentially making the audience member feel as though they have a connection with the artist.
Indie Pop music videos are known to be low budget. Many of the videos of the genre tend to be set in studios, cities, parks, woods and places that are cheaply and easily accessible. These locations create mysteries which makes the audience focus more on the performance or the messages that may be hidden inside the video.
PERFORMANCE
Most Indie Pop music videos includes a live performance which can make the audience focus on the talent the artist has.
It makes their career about their passion for music rather than success or making money in the music industry.
Live performances promote the artist/s too. This enables audiences to see the atmosphere the artist creates in their concerts encouraging the public to watch the artist/s live. It helps with the promotion of tours etc as it makes the audience interested and stimulates them making them want to experience something similar.
Performance is often partnered with a narrative to break up the music video which can make the music video memorable and can make it more relateable for certain audience members, potentially making the audience member feel as though they have a connection with the artist.
NARRATIVE
A narrative can be used to tell a story by using a sequence of images and videos that are related to the song this may enable the audience to understand why it was given that certain narrative which links with song. You can apply Goodwin's theory to the idea of having a narrative as it links the song to the visuals and can link the visuals to the lyrics.
As technology advances, music video directors are able to create a variation of storytelling created by special effects that can enhance the impact of the video, making the video a lot more interesting for the audience, engaging them in the music. This can also help gain success and status of the song, artist/s and directors.
Similarly, using narrative techniques can help artists to create motifs in their videos which can hugely increase the success of a video.
MISE EN SCENE
Indie music videos are generally simple. Props, costumes, make up etc can be linked to a particular scene which can have a significant meaning. A prop can complete a scene as audiences are able to physically see what the character or perform is doing. For example, some indie videos may show an artist singing into a microphone or using an instrument.
Costume and make up create the character. They are a huge part in many music videos, especially ones that carry a narrative structure. It can indicate their age, wealth, status, stability and all sorts of personal traits. For example,In Bastille's 'Good Grief' the character's costume and makeup etc relate to their position in the video.
As technology advances, music video directors are able to create a variation of storytelling created by special effects that can enhance the impact of the video, making the video a lot more interesting for the audience, engaging them in the music. This can also help gain success and status of the song, artist/s and directors.
Similarly, using narrative techniques can help artists to create motifs in their videos which can hugely increase the success of a video.
MISE EN SCENE
Indie music videos are generally simple. Props, costumes, make up etc can be linked to a particular scene which can have a significant meaning. A prop can complete a scene as audiences are able to physically see what the character or perform is doing. For example, some indie videos may show an artist singing into a microphone or using an instrument.
Costume and make up create the character. They are a huge part in many music videos, especially ones that carry a narrative structure. It can indicate their age, wealth, status, stability and all sorts of personal traits. For example,In Bastille's 'Good Grief' the character's costume and makeup etc relate to their position in the video.
CAMERA WORK
& EDITING
Extreme close-ups are close-ups the most common shots used in these types of videos as this introduces the artist or the character to the audience, they can also be used to express emotions, foreshadow events that may take place in the future of the video.
Long shots establish the setting of the video and can also establish the character and their traits. It can show a persons personality towards their surroundings and current situation. It can also help the audience understand the message behind the video
Shots like tilts and pans can help, in the same way long shots do, to show a location but can also foreshadow events and create portrayals of characters in certain ways.
Filters and overlays are often used over the top of clips or an entire video to give a certain idea to the viewer, like showing the clip in a positive or negative light or making the video seem older than it may be. Black and white or desaturated colours may be the main filters used to create an archaic look.
Fast and slow cuts between shots reflects the pace of the music, creating the atmosphere of the music video. It can also create suspense or completely change the assumed tone of the video.
& EDITING
Extreme close-ups are close-ups the most common shots used in these types of videos as this introduces the artist or the character to the audience, they can also be used to express emotions, foreshadow events that may take place in the future of the video.
Long shots establish the setting of the video and can also establish the character and their traits. It can show a persons personality towards their surroundings and current situation. It can also help the audience understand the message behind the video
Shots like tilts and pans can help, in the same way long shots do, to show a location but can also foreshadow events and create portrayals of characters in certain ways.
Filters and overlays are often used over the top of clips or an entire video to give a certain idea to the viewer, like showing the clip in a positive or negative light or making the video seem older than it may be. Black and white or desaturated colours may be the main filters used to create an archaic look.
Fast and slow cuts between shots reflects the pace of the music, creating the atmosphere of the music video. It can also create suspense or completely change the assumed tone of the video.
HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO BASTILLE'S FAKE IT?
Linking the conventions of the genre to Bastille's video of Fake it, it is obvious there are many elements of the indie pop genre that are prominent in the video.
LOCATIONS/SETTING.
The locations of the video seem fitting towards the genre.
they are seemingly low budget, although they may not be. The video starts by showing an 'old school' tv set which already insinuates low budget in itself.
We then move to a news room type studio which isn't as typical of the genre. This is a much more glamorous location that what may be commonly 
found in videos of this type.
We then see this Tv set in multiple locations throughout the video but never see much else of the other locations.
All the locations we do see tend to be dimly lit with strong shadows.
In contrast, at the end of the video we see the main character in an open space. This is almost the complete opposite to all the locations we have seen previously.
PERFORMANCE.
Unlike, generic indie music videos, this video shows an element of performance in a completely alternative way. Rather than coming from the band, it comes from the actor who is the focus of the narrative. This video also features no appearances of the band but forms a strong narrative motif with the other videos released from this album in the sense that they don't tend to appear hugely in any other videos.
NARRATIVE.
A strong sense of narrative is created in this video which also creates a motif linked to many of Bastille's other videos.
It is a linear narrative as we see events in a chronological order and as the song comes to an end, it's almost as though we see and end to the character's story.
You can apply Goodwin's theory to this video in the sense that the lyrics link strong to the visuals. When the lyrics say 'Let's do our very best to fake it' the character fakes a smile.
MISE EN SCENE.
In terms of mise en scene this video is incredibly particular of the indie genre. It is seemingly simple with one thing (tv set, male presenter) being the focal point of the video at all times.
This is similar in terms of the costume as we have one character at all times wearing the same costume which is just a grey/black suit and tie.
CAMERA WORK.
This video sticks hugely to conventions in the sense that there are a huge amount of close ups and extreme close ups of the characters face. This helps to create a much more tense atmosphere but also creates a representation of the character at the same time. There are also multiple long shots of many of the more open locations which makes all of the locations seem overly bleak.
Overall, this video is one that sticks to genre conventions extremely closely creating generic representations and a motif that allows many of their other videos to fall into the same category/genre.
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