Further Research

As the genre we have decided to focus on is under the 'Indie and Alternative' genre, I have began to look at video's that fit into this classification, and note some of the usual conventions that feature in these sorts of video.


I have decided to focus on Alternative/Indie music videos for my research, as the song I have in mind fits into this genre.

The video 'Ooh La' by The Kooks illustrates many of the conventions typically found in pop rock / alternative videos. It focuses around a loose narrative in which a girlfriend of the band member is run over by a car, however it is not overtly structured around this and is most definitley an amplifying music video, as although this event is never mentioned in the lyrics the song is about the relationship between him and his past girlfriend- 'and ooh la, she was such a good girl to me
And ooh la, the world just chewed her up, and spat her out.' It focuses more on shots of the band, as well as shots of day to day life that are prominent within the video. It also incorporates old film footage, and is filmed with a grainy filter in black and white.



Another technique prominent within alternative music videos is Stop Motion. An animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved partially between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence.

This technique is used within Kate Nash's music video- 'Foundations'



This video is also Amplifying, as although the lyrics are not acted out step by step the general theme of someone in a relationship becoming increasingly disillusioned by their partner is pretty dominant in the video. I love the general mise en scene of a colourful and quirky setting, alongside the use of ordinary house hold objects that are used to illustrate the message and emotions of the video with the Stop Motion technique.

Emma and I liked these techniques so much we decided to experiment with film grain, different effects like the sepia and black and white tones, as well as stop motion animation using people and objects. Here is the finished project of our short experimentation with these techniques: