Female Indie Artists

We have decided that we want a song with a female vocalist, this will allow a member of our group to star in the music video, making it more practical for filming as we won't have to rely on outside help. Starting to think about song choices, I began to research female indie artists. I discovered an article in The Telegraph, titled '10 Amazing Female Singers You Haven't Heard of Yet', which introduced me to many potential artists that we could use for our music video. It is important to look at existing videos by female artists so that I can gain inspiration and to identify common themes within the indie genre.

My favourite artists from the article, for either song and/or music video, are listed below:

Rescue -
Yuna



I really like this song as it is very upbeat and would be ideal for a performance video. The video contains some very interesting editing techniques, for example (below top), a landscape shot has been layered over a close up of the artist, making the shot more unusual. Another shot that stood out to me (below bottom) showed the sun seeping through the trees, illuminating the artist's clothing, the contrast between her golden scarf against the dark background and the light reflecting in the camera lens creates a dream-like atmosphere.

This video conforms with multiple elements of Andrew Goodwin's theory. The relationship between the music and visuals is clear, the upbeat, lively song is paired with the vibrant visuals of the locations and the artist's clothing. There is also a relationship with the lyrics. There is a theme of freedom and escaping throughout the song, 'she don't need rescuing, she's okay', this is shown through very open spaces, such as by the sea, this is further shown by the strong wind that blows her scarves throughout the video, presenting an idea of being free like a bird. The lyrics are also very hopeful, for example, 'things were bad, she was in despair...she came up for air...she found herself', this is represented through the inclusion of light in the video, making the artist look bright.

There are also many close ups of the artist, typical for an indie music video as it helps to promote the artist and create a 'star image'. The music video also fits the conventions of a performance video, there are multiple settings and there is lip-synching throughout.

Vibrant shots are shown throughout

Freedom shown through wind

Every Time the Sun Comes Up -
Sharon Van Etten



Whilst I think that this song is too slow to use for our music video, I was intrigued by its existing video. The narrative is very unusual and unique whilst also being very emotion, the viewer is able to empathise with the  main character, this is an element that I would be interested in including in our music video. Unlike most indie videos, this contains very little performance, and even then it is only an animation instead of the real artist (below), which I thought was quite entertaining.

Andrew Goodwin's theory can be applied to this music video due to its notion of 'looking', there are many television screens shown throughout, as well as mirrors. There is also a relationship with the music and visuals, the slow paced song is matched with long, drawn out shots and the use of slow motion. A relationship with the lyrics can also be seen, for example, as the lyric  'I see double' is said, there is a shot of two layered clips that give the effect of blurry vision or 'seeing double'.  I found it interesting that there was a very obvious link to the lyric 'we broke your glasses but covered our asses' where a woman can be seen holding a card with this written on.

Notion of 'looking'

'I see double'

'We broke your glasses but covered our asses'

Portrait -
Josephine



This isn't the genre/style of song that our group is looking for, we would rather indie pop or indie folk, however, I really liked the techniques used in the video. The entire video is in reverse, I found it very interesting to watch a narrative backwards. This is a technique that I think we could use in our video, possibly on a lesser scale.

Typical of a narrative video, there is no lip-synching and a clear story. Applying Goodwin's theory, there is a link between the music and visuals, the calm beat is complimented with the slow paced video, creating a relaxing atmosphere. There is also a relationship between the lyrics and visuals, for example, the lyrics talk about 'portraits' and identity so it is fitting that the video focuses on a single person, allowing the audience to connect with them. Also, the lyric 'every rose we grow' is paired with a shot of some flowers (below). Close ups of the artist throughout help to create a 'star image'.

Closer
Rae Morris



I think that this would be a good song to choose for our music video. I think that it has a strong beat that would be easy to edit to, there is also a clear differentiation between the chorus and verses, making the song less repetitive and helps to create different moods throughout, this would be helpful if we choose to create a narrative video as the atmosphere would also change throughout.