Iconography of the Alternative Genre

Iconography is the visual interpretation of symbols and images. Alternative Rock is typically represented through themselves as a band in their videos due to the fact that a large portion of their videos are performance based, however frequently feature narrative (this is becoming much more common), the props used that are linked to the genre help to show the iconography such as alcohol/drugs etc. this reveals the iconography for Alternative Rock.

This example shows how typically an alternative video looks, you can see smoke in the background which accomplishes the link to props and iconography. We can see the smoke featured in background through the use of back lighting, this makes it easier for the audience to see the iconography being presented and make the link to the genre. As the genre's iconography is established with the use of props like smoke and drugs we can uncover this as an Alternative music video. The back lighting creates a taunting shadow across most of the shot and his face which adds to the idea of identifying the genre. Within the shot we see a parting between light a dark, this could be suggesting Binary Opposition which suggests a lot about the music video, for example, some conflict or violence. By creating this type of video consisting of different conventions and iconography it is easier for the audience to discover the genre and also for the band to target the audience. 

When the video shows more of a narrative rather than performance by the artist, iconography is also used to help convey the conventions and stereotypes for that specific story so that it is easier for the targeted fan base and other audiences to understand what is happening along with what genre is being portrayed.

With this example it is another music video distributed by 'The 1975', in it we can see recognisable settings, thus being a pub, this allows us to create a link towards alcohol. As we can see he is drinking in this mid shot which establishes the iconography of the genre and appeals to the target audience. The lighting is very low key and is only lit with small amounts of artificial lighting, however, similarly to the example above we can see a split within the lighting, once again conveying the idea of binary opposition, the dark, low key lighting engulfs the individual on the right and lights the individual on the left suggesting very different emotions, hence why he is pouring the drink and the other is drinking it. Due to the fact that the lead singer is the one surrounded by low key lighting it suggests a lot about their music and the genre, that it is filled with emotion and darkness. This is also reinforced through the costume, the individual is wearing dark clothing portraying darker thoughts, emotion and feeling in which the lyrics of his music would suggest and also the genre.

The colours used in alternative/indie music videos tend to be more plain, with the genre not being known for any type of sophistication and are usually set in more familiar environments than those in rock and pop videos, this reflects the general attitude of the indie genre as one that relies more on deeper meanings.

This is helpful when it comes to filming the footage for my music video as it allows me to know what iconography to include. This will allow my target audience to identify the genre easier if I include such features.