Planning: Choosing a location - Location conventions

Whilst researching into other videos from my genre, it was evident that there were many different types of location which I needed to take into consideration. These ranged vastly from video to video as well as throughout each video.  In most cases there were more than one location in a video.  I wanted to do some research into typical locations of this genre, in order to have a clear idea of the types of locations to approach when planning mine.

Typical locations for an indie music video:

• As mentioned before, it is very common that indie artists have a very low budget when it comes to their music video.  This is normally because they are yet to be discovered, however it is also common for more established to take this approach.  This could follow the idea that artists in this genre want the audience to focus on the music as opposed to the video.
• A lot of indie artists like to film their own performances and have it play in their music video.  They can either take the approach of filming at one of their own gigs, and recreate the atmosphere there in their video. Or they take the approach of playing in a more rural area. This is an example of the band representing a focus on the music.  If i wanted to take this approach in my video, it would be difficult as I would need to find an area which would work.  Perhaps the school drama studio or lecture theater.
• Some indie artists like to take an alternative approach to what I have previously spoken about and tell a story with their video  This often involves many locations; at home, travelling, in the streets, etc.  It also involves the use of actors instead of the artists themselves.  This can be more of a higher budget approach as there will be a lot of travelling around as well as the cost to pay actors.  I like the idea of having meaning to the video, however in order to take this approach I would need accessible transport. 
• A lot of the locations can be very mysterious/ unusual, however link to the lyrics of the song.

Examples of locations:

• Live performance: Arctic Monkey's music video to 'Arabella' shows an example of live performance being used in a music video.  The performance is in what seems to be a house.  There are many close up shots of the instruments being played and the lead singer, Alex Turner, singing.  Although there is also interruptions of the live performance with short clips from around the house, involving other people.  The generally idea of performance and artist focus is followed.  This follows the conventions of this genre because of its simplicity, resulting in focus of the music. 

• Quiet location (story telling):  Lana Del Ray's 'Blue Jeans' is an example of a music video which is more high budget than other indie music videos.  However, the conventions of the indie genre are met through the video telling a story which fits to the lyrics, as well as the location being very quite and simple.  This again shows a strong connection to the music and therefore shows the focus and importance of it.