Case Study; Riptide

Genre and audience:

Indie genre- 'indie' means 'independent', therefore the conventions of this genre are films that aren't produced by blockbuster companies, music record labels that don't sign global superstars...
, audience,

Vance Joy fits in the category due to similarities with shots of directors like Wes Anderson and David Lynch, two film directors which have deeply influenced the indie-genre with popular films (also influences).

Narrative and iconography:

No linear, clear narrative, as it's meant to be an interpretative video e.g. "Cowboy running from himself"- sounds meaningful but the shot literally plays out the line. It's more like a fragmented montage e.g. symbolic objects like guns which could signify crime motifs

Representation:

There's a negative representation of women in the video. For instance, they are objectified through the initial image of a woman taking off her swimsuit, without showing her face, mirrored by following shots of women facing away from the camera. They are also portrayed as the victims and the damsels in distress through the repetitive "taken away to the dark side".
However, it could be argued there's also positive glimpses as the repetitive shots of women running away could represent freedom, and the low-angle shot which positions the woman in 1.15 as greater. 


Postmodernism:
References to specific film directors like Wes Anderson and David Lynch, with similar shots and lightning and colour. For example, Anderson's iconic symmetrical shots like the opening of a case are copied in the video (1.57.: case for a holiday vacation), as well as his quick pans with 0.30.: the change of focus from the woman the other two people. Furthermore, the overall aesthetic through choice of colour-palette is mirrored throughout the music video. Lynch's dark undertones to his narrative seem to inspire the continued shots of the performer who becomes more visibly upset as the video goes on, with her makeup being smudged and her being shot in the neck. This part of the video links to Lynch's Blue Velvet as the same lightning and mood is created.
More postmodernist techniques are employed, such as intertextuality and parody+pastiche with references to horror films, (shots of women as damsels in distress). Also the pastiche is utilised, as this media text appears to have been done in the style of the previously mentioned indie directors. There's also reflexivity, as the media text is aware of itself, proved by the subtitles included as the woman sings, and the pan shot of the video being shot.
Overall, there's no grand single message, and it is up to the audience to reflect on the music video as the collage-style symbols included have to be deciphered due to the multi-layered nature of the text.