ACTORS AND CASTING
After we decided upon the narrative and structure of our music video, We decided that it was the right time within our project to consider in further detail who the main 'cast' would be for our video. Before even beginning this part of the project and looking at potential actors, first of all we decided that the most important factor to consider that would effect the way our music video and ancillary tasks looks would be. To create a widely read successful media product would be to take into consideration the main demographics of our 'target audience' and what producers for the alternative/indie genre try to target. This was discussed in our Initial Pitch Feedback, These come in three main types, age - 16-25, mixed gender wise and more fluid sexuality wise. Whilst the genre is not exclusive masculine the more 'rock' element of the genre often means that male audience is heavier then the female audience. therefore we decided that we decided to include a male within the video as this way the audience can relate to the video. Because of the mixed element of the audience we also decided to include female cast member to balance out this and also widens our potential target audience as we want to try and steer away from the stereotypes of the genre and counterbalance this. We also being females ourselves can relate easier and will find this easier to portray in our representation within the video then a male. We will also be playing down Mulvey's theory of male gaze (similar to ALT J's music video to see this is in main task textual analysis) also as the genre does not really typically have a strong male gaze viewpoint stereotypically. therefore the females within the video will be dressed in a variety of ways. this way again we can widen audience as there will be more options and variety for identifying with the cast. Also we will be looking for cast members that are part of the LGBTQ+ community, as this is a strong part of our narrative and our focal representation, again part of a group me and tiff both strongly identify with.
Richard Dyer's Star Persona - This Theorist suggests that 'stars' such as celebrities are constructed by using a range of media platforms by industry for financial benefit. We see this within the music industry, particularly in the pop genre. This tends to happen when an artist's life, for example, their love life and clothing preferences becomes just as important as their actual music. We see this done in the industry by really focussing on one cast member within the media text itself but also in marketing, the stars name is almost used as the marketing tool rather than the movie/song itself.
This is something we aim to use within our own work, to conform to real media texts. We will do this by focusing on the main character within our work, perhaps by using them as the singer as well as the narratives main character and feautring them on the digipak and poster. For example, we will use tiff as the main protagonist and to make her star quality (in relation to the indie genre) we will follow conventions that the current stars of the indie genre use. We see in our research that female stars use interest makeup looks (combining a glam look with the roughness of the genre) we will connote this within our own work using eyeshadow to do so, as well as this we usually pair wealth with stars therefore by picking locations that demonstrate subtle hints of wealth this will also help (for example a pool). Another way we will do this is by using the 'artist' as the lead in the narrative as well.
Found below this is a list of the main models we considered, the reasoning behind the consideration and final decision in using them within our project:
Name: Madaline Abrook
Age: 17 Years old
Nationality: English
Location: Outer Farnham, 10 minutes away
Details of Decision: Madaline fits a great number of criteria me and tiff have decided upon within the needs within a model/cast member- such as in terms of gender, age and sexuality providing my texts with a slightly more sexuality diverse representation which will help with the focal point of our video. Madaline has featured in much of my coursework within first year and my other subjects such as photography, therefore knowns well how to work in this kind of creative environment. She is very flexible on availability and is happy and has shared enthusiasm for the genre selected. Furthermore deciding that madaline would be cast within all three of the tasks. We decided whilst interviewing the candidate that madaline would have a main girl lead within the narrative.
Name: Tiff Cooper
Age: 17 years old
Nationality: English
Location: Central Farnham, 7 minutes 34 second minutes away
Details of Decision: Tiff has almost everything we was looking for in a cast member and model, She visually fits the style of the genre well, with her 'edgy alternative' dyed shaven hair and piercings, this is very authentic to the genre and feel as though she a strong cast choice, although tiff, is the other half of my partnership for the coursework we have decided to include ourselves within the work filming each other, as this not only to true to real life as artists do include themselves within their work but shows a reflection of ourselves within the work itself and allows almost 100% availability for filming. Tiff was also a good choice as her hobbies include makeup art, and special effects makeup with an online presence of over 1000+ followers this leaves room for if desired at a later stage special makeup mise-en-scene and even more accurate and tailored makeup in general.
Name: Elisha Fall
Age: 18 years old
Nationality: English
Location: Outer Farnham, 10 minutes away
Details of Decision: Myself, again for similar reasons featured above consider myself within the cast and modelling of the work. We decided that as the two other female's under consideration up to this point had darker hair and a different physical appearance to myself that i would be an interesting role to cast for a variety option, therefore widening the potential audience, with my look being more typical of a pop genre compared to tiff's look that this may help to show that alternative music can have any type of cast. again as me and tiff are working together, this allows for 100% availability for filming.
Name: Tom Hyam
Age: 22 years old
Nationality: English
Location: Blackwater, 22 minutes away
Details of Decision: Tom was the first male that we considered, being the first male this seemed a wise choice, adding gender diversity to my work, also for the narrative we were drafting includes a male lead this would work perfectly although as tom does not live close and also has a full time job this doesn't allow for a lot of flexibility in filming, Although Tom is a singer himself, of the genre which is a massive bonus.
Name: Luke Startup
Age: 23 years old
Nationality: English
Location: Fleet, 17 minutes away
Details of Decision: Luke was the second male cast we considered, Luke has massive influence in his life from rock music, being a passion of his, He also have a very suitable appearance for the genre. But Luke does a lot of travelling, therefore is VERY un flexible on filming times. Therefore we decided to go with Tom.
