Actors

Male Actor I have chosen to use Rowan Elwell as the lead male within my music video. The lead male is the protagonist within the narrative and ‘the clown.’ As the video continues he reflects on his relationship and slowly becomes more and more sad conveyed through his clown make up. As my video is a combination of conceptual, narrative and performance styles the actor I choose will not only have to be able to perform but equally be able to act believably and develop his character of ‘the clown’. Rowan is fits all these criteria as has previous experience of acting, taking A level theatre along with myself. This means I have worked with Rowan before which will be beneficial as I know how to work effectively with his strengths. Equally, he is a musician and so will be quite comfortable with performing the song, and too has experience with doing this.

Rowan is aged 18, and therefore is within the age group of my target audience, and so will come across relatable, creating more of a connection with my audience. He is also of a similar appearance as my stereotypical target audience, with messy and unshaven hair. I want Rowan to construct his character in a way that shows the downfall of his feelings and thus his relationship, and there be contrast between the conceptual shots and the narrative, from happy to sad. I am confident Rowan will capable of this due to his experience and exceptional acting capability. Adding on to this, Rowan has strong facial features that will create bold definition when painted as the clown, yet no features that are unusual or striking that will affect the character.

Female ActorFor the role of the lead female I chose Jasmine Stickley. He character is the antagonist within the narrative and is the reason the lead male is so upset over the relationship. This role includes not only acting during the narrative shots, as the female within the relationship, but dancing within the conceptual scenes. It is key that the female too can show contrast within the happy scenes when in the relationship and the scenes where she begins to neglect the male. Similarly, the dancing should be intense and skilled. I have chosen Jasmine due to her impressive range of skills that qualify her for the role. She is currently studying a drama degree at university, meaning she has the ability to take on a role and craft a believable character. She is also a dancer at ‘Pineapple Studios’ and previously had a career as a ball room dancer competing nationally,this means she will be able to pick up choreography quickly and perform it with passion. Jasmine

is 20 placing her perfectly within the age group of my target audience meaning she will be relatable to my target audience.

Costume

Conceptual ScenesThe conceptual scenes are crafted to visually show the downfall of the couples relationship, and how the female had the control within the relationship and so literally dances circles round the male. I have constructed it in a way that conveys emotion through performance and movement and the proximity between them. Having said this, through costume I want to visually link the two characters as toward the beginning of the video not be within the same shot. Therefore, I will dress them both in black, as it is formal creating contrast to their more colourful narrative shots and reflects the melancholic emotion. Finally, by having this formal black clothing it will visually differentiate to the audience the conceptual/performance scenes and the narrative.

For the male character I have chosen a simple black suit due to the formality as well as the fact it will highlight the clown make up in a way that his normal clothing in the narrative scenes won’t.

For the female character I wanted the same black formal outfit, however one that will be visually beautiful during the movement. Therefore I have chosen a loose black dress. However I may adjust this slightly depending on weather such as add more black layers.

Narrative Scenes - FemaleFor the narrative shots I want the female character to be as relatable to the female target audience as possible. Therefore, when choosing my costume I took inspiration from stereotypical target audience clothing. One thing I noticed in my research was how baggy and loose fitting the clothing was, such as large jumpers or tops or coats. Therefore I will have my female character in a large jumper that makes her appear carefree and relaxed much reflecting the mood of the music. To build on this, another stereotypical outfit includes accessories such as scarfs or hats or jewellery. So, to add to the costume I will include bracelets and necklaces and a large scarf. As the video includes several locations, I may choose to change the costume to indicate the passing of time, however I will not change the style, maybe add different accessories or a coat.

Here are some examples of costume ideas. They work well as they will contrast with the formal dress in the conceptual dance shots.

Narrative Scenes - MaleEqually, the costume I want for my male character would ideally be similar to the clothing of my target audience. From my research, it is clear the clothing style lacks bright colour and is muted tones of blues and greys and blacks often with the presence of denim or wool, in the form of jeans of a jacket or a jumper. The clothing, much the same as the females, is baggy and loose and typically comfortable. Therefore I will dress my male character in a loose jumper or top and pair it was a jacket to create layering, with a pair of faded or ripped jeans and trainers. Again, in scenes where I may change the costume, I may add a beanie or a different jacket. I will not style his hair in anyway as stereotypically my male audience have messy, floppy hair and may be unshaven.

Here are some costume ideas inspired by my audience. The overall look is rather relaxed effectively reflecting the genre of music.

Narrative Scene - BedroomThe room, narrative, shots evolve around the idea they have just woken up and so are still in their sleeping wear. Therefore their costume will be minimal and plain with little colour. This will compliment the neutral tones of the room and the white bedsheets creating a modern, calming feel to go with the music.

For the female character I will dress her in a oversized men's shirt as it conforms with baggy dress code of the target audience and links her directly to the male character.

For the male character I may dress him in track suit bottoms or boxers and a plain t-shirt to imply comfort and match the neutral colours of the room and the female.

Some ideas for the look.

Props

Both props are gifts that the male character gives to the female character, therefore they are a symbol of his love for her. As the narrative progresses the gifts are visually lost as the flowers end up in the ocean and she does not wear the necklace he gave her.

For the necklace, I wanted something simple and delicate, as the scenes it will be have simplistic and minimal furniture as well as their clothing. This necklace is a Celtic love knot, and so symbolises his love for her. I thought this would be less cliché than a heart.

The flowers are a gift he buys for her in town. Although I have specified pink roses, this will really be down to what flowers are in season at the time of the shoot. Stereotypically roses are associated with love and valentines day so they would clearly communicate to the audience his love.

These are the only significant props within the video as most of the shots are of movement, such as the dancing, singing and walking.

Domestic propsFor the kitchen scenes, they will need pancake ingredients for the shots that include making pancakes, such as flour, milk and eggs. These are products I will already have in my kitchen. Similarly when cooking the pancakes they will need a frying pan, which I will already have.

Another product within the kitchen scene is blueberries, they may add them to the pancakes and throw them in each others mouths to reflect how happy they made each other. I will also have these in my fridge already.

Finally, as I am filming in my living room, I will need a bed to create their bedroom. For this I will use and old bed and cover it with white bedsheets to reflect the neutral tones of the room and imply a chilled out vibe.