Interview and Profile

Cast Interview - Roy Stephenson - Drug dealer

 After reciveing a casting response from Roy Stephenson, we decided to ask him a few questions regarding his prospects for the video. We explained our idea and expectations beforehand so that he would know exactly what he had to do and was already familiar with our concept prior to the interview. Roy is a 17 year old boy who currently studies Performing arts and Music studies at A-Level at Hartlepool Sixth Form college. He has a passion for acting and wants to pursue a career in theatre after he leaves his college. If we were to choose him for the role, we would provide him with appropriate clothing and ask his upcoming schedule so that we can plan shooting days accordingly to the actors availability. Although the character is in it for approximately 5 seconds, the actual filming process takes longer as it might take more time to perfect the scene, ergo more than one filming day. Finding out the days the actor is free, avoids absence or unavailability which stops us from continuing with the making of the video. It's important that we, as directors have clear communication with the actors and actresses as it helps the filming process flow better, thus making it more efficient for those involved.

Why do you want to fulfil this role in our music video?

I would like to star in your music video because I have wanted to star in a music video for a while but the right role has never came up! I regularly act and a chance to star in a music video would be a good edition to my CV and also get my name out there to the industry. The role is also challenging and I think I would be able to take it on very well.

What do you think you can bring, as the role of a drug dealer?

I'd love to bring elements of mystery to the video as after discussing the narrative and looking at the videos treatment sheet, I am aware that although my role is a vital part and starts the narrative off the audience will not see my face.

Would you say you are adaptable to an array of situations, such as portraying a mystery man who's responsible for selling a young female drugs?

Yes. I am open to just about everything and am aware if I want to get anywhere in this industry I have to keep an open mind. I have taken on similar serious roles before but in stage performances and short films. I study performing arts full time in college and have been acting for as long as I can remember.

What can you bring to the role which other candidates can't?

I like to think of myself as a professional. I understand music videos require a lot of planning and go through a lot of production. I would like to make the filming process as easy as possible by providing a positive atmosphere on set.

Since our song is by The 1975, what is your opinion on our concept?

I think that the concept for the video is a very strong one that we don't see much of. Although the storyline can be a tough one to project through a 3 minute music video, I think that the narrative will show it perfectly. I haven't heard or seen many of The 1975's existing music videos but I can definitely see the band doing a video like this from what I have watched before applying for the role.

Based on the interview, we decided to select Roy as the role of the drug dealer as we believe he is a very good fit and can portray the role very well. Also, since he is interested in a career in performing arts, not only is this a good thing for our music video but can also add to his experience which could hopefully help him in the future! We emailed him informing him of the news as well as information for when we would contact him further regarding when we were filming.

Character Costume - Drug dealer

Drug dealer - Costume (Mise-en-scene)

This is a potential outfit for the drug dealer. We recently made the same for the female character but instead on the website www.polyvore.com - this website does not offer male clothing so I instead gathered the images from Google images and put together dark clothing that a drug dealer would stereotypically wear, including: a hooded top, black trousers, trainers, and the prop which is a brown envelope. The envelope is what the character gives to the young female and is an important part of the videos narrative. 

Casting Response - Dealer

After displaying our casting posters around the local area, hoping to find interested candidates to feature in our music video, we received a response via our email address. The email address was located at the bottom of the poster so that anyone who wanted to feature in the video could contact us on our college email - this was our primary source for finding a cast interested in being in our music video which we plan to film very soon. The response we got was from a local student, 17 year old Roy Stephenson who emailed us at the contact details we included on the casting poster. As the email states, Roy is interested in portraying the role of a drug dealer in the music video, and although this character is quite minor in comparison to the young female (he is only in the video for approximately 5 seconds) we still feel it's necessary to conduct a small interview with him before shooting begins so we can find out more about him as a person which will allow us to decide whether or not he is a good fit for a role in our video. It is vital that we take the casting process very seriously as the characters are a vital contribution. 

Permission Request - The 1975 - HNSCC

After deciding we would like to use another song by the band for the 'milk' music video, we emailed the bands copyright holders for permission. To see the first permission request please click here.

Song Choice Update

We are continuing to use 'Milk' by The 1975 as our chosen music video song. However, the song is only 2 minutes and 13 seconds in length and to display our narrative to the music videos intended audience in it's entirety we will need more time to do so. Therefore, we have decided to include another song by The 1975 for the videos opening and closing. This song is 'HSNCC', no lyrics are sung throughout 'HSNCC' and it's purely instrumental with few vocals. The first thirty seconds and last thirty seconds of 'HSNCC' will feature in our music video. This is a good addition to the videos narrative as the instrumental is very soft and calming and this is desired effect we would like to show at the start and end of our music video. I also think that this will be a good addition to the music video as the first thirty seconds build up the song and the last thirty seconds bring the song to a soft, almost abrupt, ending.

We discussed this during a group meeting:

More Primary Audience Research

Interview and Profile

Cast Interview - Oceana Manicom - Young Female

After receiving a casting response from Oceana, we decided to ask her a few questions regarding her prospects for the music video. We explained our ideas and expectations beforehand so she would be familiar with exactly what she would be doing. Oceana is an 18 year old girl, who is currently studying hairdressing at FE college. She has always had a love and enjoyment for acting, and from the interview it isn't hard to determine that she wants to channel this in the music video. We will provide her with appropriate clothing on the day of shooting, and ask her schedule for the upcoming weeks so we can plan the shooting days on the days the actors are free. This avoids disruption or absence due to prior engagements the actors have which disables them to film the video.

 Why do you want to fulfil this role in our music video?

I think this is a very exciting opportunity for me, and since I want to be involved in acting in any

way possible, this is not only what I love to do but would be an excellent addition to my experiences n this industry. I love a new challenge, and featuring in a music video is something I've never done before.

 What do you think you can bring, as the role of a young female who's recently became involved with drugs?

I'd love to bring some emotion into it, and as you can assume getting involved in drugs is no walk in the park, I want to show the audience that drug-use shouldn't be glamourised. Also, the fact that it's a challenging role showing real situations is extremely appealing to me as I get the chance to portray such an character which needs a sense of emotional distress.

3) Would you say you are adaptable to an array of situations, such as portraying a characters demise or lip syncing certain lyrics?

I have a lot of acting experience, which stemmed up to a years study of performing arts at A-Level. I thoroughly enjoy the subject meaning I am much more comfortable portraying anything I am challenged too. A characters demise or lip syncing should not be a problem at all.

What can you bring to the role which other candidates cant?

I'd like to think I am much more versatile than others and can easily adapt to certain roles or situations.

Since our song is by The 1975, what is your opinion on our concept after reading the treatment sheet?

I think it's very interesting and is something that hasn't really been shown before. Music videos you see on TV don't usually have such a touching concept or important message behind them, so by portraying drug-use in a devastating way, it enables the audience to learn something from the video whilst also enjoying the sounds from The 1975.

We decided to select Oceana as the character of the young female, as she seems perfect for the role and can bring emotion and sentiment to the music video. We emailed her back informing her of the news.

Casting Response - Young Female

After displaying our casting posters around the local area in order to find actors interested in featuring in our music video, we received a response via our email address, which was located at the bottom of the casting poster. This was vital as it was our primary source of finding a potential cast for our music video. 

The response  we got was from Oceana Manicom, a local student at FE college, who contacted us on our email address. As the email states, the role Oceana is interested in is the young female, which we plan on following up with a small interview to make sure she's a good fit for the role.

Music Video Budget

As we are creating a music video to a professional industry standard it will have to have a budget like all other media products. We fortunately have a range of equipment provided to us by the college so our budget will not be used on items like tripods and SD cards. Therefore, we have decided that the maximum amount of money we will spend on the production and mise en scene of our video will be £50.

As our music video will use a song from the indie rock genre we are following genre conventions as these music videos generally do not have big budgets unlike videos from the pop genre which use songs from multi millionaire artists.

Our budget will cover costs for the actors, travel and props. We will not need to pay for locations as our locations are a family home and public spaces.

The Young Female - We will provide the actor portraying the young female with clothes to wear on the day(s) of filming. This will be dark clothing that will either be bought (when we know the actresses clothing size) from a shop or provided by myself or Rebecca from our own wardrobes.

The Drug Dealer - The drug dealer will also be provided with clothing to wear on the day(s) of filming. This will also be dark, hooded, clothing that will either be bought or be provided by myself or Rebecca from own wardrobes.

The Elderly Woman - Since we are hoping to cast an actual elderly woman for this role we are hoping she will wear stereotypical for the elderly such as neutral coloured clothing and we will ask the actress herself if she can fulfil this. However, if this is not the case we will provide some on the day for the actress.

Travel Expenses - Once we have the maximum budget for the costumes divided into the three characters, we will start to budget for transport to/from location for ourselves and each of the three cast members. All locations are easily accessible as buses run to and from these locations. Therefore, travel will not takeaway a large amount of our £50 budget.

Camera Booking

Today, we booked a Canon DSLR camera to use during the half term holidays to film our music video.

Music Video Costume - Young Female (initial Ideas/Inspiration)

We created a Polyvore to inspire us for our main characters outfit, which which is black clothing, a heart necklace, a phone as a prop, and messy makeup, inspired by Effy Stonem from the TV show Skins.We think that the costume choice is fitting, as Effy is a typical reckless teenager and in the show Skins, she becomes involved with drugs, so it links well with our videos concept for The 1975's song 'Milk'. We have taken inspiration from her character, and when we find our actress the play the role of the young female, we will provide her with similar clothing and messy make-up (to represent the characters demise as she becomes involved with drugs) to recreate Effy's style.

Roland Barthes - Narrative Theory

Roland barthes - theory from KatyMarwood

After searching for narrative theorists, I found that Roland Barthes' theory is the most relevant for my music videos narrative.

Risk Assessment

Risk assessment from KatyMarwood

We have created a risk assessment as it is important to be aware of any situations which we may be faced with during the video shoot and editing process. 

Audience Profile - Becca

After receiving the survey  results, I discovered that the age group 17-20 is my primary target market and therefore started to focus my audience research on individuals rather than just a large group. I asked my friend Rebecca if I could ask her questions which will help me with the production of my video and develop a further understanding of what exactly my target audience would like to see. 

Rebecca with Matthew Healy (frontman of The 1975) after their Glasgow gig 

Rebecca is a 17 year old who lives in Glasgow, Scotland and is an avid lover of music, she spends her free time listening to music and going to gigs.

What's your favourite genre of music?

Definitely Indie Rock and Alternative. 

Currently, who are your favourite bands and artists?

Right now my favourite bands are definitely The 1975, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Arctic Monkeys, PEACE, Swim Deep, The libertines, SLAVES and Zibra. However, I also like artists such as Lorde, RAT BOY and Jamie T!

As our music video is a song from The 1975, as a fan, what would you expect to see in a video of theirs? 

I'd expect to see a developed narrative which relates to what the song is about. 

What is your all time favourite music video and why?

My all time favourite music video is 'Robbers' by The 1975. It's my favourite because of the storyline which is based on one of my favourite movies, True Romance. Also, the video grips you from the start until the end and therefore allows you to form an emotional connection with the characters.

What are your thoughts on the concept for 'milk'?

I think that 'milk' has a very strong, gripping concept and as a fan of the song and the band, I could absolutely see The 1975 creating a video like that as it fits their aesthetic. 

Audience Survey Results

Survey results from KatyMarwood

Casting Poster

We have created a 'casting call' poster which we will place in various locations. This will hopefully allow an interest to be created and will hopefully help us find potential actors for our music video. We have displayed our contact email address so the public can email us if they are interested. 

Audience Survey

We have created a survey using the website Surveymonkey, we sent it to fellow classmates and posted it onto social media platforms. This allows a range of people of different ages to complete it. The survey includes eight questions which revolve around age, gender, music genre preference and what they expect to see in a music video. This will help us develop an audience we aim to create the video for and therefore we will revolve the production of the video around their needs and preferences.

The 1975 - Milk - Treatment Sheet

Milktreatmentsheet from KatyMarwood

Record Company Logo

Presentation1 from KatyMarwood

We have created a record company logo to make our final products have a more professional look to them.

Initial Ideas for Music Video and Initial Treatment Sheet

Initial ideas for mv from KatyMarwood

The 1975 - Milk - Permission Request

A quick Google search led me to The 1975's official ITunes page where I found out essential information about who holds copyright over their music. The 1975 deluxe edition includes every single song The 1975 have ever released as a band and therefore 'Milk' appears on this CD alongside the Sex EP which is apparently not available to buy on ITunes. Here I can see that The 1975 are under 'exclusive license to Vagrant Records, under exclusive license to Interscope Records' therefore I will have to email both sides of the company in case any issues occur when myself and Rebecca use their song for our A2 Music Video.

After looking up Vagrant Records I have found that their UK email is ''vagrantuk@vagrant.com''.  I unfortunately couldn't find Interscopes contact email, however, I found that they're a division of Universal Music Group (UMG) so I will email them instead. UMG's email is " contact@umusic.com'' 

Milk - Lyrics Breakdown

The 1975 - milk idea from KatyMarwood

Milk - The 1975

Survey Results (1)

The survey received 8 responses overall and the most popular answer was "Milk'' by The 1975 as 75% of the people who had taken the survey chose this whereas 25% of the people who had taken the survey chose "Lovesick" by Peace. We have chosen to go with the most popular result, "Milk" and we will therefore create a music video using this song.

Song Choice Survey

Myself and Rebecca have created a Survey with the three songs we think would be most suitable for an indie music video. We will share this link to social media like Twitter, Facebook and await responses. Sharing this survey to these websites allows our target market to tell us which song they'd like to see.

9 Frame Analysis - Peace - Lovesick