Reflection on filming - 30/10/12

In the video below I have reflected on the filming we did today. Evaluating aspects such as weather conditions, timing, how the footage fits to conventions, will help me to make decisions about our film in the future.

Reflection on filming - 29/10/12

In the video below I have reflected on the filming we did today. Including weather conditions, timing and shots we experimented with. Evaluating the filming we have done will help me make decisions about filming in the future such as  arranging times, locations and shot ideas.

Filming Schedule 29th and 30th October

On Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th of October we plan on filming about half the shots for our music video. On Monday we are going to film between 10am and 2pm as this is when the weather will be most suitable for our chosen shots. Then on Tuesday we will film between 10am and 4pm as this will allow time to record the scenes (such as the couple sat on the sand dunes) which need to be filmed when the sun is setting. Below are the plans we made as to when we would film each set of shots...

Monday 29th:
Weather forecast - sun and cloud.
10am - Sidmouth - Jonny playing guitar in a field.
11.30am - Sidmouth - Experimenting with Jess and Tom's ice cream scene.
12.30pm - Sidmouth - Jess and Tom spending time together - the park and the beach.

Tuesday:
Weather forecast - cloudy morning, then more sun later on in the day.
10am - Woodbury forest - Jess and Tom spending time together - hugging and holding hands; we also plan on experimenting with ideas such as throwing leaves around and having fun.
1pm - Exmouth beach - Jess and Tom walking along the beach, holding hands and hugging; we will also experiment with ideas such as writing in the sand and splashing in the water.
3pm - Exmouth dunes - Jess and Tom sat on the dunes wrapped in a blanket, we will film this from the front and behind.

Going through song lyrics with Jonny

In this image I am showing Jonny the lyrics he will need to know and discussing how he could learn these. I also asked him to listen to the song as many times as possible so that he could get an understanding of the pace of the lyrics and the way in which he should sing them. In addition, listening to the song will help him get an idea of the beat of the song and the pace at which he should play guitar. It is essential that we explain each aspect of the video to our cast so that they know what to do when we go out and film; this will allow us to be more efficient with our time and fit more good quality filming into the day.

Narrative and genre - Andrew Goodwin's theory

In the presentation below I have explained Andrew Goodwin's theory about music videos and related his ideas to the plans we have for our music video.

Selecting costume items

I have previously looked into costume and given images of the ideal clothing I would dress my actors in, however as we do not have any budget to pay for new clothing we have had to use clothes which me and the actors already wear. I have asked informed the two guys about the style of clothing they will need to wear and about the different costumes they will need for different scenes and they are going to show us the outfits they think are most suitable. I feel that Jess' clothing needs to be quite varied in order to show that time has gone by between each setting they visit; this adds a sense of realism or verisimilitude  it will also make shots more interesting, in addition different outfits may encourage female viewers to want to be like her or have her clothes; this will create an interest and buzz about the video. Therefore I have planned different outfits for each scene based on clothes which Jess and I already own. It is important that we focus on representing Jess to be fun, girly and pretty, as this is a similar style to many members of our target audience, and we also need to ensure that she seems like a normal girl, so that viewers will be able to relate to Jess.

The beach and dunes: 

For the scene where Jess and Tom walk along the beach and the scene where they are sitting on the sand dunes I have considered two dresses, both are summery and light in colour as we plan on filming these scenes on a sunny day. Both dresses are the style of clothing which the type of girl we are trying to represent would wear. We like the plain dress because  it is simple and the belt pulls in at the waist, in addition it is a length which shows some skin and therefore draws the eye, but it does not look too short or provocative. Despite this we have decided that the slightly more colourful dress is more suitable as the colours will draw the eye and make the dress stand out from the pale background of the beach.


The woods:
In the scene where Jess and Tom spend time in the woods we have chosen a navy dress with flowers on and a red cardigan. The dress has an elasticated waist and therefore will show Jess' figure, and then the casual red cardigan will add a sense comfort and relaxation, it will also be more suitable for the weather conditions which we are likely to encounter. The dress will finish just above the knee, and Jess will be wearing black tights in as she said that this made her feel more confident and comfortable, in addition black tights will be most suitable for a forest setting. This style of clothing shows her as a feminine, pretty and happy girl; this is the type of person we are trying to represent. As the dress is feminine and mid length it is more likely to  attract the male gaze.

The picnic:
For the scene where to couple will be lying on a picnic blanket we have chosen a classic red coat for Jess to wear. She will wear this with dark jeans. We feel this will be suitable for the weather conditions which we are hoping to be sun and cloud on the day we chose. In addition the simple and casual outfit will show a different side to the character, as in many scenes she is wearing very feminine dresses, the simple warm coat will contrast with this. The shoes which Jess will be wearing for many of the scenes are exactly the same as the boot shown in the image to the right, these are practical,comfortable and warm, but still add height making her more provocative and appealing. In addition her style may encourage female viewers to aspire to be like her. 

More Preliminary Filming

Recently we went out and practised a lot of the shots we are planning to use for our music video and in the video above we have put clips of our filming together and analysed each shot. Within the video we have recorded our feelings about shot quality, the framing, the lighting, the acting and the general success of each scene; this will be very helpful when we come to film and create our final video as we can learn from the mistakes we have made in our preliminary filming. 

Carrying out this prelim filming has been really useful and encouraging. It has shown me that we will need to be careful when choosing which camera to film with; as we chose not to use a school film camera for this filming and the quality is not very good. Therefore this has helped us save time, because if we had not tested the camera during this filming we would have wasted a lot of time by filming our final video and I would not have been happy with the quality of the shots. Our prelim filming has also been a chance to test out shot ideas and see what works well and also hightlighted some shots that we may need to adapt or reconsider. It has also helped me estimate how long each shot will take to film and which camera angles and locations are more successful. This filming has also been a chance for the actors to come to terms with each scene and experiment with the different ways that they could act in each shot; this will speed up the real filming process as they will already know what to do and I will have already explained each different scene during the prelim filming.

Running through our storyboard with our actors

We decided to go through each shot with our actors to discuss the role which they're playing. This includes positions and facial expressions, and we also informed them of any parts which they have to lip sing to so that they will have some time to consider lyrics. This discussion was very helpful for us and our actors as it allowed them to ask any questions and also gave them an idea of the storyline and what will be required of them. Below is an image of me going through our storyboard with Tom, who will be playing the new boyfriend.

Costume and make-up

Below is a presentation which I put together to show how we plan on dressing and styling our actors. This planning has allowed Kaylee and I to imagine how how the actors will look and make decisions about the connotations we want the clothing and make up to have. Planning costume and make-up are essential within a music video as the looks of the people included and the clothes they are wearing will effect how appealing the video is and how popular it would become.

Jess, one of the actors within our music video, is currently training to be a make-up artist, therefore we will be giving her details about how we want her make-up to look (natural and simple), and she will then be doing her own make-up as she can use this experience to support and practise what she has learnt at college. We feel that the make-up will be most successful if she does it herself as she knows what looks good on her skin and the techniques which work best for her; therefore ensuring that she feels confident and attractive.

Tips for making a music video

Rich mix2 from petefrasers

This is a presentation which we were advised to look at as we have chosen to make a music video. It has been very useful in helping us make decisions about our video, for example when we began to decide on actors and filming times, page 5 'plan for everything' reminded us that we should shoot as early as possible before the deadline in order to avoid stress, in addition it taught us that we need to be very organised in meeting with actors and ensuring they know their parts.
I also found page 6 very helpful as it has given me more ideas about how to make my blog more interactive and interesting.
In addition page 7 can act as a checklist for when we go out filming in order to be sure that our equipment is set up correctly and will work; this will avoid wasting time and making mistakes.
This presentation has also taught us a lot about how much footage we should film and how we should edit it to make a good quality music video.

Narrative - Storyline

The storyline within our music video is partially chronological as we see the first couple together, then we see that the girl is with a new person. However the video itself is made up of shots of the new couple together and then the ex-boyfriend singing and playing guitar. It is implied that these two things are happening at the same time; the new couple are enjoying themselves whilst the ex is upset. However as it is made up of a montage of shots it is not actually chronological like a story, therefore our narrative is known as 'fragmented' as it is made up of separate shots of different activities.

Media Language - filming techniques

Below is a presentation which we were shown about the different types of shot/lighting/positioning/angle/etc that we could use in our video.

Cinematography from jamarch

Clearly not all of these techniques will be suitable for our video as our is a music video about romance and therefore will not include any action such as fast motion shots or canted angles. The main techniques which we plan on using are long shots, close ups and some mid shots as these will be most effective to show the relationship which the couple share and their emotions. To show intemacy between the couple within our video almost every shot (other than the ex-boyfriend parts) show the couple together in shot; however in order to add variety and make our video more interesting we will also include shots of each persons face for example when they are looking at one another we will film each persons expression to show how they feel about one another. Similarly when the couple are falling asleep together we will film from the boyfriends perspective in order to show the audience the situation from his point of view which highlights his feelings for the girl.
When we focus on the ex-boyfriend we will use natural dull lighting to create a sense of sadness and many of the shots will be long in order to highlight that he is alone. In addition we will film close ups of him playing guitar as this shows his musical talent and this is a convention of alternative music videos. We will also show his emotions by filming his face close up.

Risk assessment

Below is our risk assessment for when we come to shooting our music video. We have thought about the possible risks we may encounter in each of our different locations and have come up with solutions in order to help prevent the risks from occurring. It is important that we have a risk assessment so that everyone involved is safe and not at any possible risk during our music video.

Location	Risk	Solution
Bedroom/House	1) tripping over items in the bedroom 2) tripping up the stairs 3) falling out of the bed 4) dog could get in the shot 5) siblings could get in the way	1) make sure the bedroom is tidy and the floor is clear 2) ensure the cast use the banister and walk up the stairs carefully 3) make sure cast are safe and don't mess around 4) ensure my dog is out of the way when shooting 5) ensure everyone is out so we won’t get disrupted
Park	1) tripping over when walking 2) falling in the river 3) other people in the park could get in the shot where not wanted or we could bump into them	1) make sure the cast look where they are going 2) ensure that cast can swim and avoid going near the water 3) look around before shooting to see where the other pedestrians may be
Field	1) tripping over something in the field 2) getting muddy 3) insect bites/stings	1) ensure that cast look where they are walking and wear sensible footwear 2) find out whether the grass is muddy/wet before the cast sit down 3)use insect repellent and have bite cream available for use
Beach	1) drowning in the sea 2) tripping over stones 3) seagulls stealing food	1) make sure that actors can swim and avoid going in the sea 2) ensure that cast are careful when walking on the stones 3) make sure food is out of sight when seagulls are near
Town	1) getting run over 2) other pedestrians getting in the way 3)tripping	1) make sure cast are always walking along the path and are careful when crossing roads 2) look around before shooting to see who is about and whether it would be okay to shot or not 3) ensure everyone is aware of uneven surfaces
Wood	1) tripping over tree roots 2) slipping on mud / leaves	1) ensure that cast are careful and look where they are going 2) make sure suitable footwear is worn and ensure that everyone is aware of slippery surfaces

Location shots

Here are some images, showing the various different locations where we are planning to shoot out video. The locations we plan to include are: a bedroom, house, fields, bridge, beach, town and woods. We decided to have lots of different locations in order to make our video more varied and interesting. Our choice of locations link to our genre of pop rock; which often uses natural settings within music videos. Most of our video will be shot in Sidmouth, so we can easily access all the different locations.

Equipment needed

In our music video, we are going to use natural ambient lighting from outdoors. We decided not to use artificial lighting as we want to make our video look realistic and natural. We are planning on shooting our video in different weathers: both rain and in slightly sunny weather if possible. The equipment we will be using include: a film camera and a tripod, both of which are available for us to use from school.

As we will need to get to grips with our equipment and understand the settings and ways of using it we have been carrying out some preliminary filming which will allow us to get used to the camera and tripod, therefore helping us to be more efficient when filming and ensures that our final film will be as successful and good quality as possible.

Audience Profile

This is Rebecca, she is an example of a female member of our target audience for our video. She is 17 years old and is in 6th form, studying English, Media and Art at A-level. She really enjoys listening to music and loves watching new videos on youtube. She likes indie music and rock music and a particularly likes bands who combine the two. Her favourite artists are You Me At Six, Jake Bugg, The Maine, A Rocket to the Moon, Fun, All Time Low and Pierce The Veil. She loves attending lots of concerts to see all her favourite bands/artists. She likes to go shopping on a regular basis, and loves going to town with her friends and visiting shops such as: Urban Outfitters, Republic, River Island and H&M. She has a part-time job in a cafe earning around £150 a month, she regularly buys music from iTunes and is constantly listening to her iPod. She enjoys reading and has subscribed to NME magazine; she likes reading about new bands, new music, band reviews, gossip and information about bands, she also loves the free posters within the magazine as she likes to cover her bedroom walls in pictures of bands and musicians.

This is Harvey, although our video will probably appeal girls more than guys, we believe that males should be included in our target audience as A Rocket To The Moon have many male fans and therefore the video should appeal to men as well as girls. He is an example of a male member of our target audience. He is 18 years old and is studying music at college. He plays guitar in a band with his friends. Music is his passion; if he is not playing music himself, then he will probably be listening to his ipod. He works in tReds and earns about £200 per month; he uses this money to buy clothes from shops such as 2Seasons, Topman and Urban Outfitters, buy music on ITunes, buy musical equipment for his guitar, an also to pay for some tattoos and piercings. His favourite musicians are Don Broco, You Me At Six, A Rocket to the Moon, Lower Than Atlantis and Mallory Knox. He enjoys watching music videos and also doing covers of his favourite bands songs.

Preliminary Filming

Evaluation of prelim filming

In order to practise filming we have carried out some preliminary filming which has allowed us to experiment with aspects such as shot type, lighting, and timing. In addition it helped us get used to the camera in terms of where buttons are, how to change the settings and how to hold/position the camera. In order to relate it to the theme of our planned music video, we chose to film a couple of people together interacting as if they were in love; however the setting is very different to the settings we are going to include in our music video.

There are clearly many issues with our practise shots, however we can learn from these mistakes so that our final music video is of better quality. One of the most obvious things we have learnt is that using a tripod is essential in order to achieve a steady shot in which the camera is at the right height and angle and the actors are in the right place, as our filming was hand held and was therefore quite unsteady. In addition it is clear that we will need our actors to be comfortable around one another and be sure of what they're doing; it is clear within the video that they feel awkward around one another and are not comfortable embracing in public, also when we got feedback from our prelim filming actors they said that they didn't feel comfortable together because they didn't know each other very well and they had not known they were doing it until the day before we filmed. We have taken this into account when choosing our actors for our music video; we decided to use two people who are friends and will hopefully feel comfortable holding hand, embracing and acting as a couple; we have also planned what we are going to tell the actors to do and we have confirmed that they will both be in the video so that they can consider the role they will be playing and get to know one another even better. In order to avoid laughing which cannot be included in the video, we will ask them to 'get into character' and will use instructions such as 'quiet on set' to ensure that they know we are about to film and we need them to act appropriately so that time and footage is not wasted. 

Another problem that we came across was other objects/shadows/people being included in the shot when they are not planned and they ruin the shot; and example of this in our prelim filming is when a plastic bag was blown into the shot and it makes the scene look untidy, this is not suitable for our video because it connotes negative emotions and situations whereas we aim to create a loving and happy situation during the parts of our video which focus on the couple, and although we could use items such as rubbish to show the sadness of the ex--boyfriend, we do not feel that this will be suitable because we want our video to focus on nature. Therefore we must be sure that our filming will not be interrupted by passers by, rubbish, our shadows, the shadows of the equipment, the shadows of others, insects, etc. 

We feel that the lighting within our prelim filming is suitable for the shots which focus on the couple and are the 'happier' aspects of our music video. However we plan on shooting during slightly duller weather when we are filming our actor who is playing the ex-boyfriend as this is a use of pathetic fallacy as the weather will show how the character is feeling. We will also need to learn how to change the settings based on the weather, for example if it is sunny sometimes facial features are less visible and the shot can be too light, therefore our teacher will assist us in learning more about the camera settings.

At the very beginning of the footage one of the actors makes a noise which may seem like an issue, however we have considered this and we feel that, as there will be no noise in our video other than the song itself, we should allow actors to make as much noise as is necessary because this will hopefully allow them to seem more natural and comfortable within the music video because in reality a couple would not be silent when spending time together; they would talk and laugh, etc, for this reason we have asked our actors to talk and react naturally in order to make the situation seem more real to viewers of the video.

Overall our prelim filming has been very useful and we have learnt a lot which will help us create a good quality and interesting final piece.

Our unique selling point

After receiving feedback from our teacher about our storyboard and general idea for our music video Kaylee and I have decided that our unique selling point will be that although the genre of music is alternative rock, the video will be relatable for a wide audience as the storyline is based on romance and heartbreak. In addition the actors are all from Devon and the video will have a focus on the natural world as we want to make the most of the countryside.

Another tip that she gave us is that we need to establish how we want our audience to feel about the situation within the video and the signs we are using to show this. We have decided that our video will hopefully make the audience feel sympathy for the ex-boyfriend as he is clearly upset about the break up and we are going to use the weather (rain, cloud) to show his emotion, this is known as pathetic fallacy. We also want the audience to hope for the couple to get back together which is why we are using polaroid pictures to encourage them to think about how their relationship may have been. In addition we hope that our target audience will be able to relate to the situation within out music video because a lot of people have to deal with a break up and have to watch them form new relationships.

Tips for a successful project

Presentation nov 4 from petefrasers

This is presentation from Peter Fraser's blog which provides us with advice about preparing for and making our film. His advice will be very useful in all stages of our projects as he specifically mentions things such as "storyboards, animatics, reece photos" which we should create during the planning stages of our project. He advises that we should "keep ideas simple" which we have tried to take into account when choosing a song and considering the storyline. One of the key aspects of this project which both our teachers and Pete Fraser have focused on is the idea of getting lots of feedback from our target audience, our peers and our teachers, therefore we will ensure that we always get feedback about the stages of our project and we respond to this feedback. In order to get lots of feedback we will put polls on our blogs, ask teachers for advice about how to improve, and film our audience/peers giving feedback about our idea and our work. Pete Fraser also emphasizes that we need to get to know our equipment, therefore we will practise using it by carrying out  preliminary filming and studying the camera we have chosen to use. From this presentation we have also learnt that we need to film far for footage than we need, in addition we need to film the same shot from many different angles and distances to add variety to our video and have lots of footage to choose from when we come to edit it.

Narrative - Animatic

I have created an animatic in order to plan the timing of our video, how long each shot will probably last and how each shot will fit in. Creating this has ensured that there are no issues with the shots we have planned fitting into the length of the song. In addition it will assist us in making decisions about how long to film each shot for when we plan our days of filming.

Mince's filming tips

Mince is a famous director within the music industry and has worked with artists such as The Saturdays. In the past he came into our school and taught the students how to make a good quality film; our teachers showed us a presentation showing all the tips that he gave to students so that we could use his advice to improve our filming skills. 
Below is a list of all the tips we received:

• Hold tight - have the film camera in one hand and with the other hand hold onto your arm which you are filming with, this keeps the camera steady and avoids loss of grip or balance.
• Have your elbows in for stability. 
• Know your way around the camera - find out where the record button is so that you can press it without looking for it.
• Have somebody standing behind you to guide you as you move around whilst filming so that you don't trip or shake the camera whilst looking where you are going.
• Practice the shot before you film the real thing.
• Direct your actors - use markings on the ground so that they know where to go and tell them exactly what to do.
• Count down from 5 to show when you will begin filming and everyone knows that they have to be in character.
• Use sentences such as "Quiet on set" to show that everyone needs to be quiet and in character.
• Film more footage than you need - you can always cut and you will want to have choices when it comes to editing.

These tips will be very helpful when we come to filming our music video and will help me ensure that our video uses qood quality steady shots. It has also shown me that it is essential to look after the cast and crew, for example by having somebody to help guide and protect the person filming.

Reception Theory

When making a music video it is important to consider how the audience will interpret it, for this reason I have done some research on Reception Theory...



This theory is widely accepted and is believed to demonstrate the way in which people consume media products. As it suggests that a persons interpretation of a text depends on their age, gender, personality and experiences, it shows that people do not just passively consume texts, as the hypodermic needle theory would suggest; instead the interpretation of a video will be different depending on the person watching. This is the way I believe our audience will consume our music video; for this reason we are going to aim our video at teenagers as they are likely to have experienced similar situations to the scenes in our video, therefore they are most likely to connect with the characters and understand the storyline. Whereas a younger audience would not be able to bring the same views of experiences to our video and may therefore struggle to fully understand the plot as they may not be able to connect with the heartbreak or loneliness which will be featured within our video. 

Experimenting with editing

Over recent lessons we have been experimenting with iMovie and learning about how to upload footage, cut it and put it all together. I also explored changing the speed of footage, changing the colour and brightness, changing the speed of transition and he different transitions which can be used between shots. I have also learned about inserting text into the video; this will be useful for the title and the credits. 

Within our video we will be using a lot of transitions between each shot such as cross dissolve and blur. This will ensure that the shots flow well and that the video looks professional. In addition it is conventional within many softer rock music videos to use short transitions between the majority of shots in order to create a swift and smooth change from shot to shot, however these transitions are usually barely noticeable due to the speed of the change. 

I also experimented with the speed of shots. In our video we may slow some shots down, as slow motion is a technique often used in indie rock music videos during scenes of people being active (running, dancing, walking). This can create tension, make a shot more emotive, or highlight the way people are feeling. Within our video we are going to experiment with slow motion when Jess and Tom are in the woods and in the forest; we aim for this to highlight the fun they are having and show a loving relationship. In addition slow motion will allow more time for the audience to notice their facial expressions. We will also try using slow motion for shots of Jonny walking in the rain as this will emphasise his loneliness.

Scripting

As we are creating a music video we will not be including any speech within it as this would draw attention away from the song and the final product would probably not be as successful. However there will be some points in the video where the couple are talking to one another as this is important within a relationship, however there will be no diegetic sound of them talking as speech does not conventionally sound good and flow within a music video because it would break up the song. We plan on letting the actors talk about whatever feels natural and fits with the scene around them as this will seem more natural and will not look as though they are just reading a script; it is important for the couple to look comfortable around each other, look like they're having fun and communicate well.


In addition we have asked Jonny (playing the ex-boyfriend) to learn some of the lyrics (mostly from the chorus) and the basis guitar rhythm so that he can play/sing some parts for when we want to film him in the field. We have given him a copy of the song and highlighted the parts he needs to learn so that it will be easier to sync his lips with the song.

Props

Here are some of our images of the props that we are planning to use within our music video:

Guitar - Through parts of the video, we are planning on having clips of the ex-boyfriend miming to some of the song lyrics and pretending to play guitar. He is going to be in natural locations when playing the guitar, such as in a field or in a house, this will help to make it look more realistic. When he is paying the guitar, we are hoping to try and capture his emotion, to really emphasise how much he is missing his ex-girlfriend and how much he wants her back. The use of guitars is common within rock videos, where there is normally a whole band performing: singing, drums and guitars. Because our genre is pop rock, we thought it would be good to use an acoustic guitar.

We are planning on having the ex-boyfriend looking back at an old picture of him and his girlfriend when they were together. The image will show him and Jess embracing in the woods. We plan on using an over the shoulder shot for this scene. We are thinking of using polaroid pictures as they look more old fashioned, which could connote how long they were together and showing all the good memories they shared; polaroid pictures are also more appealing to our target audience than normal pictures as they are more interesting and seen as 'cool'.

Target audience

Last month I put a poll on my blog asking wether viewers believe that our chosen song by A Rocket to the Moon is most suited to a target audience of females between the ages of 14 and 20. From this I found that out of 11 answers, 10 people agreed that this target audience was ideal, which shows that our audience is most likely to be teenage girls. However one person believed that our target audience should be the same age range but both genders instead of just females, after taking this into account we realise that we will need to make our video, poster and album cover appealing and suitable for both genders as we should not limit our audience because if this was an official video then it would be essential to reach a wide audience in order to create a buzz about the video, bring in viewers and make a profit.

Cast

This Jess, she is 18 and will be playing the main girl in our music video. We chose her because we both get on well with her and therefore we will feel comfortable asking her to adapt her acting and she will hopefully feel comfortable as she won't be embarrassed to act in front of us. She is confident and will fit the role well as she is average height, so she will be shorter than both boys; this is not particularly important in real life however we hope to make our music video as balanced and appealing as possible and the couple will look best together if the boy is taller than the girl. Jess will also be good at this role because she is the conventional idea of pretty  and although looks are not the most important thing in a relationship, we want to represent a girl who is fun, feminine and pretty, but still a normal girl, so that viewers will be able to relate to her and aspire to be like her. In addition most people prefer to watch a video with attractive actors/actresses in it, and as she is slim and attractive she will also attract the male gaze as the music genre we have chosen is listened to by both male female audiences; within the industry using good looking actors is conventional because it is likely to make the video more appealing.

This is Tom, he is 17 and will be playing the new boyfriend in our music video. We chose him because he is a bit taller than Jess and as I said above this will make our video as appealing as possible. In addition he is attractive and fits the role of a 'cute' boyfriend and will therefore appeal to the female audience. We want him to represent an average teenage boy so that male viewers will be able to relate to him and possibly want to have a relationship like his character does in the video, we do not want viewers to feel as though he is one of the popular crowd, as this would not have the same effect; we want to show normal teenagers who can be self conscious that they could have a relationship like his character. I feel that he represents a normal teenage boy because he has a simple, yet attractive haircut and he wears popular brands of clothes, such as Superdry and Hollister which are usually very causal, in addition he likes similar things to a lot of boys such as music and going out with friends. He and Jess get on well and should feel comfortable acting like a couple around and being close, this is important within a music video because if the actors are laughing or look awkward then it will not look believable. 

This is Jonny, he is 18 and will be playing the ex-boyfriend (who will also be the singer / guitarist). Similarly to the other actors we chose him because he gets on well with everyone and will feel comfortable. He also used to play guitar so he will be best at pretending to play along with the song. He too taller than Jess and is also in good shape and will appeal to a female audience. Similarly to Tom, he represents a normal guy, he dresses similarly to many other guys and enjoys hobbies such as cycling and xbox. We wanted to ensure that Jonny and Tom seemed to be a similar level of popularity in order to show that Jess' character did not leave Jonny's character for Tom's because he was more popular or 'hot', but because she liked him more as a person; I feel that this is important because if Jess' character had split up with Jonny for the wrong reasons then she would not be a very good role model or icon for our target audience of teenagers.