Actors

Cameron Skinner - The Main Role

We chose Cameron as our actor for the main role as in many ways he fits the requirements of the indie/alternative genre. He is 19 and so is young and of and around the same age as many indie/alternative listeners, therefore he is representative of them. His appearance also fits with the stereotypes of the indie/alternative genre, through his fashion sense, hair and general appearance. Therefore, his appearance will appeal to both males and females of the indie/alternative audience, as boys will be able to relate to him, putting themselves in his position in the video, as well aspiring to have the same sense of fashion and image as him. Girls will see him as a possible partner and picture themselves as the 'lost love' in the video.

Kay Seary - The Girl

We chose Kay as the role of the girl and the 'lost love' of our actor who is seen in the flashbacks of the video, for similar reasons as to why we chose Cameron as the main role. Again she is 19, and so of a similar and relatable age to indie/alternative listeners. Her fashion sense and appearance also go with the typical indie/alternative style. Because of this, girls will relate to her and see themselves in her role in the story of the video as well as aspiring to have her image, and boys will see her as a potential partner, and picture themselves as the male role in the video.

We also partly chose these actors together as they are in a relationship together in real life and so we felt that their acting as a couple would be more believable and realistic. Therefore the emotions of the actors would be more easily provoked and the boy in the video more easily sympathised with.

The Band

Anthony - The Lead Singer

We asked Anthony to play the role of the lead singer in the band for several reasons. These included the fact that Anthony is a fan of indie music and so in many ways he fits the stereotypes of what an 'indie' person in a band may look like. Also, Anthony is 18 years old and so is within the age group of typical indie audiences and band members, meaning an audience can identify with him. It is important for an indie band that their image is admired by the audience and as Anthony fits the stereotype this is another reason, also female audiences will find him attractive and enjoying watching, and male audiences will identify with him and aspire to be like him.

Alice - The Keyboardist

We chose Alice as our keyboardist because conveniently she knows how to play the piano and keyboard and so her performance in the band would be more realistic and believable. Also, like Anthony, Alice fits the typical stereotype of an 'indie' person, through her clothing and appearance. Alice is also 18 years old and so fits within our target age group, and is attractive, and therefore appealing to watch. Male audiences will find her attractive and female audiences will want to be like her. We thought having a girl in the band was a good idea as it makes them stand out, other bands like Paramore which also have a female singer tend to stand out from other indie/alternative bands.

Charlie - The Drummer

Charlie was chosen as the drummer in our band for similar reasons to the other band members; through his appearance and clothing he fits within the typical 'indie' stereotypes and is also within the target age group as he is 17 years old. Another reason Charlie was chosen was because he was readily available for us to film him, but this was only a small reason compared to the reasons that he listens to indie/alternative music himself and fits within the indie stereotype. Charlie is attractive and so he blends well with the other band members to form a united group, and audiences will enjoy watching him, male audiences in particular will aspire to be like him, and female audiences will find him attractive and appealing to watch.

Ryan - The Guitarist

Ryan was asked to be the guitarist as, like Alice, he can play the guitar and so his performance is more believable. Other than this, Ryan fits within the stereotypes of an 'indie' person who may be in a band, through his appearance and clothing. Like the other band members, their image is very important and as Ryan fits the indie image and is also within the target age group at 17 years old, he is a good choice of guitarist for the band. Similarly to all other band members, he is attractive and so will be appealing to watch to an audience, with male audiences identifying with him and aspiring to be like him, and female audiences finding him attractive and appealing to watch.

We did not ask any of our band members to wear specific clothing as we already knew when choosing them that they fitted in with the indie/alternative stereotype and wore clothing that is typical of 'indie' people, therefore this was not necessary to achieve the result we wanted from their image.