1) 'Samuel' played by Louis Coles (A)
Inspired by the name of our chosen artist, 'Samuel' is a young and modern teenage boy. We chose the name of Samuel as it is a common male name in todays society, especially amongst the millennial generation. The genericness of the name of this lead character increases the relatability of our cast and increases the association between the audience and the characters in the music video. In addition, the fact that our artist and main character share a name helps establish the artist, Samuel Ford (B), as a brand and construct a relationship with his audience. According to Goodwin, this is important for record labels and music video producers to achieve.
(A)
(B)
We decided to name our other lead character after a popular female artist within the genre, Lucy Rose (D). Lucy Rose begin a career in the music industry by appearing as a vocalist with Bombay Bicycle Club and Noah and the Whale at much of their live performances and recordings. Rose began to branch away and start working as a solo artist, releasing her debut album 'Like I Used To' in 2012. She is now well renowned and established within the genre so it is likely that fans of this type of music, watching a music video for a Samuel Ford song, can relate to the character. In addition, 'Lucy' is also quite a modern name that fits the actress well. It wouldn't look realistic if this young, naive and innocent teenager was named 'Barbara' or 'Ethel' for example, commonly associated with an older age range.
(C)
(D)
The purpose of this specific characterisation and using the names we chose is to add a sense of realism to the casting and consolidate the genre of our artist. These names are common for individuals within our target audiences demographic (18-25) so it is likely they can relate to what is happen to our characters more. Furthermore, our small cast of just two characters who have been/ are in a relationship, increases the relatability of our overall production. It is likely that members of our audience have gone through similar relationship difficulties with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Focusing entirely on just the girl and the boy allows the audience to be sympathetic to the position they are in. It is likely that throughout the video, the audience will grow a bond to our characters and their situation so they can position themselves within the context of our video, relating to it more.
