Casting

Our music video will only feature one character. This was our intentions from the very start of the planning process. Due to the themes of isolation and confinement being suggested by our video, using just one character will help emphasise this. It will also serve as a major advantage for us, as we have found when working on past projects that simply getting the whole cast & crew together for a shoot can be problematic. Working with one character will make this side of production much easier. Very helpfully, one of our group (Joel Colborne) has acting experience both in national television programmes (My Parents are Aliens) and also in my own EPQ project; "The Catcher in the Rye".

Ian Curtis

Very often band members star in even narrative music videos. Though we don't want (and can't for that matter) have a band member of Joy Division starring in our video, we want to signify similarities between the protagonist and the late Joy Division singer Ian Curtis.

The casting of Sam Riley as Ian Curtis in Anton Corbijn's Control was seen as a very successful one. This is both due to the likeness he shares with Curtis and also the excellence of his performance. This will be our main influence when signifying our protagonist's similarities to the singer. Though Riley was unknown at the time, Corbijn cast him due to his resemblence to the singer to the fine detail that he opted to choose Riley over more widely known actor Cillian Murphy because Murphy was "a little shorter than Ian". Whereas Corbijn could reflect on his past meetings with Curtis, we will have to look at existing interpretations by actors of the singer.

Our protagonist must be signified as a drug addict as well bearing resemble to Ian Curtis. We had key characteristics in mind when choosing our actor:

- They must have black hair. We are editing in black and white, and dark hair will have much more of a dramatic visual effect than lighter tones.
- They will have to smoke or be comfortable with smoking. Due to the timescale of our shoot and the amount of locations we will film at, our actor will have to go through a large amount of cigarettes.
- Be fairly thin and weak (no offence!). To signify the heroin addiction we don't want a character who looks like he spends all of his time working out at the gym.We want a character who looks weak and tired in appearance.
- Be young. We are aiming to bring Joy Division to a new audience. Very often the characters in music videos signify the target market for the band.

So how did Control do it?
As previously mentioned, the film Control will be a major influence on our signification of Ian Curtis, along with photographs of the singer.
Costume
- A long, grey overcoat. Curtis' coat was so iconic that NME labelled the whole Manchester scene "grey overcoat music". This is an essential piece of clothing to help instantly draw comparisons.
- Smart, plain trousers. Curtis often wore very smart trousers which were pulled high around his waist. Our protagonist will wear plain, dark jeans which when put in black and white will appear very smart. Skinny jeans will also help target a younger audience.
- A scarf. Joy Division's music has a very dark, cold theme to it. Our music video will share these themes, so any attempt to make the video seem cold and harsh will help signify their sound.
- Black leather shoes. Another choice of clothing often worn by Curtis. Ours will wear black pumps, though in the woods will have to wear Nike shoes due to the conditions and frailty of pumps. This should be okay though if framed properly.
- A cigarette in hand. Ian Curtis smoked so relentlessly to the extent that he stole money from his own wife. We want to signify this in our video, so a cigarette will be shown very often. It is also a slight way to signify the concept of addiction.