“The music and the song were so strong that any image trying to illustrate the lyrics too literally would have felt weak to me. I thought it needed to be a completely abstract visualization that left room for individual interpretation.”

Inspired by the Indian Hindu “Holi” festival, Luc Janin’s video for Stereophonics “You’re My Star” is an emotional journey with a colourful twist.

The “Holi” festival is an annual festival of colour and togetherness in India where people throw coloured powder and water at each other in huge street fights that lasts for hours. “The concept offered amazing photographic opportunities with the vibrant powders flying around, colouring people of different ages and appearances in a location full of textures. However I wanted there to also be an emotional core to this film rather than just being about a look”. By capturing a crowd of real people and allowing the audience to identify with and enjoy their varying expressions, reactions, and personalities, Luc’s ambition was to create a genuine emotional feel to the piece.

Casting 80 Indian extras of all ages and appearances was vital to creating an authenticity to the ‘event’. Annex Films undertook an extensive street casting process to secure a diverse mix of characters, diverse in ages, looks and sizes. The shoot was booked to take place in a one day shoot with two 16 mm cameras rolling to capture all the action.

The video starts in black and white, we see shadows hiding and moving around corners and passages as the band play oblivious in a street. The tensions build as we see groups of people running along streets, over fences and through doorways. The cold and aggressive atmosphere builds until the groups start throwing missiles into the air at each other across the band. Suddenly there is an explosion of colour in the air as the video literally moves from black and white into colour and the tense mood changes into jubilation and frivolity. Even the band can’t help but smile as an all out colour war envelopes them.