Casting

Potential Cast Members
Now that I have my character profiles created, I can begin to think about what kind of people I can cast based on both physical attributes of the actors and the ability to perform the role. I have selected several people who I would like to consider to play a role in the film.

Male Cast
These actors have told me that they are willing to perform the role of the protagonist in the film. Once I have taken all of them into consideration I can select which one will play the protagonist. To play the male oppressor in my film I will choose my second favourite out of the actors, or whoever may suit that particular role best, though it doesn't require much effort/similarity to the fictional character as only a fraction of the character's body will be in-shot.

Elliott Gillespie
Age: 16 Years Old
Profession: College Student

Why Is He Suitable For The Role?
Firstly, his age is among the category 'young adult', though a little younger than I had in mind, he is still of the appropriate age to play the role, especially if I use makeup and costume to age him a little.

Secondly, I am very close to him and therefore there will be no awkwardness when it comes to directing him, this will majorly impact the ease of filming and potentially improve the quality of the footage because I can instruct him to do whatever I want on camera without either of us feeling uncomfortable.

Having worked with him on a previous practice project, I know that he will be able to adapt to the role naturally, therefore will be able to put on a good performance and improve the quality of the footage - he's talented and natural on camera. Furthermore, he's comfortable with close-ups on his face which will give me more freedom when filming so I don't make him feel uncomfortable with being filmed.

Another reason he is suited to the role is because he lives near me, which will make filming together more convenient and help me decide which to use for my final locations. Furthermore, we share a similar schedule meaning we'll be available to film at the same time which will be extraordinarily convenient.

Furthermore, he's very comfortable and confident and would, therefore, be able to act with people he may not have met previously.

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
Although I believe he will perform the role amazingly, he does have limited acting experience which may hinder his ability to perform. As the character is very different to what Elliott is like in reality, his lack of experience may make him struggle when taking on such a challenging role.

He's quite lazy, which may make him put less effort into performing if he grows tired or bored. Furthermore, he's very stubborn, which may make working with him a little difficult. Another issue is the fact that he's not very punctual, if he's late on the day of filming then this will reduce our filming time which may be a problem.



James Vardigans
Age: 17
Profession: Sixth Form Student

Why Is He Suitable For The Role?
James is suitable for the role because he is a drama student and has lots of experience in acting. He's a talented actor and I believe he would adapt to the role well. He's confident and would be able to work with strangers well. He's very comfortable on camera and would act very naturally.

He's comfortable with close-ups on his face which will give me more freedom when framing shots. He's also very reliable and would, therefore, turn up on time etc.

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
The issue with casting James as the protagonist is the fact that he lives quite far away and therefore would have to take into account the travelling times and costs. Furthermore, I may have to supply transport for him when going to the location that cannot be accessed via public transport, which will be inconvenient as he lives the opposite direction quite far away.



Rowan Knights
Age: 17 Years Old
Profession: College Student

Why Is He Suitable For The Role?

Although he has no experience in professional acting, he has starred in multiple media productions prior to this and therefore has an extended knowledge in what is asked of him and can adapt to roles really well. He's very natural on camera.

We've known each other for a long while and therefore will be comfortable with working together which means filming will be easier and we can film to full potential.

Another factor is the fact that he'd be comfortable with close-ups on her face which gives me more freedom when filming. He also lives nearby, which is extremely convenient.

He's very comfortable with strangers and therefore would be able to perform well with actors that he may have never met before.

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role?
He might not be suitable for the role because he's hard to get hold of and is often quite late when turning up for things. This will impact organizing filming schedules and may risk reducing filming time if he's late.


Female Cast
This character will be featured very briefly as she's part of the flashback sequence. She needs to be relatively the same age as the protagonist.

Erin Stasiorowski
Age: 17 Years Old
Profession: Sixth Form Student

Why Is She Suitable For The Role?
I've used her in a previous practice project, moreover, she takes part in a drama committee so therefore has some experience in acting. She's very expressive. I've also known her for a long time and therefore we would be comfortable working together and she'd therefore act most naturally.

She lives nearby me which is convenient when getting to locations. Furthermore, she'd be comfortable with close-ups on her face which gives me more freedom when filming.

She's very confident around strangers and therefore would be able to perform well with the other actors. She's also very reliable when turning up on time etc.

Why Might She Not Be Suitable For The Role?
Firstly, she may not be comfortable with certain roles, which may limit to what she can perform. Secondly, she does a lot of out-of-curriculum activities which takes up her schedule, meaning planning around her may be very limiting.



Megan Lee
Age: 16 Years Old
Profession: Sixth Form Student

Why Is She Suitable For The Role?
She's suitable for the role because we're good friends and therefore would be comfortable with working with eachother and she can act most naturally. Furthermore, she lives nearby which is very convenient.

She has a very soft expression which means she would be able to play the role of a scared victim naturally and would therefore be good for the role's requirements.

Why Might She Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
She's quite shy which means she would unlikely be comfortable with acting with strangers. Furthermore, she not very confident and may not be able to take on more challenging roles.

She also will unlikely be comfortable with close-up shots which gives me less freedom when capturing particular shots and angles.

Furthermore, she often has a busy schedule so working around that will limit when we can film, especially when we need to work around other actor's schedules and the weather.



Bethany Precious
Age: 17 Years Old
Profession: College Student

Why Might She Be Suitable For The Role?
Firstly, although she hasn't had much experience in acting, I have used her for multiple modelling projects prior to this so I know that she is very good at being directed. She's very natural on camera and is comfortable with close-up shots which is useful.

We know eachother very well and therefore would feel comfortable working with eachother and she would feel able to act naturally.

Why Might She Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
She might not be suitable for the role because she's quite shy and therefore may not feel comfortable around people she's never met before or doesn't know very well. She also has no acting experience so therefore her performance may be hindered by her lack of practice and knowledge.

Part of the time, she lives quite far away so travelling will be very inconvenient. The other part of the time she does live nearby, so we would have to schedule around these times which gives us limited time to schedule filming. Moreover, her schedule is often very busy, especially when she's nearby, so working around her schedule will be difficult.


Animal Cast
As my project involves a dog, I had to consider what kind of dog I will cast in the role. This decision will be based around both the physical attributes of the dog as well as how obedient they are.

Billy 
Age: 3 Years Old
Breed: Pug

Why Is He Suitable For The Role?
Firstly, Billy is a pug, which is a popular and well-loved breed so I know for a fact the audience will respond well to him because he is cute.

He's also very care-free, hyperactive and goofy, which is how I imagined the dog in the story to be like. Casting a dog that is similar to the character is important as dogs have no concept of acting and therefore cannot pretend to be this way.

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
Billy may not be suited to this role because firstly, he lives very far away now which would be very inconvenient when travelling. Secondly, the owner (my sister) would have to give permission and make Billy available for use on the day of filming, which requires relying on their schedule. 

Secondly, Billy isn't the most obedient of dogs and is very easily distracted, so filming with him will be very difficult. Moreover, he's quite timid so working with strangers will be difficult as he will misbehave - I also wouldn't want to make him uncomfortable or unhappy. 

Another issue with Billy is his look himself: he's small whereas the dog I imagined for the production would be a medium to large breed. It's also a recognized breed that is often associated with spoilt or pampered dogs, which wouldn't be fitting in a post-apocalyptic film, especially when the dog is supposed to act as a guard dog. Furthermore, he has a completely black fur coat, which may be difficult to show full details on camera, especially in low light conditions. Not being able to see all of the dog on camera will remove the impact created when the protagonist encounters the dog. 



Cassy
Age: 13 Years Old
Breed: American Staffordshire Terrior

Why Is She Suitable For The Role? 
Cassy is suitable for the role because she's isn't very easily distracted which may make her easier to work with. Secondly, she can follow basic commands eg. sit and is somewhat obedient. She's also very well behaved on walks and therefore, constantly supervising her wouldn't be too much of an issue when working on scenes not involving her. 

Why Might She Not Be Suitable For The Role?
The main issue with casting Cassy is her age, although she's a very active dog she may struggle with a very long and tiring day of walking and filming. Furthermore, she looks her age as she's greying - this is a problem because the dog in the story is very young and a very old dog surviving in the post-apocalyptic setting is unrealistic. 

Moreover, amstaffs are often associated with aggression and although this stigma is wrong, the audience may interpret her presence in the wrong way. If she's not seen as potentially aggressive, she has a very sad-looking expression which may also create the wrong image, as the dog is supposed to be carefree and represent hope.



Benjy
Age: 9 Years Old
Breed: Whippet

Why Is He Suitable For The Role?
Benjy is suitable for the role because he can follow basic commands such as sit etc. He's a medium sized dog breed which is an appropriate size for the image I had in my head. Moreover, he is very good with strangers which means if he works with someone he has never met before he will be comfortable, which is a main priority. 

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role?
Benjy might not be suitable for the role because he's quite misbehaved on walks and is likely to run off - this will require constant supervision which will be difficult when there's so little of us (two) on set and we will be distracted with filming scenes not involving Benjy. Moreover, he's quite dog aggressive which would cause a huge issue if we were to encounter another dog in the forest which is highly likely as forests are popular among dog walkers.

Another issue is the fact that Benjy is not very food or toy oriented, especially when outside on walks, which means getting his attention and making him obey commands on camera will be difficult.

Furthermore, the dog's character is supposed to be quite protective as he must act like a guard dog, despite his carefree nature. Benjy is a whippet, which is a breed not associated with toughness so using him as a dog that's supposed to be a guard dog is not appropriate.



Riot 
Age: 1 Year Old
Breed: Australian Shepherd

Why Is He Suitable For The Role? 
Riot is suitable for the role because he has a very carefree, happy, goofy and hyperactive disposition, making him appropriate for the role as this is what the character is like. Moreover, Riot is very obedient and will likely obey commands on camera. He's also very accustomed to the equipment as he has been the subject of many of my photography projects.

Another advantage to using Riot as the character is the fact that he's well behaved on walks and therefore won't require constant supervision which will make filming the scenes without him in so much easier.

Riot is also the appropriate age for the role, as the dog is supposed to be approximately 2 and Riot is coming up to two, so he looks the age of the character. He's also very striking looking which will look good on camera and be interesting when paired with a post-apocalyptic setting because his colourful coat and eyes will contrast with the brown and sombre tones. He's also the size I had in mind when creating the character. Aussies aren't very common breeds so it will unlikely be recognised, this is appropriate for a post-apocalyptic film because there would unlikely still be pedigrees.

Why Might He Not Be Suitable For The Role? 
Riot is very hyperactive, although this is what the character is like it may make him misbehave on camera making filming difficult. Moreover, when there are other dogs walking past - which is likely in a forest - he wants to greet them so this would majorly disrupt filming.