Planning: Auditions

An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorised and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece given to the performer at the audition or shortly before. Actors may be asked to present a monologue. The audition is a systematic process in which industry professionals select performers, which is in some ways analogous to a job interview in the regular job market. In an audition, the employer is testing the ability of the applicant to meet the needs of the job and assess how well the individual will take directions and deal with changes. After some auditions, after the performer has demonstrated their abilities in a given performance style, the audition panel may ask a few questions that resemble those used in standard job interviews (e.g., regarding availability). 

Auditions are required for many reasons in the performing arts world. Often, employing companies or groups use auditions to select performers for upcoming shows or productions. An audition for a performing opportunity may be for a single performance (e.g. doing a monologue), for a series or season of performances (a season of a Broadway play), or for permanent employment with the performing organisation (e.g., an orchestra or dance troupe).

For the purpose of casting actors to play the various roles in my media project, I will conduct auditions. These auditions will be held after I have distributed a casting call out where actors will be able to view the requirements for the roles, respond and attend the auditions. Prior to the auditions, I will provide the actors with instructions on how the auditions will be structured and what they will be performing. This should help the auditions to run easily, with minimal confusion. Additionally, I will be at the auditions to explain the directions in more depth if any of the actors feel that they need this.

All of the auditions will be recorded so that I can review the footage and decide which actors have the strongest presence and portray the characters in the most accurate way. All of the actors will have given their written permission to be filmed for this purpose, therefore this will not be breaking any filming laws.

Equipment that I will need for the auditions:

• Camera 
• Tripod 
• Lights & light stands 
• SD card 
• Back up SD card
• Camera charger 

Every actor who auditions for the parts will have to begin by giving their name, age and which part they are auditioning for before starting the audition. I will then combine the footage that I get from this and upload it to YouTube. I will be able to watch this footage and make a decision as to which actors portrayed the character in a way that matches how I have planned. 

A variety of actors, both male and female of a variety of ages have been invited to the auditions, as I want to choose an actor who presents the character and their alcoholism well, as opposed to an actor who fits a certain set of characteristics. The narrative that I have chosen would work well to represent both male and female struggles with mental health, as well as the issues encountered by a variety of ages. This means that the main character could be played by anyone as long as they are of an age that means they could be a teacher, or at least look of an age that would qualify them to teach. 

Planning: Audition Reel

Audition Reel:

Here is a video containing the four actors auditions. These were all performed in a freestyle way with little direction and recorded one after the other, so most of the actors followed suit and performed very similarly. Afterwards, the actors were all given verbal feedback as to how I believed their audition went. I focused the comments on the positive aspects so as not to offend anyone. I held the auditions in classroom similar to one that I would be using in the actual filming process. This allowed for the actors to get an idea of the mise en scene that would be used in the real music video. being submerged in this location, with the props perhaps allowed for the actors to provide a more realistic representation of how they would perform in the filming process. If I were to conduct more auditions, then I would probably consider filming in all of the planned locations with more direction in order to see how the actors would be likely to perform in the real thing. Likewise, I would play the appropriate music whilst they were acting so that they got a feel for the style.

Overall, the actors who attended the auditions were all very good at creating a realistic character. Any of the actors that auditioned would be suitable for my music video, and I'm sure would succeed in portraying the character correctly. Although, there is only one position for an actor. Therefore, I have made the decision to cast Will as he has ample acting experience and seemed to really submerge himself in the role. He showed a variation of emotions; from internalising his negative emotions to using the space to burst out in a rage of anger. With little direction, he managed to achieve characterisation close to what I had in mind. Unlike the other characters, he constantly referred to hand gestures, body posture and facial expressions to display the emotions of the character he was playing. This made his performance very believable, as well as powerfully emotive. For these reasons, I have chosen Will to play the role of the teacher with alcoholism as opposed to the other actors despite the strong performances that each of them gave.

Planning: Media Consent

I have had to obtain consent from the actors in order to establish that they understand what I will be doing with the material and for what purpose. I used the official media consent form from my school, which is intended to be given to students under the age of 18 so that the parent or guardian of the individual can give their permission for their young person to be filmed. My main actor is 17, nearly 18, so they had to fill out this form in order to take part in my media project. The actors I am using who are above the age of 18, can give their written consent on behalf of themselves. I have to have media consent forms for all of the actors, despite how much they will be filmed or how large their role is in order to adhere to media production rules and regulations.

This is a photo of one of the consent forms for reference:

Then, I also had to obtain consent from the authority in charge of the locations that I am using to ensure that it is appropriate and confirmed that I can use this space to film. For the school location, I had to obtain permission from the headteacher. I did this by finding her school email on the schools website, where I then wrote her an email explaining what I wanted to do, where and any further information that I deemed relevant.

Here is a copy of the email that I sent to the headteacher:



And here is a copy of the reply I got:

Planning: Location Recce

I have chosen to film in multiple locations for my music video. This is intended to help the audience to explore further into the life of the main character, therefore strengthening the narrative. The audience will be able to see both his work and home life, where there is much variation between the two. The school location is meant to categorise the part of his character that is well co-ordinated and thereby, outwardly very well put together. the school environment embodies the ideology of structure and order; a part of his character that seems to be overcome with his struggles with alcoholism.

The first location that I have chosen is a school - Chenderit School. Here, I will use the corridors, a classroom and the staffroom to capture the narrative in as realist a way as possible. All of the locations that I have chosen are privately owned, therefore I will have to obtain permission from the owners before using the locations to film. For the scenes shot in the school, I will have to email the headteacher to ensure that I am aware of the rules and regulations regarding filming in this area, and that she is happy to consent to the filming. Once I have gained this permission I will have to ask the appropriate staff if I can use the areas that I have planned to use (corridor, classroom and staffroom). For this, I will need to check if there will be any students or staff around who would prevent me obtaining the film material that I need to. In saying this, I will be filming from 4 onwards so the likelihood of encountering staff/students is significantly reduced.

The second location that I will use is a kitchen. This is where a majority of the action will take place. In shots filmed here, the character will be seen in a completely different light in comparison to how he can be perceived in the school environment. I will use the space to show the deterioration of the characters care towards his well-being. The audience will be able to see washing up building in the sink, symbolising the lack of care that he is taking towards looking after himself as a result of being controlled and driven by alcohol. The dirty washing will become worse as the music video progresses, showing the worsening of his mental illness. Likewise, there will be more and more mess accumulating in this location as the video progresses to emphasis this idea. Additionally, this will be the location where we see him smashing up props and becoming distressed. In doing these scenes, I will need to consider damage caused and how I will safely clean this up to restore the location to an appropriate standard. 

Another location that I will be using is a bathroom. Here, he will be seen looking at himself in the mirror and washing his face. The symbolism of the mirror will be used to show how his character is changing, the negative feeling he has towards himself and how he looks at who he's become in a negative light. The bathroom seems like an ideal place as it is perceived as quite an intimate place in someones life, often not explored by outsiders. Allowing the audience to view this part of his house should make them feel as though they are exploring part of him that not many others would see; where he is truly himself and untainted by trying to seem put together to the outside world. I will need to consider the space available to me in this location. I had predicted that the space here would be rather limited, therefore I plan to film in a bathroom that has quite a bit of space available for me to set up the camera and lights alongside the space that will be required for the frame. 

IMAGES TO BE ADDED

Planning: Casting

Main Character: Male Teacher

The main character for my music video will be played by William Peckover. I have chosen to use Will as my main character for a number of reasons. The is that he completed a drama course at GCSE level, achieving a high grade and has gone on to do drama at A level. This confirms to me that he has the ability and skills to be able to play a convincing role. The character that he is playing displays a lot of emotions, from crying to becoming violent. The sensitivity of the characters alcoholism would be best portrayed by a character who can replicate the emotion and struggles in as realistic a way as possible. Given Wills acting experience, I believe that he has the ability to do so.

Additionally, Wills physical appearance matches the idea that I'd initially had for the main character. I wanted to cast somebody with darker hair; around 6ft with glasses, or at least a face that would suit glasses. He has a strong build and could easily be mistaken for a young male teacher. All of these features combined help to create the appearance of a well-put together but all-together ordinary looking male. I want to create and use this look/impression to emphasise how alcoholism can affect even the most ordinary of people.

Lastly, Will has expressed his flexibility and availability. This is helpful for me when filming as I feel he will be reliable. A problem that I have previously encountered when producing my AS media project, was that some of the actors were unavailable on the days that I wanted/needed to film. I believe that confirming the availability of the actor beforehand will enable me to complete the filming stage sooner and easier, therefore allowing me to produce the media product to a higher standard as I will have more time to edit and test it.