Story Telling Unit: Finding Actors



After creating my first script draft,  I've began thinking about how I'm going to film a two minute trailer based off the script. I wanted to ensure I could get actors before I focused on locations, and it was just as well I did given my locations ended up having to change. I discovered this website called 'Casting Call Pro' which allows filmmakers to put up posts and advertise acting roles and actors can chose to apply and send in a CV, showreel of previous work etc. This was useful to me in helping to decide on the best actors for this role. When setting off I imported my film company logo (Yager Films) which was just from my YouTube channel where I upload short films etc. that I make in my free time, and explained it was a student project to prevent any confusion when it came to people applying. I was pleasantly surprised to find after 24 hours I ave several applications in already, one of which had played dementia roles before.
E ended up with two applications for George and three for William. After looking through these applications I was very impressed and felt much more confident applying fro locations. However, due to the complications with locations (See Story Telling unit: Locations) I was required to change my actors as I couldn't expect them to travel out so far.
This was a dilemma because I now had locations but no actors so I contacted my local theatre and tried to hire some actors from there. Thankfully I found two obliging actors from a local theatre near to where I planned on filming, so I sent them both copies of the script, a plot synopsis and the character details:


"A short film based around the day of an elderly ex-vicar called William (Bill) who suffers from dementia (the story puzzles together, so the audience doesn't realise he has dementia from the beginning). He goes on a journey through the day experiencing flashbacks of his past. Once he stumbles across the old church he used to serve at as a young vicar, he finds an old friend he used to work with. This friend (George) used to be the organist and still is, but hasn't seen William for three years and to his disbelief, finds William has changed. He's not the same man he used to be and as we find out at the end it is a result of his dementia. This day holds some significance in his mind but he can work out why; 15 years ago today his son tragically died in a car accident and his wife fell ill some few years later. This left behind a lonely man who loses himself and the memories that kept him going. He spent his life building memories and relationships, only to lose them all at the end.

This will be filmed as a trailer
George Brown
George is a smartly dressed elderly gentleman, with a fraying grey cardigan unmatched with his shirt, tie and chord trousers. He is the organist for the local church and has been for some years since William was a vicar there. The two used to be good friends but due to circumstances (Williams loss of close family) haven't seen each other for three years. It is a surprise when he meets William for the first time in years, but realises he's not the same man he once was."











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