Meet the Cast

After looking back over my questionnaires I have come to a final decision on who I want to feature in my opening title sequence. Below is a list of the characters, actors/ actresses and why I have decided to use them.

All of my decisions were based on how my target audience answered my questionnaire based on the characteristics of the different characters. 

Jimmy: Oliver Harwood

I have decided to use Oliver as my main character firstly because acting as an individual from a different culture may be difficult but due to his strong acting skills I believe he would be perfect for this role. Additionally, I believe Oliver’s body image is similar to what I was hoping to find for Jimmy’s character. I wanted Jimmy to look small and fragile because through his early teenager years he was bullied by his stepfather and also Jerome when he finally attended school in Manchester. 

Blake: Conor Cooke

For the role of Blake I have decided to use Conor Cooke mainly for his appearance. Although I was hoping to find someone older than the characters of Jimmy, Burdine, Jerome, Sadie and Arthur (as these characters are all at the age where they still attend school) Conor looks much older than is actual age and more specifically he looks much older than Oliver (playing Jimmy). As this role is Jimmy’s stepfather it would be okay to cast the role of Blake to Conor.  Furthermore Conor has long hair which I would be able to style in a way that Gypsy men do and also believe I could make him look rough.

His hair will be gelled back.

I wanted Blake’s character to look superior with a big body build otherwise the shadow affect I was hoping for wouldn’t work as well I wanted to therefore I may use another person, with a bigger build, to do this scene but I am yet to come to a final decision on this situation.

Jerome: George Graburn

Jerome is the bully of the programme therefore I wanted to find someone with a confident personality and a superior body image. This is how I came to the decision that George would be perfect for this role. George’s appearance looks as though nothing can harm him and everyone should fear him. However, he also portrays the idea that he has issues in his personal life which is why he acts the way he does to Jimmy and others in his school. 

Arthur: Khabeer Phazeer

After analysing my participant’s answers on each questionnaire I have come to the conclusion that the character of Arthur has be innocent and caring. Nearly all of my participants said they associate glasses with a geek therefore the individual I choose will have to wear glasses or simply borrow someone’s when filming. Finally, I hoped Arthur would look weaker than most of the characters as generally bully victims look easy to be pushed around by other teenagers. This analysis has led to my friend, Khabeer, who I believe would suit this role perfectly. 

Burdine: Holly Crick

After watching the film ‘Wild Child’ I have decided to base this character on Poopy Moore (played by Emma Roberts). This is because I want Burdine to hold the same characteristics/ personality traits as what Poppy Moore does in Wild Child. These include:

• Spoilt teenager
• Only thinks about herself – in the film Poppy gives away her father’s girlfriends belongings
• Refuses to acknowledge authority (doesn’t listen to anyone)

Based on this I have decided to cast the role of Burdine to Holly. I have come to this decision because Holly holds the same appearance as what Poppy Moore does in Wild Child. 

Sadie: Amber Grundy

Trying to find a teenage girl to take on the role of this character was difficult due to the maturity and situation of the character. However, over the last few days 3 girls have put themselves forward to play Sadie in my opening title sequence.

From these girls I decide that Amber best suited the role of Sadie. This is because Amber has good acting skills, for example she can non-verbally communicate her feelings across to the audience which is what is needed as there will be no/ little talking in my opening title sequence therefore the characters have to have decent acting skills to be able to draw the audience in and let them briefly understand the role of each character. Additionally, she is very mature which is also needed due to delicacy of the topic (teenage pregnancy). 

I have managed to find actors for all male characters and also an actress for the character of Burdine and Sadie. However, I have been unsuccessful in finding actresses to play Maggie therefore during the week I have off school I will be filming the scenes that include the characters of Burdine, Sadie, Jimmy, Arthur, Jerome and Blake.

The next stage is to write a formal letter to each of the actors/ actresses to gain informed consent. When I have received the letters back I will then collect their contact details and arrange filming days and times that is suitable for them and me.

Tuesday 21^st October

Over the past few days I have been working on gathering the contact details of all of my characters. This will help me to contact the actors/ actresses if I have important information for them or if some any reason there is a change of plans.

My next step is to individually speak to my actors/ actresses and arrange days and times that best suit us both.