Casting

I was unable to film the original artist of my song as they were unavailable, so I cast a double for the lead singer. I decided to cast a man a similar age to the original artist to give the impression of a believable singer when portrayed against the music.

Will Rogers
After a lengthy casting process in the lower years of my school's drama classes, I cast teenager Will Rogers as the main character in the narrative section of my video. Mr Rogers had a very strong background in acting, going to theatre summer schools and performing in many school plays. He was the oldest candidate for the role, but I felt that his look and his established acting experience were perfect fits.

During test filming I was initially concerned about Mr Rogers' musical theatre acting habits that seeped into his performance. We worked together on this and for the actual shoot, his performance was naturalistic, subtle and grounded. His ability to convey a range of emotions from fear to rejection and isolation was captivating. I was very impressed by his performance and proud of the end result.

Mr Rogers' costume consisted of vibrant colours; a green and yellow hoodie, zebra striped scarf, blue jeans and a black polo. I wanted his character's clothing to be very colourful and layered in order to convey a childlike innocence and happiness that is stripped away throughout the narrative.

Geoff Ramsey
I cast 34 year-old Texan Geoff Ramsey as the lead singer in my performance section. Mr Ramsey had a past career of being a roadie for a touring band and is now a voiceover artist, so he was familiar with recording soundbooth and miming.

During shooting I was incredibly impressed by his acting ability, especially as he was miming to a song at 200% of its original speed (in order to slow the video down in post-production). He was incredibly professional and easy to work with.

I dressed Mr Ramsey in a black shirt and faded jeans for his costume. I felt this smart appearance would reflect the indie nature of the song and artist.

Mr Ramsey's performance was not included in the final cut, not due to his acting ability, but the requirement to simplify the video and more closely tie the musical performance into the narrative.

Filming Schedule

Dates for Filming

• Austin, TX 28th of August, 2009


• Nottingham, England 2nd of October, 2009 (screen test) and 13th of November, 2009 (principal photography)

Actors Needed

• Austin, TX Geoff Ramsey


• Nottingham, England Will Rogers

Equipment Needed

• Austin, TX Canon 5D Mark II camera


• Nottingham, England Canon HG10 camera (screen test), Canon 7D camera (principal photography)

Weather Requirements

• Austin, TX N/A (interior shots).


• Nottingham, England Exterior shots require sunshine or cloudy skys - not rain.

Performance
I shot the performance section of my piece on the 28th of August, 2009 in Austin, TX. I cast Geoff Ramsey as the performer in lieu of the original artist as they were unavailable. It was shot on a Canon 5D Mark II in 1080p. As I shot in a soundbooth interior, I did not have any weather requirements.

Narrative and Re-shot Performance
The narrative section of my piece was shot on the 13th of November, 2009. Prior to this, some scenes were shot in a screen test on the 2nd of October. Will Rogers was cast as the main character for the narrative section. The scenes were shot on a Canon 7D camera in 720p in a mix of 24p and 60p for slow motion. Mr Rogers also performed the song for the re-shoot of the performance section.

Permission for Usage of Song

I contacted the label for clarification on the name of the publisher for the song, however they did not have it in their records. Further research also yielded no results, so I could not find the publisher to contact.

Storyboard Animatic

Director's Commentary


Song Only