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Screen Test Notes

For my AS Level Film Studies portfolio, I have followed my textual analysis of two
thriller films We Need To Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, UK ,2011) and The
Roommate (Chrstian E. Christiansen, US, 2011) where I analysed how the films
portrayed fear and isolation through the use of technical aspects. In my creative
artefact, I will portray fear and isolation in similar ways that my two chosen films
did. I intend to create 9 Key Frames, which will include the most important
scenes and will be annotated and explained fully. My 9 Key Frames will show a
teenage boy isolating himself from society, leaving him with only one friend that
turns out to be his subconscious that convinces him to kill multiple people.
I created a script for my 9 key frames and focused on finding two male actors for
the protagonist and antagonist roles and also two female roles. The protagonist
had to be able to portray to the audience the feeling of fear and isolation just as
the characters in my chosen films had to do. The antagonist had to be able to
show that he had complete power and control over the protagonist. The two
females had to be able to show fear, as they are the victims in the film. I held
auditions for the roles so that I could decide who could best portray certain
emotions to the audience through the characters. I auditioned two males for
each part and also auditioned two females for each part.
Character Profiles:
Name: Dylan
Age: 20
Dylan was a smart, innocent teenage boy until his dad passed away when he
was 15. Up until the age of 18 he was in and out of foster homes and even spent
a few months in the psychiatric ward because his mother had begun to drink
excessively and could not take care of him. Once he reached adulthood he was
thrown into the deep end and was left to fend for himself. He found a job but was
living in abandoned buildings and on the streets until he eventually got a house
and moved in. He was so alone that he began to create people in his mind like
Michael. Due to the loneliness, Dylan felt forced by Michael to go out and kill
women. Dylan is an outcast and is isolated from society because of his past and
cannot seem to make friends. He has a girlfriend but kills her at the end of the
film leaving him with no one.
Name: Michael
Age: 20
Michael is the subconscious of Dylan, however Dylan sees him as a close friend
and a real person. Michael is the evil side of Dylan as he tries and succeeds in
convincing Dylan to kill. He encourages an emotionally fragile boy into
committing multiple crimes. He is manipulative and psychotic and loves to see
people suffer. When Dylan confides in him about how he doesnt want to kill
anymore, Michael laughs it off. He is confident and sarcastic but gets frustrated
with Dylan easily when he doesnt want to murder anymore.
Name: Amy
Age: 18

Amy is the girlfriend of Dylan and has been with him for 5 months, She met him
at a bar and they have been together since. She is quite shy and introverted but
when she is with Dylan she becomes more confident. She loves him and has no
idea about his past or that he commits murders.

The following extract is from my script Seeing Things and has been chosen for
the auditions of the characters. This is the scene where Michael appears to Dylan
after his most recent murder.

MICHAEL
So you ran out of rope then?
DYLAN
Not right now.
MICHAEL
Oh come on, you know you liked it. Its easier when you know
them.
DYLAN
I said not now.
MICHAEL
Ugh, youre no fun afterwards.

Actor 1:
Name: Gregory Wade
Age: 17
Height: 59
Features: brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.
This actor met the requirements for the character of Dylan.
He was quite nervous at the beginning of the audition but
during his performance, this highlighted the fact that Dylan is
an introvert. Gregory was very enthusiastic about the role and had a good
understanding of the film and its genre but was not able to portray the theme of
isolation well. However, he was able to present the theme of fear well but as the
main theme was isolation, I felt that he could not successfully perform this role.
He did not deliver the dialogue accurately which was a major problem as the
dialogue was one of the most important technical aspects used in the two films I
textually analysed. I did not choose this actor because of these reasons as he
was not what I was looking for in Dylan.

Actor 2:
Name: Jonathan Gardner
Age: 17
Height: 56
Features: brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.
Screen Test Notes for Actor 1:
Jonathan was able to easy portray the theme of isolation as
soon as he began the audition. He acted as an introvert and he
connected easily with the character and was able to give a
great performance. His body language alongside the dialogue
made me think that he was the perfect fit for the role of Dylan
as he was quite awkward but was able to deliver the lines successfully. His
physical build and height is what I wanted of the character, as he is quite skinny
and relatively short. I believed that he is the best choice for the role of Dylan.

Actor 3:
Name: Barry Turi
Age: 17
Height: 510
Features: ginger hair, blue eyes, Caucasian.
Screen Test Notes for Actor 3:
After the performance of this actor for the role of Michael, I
realised that he was very enthusiastic about the role, He was
very confident but was unable to seem sarcastic and seemed quite serious which
is not what I wanted Michael to be like in the film. It was clear that he did not
read over the lines before the audition as he paused at certain points in order to
make comments about the script and the idea of the film. Once he delivered the
lines he was unsure of what facial expressions to use so he asked several
questions about this showing that he was not in touch with the role and could not
relate. His body language and facial expressions were good once he has figured
out how to match them with the dialogue but it did not seem natural. His
physical build and height was not what I originally wanted for the role of Michael
so I decided that I would not choose this actor.

Actor 4:
Name: Aron Maher
Age: 17
Height: 511
Features: brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.

Screen Test Notes for Actor 4:

During the performance from Actor 4, I realised that he was able
to easily deliver the dialogue for the role of Michael as he was
sarcastic and overly-confident. He immediately showed that he
was enthusiastic about the role and had shown he had practised before the
audition as he knew most of the lines well and was able to show emotion easily
when reciting them. His body language showed the confidence that Michael has
as a character as he was very open and expressed every word through the use of
his body and well as his tone. He has the physical aspects of Michael such as his
figure and height and I believe he is the best fit or the role of Michael.

In order to audition my actresses, I needed to have chosen my actor first so that

they could act out their one scene together. The extract from the script is for the
scene where Dylan meets Amy and stabs her.

DYLAN is walking towards the shop. The girl standing outside

is his girlfriend. DYLAN hugs his girlfriend and then stabs
her in the stomach. He takes out the knife and lowers her to
the ground.
DYLAN
Im so sorry
Actress 1:

Name: Aine Duffy

Age: 16
Height: 55
Features: Brown hair, brown eyes, Caucasian.
Screen test notes for Actress 1:
My first actress was very confident and easy to work with. She did
everything asked of her and gave a great performance alongside
Dylan. She was paired with Jonathan Gardner and I asked both of
them to act out the scene. As they have met before they were
comfortable around each other which made it easier for her to be
confident in her role and show that she had a love for him. Aine
was able to present the theme of fear through use of facial expressions as when
the actor of Dylan strangles her, she looked genuinely scared. Her description
matched that of Amys as she had to be smaller than Dylan.

Actress 2:
Name: Rowan ONeill
Age: 17
Height: 54
Features: dark brown hair, green eyes, Caucasian
Screen Test Notes for Actress 2:
My first actress was not very confident when acting out the
scene with Dylan. She had not met the actor before and
was nervous to hug him. She was unable to show that she had a love for him as
she looked very awkward and was unable to connect with him. This is not what I
wanted from the character Amy as she had to be comfortable around her
boyfriend and show that she loved him. Her physical build was not what I wanted
from the character as she was quite small. She was able to present the theme of
fear through the use of her facial expressions. However, based on how
uncomfortable she was and how she was unable to make a connection with
Dylan, I decided that I would not choose this actress for the role of Amy.
For one of the flashback scenes, there is a girl that is being strangled by Dylan.
This girl needs to be able show fear through facial expressions and body
language. I have taken the extract from the flashback scene in my script and
asked the two actors to act this out.

FLASHBACK BEGINS:

6
INT. ALLEYWAY- LATE EVENING
DYLAN is pinning down a girl and strangling her. The girl is
struggling to breathe. She stops breathing and he slowly gets
up. He runs away.
END OF FLASHBACK.
Actress 3:
Name: Sinead Foley
Age: 16
Height: 57
Features: dark brown hair, hazel eyes, Caucasian
Screen Test Notes for Actress 3:
This actress was confident from the beginning of the audition
until the end. As I had handed out the script in advance, she had a chance to go
through and analyse the films narrative and research how her character could
portray the themes mentioned. She used her facial expressions and body
language to do this and was successful in doing so. However, she was not very
serious when acting and laughed a lot meaning it would be difficult to film as it
would take a long time.

Actress 4:
Name: Elise Thompson
Age: 16
Height: 55
Features: brown hair, brown eyes,
Screen Test Notes for Actress 4:
At the beginning of the performance I noticed that the actress
seemed very shy and intimidated by the camera and the actor
playing Dylan. She was not comfortable with the scene at first but
as soon as she started to perform she began to show the fear well
through use of facial expressions and was able to slowly gain confidence. The
actress portrayed the themes of fear well as shown through her facial
expressions and body language around the protagonist. As there was no dialogue
for her scene, I had to base my decision solely around how she used her body
and face to portray the theme of fear and I believe that she did this quite well.

After auditioning these actors and actresses for the roles in my film I decided to
cast Jonathan Gardner as the role of Dylan, Aron Maher as the role of Michael,
Aine Duffy as the role of Amy and Elise Thomspon as the role of The Girl. I
believe that each of these actors and actresses are traditional representations of
men and women in thriller and horror films. Each person suits the role well both
physically and emotionally as they made connections with each other and the
characters and I believe that together, they will help to create a successfully twominute film.