Casting

AB - 21/01/13

 

Our Casting Decisions for Our Opening Scene

 



 

Vita Oldershaw as May Stanwell

Vita Oldershaw is a British actress, voice artist and Dancer. She has played Hermia and Puck in separate productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Betty in Oliver and Queen Cole in The Mummer`s Play. Her film work includes educational English language videos and voice-overs for Immersive Education.

She played the lead, Dorace Damour in Heavenly Mane a short film which went to Cannes film festival (2010) directed by Oscar Oldershaw. She is also currently appearing in the feature film World War Z by Paramount pictures starring Brad Pitt, due to be released 2013.
Vita is a very competent dancer, having danced in professional operatic productions and at the Oxford Playhouse and Pegasus theatre. Her recent credits include dancing in Resolution! (2012) at The Place.

http://www.firstvoiceagency.com/vita_oldershaw.php
http://www.secondskinagency.com/profiles/tv_film_theatre/vita_oldershaw.htm

http://vimeo.com/13976756

Tamsin Heatley as Jackie Willis (Therapist)

British actress and voice artist Tamsin Heatley has played roles in several popular drama series including Eastenders, Cracker, Casualty and The Bill. Her latest role was as Petula in the theater version of Dinner ladies. She has also been heavily involved in children’s television. Recent work includes Dirk Gentley`s Holistic Detective Agency for Radio 4, The mum in ITV’s Horrid Henry, and Little Bo in The Roly Mo show.
Other TV includes the role of Bella in the BBC’s BAFTA Award Winning Show The Tweenies, the voice of Baby Pom and Bessie in BBC’s The Fimbles and playing Grandma Baalwen in the Baaas for S4C. She also has numerous theatre credits to her name including plays at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, numerous productions with Theater de Complicite and Lumiere and Son.
http://www.tamsinheatley.co.uk/

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1052583/

http://www.firstvoiceagency.com/tamsin_heatley.php

http://www.secondskinagency.com/profiles/animatronics_puppeteers/tamsin_heatley.htm

Giles Oldershaw as the mistaken business man

Giles is an accomplished and versatile character actor, voice artist and Artist. His considerable experience covers mainstream drama productions including David Copperfield, Vanity Fair and The Mushroom Pickers and feature films, such as Shadowlands, directed by Sir Richard Attenborough, Dinotopia and Agatha Christie`s Marple. His most recent work includes Nulepsy a short film and the feature film World War Z by Paramount pictures starring Brad Pitt, due to be released 2013.

Giles has also appeared in a variety of commercials: Midland Bank; Woolwich; Mc Ewan lager; Shreddies; Qualcast Lawnmowers; National Lottery Instants; BP & British Gas.

Giles is extremely experienced in Theatre working for many companies including Lumiere and Son.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646110/
http://www.secondskinagency.com/profiles/animatronics_puppeteers/giles_oldershaw.htm

http://www.gilesoldershaw.co.uk/artwork/

Jasmine Gothard plays Girl 1 in Sammy's scene
Daisy Brunston plays Girl 2 in Sammy's Scene

 

 



Shooting Schedule

AB - 21/01/13

Shooting Schedule

 

We had a few changes due to changes in the availability of the cast and crew:

 

 

 

 

Sound in Opening Scenes

AB - 16/01/13

Sound in Opening Scenes

We recorded a timeline for the opening to Kung Fu Panda, including all of the sound effects, volume and tempo changes and voice overs. Only a few of the sounds were really needed to tell the story (mainly the voice overs) but every bit of sound used helped to create an atmosphere and present the action, comedy genre across to the audience.

We then created a timeline for our own opening sequence, adding in the different sounds that we intend to include when we come to the editing stage.

Analysis of Our Opening Scene

AB - 13/01/13

Analysis of Our Opening Scene

 

 

Mise-en-scene	Camera Work
Differences in costume – represents different personalities. Different settings/locations – represents different moods. Lighting Sammy’s room made pink – childish, safe, happy. Elizabeth – candlelight, warm, old fashioned (fireplace). Scott – natural, cold daylight. May – artificial lighting (compared to Scott).	Close up on eyes to switch scenes – shows that she is the same person, even if her personality is different. Hand-held camera for Scott – shaky movements connote aggressiveness? Fear/determination as he is running after someone. Dolly used – Smooth and calm movements
Editing	Sound
Flashbacks. Fading into different scenes.	Scott – Different accent Sammy – laughing, crying Slow, sad background music to signify her misery with the DID

 

Our opening scene represents disability through the use of mise-en-scene, camera work, editing and sound. Firstly, the fact that each ‘personality’ uses a different costume shows how different they really are, and that DID can be quite extreme in some cases when it comes to the separate personalities. This is emphasised through the different locations and settings – used to represent the moods of each character. The mood is also shown through the use of lighting, with Sammy’s room being made pink to connote safety, happiness and childhood. Elizabeth’s scene is made to look warm and old-fashioned with the fireplace and dim lighting. Scott is filmed outside, and so the lighting is natural and more cold compared to the others. Similarly, May’s scenes are presented in a more natural light, but can appear more artificial compared to Scott. All of this mise-en-scene helps to portray disability in quite a harsh way with the different lights, costumes and settings, showing how difficult and confusing this person’s life can be because of DID. The camera work is used in multiple ways to show disability. To switch scenes from May to Sammy, there is a close up on the actor’s eyes and the scene changes although the eyes stay in the same place. This close up is used to show how, although the personality is different, it is still the same person. The hand-held camera for Scott is shaky and creates a more realistic feel, perhaps connoting aggressiveness as he is chasing someone and makes the scene feel argent. This camera work is completely different from the other scenes, once again showing how dramatically the personalities change. Dolly shots are used for the other scenes, making the movements calm and smooth (as the other characters are less active than Scott). Reaction shots of the therapist are used to show how other people respond to this character’s DID and constantly reminds the audience that this disability is so great that she needs to see a therapist regularly.

Flashbacks are used in the editing to switch scenes and to show how May is remembering her week. Fading will also be used to establish continuity editing. The background music for May while she is speaking with her therapist will be slow and calm connoting sadness and how she is miserable with her DID. Scott is presented with a different accent than the other personalities and Sammy is heard giggling and crying – both of these different sounds are used to separate the different personalities, once again reminding the audience about May’s disability and how serious it really is. Therefore, the mise-en-scene, camera work, editing and sound are used to present the character’s disability and shows the audience what kind of life-changing affect it can have on someone.    

 

We have not finished our opening scene yet, and therefore our final analysis is not finished. This is the reason for the lack in editing and sound.