Casting

I knew for this piece the actors were going to have to pull off a very strong performance due to the way in which the script is wrote and nature of such a emotional piece. The minimal dialogue meant that the actors would have focus on facial expression and body language, this also meant that the producer George Dupays was under a lot of pressure to find actors that were suitable for such a demanding role and having the set back of George joining the group late we would have to work very efficiently to pull the film off. Before the script was wrote I had a lengthy discussion with George about the films overall style so that he could grasp what type of actors would suit the characters they would be playing. I knew that if the actors couldn't pull off the dialogue in the script the piece would feel amateurish, this is why George made sure that we would never cast an actor without a face to face conversation with a casting performance or alternatively a casting video, I told George to get any actors submitting a casting video to perform the first scene with the confrontation with the pusher so that I could see if they could give a convincing performance. Myself and George watched the videos that were submitted which is when I saw Francesca De Sica's video which was astonishing, I then proceeded to with a Skype conversation with Francesca to discuss the fine details of the film, filming dates, payment and availability, her train tickets were booked during the conversation and we prepared the necessary proceedings for her arrival. Though I was aware that George had let the actors applying for the role that we would require nudity and that there was a sex scene planned I confirmed the explicit details with Francesca on the Skype call so that she knew exactly what would be happening come the filming. The same was done when myself and George had a meeting with Michael David Worden, we fully disclosed the details and what I had storyboarded so that David was fully aware of what was required from his performance. Having worked with David before on a previous project he felt comfortable participating in what I had planned, his confidence in myself made the next few days of filming an easy task, having never filmed or directed a scene this explicit I used the advice from Chris Hall. He talked to myself and Tom Newsham about how to approach actors regarding these themes, in which he made it clear that there is no exact way however the key point he made was to be professional, clear and most of all give the actors confidence that you can pull if off so that they feel relaxed around the crew. Which is why we benefited having George Dupays as the producer, his confidence and people skills meant that both actors were comfortable before, during and after the filming. Knowing that George was taking good care of the actors I was able to work on directing the film and assisting Tom's camera work, this whole process became stress free with the whole crew working effectively. I knew that taking on a film with these themes would be a challenging experience for everyone in the crew and that the final film had to be carefully constructed so that I could get the right reaction from viewers, though the risk would be worth the extra work and due to this style of film being what it is I expect the reactions will be mixed.

The film required that we have three actors to play the characters scripted however we encountered a problem where by no one was interested in played the role of the client, this was understandable as there was no dialogue nor was the character explained in huge depth in the character descriptions that I gave to George. In order to tackle the fact that we weren't going to have enough time to wait for a reply or any interest in playing the character I made the decision to work around using Michael David Worden to play both male characters, seen as the client had no dialogue I creatively resolved this issue by directing Tom to frame the doorframe in the first scene in such a way that it cropped David's head off by doing this his identity was concealed. We let David know that he would have to be taking on two roles before we went ahead with any shooting which he had no problem with, we made this clear to Francesca also, this somewhat worked to our advantage as the extra costs of having another actor was minimised. David and Francesca were also then able to see one another throughout the whole project which meant they had trust in one another, as the sex scene was done before the violent first scene the actors bounced off each other really well providing input into how this scene would be choreographed.


Character profiles

Sugar - Mid 20's, a weathered survivor with a weak knee for cocaine. On the verge of breakdown, her degrading career leaves her isolated and impassive. A once innocent girl led astray by a manipulative pusher veiled by her seductive stride. [Short skirt, high heels, and warm coat, black eyes, with bruises and eyeliner]


Vance - Mid 30's, intrusive and manipulative flesh peddler that values his tainted business. Uses violence as a means of discipline. Physically intimidating, chizzled facial structure suggestive of drug use. Frequent smoker with unnerving presence. [Short hair or bald, 6ft, chizzled face]


Client – Mid 30’s, an indistinct character, well dressed, confident but quiet. [smart casual clothing]