Hello! As I put the final preparations in place for my shooting schedule and whatnot for the opening, I came to the sudden realization that while I had cast the actors I wanted for the roles in my mind, I hadn't actually asked them if they'd be alright with being a part of the production (some say I had tunnel vision, I say I was focusing on bigger problems).
After texting each person I had in mind if they were available for the shooting schedule (Ideally, I want all of my footage done by next Thursday), I was happy to hear that everyone was ready and enthusiastic about helping me out! So without further ado, let me introduce my esteemed actors, starring in the opening for Clean Kill.
Martin- Blake Crawford
Playing a starring role as the germophobic murderer is my good friend Blake Crawford, who I've known for years. I first met Blake when I moved into my house, as he was (and still is) my next door neighbor, and we've maintained a healthy and strong bond throughout the years. I approached Blake with a request to play this role because the character of Martin shares some similarities with his real life personality, namely his cleanliness and more grounded thinking process.
When writing the script, I based much of Martin and Danny's relationship off of our own, as we have spent countless evenings sitting around, whipping up outlandish stories, much like how the two in the film enjoy doing. While I'm grateful that he's taking part in this project, a small worry of mine is how having him play a starring role might affect my shooting schedule, as he is a very busy person, playing in a lacrosse team as well as participating in challenging academic endeavors.
Playing Martin's best friend Danny is my other good friend, Cesar Rivera. I first met Cesar just under a year ago, but during that year of knowing him, we've grown together very closely and always get into some mischief together.
I was especially glad to hear that Cesar was open to play Danny's part in the opening, because I had actually modeled his energetic, loud personality after Cesar himself. It was great news, since now Danny will be portrayed exactly as I envisioned his character behaving, mirroring Cesar's normal behavior.
However, this is not without its drawbacks. Cesar has recently gotten a job working at a store, and is working almost every day, which will be a challenge to organize around, especially when considering his co-star's own demanding schedule.
Crypto Guy- Samuel Medina
Samuel Medina, another neighbor of mine, was my choice to cast in the role of the "Crypto Guy", not necessarily because he invests in cryptocurrency, but because of my opinion that he looks like the kind of guy to buy crypto.
Of course, he could also double as the captain of a chess team, with his intelligent demeanor and calm way of carrying himself. Most importantly to me, his schedule isn't particularly demanding, so I can shoot with him whenever I need.
For the other small part in the first few seconds of the opening, I opted to cast my friend and fellow AICE Media student Martina Schmied as the "Dog Girl".
The reasoning behind this decision isn't deep. She is a girl. And she has a dog. Of course, since she takes the same class as me, she is more sympathetic to what I'm aiming for than any random dog-owning person, and I hope to gain some feedback from her during shooting her scene.
Her schedule is a little complicated, since she works at a restaurant, but since her part will likely take under 20 minutes to shoot, the schedule shouldn't be too much of a problem.
For the role of the suspicious guy walking in the parking lot who prompts the discussion of murderers between Martin and Danny, I chose my good friend Alex Duque, though I call him Wade.
I chose Wade for this role for a couple of reasons. First of all, out of all of the people I casted, he has the most experience acting (as he is a member of our school television program), so therefore I wanted someone with a good acting background to play the suspicious guy, as he has to sell a certain demeanor without any dialogue. Additionally, since he is vastly more experienced in the realm of video production, he can offer advice with how I'm shooting things, or answer any questions that I have on camera settings.
But really, I'd just like for him to be a part of the story that I came up with while on a call with him, all those nights ago. :)
Last but certainly not least, I chose my good friend and neighbor (seriously, am I friends with all my neighbors??) Sebastian Crovetto.
He plays the unfortunate soul who catches Martin's eye at the gas station, eventually resulting in his untimely demise within a gas station restroom. Though in actuality, I'll be shooting his scene in the bathroom of a Dunkin Donuts, which is much cleaner and less likely to bother anyone.
We are currently in the process of deciding how to make him look like a murder victim. While I do know someone experienced with making fake blood (don't ask), when I discussed it with Sebastian, he showed discomfort at the idea of potentially ruining clothes. So I will continue looking for alternatives avoid any of his discomfort with the role.
And that's it! After gathering my troupe of actors and confirming with them that everything is ensured, all that's left is scheduling my shooting days! When I broke up the scenes into possible shooting segments, I found that, at least, I'd have to have four shooting sessions, not taking into account that we might have to reshoot. This will be difficult to achieve, especially because of my self-imposed deadline of having all footage by next Thursday, but I have faith in my ability to coordinate with people. I'll update you next time, either on my concrete shooting schedule, or if I'm lucky, my first day of filming!
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