Research and Planning - Auditions

The auditions for the horror trailer took place on Friday 23rd November and there was a surprisingly good turn out !

Four males auditioned for the male leading role:

• Alexander Hardisty
• James Mills
• Matthew Nicholls
• Christopher Taylor

Two females auditioned for the female leading role:

• Victoria Hind
• Sara Wilson

The auditioning process was lengthy, however it definitely showed who was the most suitable and capable for the leading roles.

Alexander Hardisty 

(photo provided by Alex himself)

Originally, Alexander Hardisty was a very strong candidate for the leading male role as he was the first to contact me saying he was interested, he had an impressive acting CV and is a mutual friend of my partners and mine. However, due to Army commitments, Alex is no longer a suitable candidate for the trailer, as he will be back in service just after Christmas, the time we will really need him for filming. Due to this he didn't attend auditions, even though I have impressed with his acting talent in the past.

James Mills

(picture taken in costume for the part he was cast as in the trailer)

 James had a very strong audition and I know from past media work experience that he is open to trying new things and is not easily embarrassed, therefore filming with him would be ideal as he would not burst into a fit of giggles if we asked him to be chased by dead people! There's a slight height issue with James however, as all females who auditioned were either the same height or slightly taller than him and ideally the male lead has to be a tall dominant looking male. On this occasion James was not cast in this particular role - however he is thrilled to be cast as the 'stand-in' for the role for test filming purposes and will be used as a 'jack the ripper' style vintage murderer in the first few seconds of the real trailer.

Matthew Nicholls

(Photo taken by myself)

 Matt is the best physically for the role as he is extremely tall (6ft7") and slightly older than the rest of the auditionees at age 22. His appearance commands authority and his hair style and dress sense is perfect for the character, meaning I don't have to attempt to give him a make-over, or have to spend a large amount of the budget on a costume for him! Matt was a little nervous to begin with, but after a few practice runs he lost the nerves and proved to be a good actor. Matt was previously a media student and so understands the importance of getting the scenes in the trailer perfect and I feel this will therefore make him work harder and act better! Matt was given the role of the male lead and will begin filming with me soon!

Christopher Taylor

(Photo taken by myself)

 Sadly Christopher was not particularly suitable at all. His bleached blonde hair doesn't really fit with the style of character I had in mind and he is far to short and thin to be a commanding male figure. His audition was good, however the weakest out of all 4 auditions.

Victoria Hind

(Victoria requested not to have her photograph put online)

Victoria had a strong audition and worked incredibly well with James Mills (male audition). I can't help but feel she is far too adorable and sweet to be a female evil zombie type person and her hair isn't long enough for the character I envisioned. Victoria was not cast as the female lead, however, like James Mills, she will be a 'stand-in' for the female lead and used as an extra where necessary.

Sara Wilson

(Photo provided by Sara)

Sara had an excellent audition and revealed she is a drama student (which gave her extra audition bonus points!) Sara has the right look, build and style I envisioned for the female lead character and has worked on a similar project before, giving her good experience. Sara was cast as the female lead, however she lives in Oldham (45 minutes by bus from where myself and my media partner live) which may prove a little problematic for test shots and expensive for her if she has to get the bus to film with us every other day. However, we are sure we can work around this.