Characters and Casting

Characters and Casting

After we had a basic idea of the narrative, we began to create '3D' characters, giving them back stories and personality traits. Through this, we started to cast people for the roles. 

Main Cast/characters

Daniel Shippey as Michael Lockwood (Good Group)

To cast the main protagonist, we decided that we wanted an unlikely hero to play the role. Therefore, since Iain and Daniel were to be available at all times, we thought it would be best to choose either of those as the main role. We asked our media class who looked more like the 'bad' guy and it resulted in Iain as the sophisticated 'villain'. We thought that Daniel's piercing took away the stereotype of the perfect and all good main character so we chose to use him as the leader. 

     From this, we decided to create a character. We wanted a name that alluded to a good nature and power so we began to make a list of ideas. In the end, we decided on Michael after the angel (the angel that sends the fallen angel to hell.) This was a way to foreshadow that good would conquer evil in our story (another generic feature of Hollywood films.)

This is the description that we wrote about Michael...

Michael Lockwood: The main protagonist. He is a complex character who adapts very well to a world without adults, ultimately forming a group of followers. Finding it difficult to express his feelings, he brings hope to many other haracters, however his power brings rivalry witht he rich boy Haden. Will he manage to keep his status and protect the people he cares for, or will his enemies bring about his downfall?

Elizabeth McLaughlin as Eve Formstone ( Good Group)
Alongside the protagonist,we thought that a powerful female would be good to represent genders fairly and to add more depth to the characters. We thought a smart, moralised girl would help to add a super ego figure to the narrative, defining what is right and wrong. However, we felt that even a strong figure needed some weakness so we brought a sibling into the story. By adding the girl's brother, we thought it would add a sense of realism and emotion to our film as it shows attachment of characters. 
    Her name came from the biblical character in Genesis: Adam and Eve. We thought that during our narrative, the main female could betray the group, so we decided to name her Eve to represent the downfall of man, or in the film, her group.
We cast me as this role as I am blonde, representing innocence and the 'good girl' look. Also, we knew that we wanted to cast a younger sibling and an adult figure for our narrative so my family would work; we would look related creating a believable film.
This is the description that we wrote for Eve...
Eve Formstone: Eve is one of the cleverest girls in her class- but she does the math. Eve knows it's only a matter of time until they run our of food and people turn on each other. She remains strong and protects her younger brother- Alfie- he is the reason she goes on. Eve, like the other looks up to Michael as their leader but she sees a different side to him. She knows that he isn't perfect and he's human so she makes it her mission to help him because the leader that they need...

Iain Guy as Haden Godfrey (Bad Group)

As an antithesis to Michael, we needed a lead antagonist. After the vote from the class, we decided to cast Iain as the main 'bad guy'; since we wanted a sophisticated leader, we felt it best that he took the role. The antagonist in Lord of the Flies is ginger so we also took influence from this as Iain has ginger hair. This was to allude to the devil.
     The origin of his name came from the Greek God Hades who was banished to the underworld. We felt that the name fit nicely and represented his dark nature. 

This was the description that we wrote for Haden:

Haden Godfrey: The main antagonist. Haden is a boy who is used to getting what he wants, and when all the adults just vanish, he seeks power. He is one of the rich kids in town, alongside Selene; both feel it is their right to rule. After Michael is voted as the leader, by the other teens of town. Haden finds a group of his own. ultimately taking revenge upon Michael's group. Will he succeed in his path to power? Or will his obsession bring to him crumble like the rest?

Clare Branson as Selene Blanchett (Bad Group)

Just like Michael, we thought Haden's group would be work well with a main female antagonist.  In opposition to Eve, we wanted someone with darker hair so we asked a few people who we knew to see who would want to act. One of our close friends Clare decided that she would play the role. Clare is rather tall so we thought it would show domiancne over the female in Michael's group (as I am quite small in comparison).

   We thought that the name Selene has similar phonological aspects to 'snake' so we felt it may be good to use this. Since we wanted this character to influence Haden's decision, as sneaky name would work well so we chose this for the female.

This was the description we wrote for Selene:

Selene Blanchett: Selene is the rich girl of the town, and although her loyalties lie with Haden, she has a tendency to tease others to get what she wants. Her ideas often influence Haden and she has an uncanny ability to find out valuable information. She does however, find herself in situations where she too feels like the world has turned to nothing but her group does not understand her grief. Her main rival is Eve as she sees her as the opposing voice of reason, and their heightened moment is when they come face to face in the final stand. Will Selene cope with Haden's temper? And will she sin against Eve when it's a fight for survival?

Side Characters

Sam Coburn as Luke Goldwyn (Good Group)

We knew that there would be some form of conflict within our narrative so we needed side characters to build up the groups. We needed a physically strong character for Michael's group so we decided to ask Sam (a friend) to play the role.

This was the description we wrote for Luke:

Luke Goldwyn: a thoughtful character, who ends up joining Michael's group. As a boy of morals, he often finds himself making decisions and contributing to what is right and wrong in the 'new world'. He is strong both physically and mentally and helps the group to overcome challenges that bring them down. Even as a side-character, the group would ultimately fall apart without him.

Fiona Gill as Fiona Grey (Good Group)

We wanted to add a weaker character to Michael's group that Haden's could target on to create a thrilling narrative. Since Fiona Gill is a small and pretty girl, we felt she would appear vulnerable on screen so we thought that she would be character that dies, creating real tension between the groups.

This is the description we wrote fro Fiona:

Fiona Grey: A loveabale character who finds safety with Michael's group. She is very sweet and often doesn't like to see the bad side in people. This however, leads to her becoming victimised by Haden's group, causing her downfall.

Dan McArthur as Jake Fletcher (Bad Group)

Since we wanted to portray Haden as a sophisticated villain, we decided that he would rarely fight. Therefore, we wanted to create characters that would be Haden's henchmen. One of these characters were cast by Dan; a very tall friend of ours. Due to his height, it portrayed dominance and an advantage over the good group. We wanted Jake to be a sadistic character who uses violence in the 'new world'.

This is our character description for Jake:

Jake Fletcher: Jake takes any opportunity to fight, hence his involvement with Haden's group. Although he hates to be told what to do, he finds satisfaction in violence when trying to prove power. His main rival is Luke due to his need to exhibit his strength. 

Kieran Hanrahan as Kieran Stockholm:

Alongside Dan, we wanted another henchman so we asked another friend of ours. We thought Kieran's name already sounded different so we decided to keep it. 

This is our character description for Kieran:

Kieran Stockholm: As a member of Haden's team, he is rather cruel and twisted. With no hesitation to use violence as a solution, he is the perfect henchman for Haden.

Matthew McLaughlin as Alfie Formstone (Good Group)

We needed a younger sibling for Eve so we thought we should sue my younger brother. This was so the characters looked related to add a realism to our film. We thought the name Alfie sounded sweet and innocent to reflect the vulnerability of the character. We also thought a younger character would evoke emotional attachment in the audience, creating a depth to our film.

This is the description we wrote for Alfie:

Alfie is the younger brother of Eve and is often is afraid what will happen. Eve is very protective over him and will go to all extents to ensure he is safe. Alfie reminds the group what they are fighting for: a future. He is a very innocent boy who relies on the group to keep him safe and happy.

Extras: 

Hannah Larkin as Lana Moore (Good group)

To add an extra character to Michael's group, we asked Hannah to join. We thought another female figure in the group would help to balance the sides after Fiona's death. We chose Hannah as she is tall and has lighter coloured hair contrasting with the characters in the bad group.

 Alex Sherlock as Evan Campbell

We liked the idea of having only one female in Haden's group so we added another male figure. Alex is very tall so we decided to cast him as Evan. This helped to show dominance over Michael's group.

Karen Mclaughlin

We knew that Eve needed a mother for our narrative. Therefore, we decided to cast my mum so we looked related. This was to add a sense of realism to our trailer.

Ged Groves

We had a camera shot in mind when we thought of our narrative and knew that we needed someone to act as the teacher. Due to this, we cast Ged.