Warren Siwale Screen Test with Notes For my AS Film Studies portfolio, I will be following the textual analysis

of two films that are a combination of two genres, teen drama and social realist. Kidulthood (Menhaj Huda, 2006, UK) and Brick (Rian Johnson, 2005, US) focus on the representations of teenage protagonists using different techniques. My creative artifact will be based on the general ideas I obtained through analyzing the two films. I will be creating a short film in the drama/socio realist genre in which I will explore day in the life of a lower class teenager called Michael. Within both films (Kidulthood and Brick), there are a number of different scenes which show how a young teenagers life is turned upside down due to a traumatizing event e.g. In Brick, Brendans girlfriend (Emily) is killed and in Kidulthood, Trevor is forced to cut a mans face by his uncle (Curtis). Based on the following concepts I decided to focus on portraying a teenager who experiences something traumatic and makes a decision that could change his life. I decided that I would emphasize on the protagonists emotions, more specifically the anger and pain he feels. Following my idea, I wrote a script for my creative artifact and focused on finding a male actor who could play the role of a emotional but strong minded teenager to portray to the audience the feeling anger, pain and loneliness while maintaining a sense of power and control. I decided to write a short monologue in which the protagonist is explaining to his friend his thoughts and emotions about his girlfriends death. This would help me identify how powerful the actor looks on screen and also how well he performs his lines while conveying certain emotions. I chose and screen tested 3 black males for the role of my protagonist (Michael). A medium shot of the protagonist speaking to his friend in a secluded area. MICHAEL It's been a week since she died and believe me when I tell you I cried. I've never cried like that before. Man I feel like Ive lost everything, I just feel so angry man. The worst thing is, the thing thats driving me mad is that I can't hold her, kiss her, and listen to her sing to me every night. This morning I just felt like ending it all, I swear I would have just killed myself if you hadnt had called me. She was the only thing keeping me on the right path and now shes gone. Every time I see a picture of her, every time I hear her name I, I just cant help but get angry. I dont know what to do with myself. I loved her so much! I don't know what I'm going to do without her man.

Warren Siwale Screen test with notes for Michael Actor 1: Name: Jonas Mondua Age: 17 The first actor that performed was excellent, viewing him from two different shots (medium shot and close up), he seemed very relaxed and in control and was exactly what I was looking for as he managed to express exactly how the protagonist should feel and did so with ease. He projected his voice very well; especially during the lines I cant hold her, kiss her and listen to her sing to me every night. He also had good body language, using both hand gestures and body movements when expressing the protagonist feelings. His facial expressions were just magnificent, you could see exactly how he was feeling, this made his performance brilliant and also made the audience feel sympathy towards him which exactly what I expect the audience to feel. As the performance went on, I could see he was very comfortable with his role and stayed in character, he changed the tone of his voice at different times during the monologue to make it sound more sincere. He performed as though no one was watching; he looked as though he didnt know the camera was there which was very impressive. Screen test with notes for Michael Actor 2: Name: Ray Magu Age: 17 Actor 2 seemed very interesting at first glance as I could see the confidence blooming through his face, his physical features where perfect for the role of the protagonist. As I begun watching him perform, I could tell he was having trouble portraying certain types of emotions; he just seemed like a happy character rather than the emotional character I was looking for. As the performance continued, I noticed that he didnt really move much or use any hand gestures. I thought that as the performance went on hed adapt to the character that was expected of him, instead it looked as though he had given up as I noticed him stumbling over words and his voice projection also slightly lowered. Although his physical appearance was perfect, his performance wasnt and the fact that he gave up shows that

Warren Siwale he wasnt determined enough for this role.

Screen tests with notes for Michael Actor 3: Name: Mathieu Reddington Ray Magu Age: 17 The third actor didnt come across as a typical black male teenager hair, he looked quite timid, shy and very vulnerable. My perception of him quickly changed when he began performing as he moved with confidence and projected his voice well, he did occasionally make mistakes but still managed to pull me into the performance. Although he was an excellent performer, he didnt have the presence that I needed the protagonist to have. His physical appearance also wasnt what I intended for the protagonist as he is quite slim and his hair color wouldnt be suited for this role. Hes ability to perform is undoubtedly great but he just doesnt fulfill the protagonists characteristics.