Casting Process

     Now for (probably) the biggest problem I've been facing during this pre-production process. Casting. I decided pretty early on that I should play Mika. Since he's the main character being shown in the opening, he has the most lines and the camera is on him most of the time. Because of how central he is to the opening, me playing him makes sense since I created him and have a full grasp of his mannerisms/personality. That and I wanted to. I wanted Mika to be played this very specific way that I'm not sure would come across if anyone else played him. I'm not saying that I'm a good actor, I wouldn't know, but I am saying that Mika's part makes sense to me. Additionally, having myself play one of the characters makes it easier to schedule a shooting day, as I have less people to depend on.

    Aba's casting was the most difficult. Aba is a 10 year old girl, and finding a girl around that age to play her is hard. Throughout a week or two, I asked my friends around school if they had a little sister who was willing to participate or knew someone who did. I ended up having only two options: both of them being sisters of friends of my friend, Ale. Ale helped me out a lot during the casting process to the point where I'm for sure going to put their credits in the opening. Anyway, option A would soon drop out due to a lack of communication. We would send texts and there would be no response, it was hard to get in touch. Option B also dropped out, being unavailable with no reason given. It was also going to be hard to convince a parent to let their child be a part of a school project that had swearing and prop cigarettes, so... it was really is where I'm getting at. Finally, I reached my last resort, my little, 10-year-old, brother. I really didn't want to have him play Aba since Aba wasn't a boy, and I really do feel that Aba and Mika's dynamic works better if Aba is a little sister. Nevertheless, my brother will play Aba, who's name will not change because I don't feel like there's a need to. A positive of using my brother is that I wouldn't have to meet and engage with a random child I never met before, so that's a plus. Me and my brother already have that sibling familiarity and an established chemistry. In the end, this was probably the best option.

    Teddy's casting was extremely easy. I have a friend who I had in mind when creating Teddy. My friend, Sunnie, fits Teddy's general goody-energetic-vibe. Previously mentioned friend who helped me with casting, Ale, is also friends with Sunnie and helped me get the yes from him! It was too easy, I wish Aba's casting was as easy. Now, casting is complete and I don't see it changing anytime soon. We're scheduled to film on Sunday (previously Saturday, but had to change due to Sunnie not being available) and all that is needed to be resolved before then is a confirmation on the Circle K (which I previously called a K-Mart, my bad) as the shooting location and choosing the specific outfits for each character. I honestly didn't think I would start shooting this soon, but I'm glad I am.