The Good Soldier - Auditions - Notes 6

We held auditions for the film last Wednesday, June 10. We had 14 people audition for the two roles. It was my first experience casting and one I will not forget.

I have to be honest - when I heard the first lines from my script read aloud, by someone who was channeling one of the main characters - something in my heart fluttered and I felt emotional. It was the first time I have ever had something that I wrote performed. At that moment the writing, the story, all of that "stuff" that was merely in my head was coming to life. It put into perspective the magnitude of filmmaking in my life. And furthermore, I witnessed what someone else - with their own thoughts, perceptions, and feelings, can bring to a story that I might never have anticipated.

I am very grateful to have had so many people show up and put it all out there in an effort to bring these characters to life. It's a tough thing to get in front of people and a camera and act. And even tougher to make it believable. It takes a lot of courage and I truly respect those that gave it a shot - especially those that made this their first time.

I am thankful to John who has been a great supporter, guide, and teacher during this auditioning process. His input has been extremely valuable and I really appreciate having him on board. And thanks to Chris for helping manage the casting schedule.

I have watched the audition tape a few times now and narrowed the possibilities down. I have yet to make any final decisions. I expect to have one more audition before I make the selections.

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As far as the technical stuff for the audition, everything went pretty well. I did have some issue with my HDV camera and hooking up a wireless lav mic to it - ultimately all the sound was recorded through the camera mic, which kind of sucked for sound quality but it still managed to capture it all. When it comes to the actual shoot I will need to work out all of the bugs on the sound. I am almost more nervous about the sound than the film.

The lighting for the room proved to be very good and I think the 3-point light package I have is going to work fine. It seemed to help quite a bit that the auditions took placed in the actual location that the film will be shot and many of the props were set up and able to be used.

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I am in the process of making some decisions about where to purchase film, where to process it and where to have it transferred. I'm not only looking at price but quality of the final picture and turn-around time. It's a difficult decision given these three elements but making the right decision is crucial.

I have also come up with a final shooting schedule. If all goes well, I will be shouting "Action!" in exactly 10 days.