Delayed Filming

 Today was supposed to be our first day of filming, but, unfortunately, we had a bit of an issue. Our male lead within the film, was grounded, and is now unable to film/ be apart of our opening. Although I am aware that within the sphere of filmmaking, unexpected issues and challenges happen all the time, having to recast a lead role seems to be on the larger side of the spectrum. 

Instead of panicking, me and my group took this as an opportunity to refine the character, and maybe even potentially improve the film, and so the recasting begins...

Since horror films rely heavily on emotions, especially their expression, choosing the right ator as a replacement is crucial. As a group, we decided to line up some priorities for us, and what we deem as non-negotiables in a leading actor within our opening.

Firstly, we want to make sure he has a solid emotional range, in order to convey the feelings of fear, paranoia, and psychological depth, something which is essential in our opening. Along with this, we want the character to be able to have strong reactions through their body language. And the obvious, our actor must have a bit of chemistry with our other lead, and fit into the openings dynamic, or else the rest of the opening will be ruined.

Although we may also have to slightly adjust our script to better fit the new actor, I doubt this will be a large issue, as the script was pretty egeneral, and meant to fit all kinds of actors.

I would also like to emphasize that, although annoying, recasting is not the end of the world! A number of horror films have successfully had to recast their characters, and continued to be equally successful. For example, In the Exorcist, the role of Father Karras was originally supposed to go to another actor, but Jason Miller took over, and successfully created an interesting character, alongside a very successful movie.

Another key example is from the classic horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, in where the iconic Leatherface had to be recast, but the new actors performance continued to maintain the originals terrifying presence.

All in all, rather then seeing this recast as a setback, I choose to see it as an opportunity to improve my opening, and further elevate my final product through the use of fresh energys, better chemistry, and an even better performance.