Barry Turi

Screen Test Notes

For my AS Film Studies portfolio, I have completed my textual analysis, which covered how the
directors of The Dark Knight (US 2008, Christopher Nolan) and Kingsman: The Secret Service (UK
2015, Michael Vaughn) represented the protagonists of these films. I am now considering my
screen test notes and beginning to decide who will play the roles of each character in my two
minute artefact.
Within both of the films I have studied, both sets of antagonists come across as menacing,
fearless and smart in their own unique ways. In The Dark Knight, The Joker is smart in the way he
plans out his actions, and in Kingsman: The Secret Service, Gazelle is smart and fearless as she
uses her bionic legs and she knows a lot of fighting moves and strategies, and Valentines
strategies make him a dangerous foe. The requirements in which the actors must be able to
perform are very important to my artefact, as I am mainly focusing on how an action films
protagonists are represented as opposed to my textual analysis, which focused on the
antagonists. I am aiming to create a fearless set of characters, which come across as intimidating,
and which fits the conventions of a protagonist/antagonist.
I will also be creating a monologue for each actor to read and perform accordingly, which is known
as screen test notes. I primarily want males as they fit the codes and conventions of action films. I
will be using these screen test notes to determine who is the best person to play that specific
characters I will be assessing each candidate for their delivery in lines, involving projection of
words and phrases, and also how realistic and professional his actions are.
Character #1 The Cowl
The Cowl is the films main protagonist. He has enhanced agility, strength and speed, which act as
his super powers. He wears an old torn-up hoody and pair of jeans, and also has to wear white
contact lenses. Not only does these add a mysterious factor to the character, and makes him
conform to the generic superhero, but it also makes the actor playing him, who I want to be at
least 16 years old, look older. Because he is the main character, whoever plays him has an
important role while filming the artefact. I would preferably like to have a male of any race who is
athletic and has a suitable figure for the character, and also somebody who knows how to act well
and deliver his lines well.
Character #2 Lynch
Lynch also has enhanced agility, strength and speed, but not as much as The Cowl. He acts a
sidekick, similar to Robin in Batman. Despite Lynch being held as a hostage, there are parts of the
sequence where Lynch displays athletic movements and generic conventions of a main
protagonist such as taking on enemies and winning. Lynch is the secondary protagonist, and acts
as The Cowls sidekick, so this means that he can still be presented in a similar fashion as The
Cowl, however not to the same degree. In the sequence, Lynch wears a badly torn up hoody,
jeans, boots and a hockey mask, which is taken off when the sequence begins. I will also consider
adding make up to look like blood and bruises are all over him. I would like an athletic male of any
skin colour, and has to be at least 16 years of age who can deliver lines well and is a good actor.
Character #3 Mob Boss
The Mob Boss isnt the main antagonist of the entire plot; however he is the most powerful
antagonist in my artefact. His henchmen respect him and he can give out orders to them. He
wears a clean black suit, tie, trousers and formal boots with a white polo shirt. He isnt athletic, but
he is a stocky male who is represented with authority and wealth. I am looking for a stocky
Caucasian male of at least 16 years of age, who can deliver lines well, can act well and can
conform to the roles of an antagonist in an action film.

Barry Turi

Character #1 The Cowl

Practice Monologue:
My name is Robert Sanderson, but I go by The Cowl. Some people consider me to be a hero,
and some may refer to me as a ruthless vigilante. My motives are to eradicate crime from the
streets of this wretched city, but that is not how they are portrayed to the government.
Actor #1 Ifaz Chowdhury
Age 17 years old
Height 5ft 10
Features Olive skin, dark hair
Screen test notes on The Cowl Actor #1 Ifaz Chowdhury.
Ifaz has the physical appearance I was looking for. I was not bothered by his skin
colour, but I was looking for someone with a more muscular figure, and Ifaz meets these
expectations. I could imagine him as a protagonist, and he would look intimidating and
menacing with some additional make-up and the white contact lenses. I wanted to see how
well he could act, so I gave him some test notes to read out and then I would make a
judgement on whether I should use him for my creative artefact. However, when told to deliver
the lines above, I found that Ifaz was lacking in emphasising his voice. He says he
has never taken acting seriously before, which may be the reason. He isnt the sort
of actor I am looking for. I am looking for someone who is a good actor with past
experience in acting, and unfortunately Ifaz does not have this.
Actor #2 Harry Martin
Age 16 years old
Height 5ft 8
Features White skin, dark short hair
Screen test notes on The Cowl Actor #2 Harry Martin
Harry looks physically like a main protagonist. Along with the costume, makeup and contact lenses, Harry would look intimidating and conventional to the action genre as the
main hero. The character is a vigilante, he needs to look and be athletic; however, Harry does look
a little less muscular than my other options. This may be a problem, however the issue can be
resolved if I choose baggier clothes and intimidating features in which the audience can notice this
less. I repeated the process of telling Harry to deliver the lines and actions, and then I would judge
him on whether he is good enough for the role. I think Harry fits the role due to his appearance
and also his delivery in lines, I feel he did a solid job. He is a good actor. I have used him before in
other filming projects so I would trust that he would be suitable for the role as well as be willing to
take part in the filming.

Barry Turi

Character #2 Lynch
Practice Monologue:
Wh-where am I? Let me go! NOW! Tell me where I am, or Ill break every bone in your body!
These ropes cant hold me from you Ill break out. And when I do, youll be sorry you ever tied
me up!
Actor #1 Sam Willmore
Age 17 years old
Height 6ft
Features White skin, long hair, tall figure
Screen test notes on Lynch Actor #1 Sam Willmore
Sam is quite skinny and tall, so ideally he is the sort of person would let play the
part. His figure could connote how he is in danger, with his lack of muscle to
emphasise his small amount of strength, however knowing Sam I can gather that
he is also quite athletic. I know him personally and he enjoys doing sport in his free
time. He also has experience acting as well, inside and outside of school. I still tell
got him to deliver the lines given, and he delivered them with great emphasis and sounded like he
put his all into the delivery. He has taken part in many shows and he knows how to act and he
enjoys it too, therefore making Sam a good choice and an option for playing the character of Lynch
the only reason why he cant be The Cowl is because of his figure. This still makes him an
eligible option for the character of Lynch, who still is the secondary protagonist.
Actor #2 Conor Daly
Age 16 years old
Height 5ft 10
Features White skin, brown hair
Screen test notes on Lynch Actor #2 Conor Daly
Conor has an ideal figure and physical appearance I was picturing Lynch to have.
He isnt too bulky but he isnt too skinny either. He is athletic as well, so the action
sequence would benefit by having Conor play Lynch. He is currently helping me with my media
coursework and is a good member of the group, therefore I know he understands media
terminology and knows what an actor must do to be represented as a typical protagonist in an
action film, but by judging on his previous experiences with acting, he hasnt had much and claims
that he didnt like drama when he did it in Years 7-9. However, for purposes of this task and also to
convince him to change his mind I still went ahead and gave him the monologue. He actually
performed surprisingly well, and it would be ideal if Conor could play the role of Lynch. He
delivered lines well, he performed good actions and emphasised the right parts of the monologue.
It would be ideal and easier to cast Conor as the character because he also attends the same
school as me, therefore making him more available and accessible.

Barry Turi

Character #3 Mob Boss

Practice Monologue:
Lynch, Lynch, LYNCH! Its not so nice to know that you stopped my weapons trade from earning
me millions. But dont worry when you and The Cowl are tied up to the same chair, knocked out
cold for the government to put bullets through, Ill be guaranteed a lifetimes supply of money
and nobody, not even you, will stop me.
Actor #1 Billy Gravestock
Age 17 years old
Height 5ft 6
Features White skin, blonde hair
Screen test notes on Mob Boss Actor #1 Billy Gravestock
Billy is a good friend of mine and I gave him the chance to prove he was good for
the role. This is another actor who fits the physical appearance I was hoping for,
except this time it is for the Mob Boss, and Billy has all the traits of a Mob Boss in
my eyes. He is quite big, and will prove a intimidating antagonist in my sequence.
He read and delivered the practice monologue well, delivering emphasis in the lines and also
showing facial expressions and gestures. He fits the role very well and is a good actor, as like Sam
Willmore, he has done drama in the past for GCSE and has experience to some sort of extent.
Billy will be the one casting consideration for the character of the Mob Boss, as he is the only
person I can think of who will be easy to get. He lives a road away from the school. He looks and
performs well for the role. He also lives around the corner to the school (my location) so it will be
easy for him to access.
Actor #2 Billy Doak
Age 15 years old
Height 5ft 5
Features White skin, blonde hair
Screen test notes on Mob Boss Actor #2 Billy Doak
Billy is one of my close friends so when I brought this up to him, he said he will give it a go, then I
could evaluate the performance. I felt that he had similar features to Billy Gravestock; they both
have blonde hair and white skin, and this is how I wanted the Mob Boss to look like. Billy
performed to me the practice dialogue and I felt that he was good, but however his voice could be
improved and also his facial expressions and gestures associated with the dialogue. Although this
can be done, I felt I could rather use someone who knows what he is doing, and someone who
has had some sort of experience. He is also the youngest of all the casting considerations, which
puts him at a disadvantage, because physically he does not look intimidating enough as the other
characters in the sequence. Billy is a good actor, however I feel that he just isnt right for the role.