Characters
My main character is Peggy, my nan when she was 6 years old. She is one of three sisters and has one brother, all of which are older than she is. My nan has and always been quite mischievous, whilst showing me old photographs of her and her family she pointed to a nativity play she was part of, and how she was always running away from it whilst they were rehearsing or performing. In one location she was evacuated to she supposedly got ahold of the cut throat razor the barber who worked there used and was chased about the place for it. Even when I and my sister would visit her she would make up fantastical tales of her being a witch and magical creatures living in the field behind her garden. I'll try to capture her attitude in her facial expressions and stance, as well as using clips of the interview that reveal personality, she was never one for being bossed about and definitely had a mind of her own.
My second ring of characters are her family - her two sisters Pat and Betty, her brother Bill, and her mother and father. These characters only show up to match the story being told, or to accompany Peggy. They don't have any direct dialogue or particular influence overall, as the story is being told from the perspective of one person, with the memories remaining from when she was six. A child's perspective is very different from an adult's, especially when the focus is war. My nan now looks back and thinks of it in concern and worry, but acknowledges that she didn't see all the danger at the time.
There is also the character of the young girl at the end who had been buried all night, she isn't a fleshed out character at all, but she is important in telling the story of the war and how children were effected, as well as how they had to continue no matter what just like the adults did.
Other than these characters there aren't many in focus, the others that appear on the screen are simple background characters - extras that fill out the scene so to fit with the narration and make it more realistic. The focus was less on other people and more on the circumstances and happenings.
Somewhat luckily I don't need to cast anyone or make any auditions, all I need if my nan's voice and the animated characters on screen to sync with what she's saying. It would be hard to cast anyone to be her family and friends, they wouldn't be like she knew them, and it would be especially hard getting so many child actors. Although an animated character isn't exactly as Peggy will remember her friends and family either, it gives more of an artistic licence to play with how the characters look and behave.
My second ring of characters are her family - her two sisters Pat and Betty, her brother Bill, and her mother and father. These characters only show up to match the story being told, or to accompany Peggy. They don't have any direct dialogue or particular influence overall, as the story is being told from the perspective of one person, with the memories remaining from when she was six. A child's perspective is very different from an adult's, especially when the focus is war. My nan now looks back and thinks of it in concern and worry, but acknowledges that she didn't see all the danger at the time.
There is also the character of the young girl at the end who had been buried all night, she isn't a fleshed out character at all, but she is important in telling the story of the war and how children were effected, as well as how they had to continue no matter what just like the adults did.
Other than these characters there aren't many in focus, the others that appear on the screen are simple background characters - extras that fill out the scene so to fit with the narration and make it more realistic. The focus was less on other people and more on the circumstances and happenings.
Somewhat luckily I don't need to cast anyone or make any auditions, all I need if my nan's voice and the animated characters on screen to sync with what she's saying. It would be hard to cast anyone to be her family and friends, they wouldn't be like she knew them, and it would be especially hard getting so many child actors. Although an animated character isn't exactly as Peggy will remember her friends and family either, it gives more of an artistic licence to play with how the characters look and behave.
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