FMP week 2

1. Weekly reflection 2 – FMP
This week I began my research. This included taking several books from the learning centre that focused
on mental illness and madness. I want to have a very good idea of the symptoms and common trends in
people suffering from the mental illnesses I am focusing on, so I also took the time to reach out to a
professional psychologist in search of a consultant. She agreed, having had experience with each of the
illnesses that the characters suffer from. This should allow me to add an extra edge of realism to the
whole project. As well as learning about the illnesses, I also wanted to learn about the public opinion, as
well as hear about the inflictions that people live with on a daily basis. So I created a survey on
SurveyMonkey asking about what aspects of mental illness interested the public and how it affects
them, be it their friends, their family, or them personally that lives with mental illness. The survey
garnered over 180 responses, which allowed me to carve out a broad demographic for both my target
audience, and what they’d be interested in seeing in a series about characters suffering from mental
illness. According to the survey, the general audience for my series are women in the 18-24 range. And
their reasons for wanting to see a series about illness generally stems from a desire to see positive
representation. Which will fit the idea behind my series quite nicely. I also auditioned several more
actors for the main and side roles in the series, even casting the part of Riley Matthews. Which makes
him the first of the main four to be cast. In my spare time, I have been working with a musician to create
and finalise the drafts for the character themes, as well as the themes for the series proper. We’ve done
enough now that when the time comes to record, there will be no need to come up with the melodies.
All that’s left is to determine how the soundtracks will be recorded. As well as creating a trailer and
some posters to tie into the series, I may also look into creating an original soundtrack to promote it. As
a lot of work has already gone into the original themes.

2. Overall, a productive second week, with a great start made on the research and casting fully
underway. Though I am beginning to struggle to fill the role of male lead, I am hopeful that an actor
will come forward before the filming starts. Next week I hope to have cast Skye Matthews, as
several young actresses have lobbied for the role. Currently, I am waiting to hear from the last
auditionee, who took ill at the last moment and had to delay her audition tape.