THR Homework: Casting

Plot 2

The Rectifier
Plot: Sci-fi thriller set in New York following a middle aged man suffereing from amnesia trying to get his life back, with only a government badge to tell him who he is. He finds out he was part of a top secret government organisation, however when trying to uncover why and who he is he is unrecognised and told he has fforged his badge, as the name on the badge is aparenty not him. After a long interrogation it is found out that the man/employee who owns the badge called Ed and the man with amnesia are genetically the same person.
It is discovered that he is a future version of this man Ed and has been sent forward two years in the future to deliver a message to save mankind.

Casting: I believe Denzel Washington would play this role brilliantly as he is known for his serious roles such as Philidelphia (1993), Malcolm X (1992) and the role which won him his Oscar in 2001 in Training Day.

THR Homework: Casting

To think about casting, and the stars role in a film we were told to each think up a film plot of any genre.

Plot 8
The Ferry
This was my plot. I chose a thriller set in America, New Jersey and Manhattan. A girl called Hannah Paterson works at a detectives unit in New Jersey specialising in homicide. A new case comes in or a serial killer from Manhattan who meets his victims on the ferry, lures them back to his flat and kills them. This news is spread all over both cities and everyone is very panicked. Meanwhile Hannah is dating a guy called Dan, very suave and very kind. Hannah starts too find more and more clues about the 'ferry killer' and starts to get very attached to the case when a girl about her age who looked like her dies. She becomes more and more involved with the case and her boss Doug warns her to calm down about it as it s affecting her judgement. Also her boyfriend Dan is telling her to calm down because the case is starting to affect her home life. She has found out how he kills his victims and decides to go under cover on the ferry to try and catch him. However when she's on the ferry she realises it is her boyfriend Dan who is the killer. He kidnaps her to the basement of the ferry where there are loads of pipes and the scene is dark with steam around. Just as he is about to slit her throat Doug comes and shoots him in the back and kills Dan.
I think Angelina Jolie would be perfect in the role of Hannah Paterson as she is known for playing serious roles such as Girl Interrupted (1999) and Changeling (coming soon) and strong women roles such as Tomb Raider(2001, 2003), Wanted (2008), as well as police women roles such as Bone Collector (1999). She is a fantastic actress as shown by her Oscar win in 2000 for Girl Interrupted, and I believe she would play this part very well. I believe the role of 'Dan' should go to someone good looking and suave such as Leonardo DiCaprio. His role in Catch Me if You Can (2002) has made an impression on me and I believe his is perfect in this part.

Video Clips

Mrs T Homework

Release of a film
identifying the audience and releasing a campaign suitable for them.
The you need to consider how much you want to spend on marketing in relatin to how much the movie can take in at the box office
Promotion:

• 3rd party
• publicity angles
• media partners-radio, newpapers, magazines
• actors-interviews with the media

media spend:

• outdoor posters.
• online
• TV
• Radio

Target Audience

For smaller films you have to identify and focus on the audience more. Look at past comparisons/films:

• look at the audiences and their ages, gender, and hobbies/activities

DO LOTS OF RESEARCH

ultimately advertising is a gamble as you can never be 100% sure of who you are specifically going to target.

45 years+ make decision while watching tv ->they take longer to decide on going to see a film and so you need to reinforce it through other media such as newspapers

15-16 year olds makes quicker decisions

All audiences need to be targeted differently

P&A Budget

Cost of prints, shipping, advertising cost-posters, press ads, tv spots, trailers in cinemas.

Where to advertise and how best to use the money. What are the audience and where will they see the adverts.

Tv is expensive and radio is considerably cheaper and can get to a big audience.

Marketing Plan

Many methods-advertising and press

Advertising is more expensive and includes adverts in magazines, newspapers, on tv and radio and the internet. Billboards and on the side of buses

Free forms of advertising include: press, support from director and cast in which you would set up interview for tv and radio. Word of mouth- screening of a film to an audience. Viral campaigns-something that promotes an interest in the films subject matter. Word of Mouth is crucial and can make or break a film. It's useful for specialised films which have a small budget.

Link Between

Convnce cinemas to take te film. Independant films are obviously harder-> you really need to sell it and ultimately find somewhere to put it.

Positioning and Audience

Define Audience-does the film have a specific genre and does it speak to a certain age group.

who directed the film? Specialised films often have audiences who are more in the know so you can target them specifically.

Competition

Film distribution is all about competition. You need to stand out and above the others. Why should i choose your film?

October half term-> good time to target younger audience

Holidays and weather is a factor-> in July/Aug you don't wanna put too many TV ads because people are outdoors-> big outdoor posters

Word of Mouth
CRITICAL

Sometimes, with some movies word of mouth will be very strong. Work with media partners to run advanced screening programs. The theory is that if 100 people each tell 10 people loads of people will know. Much cheaper way to advertise. Word of Mouth can create a strong momentum for the movie.

Film Trailers

A trailer is key for selling the film. It is the audiences first exposure to the film and what they're buying into. They're in the same environment and the same place, on the same screen they will be watching it in/on.

Digital Marketing

Viral marekting-> create something that becasue it is good enough, you will send it on to other people

Word of Mouth is best-> it means more to you

Test Screenings

Research is important. Done well in advance-> posters, concepts, trailers, visuals, meeting expectations. After-> screenings , filling in questionaires, focus groups-talk about the issues of a movie, and then after that the producers might consider changing one aspect of the movie (e.g. the end)

Persuading cinemas

To convince cinemas to take the film (specifically independant films) you really need to sell the films.

Opening Weekend

VERY importanant. All films open on a friday. 3 day figure is how much money a film makes of its first on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Monday is make or break day- Holdovers are based on how much money you make that firstopening weekend and it determines how long the film will continue to play in the cinema.

Piracy

Piracy has escalated over the lst 5 years. In 2006 piracy counted for 20% of all DVD sales in the UK-> an alarming figure

It is a Big problem-> peopl think they are getting a bargain when in fact they are losing out on quality

http://www.launchingfilms.tv/

SHOT SEQUENCE ANALYSIS

1. High angle MCU-> almost a crane shot. Low-Key lighting. Black and white. Wooden planks behind him shows he is lying down which puts him in a position of vulnerability as he is less likely to be able to get away if need be. A scared expression on his face suggests he is defending himself with the gun (he is the victim rather that the attacker). His hand is covering his ear which suggest he is trying to cover the sound of the gunshot, or perhaps he is wounded in the ear.

2. High angle. Long shot. Low-key lighting. We are introduced to another character who appears to be towering over the man in the original shot which is giving him the power and authority in the shot. He appears angry with the man on the ground which is shown by his firm stance. He could be either about to shoot him or have just shot the man lying down, because of the way the man on the floor is sprawled out. We can also now see that they are by the water, which makes us wonder what the killer intends to do (i.e. dump the body in the water) and why they are there.

3. ELS. Low-key lighting. By a warehouse/docks, which imply the area is not a nice area, which makes the situation scarier as the setting seems more frightening and mysterious to the audience. We can now tell for definite that it is at night because the sky is a very dark grey and we can see the lights from street lamps and houses in the background. The use of such a long shot helps to set set the scene and create and eerie atmosphere, and also introduces another character into the scene, however we cannot tell what he is doing or what his connection to the two characters is yet. The man with the gun in the previous shots (Bruce Willis) seems particularly dominant as he is leaning over the other man which makes the man on the floor more scared which is showed by his scrunched position-which could imply he has just been kicked-this makes Bruce Willis' character seem brutal. We can vaguely see the head of a person (the young girl) tied up to one of the posts on the pier. We do not know her involvement yet.

4. Low-key lighting. Long shot. Black and white. Same as the shot before but zoomed in to get closer to that action. The coat of the killer is billowing in the wind which makes his character seem more powerful and almost gives him a mystical aura. WE can see the girl closer now, her head is down implying she is either crying, or is covering her eyes because she cannot bring herself to watch. This could be because she has a connection to the man on the floor, perhaps her dad. The line from the gun to the man on the floor is to his head, showing he is going to shoot him in the head.

5. CU. Low-key lighting. Black and white. Young girl crying. The girl has a distraught and upset expression which is inevitable as we know from looking at the previous shots that she has seen someone (perhaps someone close to her) be shot. She could be looking at the killer but because of the angle of her eyes and her line of sight we can assume she is looking at the man who is now dead on the floor. The background of the picture is blurred so that you focus on the girls face and draw you into the girls emotion so you can sympathise with her.

6. LS. Slight low angle. Low-key lighting. Black and White. The man on the floors position has changed from having his knees up which indicates he has been shot. This is backed up by the fact Bruce Willis' character is no long looking menacing and aiming the gun at the man on the floor-because he has already shot him. The shooter no longer looks like an all powerful killer, he looks relaxed which is shown by him having his hands in his pockets. However contradicting this, his stance makes him appear slightly nervous perhaps, about what he has done and what to do with the body. The young girl is looking up at the man in black as she is most probably confused and upsetting and looking for answers. The man in black is standing at the back, away from the body which suggests he might not want to be in that situation. Through this sequence you are never really sure what the man in black intentions are, or why he is there. Also black signifies bath thing such as danger and death-which means you instantly judge him as a bad character.


The images run together smoothly as there is a lighting continuity and the sequence is very clear. From the first shot we believe that man to be the killer however as the sequence progresses and through the introduction of different characters we realise the Bruce Willis character is in fact the killer. As we are slowly introduced to the other characters (the young girl and man in black) the story starts to develop more. The swift change of angles and shot types shows the scene from different POV/perspectives and keeps the scene fast paced. Also the slow introduction of characters which develops your understanding of the story slowly helps to build tension and an enigma of the scene.