Casting For Film Plots

We were given plots to cast and were given a list of actors who we could choose for the roles.

Plot One:

There is a girl and her dream is to one day move to Paris and become a Moulin Rouge dancer. She spends everyday looking through books and dressing up like them. She lives in the Bronx with her mum, dad and sister. Her dad abuses the family and is an alcoholic. He doesn't really care about the family and leaves it up to the mum to look after them. The beginning of the film is about her struggle through life and all the problems she faces. When the girl is 14 years old her mum gets lang cancer and dies. The father puts the two children up

for adoption and in the process they end up getting split up. The girl ends up living with a well off family in Washington DC.

She changes into a different person and becomes very prim and proper and posh although she never truly fits in. Her foster parents dream is for her to become the first female president of the USA and she wants to please them so she follows this dream and brushes her old one aside. One day while she is running for president she manages to reunite herself with her sister. Her sister helps her rediscover her old self and the girl realises that being a president isn't the life she wants. She drops out of the elections and moves to Paris with her sister where she persues her dream of being a Moulin Rouge dancer.

I chose to cast Megan Fox as the girl because:

- She has the right look for the character

- She has played similar roles before (for example, as Hope's daughter in 'Hope and Faith')

- From roles she has played before, and other work she has done outside acting e.g. photoshoots, she would be believable both as a moulin rouge dancer and a presidential candidate.

Alfred Hitchcock

'The length of a film should be directly related to the endurance of the human bladder.'

After watching Psycho I decided to do some research into the film's director Alfred Hitchcock.
- He established many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres.
- He directed over fifty feature films.
- His career lasted close to 60 years, from the silent movie era, through sound films, to colour films.
Signature:
- His signature was cameos by himself in his films, whether it was boarding a bus, crossing the front of a building or appearing in a photograph.
- And as a recurring theme he would carry a musical instrument, the most memorable being him trying to get onto a train with a large double bass case.
- At first he would be a relatively unseen extra, for example standing in a crowd. But slowly he became more prominent in his cameos.
- Hitchcock experimented in his films:
o For example, setting the film in one place, as seen in ‘Lifeboat’ (1944), in which all the action takes place in a small boat. (He even managed a cameo in this, by appearing on the front cover of a magazine)
o In ‘Rope’ (1948), he made it seem as if the shot was done in a single take. However, it was actually taken in 10 takes with some of the transitions in between being concealed by having a large dark object fill the whole screen.
o In ‘Vertigo’ (1958) Hitchcock used a camera technique that has been imitated and reused by many filmmakers, it has become known as the ‘Hitchcock zoom’ or the ‘Dolly zoom’.
o He tried to include the number 13 into scenes for its superstitious effect. This was seen in ‘Psycho’ (1960), Marion Crane’s cars license plate adds up to 13. Also, Norman Bates first chooses cabin 3 then 1 for Marion.

Continuity Research - The Notebook (2004, Nick Cassavetes)

I have chosen to analyse the Ferris wheel scene from ‘The Notebook', where Noah (Ryan Gosling) asks Allie (Rachel McAdams) out. To watch the clip click here.
The first shot is a downwards tilt. This allows us to see the whole of the Ferris wheel and Noah walking into the frame.
There is then a MS of Noah looking up to Allie on the Ferris wheel, his eyes follow her as she goes around the top. We know this as the next shot matches his eyeline and shows us Allie looking at him. There is then a MCU of Noah. This shows us his reaction to her and is a shot-reverse-shot drawing us into the scene.
He then looks up again and starts to move to the right hand of the frame. There is then a MS of him running towards the Ferris wheel. This cut is seamless and we don’t even notice it has happened. To the audience it feels as if we are standing still and are watching him run past us towards Allie. We are then brought into the scene again with a VLS of Allie on the Ferris wheel and Noah running into the frame. We feel as if we are closer to the action and have a better view of what happens than if the camera stayed behind Noah.
There is then a matched cut of Noah jumping onto the Ferris wheel next to Allie. The position of the camera only moves slightly, just enough so that we can see the action more clearly, and so we don’t notice the movement. The camera then tilts up to follow them and then as they get to the top there is a MS of Allie and her date on the Ferris wheel and Noah sitting between them.
This MS allows us to see what’s happening more clearly and to see the reactions of Allie and her date.
There is then a HA shot of the Ferris wheel operator, Tommy (Jude Kitchens) shouting up at Noah and we hear Noah’s reaction to what he says.
We then go back up to the MS of Noah, Allie and her date. This allows us to see the conversation between the three of them and their reactions, clearer.
Then there is another HA shot of Tommy stopping the Ferris wheel and looking up at them. There is then a match on action shot, with a LA, ELS of it stopping.
After this there is another HA shot of Tommy shouting up at Noah and a LA shot of Noah replying to him.
Then there is a MS of Noah, Allie and her date. Noah moves to get up and the shot moves to a VLS in front of him, and then a LA, ELS. The shots stick to the 30 degree rule, and are better than one shot from one position as they help us to see what Noah’s doing, a lot better.
After Noah jumps up onto the rail and turns around, we see a shot of Fin (Kevin Connolly) and Sara’s (Heather Wahlquist) reaction. This is shown using a HA shot of them looking up to the top of the frame. There is then an OTS shot of Allie and her date looking at Noah. This shows us him looking down at his friends and then a LA, ELS shows him hanging off the Ferris wheel. This makes is look real as we can see him hanging off.
There is then a slightly HA, OTS so that we are looking at Noah when he talks to Allie. We then see her reaction to this with a MS of her and her date looking up at Noah with his body in the frame. Then we go back to the HA, OTS of Noah. And then back to the MS of her. This is a shot-reverse-shot, getting us involved into the conversation.
There is then another shot reverse shot with a MCU of Noah’s reaction to her saying no to him, then a MS of Allie with her date who replies to Noah and then a MCU of Noah. This again brings us into their conversation.
Again we have a shot-reverse-shot of the same shots but this time Noah talking to Allie again.
There is then a HA of Noah letting go with one hand. This allows us to see what happens clearer as we can see his hand swinging next to him. Following this is a MCU of Allie’s reaction to this. And then a HA, MCU shot of his friends’ reaction. We then go back to the HA shot of him. Then back to a MCU of her. Then to a MCU of him. Noah says ‘My hands slipping’ and the camera tilts up to show us his hand and then goes back to a HA, MCU of his friends’ reaction. We then see a HA, OTS of him and then back to the HA shot of his friends. These three shots are again a shot-reverse-shot.
The fast cuts add to the worried feeling that the characters have, that he may fall, and so makes us worried as well.
There is then another sequence shot-reverse-shot of eight MCU’s of Noah and Allie with Allie agreeing to go out with him. This draws us into the conversation and makes us feel as if we are between them and looking at each of them as they reply to each other.
After Noah holds back on with two hands the cuts slow down as the characters and the audience are now relieved, and feel more relaxed as they know he won’t fall.
There is a MCU of Allie’s reaction to what just happened in the scene, and a HA shot of his friends’ reaction to what happened. Then there is a MCU of Allie looking down to Noah’s friends and replying to Sara, and then of her turning around to Noah. There is then a MCU of Noah’s reaction to Allie starting to undo his belt and then back to a MCU of her undoing them.
At 1.52 there is a LA, VLS of her pulling his trousers down. This makes us feel as if we are watching with everyone else at ground level.
There is then a MCU of Noah, a HA shot of his friends and a MCU of Allie and her date showing their reaction to her pulling his trousers down. The final shot is an ELS of the Ferris wheel making us feel as if we are standing far away with everyone else. This shot helps lead into the next scene of the film as we feel as if we leaving the funfair.

Shot Analysis - Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift Directed By Justin Lin (2006)

At 0.07 there is a forward track. This makes us feel as if we are walking into the scene. It also introduces the viewer to the concept of the film, as we are taken in between two cars and we hear engines revving.

At 0.17 there are two whip pans, one towards the right and then one towards the left. This highlights the speed of the cars that are about to race. It introduces the two sides which implies confrontation.

At 0.21 there is a backwards track to give a wider view so we can see the two cars as they are about to start racing.

At 0.25 there is an OTS shot with an object moving into space. The shot also has a frame within a frame with the phones. This shows the intensity/significance of the race in the film, as it is being recorded. This again highlights that this is going to be a main focus in the film.

At 0.26 there is a TS. As they are alone this shows that they are important characters in the film. They are away from the chaos of the race at this point, and there is nothing in the background (they’re in a lift) so our attention is focused solely on them.

At 0.31 there is a HA. This helps us to see what the car is doing. It also gives us a feeling of being distant from the scene, although straight after we are brought back in.

At 0.33 there is a CU of a hand on the gearstick, and then there is a LS to show what the effect of the gear change. This brings us into the action and makes us feel a part of it.

At 0.35 there is a CU of his foot on the accelerator and then at 0.35 a forward track as if we are in the car. This again makes us fell a part of the action rather than as if we are watching it from afar.

At 0.43 there is a HA of the city. We have been shown what they film is about, so now the HA is used to show where the film is going to be set.

At 0.47 there is a LS, MS and then a CU. This draws us into the character. It also shows us that he is important as he is shown as the most significant person in a very large crowd of people.

At 1.07 there is a CU of the two characters which draws us into the confrontation. It also gives us both of their reactions to the confrontation.

At 1.22 there is a HA shot of D.K (Brian Tee) and a LA shot of Sean (Lucas Black). This shows us that Sean is down and that D.K is standing above him, and again draws us into the confrontation.

At 1.52 there is a CU of Sean with a gun. This ensures that we see the gun and that we know who is holding it. The shot wouldn’t have been as affective as a LS because we would not be able to see his expression.