Portfolio Project - Finding a Talent

 Actors and Actresses

My film intro will be heavily dependent on having an actor or actress that can properly portray someone going through this awkward silver lining between pain and triumph. I also want my actor/actress to act in that sport in real life. Something that I find tacky and unprofessional is when talents are cast to be these sports stars however, they end up using stunt doubles and people who actually move like they know how to play instead of just casting someone who can act and play. While that might seem like a difficult task it beats Troy Bolton playing basketball when the audience knows that Zach Efron couldn't play ball if you gave him a ball and an open gym. The reason I want a real player is to achieve this sense of realism. This film is about perfection and putting all cards on the table for what you love and if the actor/actress cannot portray that then it would be an injustice to what I am trying to achieve.

Case Study - He Got Game

The movie He Got Game directed by Spike Lee does a good job of combining street life and basketball in this perfect harmonic balance. When watching this film I felt the same emotions that I wanted to pour into my film intro. Firstly, it has a great sense of emotion and character. Jesus (Ray Allen) is heavily determined to play basketball and the film's use of close diegetic sound when he holds that ball captures that essence brilliantly. Secondly, Ray Allen who plays Jesus Shuttlesworth (main character), is a real Hall of Fame NBA player. This use of a real player takes the movie to another level and is another example of why I would like to use a real athlete rather than just casting a good actor with no athletic abilities. The best emotion comes from people who have truly experienced it because they can replicate those characteristics more easily and authentically than someone who hasn't.