Napoleon – The Movie Pitch Assignment
You are given the task to try to convince a Hollywood Director to make a movie about Napoleon. The key to your movie pitch is to present a story that you think audiences would enjoy and find interesting.
How should I start?
1. Get to know Napoleon – research his personality. Since your movie will be about him, you need to know him.2. Think of or watch some movies that follow the life of a single historical character (Braveheart, Gladiator, Marie Antoinette, Forrest Gump, The Last Emperor, The Patriot, Elizabeth)
- What is the general plot?
- How do they incorporate real historical events?
- How is the main character portrayed? Does he/she have flaws?
4. Read/watch examples of other people's pitches.
5. Plan your pitch with your partner.
6. Make a list of all sources you used for your research (will be handed in for marks).
What do I need in a pitch?
1. Present the premise of your story.- "This is a story about __________"
- Explain what happens to Napoleon's Character
- What is the theme/point of your movie? (what do you really want to show?)
- Events: Early life, Italian Campaign, Egyptian Campaign, Overthrow of the Directory/becoming first consul, civil code, public works, economy, Haiti, Becoming Emperor, Continental system, Austerlitz/Pratzen Heights, Spanish Nationalism, Russian Campaign, Elba, Last Hundred Days, Waterloo, St Helena
- How does Napoleon's character change throughout?
- How will the conclusion wrap everything up?
4. Be able to present your pitch without reading a script, make it appealing to the director, be enthusiastic, believe your movie will really work.
- You need to be able to visualize the movie in your head first, then try to get the director to see the same things
- Tell your story in a captivating way!
You will only have 5 minutes to present your pitch so make good use of your time!
Hand in a written script of your presentation (not a movie script) and a list of the sources you have used for your research.
|
Does Not Meet 0-4 |
Minimally Meets 5-6 |
Meets 7-8 |
Exceeds 9-10 |
|
|
Major Events |
Cannot connect events to Napoleon's rise, major battles, Napoleon's downfall/ seems like random facts |
Shows an understanding of Napoleon's rise, battles, Napoleon's downfall but missing some major events in any of the 3 |
Shows an understanding of events that led to Napoleon's rise, major battles, Napoleon's downfall that were discussed in class |
Shows a detailed and specific understanding of events that led to Napoleon's rise, major battles, and Napoleon's downfall that were discussed in class and found through further research |
|
Impact of Napoleon |
Cannot show how Napoleon impacted other countries around him |
Interactions between France and other European countries are made but no effects are discussed |
Can explain how Napoleon affected Europe at the time |
Can explain how Napoleon affected Europe and our world today |
|
Napoleon's Character |
Cannot describe any character traits |
Limited understanding of his character |
Can describe attributes of his character |
Understanding of how events affected his character and decision making |
|
Presentation |
Very little effort put into presentation, irrelevant visual, dependent on a script, disinterested |
Needs more preparation, often refers to notes, not fluid, visual lacks relevancy, limited connection with audience |
Well rehearsed, not dependent on notes, useful visual, believable, good use of time |
Well rehearsed, presented without notes, excellent connection with the audience, appropriately enthusiastic, visuals help audience understand ideas better, time well used |
|
Research |
No variety of sources, source lacks validity |
Main research from Wikipedia and limited to internet sources |
Good variety of sources |
Excellent variety of reputable sources |
SOCIALS NINE