Close-ups and casting stills

The identity close-up is the face every other image is checked against: every sheet, state and frame.

The identity close-up [proven]: one per character, made with the chosen casting face; for a real person, the chosen photo, unchanged, is the close-up and nothing is generated. 4K, flat even light on plain grey, forehead to upper chest, the face taking up most of the picture, body square, eyes to the lens, a neutral face with the lips closed, a plain black camisole or vest, no jewellery. An accessory the sheet marks as never removed is worn. It follows the sheet's ratio, 16:9 by default. Agree a written face spec before the first image: fixing a face in words costs nothing.

The smiling close-up. Option: use it when the script has a smile or laugh in a close or medium shot [single strong source]: the same framing, for that character, with a natural smile showing the teeth (for a creature, the mouth open). Without it, the video model invents the teeth and jaw. In that character's speaking, singing or laughing close shots it may replace the neutral one.

Casting stills, made at the treatment stage [proven]. Each of the candidates (how many, and how to choose: Writing the treatment → Casting the faces) is one identity close-up plus one casting still in the film's light. The casting still is for the client page only and is never attached to video, because its baked light would travel into the shots.

Write each candidate in this order: role; skin tone and what their life leaves on it; facial details with one distinguishing feature; what the eyes are doing; hair; clothing and its texture; body and temperament. Give a five-year age band and the region and class the treatment sets. Never "beautiful", "handsome" or "perfect features".

The bold reading, the casting rubric and the lived-in body line are in Writing the treatment → Casting the faces; the chosen faces get their face motion test in Writing the treatment → Face motion tests.

An identity close-up for a film's casting file: a studio photo of one real {man | woman}, {age band}, {region and class}. {Skin tone and what life has left on it}. {Facial details, one distinguishing feature}. Eyes on the lens, {what the eyes are doing}. {Hair}. {A neutral face, lips closed | a natural smile that shows the teeth}. A tight portrait: the top of the forehead at the upper edge, the collarbones at the lower edge, the face taking up most of the picture and the shoulders square to the camera. A plain black {camisole | vest}, no jewellery. Flat, even, shadow-free light against plain mid-grey, neutral white balance, a catchlight in each eye. Up close the skin is real: visible pores, uneven tone, no smoothing. One person, no text.

Example: the kiosk owner

An identity close-up for a film's casting file: a studio photo of one real Egyptian man of 60 to 65, a working Cairene who has run a street kiosk for forty years. Weathered brown skin, deep sun lines at the eyes, a brown mole on the left temple. Hooded brown eyes, a deep crease between the brows, a long nose, a thin upper lip, hollow cheeks, a short white moustache. Eyes on the lens, steady and a little amused. Thin white hair cut short and pushed back. A neutral face, lips closed. A tight portrait: the top of the forehead at the upper edge, the collarbones at the lower edge, the face taking up most of the picture and the shoulders square to the camera. A plain black vest, no jewellery. Flat, even, shadow-free light against plain mid-grey, neutral white balance, a catchlight in each eye. Up close the skin is real: visible pores, uneven tone, no smoothing. One person, no text.

Sources

• JOEY, @joeysnoisygroup (project) (the grey close-up framing).