How to Make a Movie About the Roman Gladiators

Pre-Production

• 1). Write the screenplay to your Roman gladiator movie, including as much factual information and historical authenticity as possible. The purpose of your movie will determine the content of the screenplay.
  
  
• 2). Determine what elements can be convincingly filmed and included in your story and exclude impossible feats from the final draft of the script. If the tone of your movie lends itself to using a toy stick horse, use one; otherwise, write out the chariot battle.
  
  
• 3). Assemble a camera, lights, sound equipment, actors, a crew and props that will best serve the Roman theme.
  
  

Costumes, Props and Scenery

• 1). Find or create an image or model of the Colosseum for exterior, establishing shots. Public domain photographs or footage can be used as a backdrop free of charge, while a model can be a fun, challenging task to build using paper mache, Styrofoam, clay or wood. Some companies also sell ready-made models.
  
  
• 2). Design the costumes for Roman soldiers, who wore tunics with an outer layer of metal armor. The tunics can be made to fit the performers from cloth or sheets and cut off at the knee. Make more for performers playing dignitaries to wear underneath their toga costumes.
  
  
• 3). Add a leather belt to the tunic by attaching two pieces of cloth with a hot glue gun. Cut sleeves of equal length from the cloth to staple all around the belt.
  
  
• 4). Dress the actors playing senators and extras in traditional togas. These can be made from sheets in earth tone colors that are wrapped around the left shoulder, then around the back, under the right shoulder and then flung back over the left shoulder.
  
  
• 5). Assemble the metal armor. This can be done with expertise or professional assistance with actual lathe metal, but an easier way is to use plastic material and spray paint the armor outline gray or silver. The same method applies to hand-held shield armor.
  
  
• 6). Purchase a knight's helmet and remove the visor. Construct cheek pieces made of aluminum and fasten them to the helmet to make provide a Roman look.
  
  
• 7). Collect prop swords to ensure an injury-free filming, unless you know a qualified stunt coordinator and trust all your pretend gladiators.
  
  

Filming and Editing

• 1). Film shots of spectators cheering the gladiators on. Tighter photos or footage of the stands in a Colosseum can be chroma keyed behind actors playing spectators or you can build half the Colosseum then film clay model spectators in the same fashion. Chroma keying is filming performers in front of a green or blue screen that is then replaced with a different background in the editing software. The final shot looks like the performers are in the chosen background.
  
  
• 2). Film the scenes in the screenplay and edit them on a computer editing system.
  
  
• 3). Add titles, credits, music and screen the masterpiece.