<P> Joshua Jackson, Elijah Wood, Jake Gyllenhaal and Brad Renfro were considered to play Gabriel Martin . The producers and director narrowed their choices for this role to Ryan Phillippe and Heath Ledger, with the latter chosen because the director thought he possessed "exuberant youth". </P> <P> The film's German director Emmerich said "these were characters I could relate to, and they were engaged in a conflict that had a significant outcome--the creation of the first modern democratic government ." </P> <P> The film was shot entirely on location in South Carolina, including Charleston, Rock Hill--for many of the battle scenes, and Lowrys--for the farm of Benjamin Martin, as well as nearby Fort Lawn . Other scenes were filmed at Mansfield Plantation, an antebellum rice plantation in Georgetown, Middleton Place in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Cistern Yard on the campus of College of Charleston, and Hightower Hall and Homestead House at Brattonsville, South Carolina, along with the grounds of the Brattonsville Plantation in McConnells, South Carolina . Producer Mark Gordon said the production team "tried their best to be as authentic as possible" because "the backdrop was serious history," giving attention to details in period dress . Producer Dean Devlin and the film's costume designers examined actual Revolutionary War uniforms at the Smithsonian Institution prior to shooting . </P> <P> The musical score for The Patriot was composed by John Williams and was nominated for an Academy Award . David Arnold, who composed the scores to Emmerich's Stargate, Independence Day, and Godzilla, created a demo for The Patriot that was ultimately rejected . As a result, Arnold never returned to compose for any of Emmerich's subsequent films and was replaced by Harald Kloser and Thomas Wanker . </P>

Where did they film the movie the patriot