Our Storyboard

                      

Our Script 1st Draft Read through and feedback

*  Robin says 'Intro' before locations due to a misunderstanding, this is really 'int' or interior. 

Our Actors' Feedback

• Thought some of the actions, for example Violet touching Kevin's arm seemed unnatural and awkward.
• Thought the name of Kevin, didn't seem appropriate, making the message seem trivial.
• The explanation of Dissociative Amnesia isn't clear enough, needs further explanation. 
• The character of Violet is instantly unlikable to the audience, creating suspicion 
• The ending is slightly dubious, did Kevin commit the murders or was he framed?
• Brackets should be added to the script to make it easy to learn/understand

Issues we found in the script because of the read-through

• Julia's monologue seems a little stiff or natural in places and may need rewritten. 
• The title 'Daily Chronicle' doesn't fit well within the monologue.
• Kevin and Violet may need further interaction or explanation, they jump from meeting to being in a relationship.

Our Script First Draft

FADE IN:

INT. KEVIN’s HOME- NIGHT

Eerie music fades in. Extreme close-up on KEVIN’s eyes flying open and slow zoom out with superimposed transparent closeups of his bloody hands, his muddy boots and a gash on his arm. Jump cut to a wide shot,   KEVIN is lying in bed looking bemused. Title fades in over the top, slow fade to back.

STRAIGHT CUT TO:

INT. KEVIN’s HOME- MORNING

Music cuts out. Foley sound (and extreme closeup) of KEVIN putting on the kettle. As it hisses, he walks over to the kitchen table and sits down. He opens the paper; closeup on the headline “LOCAL MURDERER STRIKES AGAIN”. As he reads, closeup on his face. He is clearly uncomfortable.

FLASHBACK IN BLACK AND WHITE TO:

EXT. TUNNEL- NIGHT

The tunnel is dark and damp. Slow zoom in on a faceless body. As it zooms, a high pitched wailing noise comes to a crescendo. This blends into the kettle boiling as KEVIN is bought back to reality.

STRAIGHT CUT TO:

INT. PSYCHIATRIST’s OFFICE

Mid shot of KEVIN as he explains what is happening to a psychiatrist. There is no sound- just a shot reverse shot sequence as she nods. Slow zoom out to outside of the door to a sign revealing where he is.

KEVIN walks out of the office and straight into VIOLET. She jumps and the cup of coffee she is holding spills on to him and he yelps. Closeup on her shocked face

VIOLET:

Oh my God! I’m so sorry! Are you ok?

KEVIN:

I’m fine, it’s only boiling hot coffee. Tone softens when he sees her face. Are you?

VIOLET:

Yes but I feel awful! Close-up as he rests her hand on the sleeve of his shirt, and looks him in the eyes. She takes a drag of the cigarette held in her other hand.

KEVIN:

Is that even allowed in here?

VIOLET:

Ignores him and takes another drag. You must let me replace your shirt!

KEVIN:

Stutters slightly. Well, yes, I suppose if you insist…

VIOLET:

Come with me then, I’ll sort you out!

STRAIGHT CUT TO:

EXT. TOWN- DAY TO NIGHT

Montage of KEVIN and VIOLET across the city- different clothing symbolises time passed. VIOLET and KEVIN make their way back to KEVIN’s house as it gets dark.

STRAIGHT CUT TO:

INT: KEVIN’s HOUSE- NIGHT

VIOLET applies her red lipstick in the mirror. There is a hint of evil in her eyes which we have not seen before. When she is satisfied with her reflection, she begins to look around the bathroom. Extreme closeup as she discovers a cupboard full of various medications linked to psychological conditions. She moves over to a wash basket, and as she reaches the bottom, she triumphantly pulls out a bloodied shirt. She walks out and checks on KEVIN, who is in deep sleep and slow zoom on her face spreading into a smile as she dials the phone.

VIOLET:

Hello? I’d like to report a murder…

Closeup on KEVIN’s sleeping face as the sound of police sirens wailing gets louder and louder. The sirens cut out.

STRAIGHT CUT TO BLACK, FADE INTO:

INT. INTERVIEW ROOM AT POLICE STATION- NIGHT

VIOLET and POLICE OFFICER are sitting across the table from each other.

POLICE OFFICER:

I don’t understand… How did you work all of this out? The force couldn’t find anything to link this man to the murders and we’ve been on it for months.

VIOLET:

Smirks into the camera. I work as a journalist for the London Chronicle and after years of reporting on meaningless celebrity gossip, I’ve been looking for my big breakthrough. When I read about the murders, I knew this could be my chance. I had a stroke of luck; my office was next to Kevin’s psychiatrist and I noticed that he was only ever there the morning after each killing. By the third time, I suspected it was not a coincidence and decided to investigate. His personal documents suggested he was capable of killing without even knowing- he suffers from severe PTSD resulting in dissociative amnesia. The next step was to get close to him and get him to trust me; it took a while but now I have the evidence I need for my exposé- and for my career to finally take off.

POLICE OFFICER:

And to bring justice, of course.

VIOLET:

Smiles cooly. Naturally.

POLICE OFFICER:

In all that time… you didn’t grow to care about him? You don’t feel anything?

VIOLET:

I did what was necessary. When the POLICE OFFICER doesn’t respond, she stands up and leaves the room.

FADE TO BLACK. FADE INTO:

Montage of headlines/ newspaper articles and photos revealing the fates of KEVIN and VIOLET whilst ominous music plays. While she attends interviews, book signings and goes on to become a bestseller, he is given a life sentence.

Initial Ideas and Final Premise

Final Premise

A War veteran suffering from amnesia finds himself at his psychiatrist's office one morning, coinciding with aftermath of the most recent of a sequence of local murders. He then meets the femme fatale, an undercover journalist who has her own career at heart and see's the opportunity for a breakthrough. 

Neo Noir

              

Is Film Noir a Genre?

For several years critics have debated whether or not Film Noir is still considered a film genre, some critics argue that film noir has developed into a collection cinematic motifs and techniques, technically considered a film style instead of a genre. Generally film noir is referred to as a an artistic movement established in the 1950s. 

It could be argued that Film noir is a genre as it has it own conventions, traits, visual styles and Icons. If compared to more conventional Film noir does withhold the conventions considered to make a genre, for example Film noir has character archetypes like the fall guy or femme fatale and lighting techniques typical of the genre. If these conventions are compared to other genres, for example romantic comedy, with conventions and common plot devices like the the romantic pairing disliking each other, and a massive misunderstanding causing the couple to doubt their relationship with each-other, surely it would be unfair and nonsensical to consider this a genre but throw aside a rich genre, full of conventions, legendary films and key icons.  

Genre itself is defined as a category for film or an artistic style by the Oxford dictionary making the debate regarding the differences between a genre or artistic style seem redundant. This definition allows Film Noir to be considered a cinematic styling and a genre, the differentiation between them seeming unnecessary. 

Film Noir also holds legendary scenes, films and acting icons made great through film noir, categories that have made other genres seem more legitimate, for example the legend Harrison Ford became for the action genre, following Indiana Jones amongst the action genre, making the genre seem more authentic and fixed. Film Noir also holds actors in a similar regard, Humphrey Bogart becoming a cinematic legend following his work in the film noir genre, making him an icon of the style. 

Historically I believe that Film Noir was a genre, instead of a creative style due to the amount of film noirs produced per year, the icons featured and the legends the genre created, however this influenced has been restricted to the 'Golden Age' of Film Noir, however after the 1960s the genre decreased significantly and the conventions were changed so drastically, that a majority of the Film Noir's produced in the 1970s or later were considered to be Neo Noirs. If a genre is unattainable for modern directors to classify films in the genre, is it realistic to still maintain that it is a genre. Furthermore while film noirs have become decreasingly popular in recent years it has been featured as an artistic or cinematic style within other genres and media platforms, being used increasingly in advertising and television, very view film noir films have been produced in recent years, perhaps implying that genre has died out. 

However in recent years several crime, action or even comedy films can be considered Neo Noir's perhaps showing how the genre has transformed rather than dying out, adapting to transforming to meet the expectations of modern audiences. This does conform to one of genre's five functions, to adapt and diversify over time to stay relevant and interesting. 

To conclude, I believe that Film Noir is a genre due to the conventions and iconography featured so heavily in the genre, the scale of film noirs produced in the 1950s solidifying this. However in recent years the decline in the genre does make it similar to the style, however I believe despite the rarity of film noirs in modern society, they still constitute a genre.  

Genre

Narrative Theory

Memento Analysis- Neo Noir

          

Memento analysis from pollypritchard100

Blue Dahlia-Film Noir Analysis

Questionnaire Results

          

Brick - Neo Noir Analysis

Created with Padlet

Film Noir Questionaire

Double Indemnity Analysis

Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, released in 1944 was one of the early examples of film noir as we know it today, with notable examples of femme fatales, chiaroscuro lighting and narrative style, influencing the genre greatly. 

The Premise of the film is the femme fatale, Phyllis'  manipulation of the protagonist, Walter Neff, a insurance salesman, she convinces him to assist her in the murder of her husband for the insurance money, but the pair grow too greedy and plot to kill him on a train, as they could claim more money, leaving the 'accident' open to scrutiny from the police and insurance firm. Walter Neff later realises Phyllis cannot to be trusted and upon discovering her affair with another man, Nino, he correctly assumes that Phyllis will eventually have Nino kill him too. When he goes to her house to confront her, she is waiting with a gun, while she wounds Neff, she is unable to 'shoot twice' and claims this is because of her love for him, despite this he shoots and kills her. Walter says he will free to Mexico, rather than face the death penalty in his confession tape, but Keyes, his boss and the one character who suspected Neff, overhears him and calls the police. Due to his injury Neff is unable to flee and is ultimately caught. 

Protagonist/Hero/Anti Hero

Walter Neff fulfils many of the character traits of the traditional Film Noir protagonist, cynical, morally dubious etc. While it is often implied in Film Noir's that the protagonists are good, moral people until corrupted by another character (usually the femme fatale) however this is not the case in Double Indemnity, where Neff while being motivated by his wish for wealth and his lust for Phyllis, it could even be argued that Neff's motives and intentions were as twisted and dark as hers, as both were prepared to do the unspeakable, just to obtain money. While he initially rejects Phyllis's idea, it takes surprisingly little convincing for him to agree, demonstrating his weakness of lust influencing his actions over his morals. 

While he confesses his crimes at the end of the film, suggesting some morality and regret, this is counter by his refusal to pay for his crimes, confessing on tape and planning to flee the country, showing a cowardly aspect to a usually chivalrous and brave character type, and suggesting that while he regrets his actions, he is not so filled will guilt that he feels he should be punished for his crimes. 

The Femme Fatale

Phyllis Dietrichson is the embodiment of a femme fatale, she is the direct opposite of the sweet housewife admired by films of the era, she is defiant, manipulative and disobedient of not just her husband but also of Neff, uncontrolled by men. The Femme Fatale was created to embody the feminist movement, representing the threat to society, independent, working women were considered to be. Phyllis shows this perfectly as he need to be in control causes her to manipulate and murder the men around her, just to seek independence. To modern audiences this makes the character slightly more compelling, as her wish for finical independence is relatable due to her lack of freedom caused by her sex, only wishing to be free from her husband's control. 

She is presented as cruel, unfeeling and manipulative, betraying the usually stereotypes of over-emotional women, shown in this era. She shows no reaction when her husband is murdered in front of  her, has no qualms about seducing and manipulating Nino, who her step-daughter openly loves and is involved with and plans to murder the man she supposedly loved. 

She is openly seductive towards Neff appearing for the first time in a towel, shown fully in shot, drawing the 'male gaze', making her an object of lust both for Neff and the audience. She has no fear or shame in using men's attraction to her to complete her goals and while she plays the role of the repressed housewife to Walter Neff, she murdered Mr Dietrichson's previous wife and took her place, implying a more manipulative truth. 

She ultimately reveals her love for Neff, when she couldn't shoot him for the second time and while the authenticity of the statement is heavily in question, it is that weakness that ultimately kills her, as Neff's mistrust or even hatred causes him to kill her.  

Other Women 

A clear contrast to the femme fatale, the role of the other women in femme fatale is too demonstrate how women 'should act', quiet, timid and obedient. Lola meets many of these characteristics however is also slightly disobedient of her father, defying and lying to him about her boyfriend Nino. However she is shown to be sweet, well intentioned and at times emotional a severe contrast to the cruel, unemotional femme fatale.

Lola is shown to a victim throughout the film, left by her boyfriend Nino, who is also seduced by Phyllis. She becomes an orphan in the film when Phyllis and Neff murder her father, she also reveals to Neff that her mother died when in the care of Phyllis, suggesting foul play. It is her emotional response to her father's death that triggers Neff's guilt and regret, influencing the downfall of the femme fatale.

Setting

Double Indemnity features crowded urban settings for the majority of the film, creating an uneasy feeling associated with the more crime oriented areas of town, the film is set in the darker, poorer areas of Los Angeles but also features Los Angeles more wealthy areas, for the home of the Dietrichsons, creating a strong divide in society between the rich and the poor, supporting Neff's motive of wealth in Mr Dietrichson's murder. The crowded spaces seen in these settings contrast with the themes of isolation and alienation we see Neff feeling, as he becomes more closed off from his friends and colleagues. 

There is one example of a more rural setting, in the murder of Mr Dietrichson, Phyllis and Neff walk alone a deserted, dark train track, making their actions seem even more twisted and secret, the change from the stable location, is slightly disorienting for audiences, making the murder seem more disturbing. 

Camera 
Disorientation is a very important theme in the film noir genre and the camera angles in Double Indemnity reflect this, dutch and oblique angles are used to create confusion, making darker scenes seem more morbid. 

Walter Neff is presented as mysterious or even untrustworthy, through the camera angles used, he is rarely shown in a full shot, hiding areas of his face and concealing his body language making him seem less reliable to audiences. When he is first shown the audience see his back before his face, making him seem questionable and untrustworthy to audiences. In many of the most important scenes, his face and sometimes Phyllis' are partially concealed, giving them more power in the scene, however in the scene where Neff ultimately kills her, her faces is brightly lit and clearly shown, while his is slightly concealed. In addition when Neff is arrested, his face is clearly shown, while Keyes is crouching in the darkness, to the right of the shot, giving him more power. 

Lighting

Chiaroscuro lighting is frequently used in the film, influencing who holds the power in each scene and adding more symbolism and implications to certain scenes, for example in multiple scenes light been shown through blinds creates feelings of claustraphobia and imprisonment, creating the illusion that the character is in a cage or a prison cell, perhaps inferring the future fait of Neff.

Low Key lighting creates sharp contrasts, adding further tensions to scenes. When the femme fatale is first introduced her shadow contrasts with the white marble, making her seem more menacing and powerful.

In some scenes one character is in the light and the other the dark, this is switched several times, almost implying a battle between the characters foreboding future events of the film and adding tension to interactions.

Some characters are presented in softer lighting, these are usually the more innocent, moral characters like Keyes or Lola, who are shown to be sweet, contrasting the relaxed tension free atmosphere with them with the high contrast confrontations with Phyllis, suggest he's associating with the wrong people.

Sound

Jazz is commonly used in film noir, likely because of the era the films were made in, but unlike other film noir's music is often used to defuse tension in the film, for example, the music playing through Neff's entrance to the Dietrichson house, abruptly stops when the femme fatale enters the room. Some of the most significant moments in the film, are almost silent with the exception of ambient noise and occasional string instruments to create further tension. 

Narrative

Flashbacks are used to tell the story, as the story starts with his confession and then flashes back to the beginning of the story once he starts speaking, this fills the void of the story and allows the audience to have their own opinions on the characters. By seeing the flashbacks through Neff's perspective, this makes the film subjective, making the representation of his thoughts and feelings accurate and leaving ambiguity about other characters like Phyllis' motives. 

This is enhance further through the omniscient voice of Walter Neff in voiceovers, adding clarity where elements are in question, and revealing his thoughts and motives, showing the audience when he finally feels regret. The voiceover forebodes events of the film, revealing his crimes before the audience gets to know his character or how he was manipulated by the femme fatale. 

Significance of Smoking


Smoking is used significantly in the film noir genre, mostly due to the popularity of smoking at the time. Walter Neff is seen to be smoking when he is upset or tense, for example at the end when his is in pain, waiting to be arrested, he smokes a cigarette, implying the need for comfort, and in some cases, like the ending, shows his resognation to the situation.

The femme fatale is shown to smoke, implying freedom and making her seem more in Neff's league, this contrasts with the presentation of Lola, who isn't shown to smoke, making her seem more innocent and fragile. 

Conventions of Film Noir

               

History of Film Noir

Created with Padlet

Representation Preliminary Task

For our third task we filmed and edited two different presentations of our school, one in a positive light and the other negative, demonstrating how we can use lighting, music, camera composition and filters to create certain moods and atmospheres, which will be useful when creating Film Noir.  

When filming the positive section of our piece we used short, quick shots set in sunny, clean locations, in particular the new 6th form building, which demonstrates the resources our school has to offer and several outside locations as it was a sunny day and the bright lighting creating a more cheerful atmosphere. When filming we mainly focused on filming a social side of knights templar, showing classmates messing around in study rooms and even some people interacting with people behind the camera, breaking the fourth wall. We also showed people playing musical instruments and people playing sports, showing the talent and resources at our school. In editing I used short takes/cuts with up-tempo music to try and create a happy response. I used minimal filters in the positive section as the outside shots didn't require much additional lighting or colorising, I also didn't use a great deal in the inside shots as I liked authenticity of the classrooms without additional colours.

In the negative representation we use longer takes, a majority of which were shot inside, to create a more gloomy, dark setting. We tried to create a strong theme of isolation in this section by focusing on several people's issues, showing some people alone, isolated, even one person crying creating obvious emotions. We also focused a lot on the disrepair around the school, showing mould, disrupted classrooms and litter around the school. In editing I used the two same filters consistently, with varied concentration to try and create a tense, gloomy setting.

Shot by Shot Scene Recreation of 10 Things I Hate About You

Our task was to recreate, in small groups, a scene from a film, shot for shot matching the original. We chose quite a short scene with a variety of angles and cuts, the scene is mostly comprised of short takes, with one long take at the beginning of the scene as the pair descend the stairs. Some issues we encountered were continuity based, for example one of actors was wearing a large black hat in the longer takes, before removing it in his later scene, causing an obvious issue relating to continuity.

Another issue we struggled with was our small cast, only four actors were available to us in the lessons we filmed in, restricting our characters, this meant we had to use two actors reacting to the concept of dating Katrina Stratford, limiting the variety of our shots.

Some of our dialogue is difficult to pick up on in the first take, for example one of the actors said "Pada", instead of Padua, which while only a small mistake is significant in the film due to the Shakespearian origins of the film. 

We used Final Cut Pro to edit our scene, with straight cuts and short takes, this part of the project was relatively simple, a majority of our editing focused on sound, we used the the original soundtrack to match the music from the original scene, creating an effective link between our recreation and the original scene. This also helps mask some of the audio issues created through our lack of microphone, as one wasn't available to us while filming. Due to our lack of microphone we had find a scream online, rather than producing on ourselves, while it isn't completely in sync with the actors mouth, this scream is more similar to the original scene's.

Foley Sound

What is Foley Sound?

Foley sound is the use of audio for a scene created off camera separately from the rest of the footage, this is later layered over the rest of the footage in the editing process, making the audio seem natural while sounding clearer and often more authentic then when recorded normally. This often matches or enhances the quality or impact of an action, for example the sound of tires recorded as foley sound (created through dragging a hot water bottle, partially filled across a flat surface) is often more dramatic, building tension amongst audiences and making car chases or conflict more effective. 

Below is an example of two foley sound creators, making the sound effects side by side with the original footage, demonstrating the extent of sound effects created in post production. 

Another resource we used during our research of foley sound is a video of an incredibly successful foley sound creator demonstrating the techniques she used in her work.  

Our Preliminary Task

For our preliminary task we recorded foley sounds as a group creating sound effects for the screeching of tires, fire, glass breaking, rain, keys, footsteps and a flip knife opening. 

• Screeching of Tires- as mentioned above, we filled a rubber hot water bottle partially with water before scrunching the rubber up and scraping it across a flat surface, we used a varnished, wooden table in a empty class room to achieve this. However due to the complications of film a car in such a dangerous position, I ultimately did not use this in the preliminary task. 

• Fire- We created the sound effect of fire by snapping small twigs and sticks in half, this worked quite effectively, replicating a traditional camp fire.

• Glass Breaking- When creating this sound, we used old glass bottles and cups, throwing them into a secure bag, against gravel creating the ideal sound effect while limiting the broken glass to the bag, preventing mess and the health risks of shattered glass, especially when done in school. 

• Rain- To create the effect of rain, we used a hose against a variety of surfaces, like concrete, wood, plastic, metal and glass to replicate the sound of rain across different types of buildings or floors. 

• Keys- We used real keys in a variety of locks around the school, recording the sound of the keys unlocking a door and jingling in a person's pocket, giving us more potential of use in our task.

• Footsteps- We originally recorded footsteps of a boy and a girl walking across gravel separately, giving us a contrast in sound due to the differences of speed and posture. We also recorded the sound of metal high heels walking across gravel and smooth floors, giving us more options to include this in our narrative.

• Flip Knife- We used a set of car keys to replicate the click of a flip knife opening, giving us potential for any conflict or violent scenes. I ultimately used this sound effect as a car key, due to lack of access to flip knives or context in my narrative to include one. 

We were then asked to individually create examples of our foley sounds, I chose to create a narrative for this, creating a scene where a majority of these foley sounds were included. 

                                         

I used both a human and a dog in my narrative to create variety in the sound effects, of the footsteps against gravel in particular, this also helped created the narrative of a woman returning home from work and walking her dog.