STEPHEN PAGE - MAIN TASK - FILM NOIR - EVALUATION

STEPHEN PAGE - MAIN TASK - FILM NOIR - MONTOYA DOWNFALL

STEPHEN PAGE - PRELIMINARY TASK - THE ASSASIN

STEPHEN PAGE - THE CHASE

Year 12 - Film Noir - Post Production Diary Entry 2

Just recently i have completed writing my film noir evaluation, it has been uploaded to my blog
I will commence filming on monday.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Montoya Downfall Evaluation

Montoya Downfall - Evaluation

Year 12 - Film Noir - Post Production Diary Entry

Our team 'Lightswitch productions' has now begun the process of editing. Since Jake howells has the most skills in this process we gave him the lead role, although i have also helped with the editing process, for instance choosing sound and cutting clips together. Not only this i also helped the group decide what footage we need to re-film to enhance the grade we will recieve for the production 'Montoya downfall'. Along with this i have also started to right up my evaluation. Not only this i have also had feedback sessions with the class, were they gave our group pointers on where and what needed improving in our production. At this very moment our first edit has been completed and we are now going through the process of a second edit, this will be done by friday the 30th of march 2012.
I have a camera booked out for monday night in this time i will be going through the process of filming my evaluation. I will then edit it on tuesday in time for my holiday on the wednesday.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Post production contributions

The Roles i took on throughout the production of our film 'Montoya Downfall'

• Directed the prodcution
• Lighting
• Sound
• Drafted the first and second screenplay script
• Completed the production schedule
• The whole team came together to produce a props list

Throughout post production i took on the roles off:

• Editing with the rest of the team also
• Sound for our production
• Gaining Audience Feedback for pointers in which our production may need to improve
• Editing the Second draft of our production

Throughout the entire production the team, has shared the roles equally. This has made it alot easier, as it takes the pressure of each individuals shoulders knowing that you dont have to do everything, and that you can deligate round the group fairly. All aspects of the production were worked upon by myself, sam morris and jake howells.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Montoya Downfall First Edit

Year 12 - Film Noir - Risk Assesment

Located Below is the risk assesment for the production 'montoya downfall'

Page 1 for risk assesment

Page 2 for risk assesment



Year 12 - Film Noir - Main Task Research

For our media production we have been set the task to film a 'Film Noir' production. The word film Noir is used to primarily describe stylish 'Hollywood Crime Dramas'. We based our production around the idea of a hollywood crime drama as we believed that this would typically follow the conventions of a Film Noir production.

• From Looking at sources all over the internet we decided to base our production on 'Gun Crazy', this production is a 1950 film noir feature film starring Peggy Cummins and John Dall. This production is a story about the crime spree of a gun toting husband.

• Although our production is not about a gun toting husband and wife. We wanted to follow along the lines of having a gang, who is being hunted down by a detective. These would typically follow conventional plot lines of a film noir production.

• From watching this clip, we found that typically we would need to have a femme fatale in our production, this is key in gaining control over the aspects of our film noir produciton. Although the femme fatale in this production is dressed up all glamoursly, we choose to do this, as in our production crystal is wearing a glamorous dress that makes her look elegant. Also from looking at this we found that all male characters must be wearing suits. So we based all our males characters to enlighten the conventions and to be seen on camera wearing a suit.

• From Looking at many images we found these images most helpful when looking for ideas in which to dress our characters and what props they would be using.

•  From these images you can clearly see that the males are all typically dressed in suits with a hat and trenchcoat on.
• From the images you can clearly see that the women are all dressed in elegant dresses.
• It would appear that a conventions that is critical to the production of film noir would be for the actors to be smoking, we used this convention to make sure that our production met the requirements.

Setting/Location:

• In order for our production to follow the crime genre, we thought it would be good if we used a bar area. We had all our characters sit round a booth, with the lead character 'tony' walking into to questions his fellow gang members what had happened with his 'precious drugs'. We found this to be key, as from looking at a wide range of sources it would appear to us that a bar setting would be the right setting.



Year 12 - Film Noir - Costumes and Props

Our femme fatale was played by Emily Read. She will be wearing a black dress which fits the appearance of a conventional female character in a film noir production. Her appearance will be beautiful and striking to the audience which again fits the conventions. As important as the detectives and their hats, the femme fatale's hair needs to fit the 1940/50's look, this is key to producing a realistic attempt of film noir, it will also allow the producers to follow the typical conventions of film noir.

In Order to follow the convetions of a film noir production we must follow the males character. For our production we used what most males who acted in film noir producitons would have be it cigarettes. This is key in gaining the typical 1940/1950 look.

We Also decided that it would be appropriate if our lead character tony montoya would wear a trench coat, we all agreed that this would make our film look like it was set in the 1940/1950s which is most off all what we wanted it too look like. These are appropriate as most male characters in film noir movies would be seen wearing one.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Location Confirmation

We planned to film at Sawtry Workingman's Club and as I live nearby I went to the club to receive conformation to film. I asked the manager/owner to sign a slip saying we could film which showed them we are professional.

Year 12 - Film Noir - RECCE Photographs

Located below is some photographs off the location we will be using to produce our production 'montoya downfall'. They give the audience an idea of what will happen when we go on set and film.

 This is were the gang memebers will be seated throughout our production.

This is were the gang members will walk through to get to there booth.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Storyboards

Located below is the storyboards we took on set, when we filmed our produciton 'Montoya Downfall'



Year 12 - Film Noir - Character Contact Details

This is the list of the main actors in our production, their roles and their mobile numbers.

Chris Lawrence - Tony Montoya (07889244844)
Emily Read - Crystal (07951485817)
Daniel Oloafe - Hugo (07713587067)
Ollie Howells - Support Henchman (07895393523)
Ryan Smith - Detective (07958312025)

Year 12 - Film Noir - Production Schedule for Montoya Downfall

Film Noir- Production Schedule

Year 12 - Film Noir - Shot list for Montoya Downfall

Film Noir- Shot List

Year 12 - Film Noir - Lighting Workshop

In the second part of our lighting workshop we lerent many basic things on, the use of ligthing, were to palce the lights and what makes lighting key to a production.

What is lighting?
All video use some sort of lighting, wheter it be natural light or artificial light. The goal of video lighting is to choose the best source(s) to acheive for your production. First and foremost you need enough light and you need to be able to identify the lighting sources.

• Use ONE Light Source

Rules for the lighting a production:

• If the bulb blows remove the plug from the socket
• never try and replace the bulb
• When pulling the plugout work backwards
• No Surge protector no use
• treat lights with care
• Make sure the power cable is always facing down
• make sure the barn door is paralell to the leg
• Always perform SET TEST RESET
• Never use an extension cable
• Never place the light closer to a roof than 1m

What is contained in sawtry community colleges lighting kit:

• 2 x red head
• 2 x stand
• 2 x barn door
• 2 x bulb
• 2 x power leads
• 2 x surge protectors
• 1 x gloves
• 1 x clips
• 1 x gels/skrim

Use of light:

• Key Light: Main source of light (Strongest Light), Most influential light
• Fill light: Placed exactly opposite to the Key Light
• Back light: Placed behind the actor

Year 12 - Film Noir - Diary Entry 3

Today i gave the production schedule outline and shotlist outline to jake and sam, they will have that finished and ready to use when we shoot our production.

We know also have a filming date, the RX Date will be on the 28th Febuary 2012.
We have booked out 2 cameras, 2 tripods and  a lighting kit. The only person allowed to use the lighting kit will be me as im the only one in our production team who has gained the lighting certificate.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Diary Entry 2

I have started on the shot list and production schedule, which Jake and Sam will finish tonight as we need to establish when we will be filming. Tonight Jake and Sam will also start the storyboards,Im not available due to work commitments.

year 12 - Film Noir - Character Bio

These are the Character Biography for the characters we wish to use within our production, they all typically follow the conventions of film noir which is what we wanted to acheive with this production.

Character Bio of Gang Leader, Tony Montoya:

Character Bio of Crystal, Tonys girlfriend:

Character Bio of the detective:

Character Bio of Hugo, The Lead henchman:



Year 12 - Film Noir - Diary Entry 2 - Lighting certificate picture

Year 12 - Film noir - Diary Entry 1

Today i succsessfuly passed my lighting certificate, this will allow me to acsess all varietys off different techniques whilst shooting my film noir production. Located on the following post will be a picture of my lighting certificate.

Year 12 - Film Noir - Script Final Draft

Located below is the Final draft off our script, we changed the last line bebecause you couldnt really understand that he was a detective undercover.

Montoya Downfall Second Draft

Year 12 - Film Noir - Script First Draft

Montoya Downfall Draft 1

Year 12- Target Audience Reasearch - Analysis Graphs

Located Above is the Graph in which i created from the results of my questionnaire.

Year 12 - Target Audience Research - Questionnaire

Film Noir Questionnaire

Year 12 - Similar Products - Analisis of 3 Posters

• From this poster we can clearly see the tradtional dress code of a film noir production the female dressed elegantly, with the male wearing a smart suit and hat. The woman is tradtionally smoking a cigarette, this is similar throughtout most film noir productions. With the Hearts being in bold red this could be assciated with love and romance, then also the 'Lonely' is traditionaly styled in the white font.

• As you can see from this poster its a traditional wide angle shot. These are tradtionally used alot in film noir productions. Also as we can see the poster is in black and white, this follows the trend of the films as they as also shot in black and white. The tradtional dress code is there. And it also shows the woman character these are also known as femefatales and will not be killed.

• This poster uses a wide range of colours in which is odd, as the productions are always in black and white. The dress code of the woman is red this could be associated with love and romance, he is dressed in white, this could show that he is a good character and not following the genre of crime and police this is what most film noir productions are about. Also the use of the text 'bad for each other' Could mean that they are not supposed to be together yet nothing can keep them apart.

Year 12 - Similar Products - Anaylis of 3 openings

Film one - Touch of evil, universal, 1958:

• Opening titles - Typical White Bold Front, Easily Read by audience.
• Viewer hook - Were someone places an unknown object into the boot.
• One continous shot- Consistency of mid shots and longs shot.

What i want in my film:
In my film noir production i wish to use the traditional big bold, white fonts. Also i wish to have a hook in it, this will keep the attention of the viewers making them want to watch the whole film.  I also plan to use tradiontal long shots and mid shots, all put together in one continous shot.

Film two: Suspect , Charles Laughton, 1944

• Tradtional opening, white coloured titles.
• Traditional opening introduction music
• Long shots
• Mid shots
• Close ups

What i want in my film:
For my film noir production i wish to use close up shots but tradtionaly they do not feature. I also wish to use some tradtional music but only for the introduction as i want the main focus to be on certain characters.

Film three: Blues in the night, 1941:

• Typicaly smartly dressed, men in suits, women dressed elegantly and glamouras.
• Typical white titled introduction.
• The use of dark lighting creates tension within the audience
• Characters typically smoking cigars or cigarettes, this is stereotypical from the film noir productions.

What i want in my film:
In my film i wish the characters to be tradtionally smoking cigars and cigarettes, this is unlikely as it would be breaking the law if under 18's were used. Also i wish the characters to follow tradtion with the men dressing in suits and the women dressing elegantly in long dresses. I will also use the effect of dark ligthing as i believe it creates tension within the audience as they believe something may happen.

Year 12 - 5 Film Noir films

Late one night, successful insurance salesman Walter Neff breaks into his office building in Los Angeles.  Bleeding and in pain, he begins to recite his story into a Dictaphone for his colleague Barton Keyes to find the next morning.  His story is one of deception and betrayal.  So begins Billy Wilder’s gritty masterpiece, based on the book by James M Cain.  As we sit and watch, we learn how Walter began an affair with the captivating Phyllis Dietrichson, played by the ultimate femme fatale actress, Barbara Stanwyck.  It isn’t long before she convinces him to help her murder her husband, Mr. Dietrichson, in order to collect his life insurance money.  The trouble is, the murder must look like an accident in order for them to collect on his insurance’s double indemnity clause.  The murder is done sloppily and it isn’t long before the authorities are on his trail.  Is it possible that he was betrayed?  As more details come to light, it becomes evident that Phyllis isn’t who she claims she is.  Double Indemnity is one of the most influential film noirs ever made for its pioneering use of the femme fatale character archetype.  With one of the cinema’s greatest plot twists and a performance by Stanwyck that would make Phyllis Dietrichson one of the greatest villains of all time, Double Indemnity has inspired countless imitators and remakes, including the superb 1981 neo-noir Body Heat.

To sum up the plot of The Big Sleep in one paragraph is almost impossible.  It has what could very well be the most compliated plot in film noir history.  Even Raymond Chandler, the author of the book that it was based on, once famously admitted that he didn’t know the answer to all of the plot twists and holes.  But despite the nearly incomprehensible plot, The Big Sleep is universally regarded as one of the definitive masterpieces of the genre.  This time Humphrey Bogart plays the famous hardboiled detective character (this time the famous Philip Marlowe). He finds himself in the employ of the sick and dying General Sternwood, who asks him to keep an eye on his daughter Carmen who has fallen in with a bad group of people.  Too bad he is distracted by her beautiful older sister Mrs. Vivian Rutledge (played by the amazing Lauren Bacall).  Things begin to get out of control as people start dying all around Marlowe and he gets involved with powerful criminals, an underground pornography ring, and several nasty cases of blackmail.  With some of the greatest sexual chemistry ever captured on screen with Bogart and Bacall, The Big Sleep is an intoxicating affair that will keep you fascinated long after the story has stopped making sense

Based on the famous short story by Ernest Hemingway, The Killers is a tragically brutal film that leaves an impression that lasts long after it has ended.  It starts with one of the most famous opening scenes in film noir history where two hit men invade a small town and kill Ole Anderson (aka The Swede) who puts up no resistance.  The original short story was fairly short, so The Killers takes great pleasure in extrapolating the story and exploring the characters and their pasts.  We learn that the Swede (played by Burt Lancaster) used to be a member of a gang of thieves whom he was pushed into betraying by femme fatale Kitty Collins Colfax (played by Ava Gardner).  Like so many film noir characters, the Swede is fully aware of his transgressions and knows that he cannot escape his fate.  And so he greets his punishment like a man instead of trying to escape from it, as so many other film noir characters would.  We then follow an investigator and a police detective as they struggle to track down his killers and bring them to justice.  The Killers is a powerful story that fully deserves it reputation as a classic film noir.

A perennial favorite by film critics and directors alike, Out of the Past is universally regarded as one of the definitive examples of film noir.  It has all of the bells and whistles of great noir: stunning chiaroscuro cinematography, a beautiful femme fatale, and an intricate storyline.  But key to its charm is the lead, Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum), who like the title indicates, is running from a past that he cannot escape from.  At the start of the film, we find Bailey as the operator of a small town gas station.  But one day, he is forced to meet with a gambler named Whit Sterling.  On the way to the meeting, he confesses his past to his girlfriend.  It turns out that he was once a private eye who was hired by Sterling to find his mistress Kathie after she shot him and stole $40,000 from him.  Bailey managed to track her down to Acapulco.  Too bad he ended up falling in love with her.  But one murder and terrible discovery later, he decided to leave her.  Now, his past has caught up with him as he travels to meet the man that he betrayed.  The only problem is that when he confronts Sterling, Kathie is there.  What do they want?  Why is she there?  Have Sterling and Kathie gotten back together after she shot and betrayed him?  And what do they want with Bailey?  Just as questions beget more questions, one man’s past will lead him to an uncertain future.  It is up for the audience to make the final judgment concerning the sad, strange case of Jeff Bailey.

On a crowded subway in New York City, a small time pickpocket named Skip McCoy steals a wallet.  To him, it’s no big deal.  After all, it’s just another job for him.  Unbeknownst to him is the fact that the woman he robbed was carrying a microfilm of stolen top-secret government information that was destined for a group of Communists.  With the incredibly vital information in the hands of a common thief, both the police and the Communists start to track him down.  Too bad Mr. McCoy doesn’t care about the welfare of his country or his civic duty.  To him, it is an opportunity to make a bundle from the highest bidder.  As he slips away from the police and the Communists, it is up to Candy, the woman he robbed, to find him and get the microfilm back.  To many, this plot may seem too political to justify it as film noir.  But politics are not the focus of this film.  Instead, it is the conflicts and motivations of the characters that make it a genuine film noir.  One of the distinguishing characteristics of film noir are characters who have murky morals or who don’t play by the rules set by their profession, such as corrupt cops or noble criminals.  Here in Pickup on South Street, we have a thief who cares more about money than his country, a prostitute (Candy), as a love interest, and a snitch named Moe (played by the delightful Thelma Ritter) as a noble martyr who dearly loves, and dies for, the people that she sells out to the cops.  Filmed during the height of McCarthyism, the idea of a protagonist who would willingly sell out his country to the Reds was unheard of. Yet we come to love and sympathize with him and the other dregs of society who inhabit his seedy world of crime and vice.  It is the characters who make Pickup on South Street as genuine a film noir as the other entries on this list

 (Top 10 Film Noir Movies) (http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-film-noir-movies.php)

Year 12 - Similar Products

Definition:
Film noir is a term used in French, it translates to, "Black FCinema". This cinematic term is used to primarily describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas in which particularly emphasize pessimistic attitudes and sexual motivation. The period in which some of the critically best Film Noir texts were made come from around the 1940's to the 1950's. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography.

The 5 main convention of film noir are:

• Characters and actors/actress
• Costume
• Camera Angles
• Lighting
• Location

Within Film Noir productions there are 5 concepts listed above which distinguish this genre. These effects and ideas contribute to Film Noir productions to give a noticeable different from other genres from around the time period. Although many conventions are used to define a Film Noir production, sometimes a film with some mutual elements is hard to categorise. No colour is used in the productions which follows the tone of the genre which is can range from being an urgent tone to a more depressed feeling as murder is usually used within the plot.
Costume: 

Costume plays a major role in film noir productions, as you can see the males wore typically posh suits and the formal hat, they generally all used to smoke cigarettes. Located above is a picture of Humphrey Bogart, a well known Film Noir actor, smoking with the iconic suit and hat being worn.

In film noir productions female characters a generally always dressed glamourasly. This shines through with the female domincance in film noir productions. By having these powerful roles within the production, the Film Noir genre is even finer defined. When film posters for the films were constructed, the female character usually showed much dominance and stood out more due to her attractive looks. This next photograph shows the attractiveness of one of the female characters used in a Film Noir production.

Characters:
It's common feature in Film Noir that there is a male lead detective trying to solve a crime, usually murder or hiding from his past etc. Other male characters serve as accomplices or enemies to this main detective and protagonist with their true identities unfolding as the story develops. Anti-hero are also a common convention when it comes to characters. They usually are on the back foot and reveal all when the time is suited to them. The female characters in Film Noir always dominantly attractive. They supply a real sense of dominance when entered into the plot, their strong roles usually entwine with the protagonist and either help him or deceive him. Other storylines intale the plot of other mysteries and crimes but murder is the is the common theme when it comes to most storylines.

Lighting:
Film Noir productions are filmed in black and white (apart from modern day Film Noirs in which some colour is used, such as in Sin City, a lady's dress appears red in colour) Lighting in film noir is used to emphasise a character's personality or the mood in which the shot is trying to be portrayed

Camera Angles:

Camera angles are known in Film Noir for being conventionally 'strange'. Tilts, low angle and high angle shots were used to cause disruption and confusion with the audience's perception of the film. These shots are primarily used to create uncertainty amongst viewers so that hidden secrets can be kept secret until the time is right to be released. This next picture is a good example of a high angle shot in a Film Noir scene.

Location:

 

The final convention that I shall discuss is the location. The location of film noir productions are conventionally within a major city. Especially in this shot below, the cityscape makes the character look small and defenseless in comparison to the vast heaving city in front of her. The high angle also contributes to this effect which also relates to film noir conventions. Also, the location adds to the drama of film. For example, with a city being as big as it is gives a conventional detective as the protagonist a much harder and entertaining job for solving a msytery or crime such as a murder.