DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS:

FILM NOIR (CLASSICAL):

• Hard-boiled male detective kills his enemies in order to save the decieving femme fatale.

• Male detective gone bad after graduating from the police academy, negative influences from corrupt government officials, close friend influence. However, a femme fatale attempts to guide him towards the good side.

Characteristics:

• Harsh, twisted world

• Canted angles, dark shadows, contrast between light and dark.

• Twisted characters who may seem bad but have a strange good side to them. 

Cinematography:

Short Films:

• The Face of Vengeance 

A detective steps outside the law to stop the untouchable serial killer Patrick Humphrey, who murdered his brother and cut off his face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9KK26gAUZ8

• Touch

Its about a psychometric detective who is called to a murder scene. With no clues left behind, he turns to the only source he has left, his mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=682eqW5QNKg

• The Grey Gentlemen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDLP2mW9wq4

PORTFOLIO DOCUMENTS:

Production Schedule (Calendar Version): MARCH

Crime Without Passion:

Treatment

A prodigal, young male detective recently graduated the police academy and is set off on his first case. Little does he know that the government official behind his case is corrupt, and is masterminding a massacre that will end the lives of many respected and high ranked figures. During his mission, while in the act of killing his final victim, he meets a femme fatale who is the victim’s wife and she attempts to reverse his indoctrinated mind with her overwhelming care and compassion. Soon after picking up on many hints, he realises that his relationship with the femme fatale was a set-up. She admits to him that she and her husband were briefed to assassinate him by the same government official.  He feels betrayed by the femme fatale and the government official, and through his anger he kills her. 

Updated Treatment

A prodigal, young male detective recently graduated the police academy and is set off on his first case. Little does he know that the police chief behind his case is corrupt, and is masterminding a massacre that will end the lives of many respected and high ranked figures. Shortly after being briefed his mission. he meets a femme fatale who is the police chief's wife and she attempts to save him from a trap that was set up to get him into jail. Feeling betrayed and angry he tracks the police chief down and kills him. The femme fatale, however has been following him and to his surprise he sees that one of the figures he was supposed to kill is with her. He is caught red handed killing the police chief and the femme fatale + her new boyfriend hold him gunpoint and he is then imprisoned.

Development of Characters:

Hard Boiled Detective - Frank Martins

• A tough, ruthless but focused figure.

• Begins the film by displaying enthusiasm and dedication to the police academy

• Is easily driven by anger, and can lead him to do irrational things.

• Generally, seems to be easily manipulated and convinced if there is a lot at stake.

Corrupt Police Chief - Lloyd Wtimer

• Stays relatively anonymous throughout the film. 

• Only bits of his face will be shown

• Has a very persuasive tone, can easily get people to do things for him. 

Femme Fatale - Debbie Cousins

• Starts off to be helpful and on Martins' side.

• Hides her intentions and emotions well. 

• Comes off as slightly forceful, but seductive at the same time. (towards Martins mainly)

• Her seductiveness will make people listen to her.

On-Set Diary:

Here are some pictures from our first shoot which took place in Witmer's office. Includes our make-shift venetian blinds which was made with duct-tape and 2 tripods. 

We filmed the first scene of the film involving Frank and Lloyd, where Lloyd congratulates Frank on becoming a police officer. The shoot went a bit slow and was a bit inefficient, but it was expected for the first shoot. We planned to shoot 3 sccenes that day, but the shoot had to be cut short because of unexpected circumstances.

Trailer Research:

Title Sequence Ideas:

For the title sequence, I plan to open with titles like these with a slow transition fade in from left to right. The font would only consist of a fully capitalized, serif font. Iconic of many film noir titles, an example that struck would be the "Double Indemnity" trailer. 

John Alton Iconic Film Noir Cinematographer:

Iconic shots and analysis of what he does to produce his shots:

Alton rarely leads himself into using heavy chiaroscruo lighting, he provides enough light onto the subject he wishes to focus on while keeping everything else at a minimum. This creates dark pockets of light and vibrant pockets of light, leaving a contrast between the light and the dark. Having these pockets of light allow for deep detail on subjects that are in focus.