Final ideas for film title

Final idea for film title:

Hard Cash

We choose to have ‘Hard Cash’ as our final film title as it is a very powerful and catchy title. This could link to the power some of our characters have especially women 1 (wife) who is the femme fatal. As well as this it links to a lot of the crimes that take place in the film as we see man 2’s (husband) life insurance money go from person to person and is always a connecting factor.

Final ideas for film

Final ideas for narrative plot:

In the present day in a quite location, the man 1 (detective) asks the women 1 (wife) what really happened. Flash back, voiceover of women 1 (wife) explaining what happened. Romantic scene with women 1 (wife) and man 2 (husband). The man 2 (husband) then purposely takes of his ring and places its down, women 1 (wife) runs after him thinking he left it by mistake, follows him to a diner where he meets women 2 (waitress). Women 2 (waitress) turns out to be man 2 (husband) lover. Next day women 1 (wife) goes to diner to confront her, leaves her address and time on the table and tells women 2 (waitress) to meet her. Meet at women 1’s (wife) home and arrange murder to make it look like suicide. Man 1(detective) and man 3 (policeman) investigate, soft interviews with both women 1 and 2 (wife and waitress). They go back to the police office and compare their interviews notice mistakes. Women 1 (wife) calls asking man 1 (detective) to meet her, the meet up and kiss. Women 1 (wife) offers him money and family to run away with her, tells him it was murder not suicide but blames women 2 (waitress). Back to present day where man 1 (detective) realises women 1 (wife) has lied and it was her, man 1 (detective) then kills her. Man 1 (detective) calls man 3 (policeman) he tell him that he needs to see him and that he has something to tell him. Back to flashback, where man 1 (detective) collects evidence against women 2 (waitress), he tells man 3 (policeman) that women 2 (waitress) is guilty but they argue over it but eventually man 1 (detective) is right. Man 1 and 3 (detective and policeman) arrest women 2 (waitress). Cut to women 1 (wife) packing money into a bag, while man 1 (detective) is outside waiting with the car they load the bags and go off happily. Cut back to present day where man 3 (policeman) turns up, man 1 (detective) explains everything and agrees to help if he gets come money, man 1 (detective) still in shock agrees. Man 3 (policeman) makes her murder look like self defence. The end.

Breakdown of characters:

Women 1 = Wife
Women 2 = Waitress
Man 1 = Detective
Man 2 = Husband
Man 3 = Policeman

Final ideas of scene:

-Present day; Colour; Man 1 (detective) questions women 1 (wife) of what really happened

-Flash back; Black and white; Man 2 (husband) and women 1 (wife) love scene

-Flash back; Black and white; Man 2 (husband) and women 2 (wife) cheating scene

-Flash back; Black and white; Women 1 (wife) and women 2 (waitress) meet for the first time, she leave note with address

-Flash back; Black and white; Women 1 (wife) and women 2 (waitress) plot to kill man 2 (husband) and make it look like suicide

-Flash back; Black and white; murder scene

-Present day; Colour; Man 1 (detective) now knows the truth, kills women 1 (wife) and calls man 3 (policeman)

-Flash back; Black and white; Man 1 and 3 (detective and policeman) interview both women (wife and waitress)

-Flash back; Black and white; Man 1 and 3 (detective and policeman) back at police station realise stories don’t match up. Women 1 (wife) calls to meet man 1 (detective)

-Flash back; Black and white; Man 1 and women 1 (husband and wife) meet up and arrange to run off together and she frames women 2 (waitress) saying she killed her husband, lying to man 1 (detective)

-Present day; colour; Man 1 and man 3 (detective and policeman) meet and all is explained to man 3 (policeman) he takes all the money to make it looks like women 1 (wife) was killed in self defence.

First ideas for film title

First Idea for film title:
- Violent Money
- Violent Cash
- Hard Money
- Hard Cash
- Double Cross
- Triple Cross
- Money Mania

First ideas for film

First Ideas for narrative/plot:

 Three women, rich women’s club. Plot to kill husband/lover and chare the life insurance money.
Women 1 (wife) persuades women 2 and 3 to kill him as she as she takes watch as she knows the neighbours. At the same time she is having an affair with the reporter, who she contacts when outside while the murder is taking place. He calls the police and arrests them just after the murder however wife does not get arrested as it is not clear she is involved. Women 1 (wife) gets life insurance money left in husbands will, keeps it all to herself and gets money from the reporter for her inside story.

First idea for film layout:

- Starts with the two women in the cell
- Then flashback to the story and murder
- Ends with her running away with the money leaving the reporter

Audience research

1. Do you know what a Film Noir is?
2. Would you watch a Film Noir? Why?
3. What Film Noir Features would appeal to you?

Watch my interviews at the following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiT-t58tcTI&feature=youtu.be


What social groups will my Film Noir represent?

- Policemen
- Detectives
- Upper class couples
- Waitresses/working class staff
- Women
- Men

Laura Mulvey - The Male Gaze
In our film, there will be much concentration on the seductiveness of our two females, especially our Femme Fatal Evelyn Harold. This will link with Laura Mulvey's theory that we watch movies from the point of view of a male. I think that most Film Noir's did this, and so our film will be converging with the conventions.

Reception Theory
We will also use the reception theory ( using Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model of relationship between text and audience - encoded by the producer and decoded by the audience) to write our script, as we will make sure to put the right encoding into the movie, so that when it is watched by our audience it can be correctly decoded!

Film Noir and Neo Noir Research

Notes on other people's presentations:

Body Heat (1981) (Neo Noir)

• Directed by Lawrence
• Set in Florida in a Heat Wave
• Woman convinces a small-town lawyer to murder her rich husband.
• Eerie, wind chimes: spiritual, elegant, peaceful, mysterious, mystic. Could have been diegetic or non-diegetic, this adds confusion and intrigues the audience to want to find out more.
• Represents the Femme Fatal: elegant, beautiful and captivating.
• Lurs the man in then non-diegetic BANG sound - BODY HEAT - title comes up.
• Woman: always wearing white; false identity: Holy Dove.
  Red shirt, open white formal skirt
• Ned Racine: Anti Hero: Male lead.

Se7en (1995) (Neo Noir)

• Directed by David Fincher
• Follows two detectives who are trying to track down a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his modus operandi.

Millers' Crossing (1990) (Neo Noir)

• Two gangs
• One gang member murdered, blame the other gang - turns out to be the main woman
• Film Noir characteristics: Iconic hat, cigarrette and drink, deep shots, single source lighting

Chinatown (1974)

• Set in Los Angeles in 1973
• Inspired by California Water Wars

Notes on Film Noir and Neo Noir watched in class:

Detour (1945) (Film Noir)

• Femme Fatal: Vera; dark haired, wild eyes - threatens and blackmails
• Anti Hero: Al Roberts; becomes the villian
• Dark Themes: hoplessness of his situation
• Archetypal characters: Nightclub singer and a hitchhiker
• Dutch angles/devices of orientation: Yes and blurring, fog at the beginning
• Mirrors: dead woman
• Cigarrette smoking: Vera smokes and drinks
• Voice over, night-time action, and high kep, sharp shadow lighting

Brick (2005) (Neo Noir)

• Mise-en-scene
  Cigarrette with an arrow on it
  Deep shots, lots of background
  Old phone on a desk
  Library, shot between the books - abscures audiences vision
  Single souce lighting
• Camera
  Awkward camera angles
  E.G. just the feet or hands
  Zooming
  Panning
• Sound
  Accustic bells
  Procusion: Adds tension
  Silent
  Voice over - shouting as he walks
• Characters:
  Brendon: Brown hair, glasses - the main guy
  Emily: Blonde - the girl he loves who ends up dead
  The Brain: Brendon's only friend
  Laura: wearing a red dress - the rich femme fatal
  Tug: intimidating
  The Pin: the big crime boss

L.A. Confidential (1997) (Neo Noir)

• Camera movement, angle, shots:
  Depth of shot: Jack walking towards Ed
  Over the shoulder
  Point of view
  Pan down onto a pile of dead bodies from blood covered wall
• Sound:
  Rough voices
  Hardly and music in the background
  Voice overs
  Background music thats non-diegetic
  "What ever you desire"
• Mise-en-scene:
  Suits and ties
  Props: phones, lamps, guns, badges
• Characters:
  Jack Vincennes: Policeman, drugs, works with the journalist, gets paid on the side. Smooth and a ladies man.
  Ed Exley: Policeman with glasses, bullied but he doesnt care, just wants a promotion. He's a snitch but he's really intelligent
  Bud White: Policeman, protective over woman but can't control his anger, doesn't play by the rules and hides things from the authorities.

The Big Sleep (1946) (Film Noir)

• Mise-en-scene:
  Library bookshelf
  Raining
  Old fashioned cars
  Dark
  Alcohol, glasses on a tray
  Drugged woman
  Pornography
  Marlowe - top button undone
  Silky dressing gown
  Sunglasses - pull down/look over them
  Detective acting
• Camera:
  Point of View shot of letter
  Close up of encoded book
  Deep shot of bedroom
  Lamp shade - lighting
• Editing:
  Zoom in
  Jump cut
  Shot reverse shot of dead body and detective
• Sound:
  Diegetic foot steps
  Major key, drums, piano, deep: adds tension
  Base, violin - non-diegetic
  Rain - diegetic
  Sudden silence
  Female scream
  Thunder, lighting, lights up, venecian blinds
  Buzzing of Marlowe's bell
• Characters:
  Phillip Marlowe -suit
  Butler
  General Sternwood - rich, old, in a wheelchair
  Miss Carmen Sternwood - tiny shorts
  Mrs Vivian Sternwood - covered up
  Joe Brody
  Rusty Reegan - never seen. Dead
  Mr Geiger - gets shot
  Eddy Mars - runs the casino
  Mrs Mars
• Narrative:
  Marlowe takes a black mail case from General Sternwood but it turns out to be more than that.
  Murder and missing person (Rusty)
  Also includes a pornshop (Geiger) and an encoded book of addresses
  

Music Video

At the end of AS, we made music video's to practice our storyboarding and camera techniques.

I worked with Rosie and Josh.

We made a music video to the song 'Changed the way you kiss me' by Example.
Here is the finished product:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7l9Q-LX1ARs

This experience also helped us to expereiment with various editing tools.

Hopefully this whole experience will help us when we have to make our Film Noir as our coursework for A2.