My Film Noir OTS - Catch the Con

CATCH THE CON...BETHANY BULL from fLIX.TV on Vimeo.

My evaluation

Editing, The Credits and the Chosen Font

• I wasn't sure whether or not to have full credits in my OTS, and after I finished editing all of my clips I realised I didnt have enough time to put any more credits in apart from the title of the film and the '2 weeks earlier...' bit. Plus, I don't much like many credits, like for example in the 1946 film 'The Killers' all the credits are at the beginning. I finally chose my font after looking at different types like the one below which is called Betty Noir (http://www.dafont.com/betty-noir.font). I really liked this font and when I saw it, it made me instantly think of Film Noir. But the colour was too dark and harsh looking against the lightness of the last clip and so I decided on a different font that was lighter.

• This is the chosen font (BlairMdITC TT) but on the editing software of Imovie it is white in the middle with a black outline.
• I like the simpleness of it and how it looks quite smart and to a state of perfection, which is how the two main man characters see themselves.
• Other possible font styles were Mesquite std, Chapparal pro, Eccentric std or Baskerville.

• I chose the credit style of Centred Tile which made the writing fade in and out of the middle. Other possible choices where Subtitle and Music Video.

• When editing I used transitions such as cross dissolve (which merged two scenes together subtly and not too dramatically, pleasant on the eye to watch), wash in and wash out when the flashback that Jack remembered happened, helping to indicate and show this is happening. I changed it all to black and white to fit in with the film noir genre and conventions and increased the contrast in some of the scenes to keep the colour tones flowing through scene to scene.

• I had to letterbox certain scenes as I had filmed using two different cameras (though not at the same time, even though I had planned this, but on the day of filming it was not possible to get hold of two cameras) and only scenes from one camera had automatically letterboxed.

• Luckily, I had used an old camera so the quality wasn't fantastic, but this is exactly the effect I wanted as I wanted it to look old and aged and also then I didn't have to edit it to make it look grainy or gritty with texture, becasue it already had it on it.

• I also had to edit some of the sound as I needed it to sound like it was actually in the scene, so with the audio fx, I changed the Graphic EQ and I lowered the bass, midrange and treble.

• I was going to change all of it or just some of it such as the flashback to color monochrome of a sort of orange/brown to make it look sepia-ish. But luckily I found out that it wouldn't have fitted in with the film noir genre as they would have opted for black and white mostly because back then you would have had to convert the film to colour which would have been much more expensive than just black and white, and film noirs weren't exactly your huge budget film.

This is one of the many film noir film posters that I looked at when researching the different fonts and styles. This photo stood out to me because of its slanted eye catching title (very popular) and its typical hand drawn/painted picture of the anti-hero and femme fatale with the even more so stereotypical blinds, that sometimes cast shadows, indicating entrapment.

Another one that stood out to me was the film poster for the film noir film Dead Reckoning. Once again having the curved brightly coloured font film title, totally contrasting with the black and white style of the film.

 Bogart is the tough guy anti-hero who is on a quest for truth and vengence, the quintessential femme fatale being Lizabeth Scott who the hero falls for, but is never entirely sure of.

This is me finishing off some of my editing in class.

The Media Trips

Sorry for the lateness on the update about the trips we went too. But thought I would just have a quick little chat about how they helped me toward my film noir.

First trip to Epic Studios -  http://www.epic-tv.com/

Involved us all working together to quickly make a programme and then film it and then watch it back, to get a taste of what its actually like in a television studio.
It was interesting to see and find out the different elements and jobs that everyone had and how everything and everyone was important to create the final piece.
It made me realise how much is actually involved and I know appreciate much more about how much work they have to do to ensure everything runs smoothly.

In the second part of it we sat in lectures where different people from all different types of media, some film makers, some journalists, music video makers and promoters were talking about their jobs and what you have to do now to try and work towards them and a bit about their area of expertise in the media. I enjoyed it because it gave me more of an idea of how much work you have to put into it and it gave me more of an insight to help me make my decisions about my future and my Film Noir OTS and the importance to be decisive about things.

Second trip to the British Film Institute (on wednesday the 2nd of march 2011) - http://www.bfi.org.uk/

This trip didn't link in so much with what the blog and the Film Noir OTS is all about, but it still taught me to look more in depth into things and the types of filming that Britain is famous for, making me feel proud and hopeful for the future that maybe I could be directing or producing etc films one day. 

My Storyline

A vague outline of both my Narrative and Plot, just incase if you get confused

I hate when films end on a sudden note with unanswered questions and loose ends, but with my Film Noir OTS  I am going to do just that. I am not going to tell you why Jack Kills Erin, its for your own interpretation, hopefully the enigma of wanting to know why will keep you watching and then guessing.

Narrative of my OTS :  Jack and Nik are working together to con Erin, Jack has been seeing Erin and they are a couple. Nik seduces Erin and they end up sleeping together, but what Erin doesn't know is that Nik has told Jack when to come in to catch them together. Jack comes in and finds them in an embrace and storms angrily out of the room, after a few days Jack and Erin meet up in a restaurante/bar to talk things over. Erin is unaware of the friendship between the men and acts sorry for hurting and cheating on Jack. Jack acts harshly and bluntly, getting ready to shoot Erin. After awkward silences and little speech Jack shoots Erin and leaves the restaurante/bar to meet with Nik. They say its done and then go their separate ways, and ends with 2 weeks earlier...

Plot of my OTS (Structure) : Starts with the scene at the restaurante/bar then cuts to Jack having the flashback/memory of catching Erin and Nik in bed together and then cuts back to present time in the restaurante/bar. Jack shoots and kills Erin and then leaves to meet up with Nik. He meets Nik and agree that its done and then they go their separate ways, revealing the text of the film title then the text '2 weeks earlier...'

Without realising it and only realising it after watching Double Indemnity the other day, my plot is weirdly  similar to the film noir film Double Indemnity. We both start with the present and then go into a flashback and then back into the present, my exception being that mine then says 2 weeks earlier.. obviously then revealing why the killing happened. The other similarities are that in both of them there are plots to kill someone and in both, enigma and tension is a big part of it, a tragic ending occuring aswell.

The Script

Below is the script for my Film Noir OTS, I have chosen to not name my characters as they do not get mentioned in the OTS and I think this emphasises the mystery of the people even more (I have used their real names to show when they speak) (and have put how they say it in brackets) (with 'stage' directions and movements of the people in itallics).

Jack - Anti hero              Erin - Femme fatale           Rhea - Waitress       Nik - Jacks partner in crime

Jack : "Alright sweet cheeks" (matter of factly, with a slight cheekiness)

Erin : "Yer" (seductively)

Jack : "How've you been" (more seriously, staring into her eyes)

Erin : "Alright (pause) (reaches out for hand) been missing you" (in a desperate voice)

Jack : "Wish I could say the same" ( in a more harsh tone) (swigs from his glass)

Erin : "Look, what happened the other night"

Jack : "Don't you dare" (lights cigarette)

(May or may not use this line) - Erin : "I just..."

Jack : "What happens in the past, stays in the past" (says it more softly)

Erin : "I hope we can move on"

Jack : "So do I" (as he reaches for gun) (he then shoots erin) (the waitress comes over)

Rhea : "Would you like the bill?" (the audience realises she is in on the murder on Jack's side, as she gently takes the gun away from the table, hiding the evidence)

Jack : "You can put it on her tab" (said with no remorse)

(Jack walks away from the scene of the crime through cobbled streets to meet Nick, they both stand by the wall, not to look too suspicious)

Nik : "Is it done?"

Jack : "Yeah"

Nik : "Alright" (says it in a hurried tone)

(They both walk away in opposite directions)