Shooting schedule

Here is our shooting schedule for our production:

 

 

Potential Locations and Chosen Locations

The first location required in our production was a dressing room, this is a key area where the character Scarlett is slowly revealed to the audience, this turned out to be one of the hardest locations to find.

We first thought of using a local theatre such as Maddermarket theatre in Norwich, we rang to confirm that this was okay but a few days later they rang back telling us they were unavailable for us to film.
We finally ended up using Holly's (portrays Scarlett)  hallway to film, we styled part of the hallway to replicate an old fashioned dressing room and by using tight shots we were able to shot well.

As our thriller is a 1940s film noir it became increasingly hard to find outside locations, this is due to the 21st century shops and high number of people wearing modern day clothing. After a numerous about of locations scouting we were able to find some locations which captured the 1940s feel of our thriller, these were located in the city of Norwich.
To the left is a shot taken from Elm Hill, this location would be used to capture Scarlett walking towards her location, we believed the location had a vintage feel to it, the cobbled walkway, Tudor stylised housing and small old fashioned shops. It also had authentic lights which would allow us to create an artificial light onto our characters without appearing modern.
Although this location appears to be perfect in picture we discovered a numerous amount of problems on location, the main one being people, due to Norwich being a popular city there were a large number of shoppers and tourists walking through this area, this means it would be very difficult for us to shot. And although the benefits do out weight the cons we decided not to use this location and instead used a near by location which was a simple stone wall. An example of this can be seen on the right of this location being used in our final piece.

We also required another location similar to the one mentioned above for a shot of Scarlett walking to meet someone, we need this location to look as though it could be connected and nearby to the other.

We found an alleyway called "Little Steps" we believed this location would be good to shot in as it supplied conventions of film noir; steps, these could be used to either show are characters descent into hell or their rise up. Also the stone walls and and iron gates give an authentic old aged feel.
This area also has the old fashioned styled street lamps, which will help to create the harsh lighting needed. Unlike the other location this one had very few people walk through it which will make it a lot easier for us to shot and also quicker. The only drawback of this location is that it has modern day buildings at both entrances, one entrance comprises of a modern shop while the other a block of flats but, as we have decided to film in black and white these colourful buildings wont stand out to the viewers eye. We did decide this location had many more benefits and so decided to film part of our production here.

The final location we are going to use is Norwich City Hall, this is the location which Scarlett has been travelling to and will meet the unknown lover.
This location has a certain authenticity to about it which allows the viewer to relate it to the 1940s, it shows wealth with its overwhelming size and a sense of sophistication. It poses a large amount of enigma as to whether it is a public building or house, which will help to add to the growing amount of enigma surrounding the ending of our production.
The main disadvantage of filming here is that as it is a public building, there are a large number of people walking along the footpaths outside day and night and these people will be wearing modern day wear which, wont fit in with our film noir. We decided that this location was so naturally authentic that we had to use it, shooting here took a long time as we have to film a few seconds at a time when people weren't walking through.

Fonts

Shown here are examples of fonts used during the 1940's on thrillers which inspired our final choice. 

As you can see from the fonts above capitals appear in over half of the posters, I believe capitals appear harsh and gritty and although are thriller has harsh actions in it, I do not wish for capitals.

Fonts

Through research I was able to find fonts which were more desirable to our production, these appear glamorous and fit with the authenticity of our work.
I like "Riesling" this font shows old glamour which fits our production but I believe it may appear almost too glamorous and slip away from the other conventions in our piece.
"Antique book cover" may be too much of a simple font and not fit with the film noir.
"Dalmais" although this font is in capitals and as mentioned above I dont wish for capitals to be used, I thought I would try capitals with a different font and although it may fit in with our proudction I dont know if it appears too Broadway.
And finally "Upper East Side" I like this font, although it is simple it does pose a certain glamour. 

Actors

Establishing what actors we needed to use appeared as a complication to being with as there wasn't a male in our group and we needed someone to play the role of Ray, the silent character who follows his wife in the streets.
In our group Holly voulenteered to play the role of Scarlett, this was practical as she owned a red lace dress which was required for costume. Also, she is shorter than the people in the rest of the group which can make her appear even smaller than the daunting character Ray.
As mentioned earlier, Ray was difficult to find but one of Holly's friends, Tom Battell, offered to play the role. As he went to a different school, it was hard to outline a time that we could all film the production together, which resulted in a small time slot to film. In the end we did manage to get all thr required footage.

Thriller video - Rough cut

The rough cut displays that through the use of transitions we were able to make the production flow without being too fragmented, this was shown from 1:41 to 1:55.
I'm pleased with the amount of shot types, for example at 0:13, the angle allows the characters personality to be portrayed. and the tilt shots used at 1:20.
I believe the final piece should be in black and white due to some shots having bad lighting, this will allow this problem to be minimalized, and it will fit in more with the conventions of a film noir thriller.
I also think that the ending shot should be changed because it doesn't fit in with the music and the tension that surrounds the rest of the thriller.

Storyboard

Characters, Costumes and Props

Scarlett and Ray

Ray will be portrayed by: Tom Battell
Scarlett will be portrayed by: Holly Duffield

Treatment

Blackout. As a jewellery box’s tune begins, the shot of her blood red lipstick fades in as her hand reaches over and gracefully picks it up. The corner of her lips, with her glamorous hair comes into shot, she’s applying the lipstick slowly. This is followed by a behind shot of her, placing her lipstick on the counter and in turn collecting some diamanté earrings from her jewellery box. The shot lingers on the photograph of a happy couple before returning to a side close up of her ear and cheek, as she places her earring in her ear. Her wedding ring is removed and placed under a necklace in her jewellery box, her fingertip lingers across the man in the photo’s face, hesitation…the jewellery box is slammed shut, and the music abruptly stops. She leaves in silence.

Next is a shot of the femme fatale swiftly leading the building, rushing down the steps. She walks into a darkly lit, enigmatic alleyway. As she glances over her shoulder, her face is largely covered by her stylistic hat’s netting. Yet her eyes glancing behind her, whilst swiftly walking, is clear. Due to a long shot of this character rushing, a second character is revealed by their dark mysterious shoulder and neck wandering into the frame. A man, and he’s watching her.

The sub-genre of thriller that we have decided upon is Film Noir, due to the especially creative aspects of filming, editing and music. The Film Noir's theatricality and glamour would make an exciting opening to create, we expect. Inspiration taken from many classic Film Noir's such as the dark mysterious alleyways used in The Third Man, though not a Film Noir the stylistic opening of Casino Royal, we aim to use similar unique camera angles and shots to create an on-edge impression. Our Femme Fatale has many qualities similar to Phyllis from Double Indemnity, the confidence, glamour, and seductiveness are traits that we inivsion being in the character of Scarlett. Not only this, the plot took some inspiration from the theme of adultery that runs through Double Indemnity since it brings such a motive for violence and passion. Also Chinatown's J.J. "Jake" Gittes (the male protgragonist) loosely inspired our protragonist, mainly his flair of character and love of money.

Mood Board

Introduction

Hi, I'm Chloe Ebbs and this is my media blog.