After deciding on characters we agreed that it would be a good idea to do a photo shoot of all the characters in order to better understand and visualise them. Doing this shoot helped us to get a good grasp of who the characters actually are and their attitudes, this in turn helps us to create a better script as we'll now be able to bring in more of the characters personality into the dialogue we script for them. We used the photography studio to do the shoot because it is well-equipped with good lighting facilities. As I am a photography student, I set up the lights because I had a better understanding of how to use them to the most benefit. We used costumes (from the drama department) to see exactly how the characters were going to look. The lesson after the shoot we edited the best of the photos on photoshop (we conerted them to black and white as it would be most appropriate since we're going to do the actual film in black and white) :
- I'm really pleased with he way this photo (left) turned out: the slightly tilted angle of his head and the wide-eyed expression gives him a slightly psychopathic look which is great for showing the more estranged, twisted side of his mob boss character.
- This shot on the right presents a more complex, thoughtful side to the mob boss character whilst still remaining sinister.
The above images show the protagonist of our Film Noir movie, Detective John Carter. The face-on shots combined with the direct eye contact and emotionless facial expression show the no-nonsense attitude of the detective. The shadow across the right side of his face represents the slightly more rogue side to his character and which shows that he's not afraid to stray a little from the word of the law in order to catch a criminal. I edited the angle of perspective on the right-hand image in a way that makes it appear as though he's taller, bolder and stronger in order to create a looming sense and a menacing atmosphere surrounding his character.
