Script: Scene 3

SCENE 3

(out for dinner)

Detective John Carter: (VOICEOVER) I couldn’t work out for the life of me what it was about Miss Bonnie Kensington that made me fall so fast. Knowing she had the control and was almost in charge of me made me weaker than I’d ever imagine.

(Giggles, leg rub under the table, laughing, drinking)

Fade in sound of them conversing but also the hustle of the restaurant. No focused dialogue.

Script: Scene 2

SCENE 2

Detective John Carter: Chester! Get in here. We’ve got a case to unravel.

Chester and Carter look through the people bobby has supposedly murdered, and Carter’s father’s photograph appears. Music comes in and shows his face as he looks at it determinedly.

Script: Scene 1

SCENE 1

(In office)

Detective John Carter: “I was told that these photographs of the towns latest criminals contained some of those we have before seen on many occasions. They were not wrong. 'Bobby' as he had been known had been in these photographs of the most wanted since he shot my father. He had also been drug dealing since I began my job back in '34. This lady was supposedly known to have a connection with him. I knew it was my job to try and find the two so that I could finally be at peace with the death of my father. Had I known what wool was to be pulled over my eyes, things could have ended very differently."

Date put on the bottom to show change of time.

SCENE 2

(In office)

(knock at door)

Detective John Carter: Come in

Bonnie Kensington: hello, sir. (waits by door)

Detective John Carter: What may I help you with, madam?

Bonnie Kensington: well, I’ve been thinking for some time that I should perhaps tell you policemen something, but I keep changing my mind. I don’t know if I should, oh

Detective John Carter: Maam you know we’ll help you and have your best interests at heart.

Bonnie Kensington: yes I know. Okay well I came over here 5 years ago from England, and my family, well, they weren’t to well off you see. I met this man called ‘Bobby’ one day after class and he promised me he’d make things better for us. So I believed him.

Detective John Carter: Bobby? Bobby Dents?

Bonnie Kensington: oh have you heard of him?

Detective John Carter: the name is a little familiar.

Bonnie Kensington: I’m not supposed to tell anyone what he’s doing with all his business but he does bad things to me sir, and I can’t take it no more.

Detective John Carter: what business?

Bonnie Kensington: Oh I couldn’t

Detective John Carter: Look doll, you gotta tell me what you know if you want this man to have the justice he deserves.

Bonnie Kensington: Well, okay sir. I know for a fact that if I was to be perhaps taken out for dinner by you I’d be more persuaded to tip the scales in your favour. You see, I can’t just give in to you immediately. He’ll have me shot!

Detective John Carter: Is there actually a problem here? Or do you just want some appreciation?

Bonnie Kensington: Oh sir there is a problem. A big problem. But there’s something about you and I don’t want to let you get away. So take me somewhere I’ll like and we can sort this thing out.

Character Profiles

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.

The following lesson we set about deciding on characters. We already had the detective and the mob boss, who's drug deal the detective would be investigating. We then agreed upon the involvement of a femme fatale, a couple of assistant detectives and the love interest of the mob boss. We created brief character profiles with information about their appearance, age, back stories and characteristics.
Then we loosely storyboarded the layout of the film, this included the key moments/scenes and some basic information about the dialogue that would be spoken during those scenes. Next we began to construct the first scene on paper: this would include a voice over from the detective providing the back story of the characters and events that occur in the film which is vital for understanding the film in it's entirety.

On the 10th of january 2012 we (Antonia, Ellen and I) began work on creating our own Film Noir film. We first brainstormed ideas, concepts, visual styles and plots that we wanted to include, and quickly came to an agreement that we wanted the plot to be about a detective investigating a drug deal. The inspiration for this idea came from the Neo-Noir film 'Brick' - a detective film set in an american high school in which a young man investigates a drug deal gone wrong that ends up killing one of the students at the school.

After agreeing on the basic storyline, we decided that we wanted to do the movie in black and white in order to achieve a more authentic atmosphere for the film as the original film noir movies were all shot in black and white. We felt that the conventional high-contrast lighting used in film noir movies would be more visually appealing if shot in black and white.

Codes and Conventions of Film Noir

Characters: Film Noir movies tend to have a specific set of character types. Typically characters include:

• A male protagonist who is disillusioned and cynical (stereotypically he is a detective)
• A femme fatale. The detective falls for her seductive charms but she will usually double cross him/have sinister and dishonest intentions. She maipuates the protagonist into becoming the fall guy. The women were often shown to be this way because of their new found independence due to the war - during the war, women had to do the jobs that the men used to do, this highlighted to the world that women were just as able as men and was a large step towards women's independence.
• The main villain character will more often than not be the boss of less important bad guys. His charcater is usually a drug dealer/mob boss/ bank robber/murderer type of character, however, his 'minions' will do the dirty work for him.

Lighting: One of the things that makes Film Noir films so easily recognisable is the lighting used in them. Lighting is typically high contrast and is used to create silhouettes and shadows. Silhouettes and shadows are used to highlight the juxtaposition of good and evil in the film. Often when shooting, for example, an office scene strong strong light would be blasted through venecian blinds, this projects shadows and streams of light across the characters face which can often be used to draw attention to the eyes to show emotions and thoughts.

Voiceovers: Film Noir films often include a voice over usually from the protagonist. This helps to explain the, often complex, plot and reveals to the viewers what he is thinking and feeling.

Common prop usage: Smoking was a very common occurrence in Film Noir movies. Characters would often light up a cigarette in most scenes, the smoke acts as fantastic visual effect as it can create a mysterious atmosphere and allows for some very smooth transitions between cuts. Mirrors were also very common as part of Film Noir sets as were venecian blinds. The usage of venecian blinds shows the period in which the films were made as they were popular around the 1940s. This type of blinds allow for some rather creative lighting as they are great for creating strong shadows and harsh streams of light.