Film Noir- Similar Products- Script First Draft

Montoya Downfall Draft 1

Film Noir- Similiar Products- Questionnare

Below is an example of the questionnare I used to determine the style of film noir that would work best for my target audience.

Example of questionnare

From looking at hte results of hte questionnares I have a pretty clear idea of what characters i want in my film noir and who should be the main character in the opening. The chart below shows that the most liked character is the Gang leader, and as the henchman in the least liked it would be good if he were to be killed in the opening.

This next graph shows the age of the people I questioned which gives me a rough idea of the age of the target audience

From the questionnaire and the graphs I can see that the audience want something with a twist in it or some kind of mystery, so I think there will have to be a detective character in the opening at some point.

It would be good to have it set in hte gang hideout or bar so that the gang leader, henchman and femme fatale could all be in the opening as well really portraying a classic film noir.

Film Noir- My group for Production

For the production I'm working with Sam Morris and Stephen Page

Film Noir - Similar Products- Film Noir Poster Analysis

I've analysed some film noir posters and the things I've picked up on is that most of them are cartoon like with no real life images. There is a lot of attention on the titles in the posters with bright colors used to draw your attention, along with this most of the posters are in color where as the film are in black and white. This is because if a poster was in black and white it would be dull and unattractive to the audience therefore producers made the poster colorful to attract people.

I've also noticed that the characters shown in the posters aren't looking at you, there attention is always elsewhere making you wonder what is so important in the film to grab their attention. Another film that is common in film noir posters is that an attractive female, or femme fatale, is always in them. This convention of attractive females in glamorous dresses is brought through to film noir posters showing the importance of it throughout the genre.

There are some unconventional posters such as the big sleep poster that is in black and white, this is due to a very well known actor of the time, Humphrey Bogart, featuring in the film which gives it the right to be in black and white as his name alone attracts people to the poster.

Film Noir - Similar Products- Film Noir Openings

Opening 1- Touch of Evil



What I like about this opening is the use of only one shot throughout most of the opening, which shows the conventional lack of editing in film noirs. This would be someone I'd like to use in my film for instance walking through a bar or down a back alley.Also, i like how you don't see the villains face and you see his shadow flash across the wall which is a great effect.
I also like how their is music in the background that draws you in, along with the fact that you want to know when the bomb planted in the back of the car will go off. This gets the audiences attention and makes sure they aren't bored, as you are gripped as you think the bomb could go off at any point.
                                           

Opening 2- Sunset Boulevard



In the opening of this for about half of it there's just the credits that nowadays you'd find at the end of a film, however with film noir it is conventional for them to be at the beginning, this is something that could be used but it would look better if something was going on in the background so you have something that is pulling you in. What i do like about the opening is the narrator that tells you the background the Sunset Boulevard, and the first shot of the police cars going past as it quickly pans round to watch them pass. The camerawork and editing in this opening is quite unconventional for a film noir however it works well with the narrator in the background. The use of editing in the opening wasn't to obvious with the clever narrator in the background and this could be an idea for my film noir opening.

Opening 3- Double indemnity



From this trailer the things i liked was that the sign said stop way before the car was near the lights but he still went on as he must have been in a rush. This though is a metaphor for the whole film as he had time to stop and turn back but he didn't, these little metaphors and hidden messages could be used well in my opening.
The main character in the opening that is the detective figure is wearing the conventional hat and trench coat that is a must have for our opening as it is a very well known convention of the genre.
Another good thing from this opening is the seen in the lift where the shot doesn't change at all throughout their conversation, this shows more the conventional lack of editing seen in film noir that I'd like to use in my opening, its also a nice shot after that as it tracks out with the detective to look over a workplace, very common in film noir but works very well as you don't really want the editing to stand out.

Film Noir- Similar Products- Film noir basic plots

1- Sweet Smell of Success
The film transforms New York City into a dystopia soaked with jazz, smoke, and criminals.  We follow Sidney Falco, a press agent without the burdens of morality.  He is hired by J.J. Hunsecker, New York’s premier newspaper columnist, to stop his sister from marrying Steve Dallas, a fresh, young jazz guitarist.  So, Sidney plants some reefer on him and spreads rumors that he is a Communist.  Things work at first and the relationship is destroyed.

But that isn’t the end for Sidney- he is summoned to Hunsecker’s penthouse only to find the sister attempting suicide. Hunsecker walks in on Sidney saving her and accuses him of rape.  From there, fates are decided and lives are destroyed as the truth comes out.  In this powerful film, nobody is innocent.

A shot of Sydney in Sweet Smell of Success

2- The Big Heat

The Big Heat is one of the most intense noir films ever made.  It all starts with the death of a police sergeant.  The detective assigned to the case, Dave Bannion, thinks that foul play may be involved.  Bannion has reason to believe that a powerful gang of criminals has infiltrated the police force and bumped the sergeant off.  But the department’s higher ups force the case closed and one of the only witnesses willing to provide information is murdered.  Enraged, he insults the suspected mob boss only to have his wife killed with a car bomb as a result.  This puts him on a war path of furious vengeance as he swears to take the culprits down.  Using every method at his disposal and the help of the gangster’s girlfriend Debbie, he cuts a path of violence and anger through all the obstacles in his way. It was daring for its time and still shocking for those who watch it now.

The Big Heat poster

3- Pickup on South Street

On a crowded subway in New York , a small time pickpocket named Skip McCoy steals a wallet.  To him, it’s no big deal.  After all, it’s just another job for him.  Unbeknownst to him is the fact that the woman he robbed was carrying a microfilm of stolen top-secret government information that was destined for a group of Communists.  With the incredibly vital information in the hands of a common thief, both the police and the Communists start to track him down.  Too bad Mr. McCoy doesn’t care about the welfare of his country or his civic duty.  To him, it is an opportunity to make a bundle from the highest bidder.  As he slips away from the police and the Communists, it is up to Candy, the woman he robbed, to find him and get the microfilm back.

4- The Killers

The Killers starts with one of the most famous opening scenes in film noir history where two hit men invade a small town and kill The Swede. The Swede used to be a member of a gang of thieves whom he was pushed into betraying by femme fatale Kitty Collins Colfax.  Like so many film noir characters, the Swede is fully aware of his transgressions and knows that he cannot escape his fate.  And so he greets his punishment like a man instead of trying to escape from it, as so many other film noir characters would.  We then follow an investigator and a police detective as they struggle to track down his killers and bring them to justice.  The Killers is a powerful story that fully deserves it reputation as a classic film noir.

The Swede and a female actress in The Killers

5- Detour

Detour features all the great noir clichés: a down and out protagonist running from his past, a foul-tempered femme fatale, stylized dialogue, and a moody, bleak voiceover.  It deals with a hitchhiker played by Tom Neal.  He hitches a ride with a businessman one night who complains about his previous passenger, a crazy woman who scratched him.  Much to the hitchhiker’s dismay, the businessman dies.  He panics and throws his body into the desert and drives off.  Too bad his next passenger is a fiery redhead who asks him where the real driver of the car is.  She threatens to blackmail him because she knows that he has stolen the car.  In that moment, their destinies become linked and they plunge towards a tragic outcome that they cannot escape.  A filthy, messy production, Detour's flaws become its greatest strength.  It achieves a kind of transcendent power by wallowing in the filth of its story and creation.

From finding the plots of the best film noir films ever made I noticed that quite a few are to do with tracking down communists or showing htem as the enemy, as in 1950 America they were extremely anti communist and this is shown alot in the plots.

Some other things I noticed is that there are alot of criminals involved in film noir, many being the main characters. Along with criminals there are the detectives tracking them or solving the cases they caused.

Many seem to have a depressing plot with many people dying and without happy endings, but this is a good convention of film noir that makes it more realistic.

Source : http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-film-noir-movies.php#ixzz1jKlSywb7

Film Noir- Similar Products- Film Noir Conventions

Below are the Film Noir conventions I could think of after watching some trailers :

• Interesting Camea angles
• Black and White
• Narrator
• America
• Central City setting
• Filmed at night
• Minimal lighting

• No handheld shots
• Urgent tone
• Flirtatious, glamourous female actors

From analysing posters I found these conventions:

• Posters in colour to make it stand out
• Titles all stand out
• All have men and women in the poster
• Actors aren't looking at you, they are all looking away as if what they're looking at is more important.

Film Noir - Similar Products- Film Noir Definition

The definition I thought best fitted film noir is 'A style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. Originally applied to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944–54.'