Friday, 14 November 2014

Detective work

Detective

Detectives through the genre of film noir are very complex characters. They pursue a very mixed personality with good points and bad points in. From research I gathered some information and came to a conclusion; which was words which accurately describe Detectives in a film noir. These are words such as:
-         

Superior: Superior in a way that he is high in class and status and is looked up to.
-       
   Smart/Clever: Always two steps ahead and has his head on the scene even when unexpected.
-          
Cunning like a Fox: Also pursues a sly nature amongst his other aspects.
-         
Charismatic: Carries an interesting story.
-     
     Patronising: Behave in an offensively condescending manner towards lower class people e.g. his assistant.
-        
  Egotistic: He recognises self-importance and conveys a good ego.
-          
Mysterious: Very much keeps himself to himself and is always on the lookout for good sources.
-          
Inner-Turmoil: This being because he has a state of great commotion, confusion, agitation to solve a mystery etc.

The Detective in my film noir:            

I am the Detective in my film and this is very misleading and contradictive because I am a black Detective. I feel that the idea of this s definitely going to be effective and also convey a whole new meaning to Film Noir because the typical Detective is recognised as a typical tall, light skinned, sharp faced Detective however with my film we are breaking this circuit and creating a new one by changing around the rules; I feel as if this will work in our favour because it will have a big effect on the balance of the Film.
The Detective will also carry a mixed personality with many good and bad aspects, with things such as:
-          Superior: Superior in a way that he is high in class and status and is looked up to.
-          Smart/Clever: Always two steps ahead and has his head on the scene even when unexpected.
-          Cunning like a Fox: Also pursues a sly nature amongst his other aspects.
-          Charismatic: Carries an interesting story.
-          Patronising: Behave in an offensively condescending manner towards lower class people e.g. his assistant.
-          Egotistic: He recognises self-importance and conveys a good ego.
-          Mysterious: Very much keeps himself to himself and is always on the lookout for good sources.

-          Inner-Turmoil: This being because he has a state of great commotion, confusion, agitation to solve a mystery etc. 

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

Femme Fetale work

Femme Fetale - Representation
Firstly, what is Representation?
Representation falls under a few categories. The categories are all similar and convey the same meaning. Firstly, there’s the idea of Representation being labelled as representation of reality, and the truth. Secondly, it could also mean how something is presented to another person/a similar comparison.
There are many different labels of representation, things such as:
-          Gender (Male/Female)
-          Ethnicity (White/Black/Other)
-          Class and Status (higher-class & lower-class)
-          Sexuality (Homophobic/Homosexual etc.)
-          Physical ability/Disability (Able-bodied/Mental or Physical)

As you can see there is many different interpretations of representation however there is no real answer to the 100% meaning of it.
For my media film studies coursework I had to analyse two Femme Fetale clips and give a brief description of what I learnt and how effective it is and now I’m going to jot down a few words I feel are best to describe what I seen:
-          Strong
-          Independent
-          Poisonous
-          Persuasive
-          Manupulative
-          Unhinged
-          Needy
-          Powerful

I chose these words because in my opinion I feel as if these are the best descriptions of how it was back in the Femme Fetale days. Firstly; I chose the word poisonous because it accurately describes the women, as they act poisonous in a way that they persue themselves to have poison in them which makes them so manipulative and controlling, in a way that they get what they want so instantly.
Another word I used to describe them was independent; I felt this is appropriate because as a viewer, they seem to be quite independent and distant in a way that they feel as if they don’t need anyone else but themselves; however they seek help of other males so this contradicts their actions and has an effect on the interpretation of women in Femme Fetale based films.

An example of a Femme Fetale film is the Maltese Falcon, which I had to analyse also for my media. The maltese falcon film is a massive hit in the history of Film Noire and up to now is still very popular and recognised for it's success.

Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Blue Velvet


The opening sequence to blue velvet is a brief preview of the film and what sort of mood is connoted throughout the film. Firstly, the opening credits are written in very elegant writing which implies a high level of sophistication for the forthcoming story of the film but may be seen as unimportant at this moment of the film, however more importantly the title ‘Blue Velvet’ is placed in front of a velvet curtain and the curtain may imply that there’s something being hidden as this may be seen as the primary use of the curtains.

The first proper film sequence we see if the use of the roses in front of a white picket fence, which symbolises American suburbia and so does the bright red roses and behind that is a perfectly blue sky, also a nice summery American suburban culture. Interestingly along with this, the colours in this scene are red, white and blue the colours of the American flag, along with this the shot is an upward shot so it appears is if it admiring the roses and therefore the flag, so appears to be highly patriotic, and this is a very clever use.

 
Then the next shot we see is a slow motion action shot of an old style fire engine and on the engine is a man waving to the camera with his dog as the engine slowly drives past. This scene is very clever technique wise because the fire engine used implies that it’s based from the 70’s so we have established an estimate date; however a concern in this is that the fire engine is meant to be quite old, but looks fairly clean and new so this indicates that it’s not often used and well looked after, furthermore, this could signify that is quite chilled and action-less and recognised as a small moving area hence the slow motion camera technique.


Then the next shot we see is a slow motion action shot of an old style fire engine and on the engine is a man waving to the camera with his dog as the engine slowly drives past. This scene is very clever technique wise because the fire engine used implies that it’s based from the 70’s so we have established an estimate date; however a concern in this is that the fire engine is meant to be quite old, but looks fairly clean and new so this indicates that it’s not often used and well looked after, furthermore, this could signify that is quite chilled and action-less and recognised as a small moving area hence the slow motion camera technique.

 He suddenly grabs his neck as if shot by a blowdart. After a moment of paralysis, he drops to the ground. The gardenhose tangles around his legs. A small dog, a Jack Russell terrier I think, comes over to sniff him and ends up playing with the hose, attempting to get a drink of water. Then things get odder as the camera zooms in on the man slowly, closer and closer to his body, until the camera is submerged in the blades of grass. As the camera slowly travels through the grass, our movie-going training in suspense conditions us to expect the answer to the mystery: a bullet shell perhaps. But there are no answers in the lawn; the camera plunges into the dirt, and we see hundreds of beetles climbing all over each other in the soil as the soundtrack amplifies the sound of beetle legs trampling beetle exoskeletons.

It’s tempting to say that the beetles represent the dark underworld of suburban American life, but that’s as misleading as it is glib. In Blue Velvet the characters who are shown in suburban settings–home, high school, the football field–are all innocent paragons of virtue. The twisted characters don’t live in track homes; they live in apartment buildings, old factory buildings and indeterminate bar-brothels.

 This opening sequence serves to set the tone of the entire film and almost acts as a thesis for it. Its basic message is even in the things that seem perfect, there is ugliness and decay beneath the surface. The man having the stroke is meant to upset the audience and make them uneasy after seeing the idyllic scenes of suburban life. But the man's stroke is just the beginning as the audience is taken deeper into the unknown and witnesses the horrific looking beetles as they fight, right under the bright green grass on a typical lawn in suburbia. The contrast in lighting styles between the soft sunny neighborhood and the dark shadowed insect scene establish the co-existence of two separate worlds, one of innocence and happiness, the other of filth and violence, neither aware of the other.




Script

Opening Sequence to the Film Noir



 
INT.Detective’s office.Morning

View of the Detectives office

I wasn’t getting any breaks, working in this tacky office they call me Fortune but I wasn’t feeling lucky. (V.O)


Close up of character’s face and shows despair

Phone rings

Fortune picks up phone immediately

Fortune: Yes -

Fortune: speaking…

… Takes a puff of his cigar

Fortune: of course sweetheart I’m here pretty much all day.

…. Blows smoke into the air

Fortune: (grieve) Just pop in sometime today I’m sure I can---

Phone hangs up immediately

Close up of Fortune putting the phone back in place

Shortly followed by,

Knock at the door

Fortune’s eyes squint up as he looks at the door

Fortune: Come in… aggressively

Assistant and Client walk in

Fortune: (frustration) What’s a man gotta do around here to get a god damn glass of whiskey!

Assistant: (panic) Sorry sir I’ll , I’ll go and get one now

Assistant leaves room

Fortune: Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. Are you the lady on the phone earlier?

Janette: (snappy) I am yes

Fortune: May I ask your name please darling?

Janette: Janette. Janette Cummings.

Fortune: What seems to be the problem then Jane---

Janette: (calmly) It’s Janette. But it’s my sister.  Basically she went away for the weekend with her husband and I haven’t heard of them since last week, I’m worried.

Fortune pulls closer

Fortune: (comforting) and what is your sisters name sweet cheeks? Have you heard anything at all off her?

Janette: Lauren James and no. Well I received this very dodgy letter 2 days go which basically quoted “from this day, this shall be a mystery – see you soon – 28th August Town Hall at 16:00."


Fortune: Hmm.

Assistant knocks on the door 

Fortune: (shouts) One minute.

Another gentle knock at the door

Fortune: (angrily) I said one minute! 

Carries on glancing into Janette's eyes

Fortune: May I see this letter please Jan

Hands letter over

Fortune closely studies ever single bit of detail on the letter

Fortune: Come in

Assistant quickly comes into the room and hands Fortune a glass of whiskey

Fortune sips the whiskey slowly

Fortune: Janette, leave this with me I'll get it sorted, I promise.

Janette: Thank you Detective, May you call me back in a few days with information please. I'll see myself out.

EXT.TamworthChurch.Lateafternoon

Establishing shot of the location

Fortune studying the letter which Janette received

Fortune: (mumble) This doesn't add up right; best go check it out.

Fortune drives to the location

Fortune patiently waits at a bench for the person behind this letter

Fortune starts tapping his foot against the ground gently and relaxes on the bench

Fortune hears a femenine voice breathe down his neck 

There is no time for Fortune to react.

Before he could react that was it. Dead.

Killer: (Angrily) When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Passionately walks away.

Feedback November



You are working at level 2 for research and planning but can achieve level 4 if you publish all your posts as your group work is promising.
 
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