Film Progress - creative journey

Casting

After having completed the storyboard and script I had a confident idea of how to go about creating the movie. I collected a few friends to play the actors within my movie, a total of 5 actors to play 5 characters, additionally I needed my own direction of how the movie would be filmed and how to follow the storyboard in collaboration with the script and Tony Cash provided the role of cameraperson.

I gathered my actors in early October and gave those with speaking roles copies of the script to prep them for the film. Casting actually became a problem throughout the production of the movie as certain actors had conflicting schedules which required the production dates to be decided carefully. A rough set of shots was filmed in late October for a rough idea of how the movie would look, unfortunately the footage captured could not be used due to low audio quality and the fact that it was incomplete, additionally the footage featured an actor who was later re-casted entirely due to schedule conflictions. Before filming my finalised casting crew became solidified:

Alistair Goodwin as Detective Gilbert (Main character)
Harry Kelly as Detective Patmore (Secondary Character)
Amy Morris as Olivia Garnet (Femme Fatale)
Lee Bradley as Charles Graves (Background character)
Bradley Lee as Ned Henry (Corpse)

Location

After having a reliable cast I decided to go out with my partner and find a suitable filming location for the movie. I explored a few areas around Tamworth for my movie, initially I was thinking of an area near a river which I had visited on a Duke of Edinburgh walk and though would be suitable, however upon revisiting the location I found the ground to be much too wet and sludgy to have any kind of filming equipment or footwear on. I decided to have the location at a nearby nature reserve in Amington, which is very close to the houses of all the actors involved, which made it convenient and the ground was suitable for equipment and footwear. The location is surrounded in many tall trees and quite murky surfaces, there is also a small swamp-like lake on set which will appear in the film as a local landmark in the story, I chose the area because it seemed like a suitable location for a murder crime scene and I felt that It's muddy appearance would invite a dark Film Noir style atmosphere to the movie.  (add pictures of location here later)

Production Schedule

Upon having my cast and location sorted I had to find out which days would be suitable to get the footage. I found that the entirety of my cast was available every Sunday for filming, so I scheduled the filming of the movie every Sunday, however in the end I only needed a single day to collect all of the footage required.

Filming Footage and Role Allocation

After having everything ready I started filming in mid November, with myself as the writer, director and later the editor and Tony Cash as the cameraperson who took care of capturing the footage. After having audio problems in our practice recording in October we decided to make use of a voice recorder suspended on a sturdy stick to capture audio better and later overlap it with the footage to get a better audio quality. In addition Tony provided a pop filter for the voice recorded to reduce the risk of background noise. As we pressed record on the camera we suspended the voice recorder close to the actors while still out of shot in order to get decent quality audio capture. After completing all of the footage recording which additionally required audio recordings at the same time we recorded voiceovers off camera to be placed onto scenes later in editing.

Editing








When filming was finished and it was time to edit I put the footage and audio onto the computer and went through all of the files in order to separate the blooper footage with the footage we were actually going to use in the film. After doing this I imported all the files we were going to edit together into Adobe Premiere to start editing.










After importing all the clips and audio I dragged them all into the timeline in the order they are supposed to go, with the footage accompanied with the audio it was recorded with.

I then synced the footage and audio up appropriately, which you can see in the pictures shows the audio more spaced out as it has been synced with the footage accurately.

After having placed all of the clips and audio into the film and having synced it all I started to add filters to all of the clips in order to give it the black and white film noir colours and some colour edits to make it seem darker since the original clips were quite light.

 

Before adding all the filters I created a second save of the film for applying the edits, this way I wouldn't ruin the project by adding the filters.

Throughout the course of editing the film I noticed that a specific clip had dragged on for an uncomfortable amount of time and it made the pacing of the entire project slow down and it seemed unprofessional. In order to try and correct this I added in a clip from earlier in the project with no visual dialogue, named "over shoulder shot" so then the audio could be heard and it would seem as though the character was talking off-screen without it being a voice-over, remaining diegetic sound. The images below shows the image repeated on the timeline as well as what the clip looked like.

Towards the end of editing the project I found that we didn't have enough footage to sync up to one of the audio voiceovers, which we recorded without a clip in collaboration with it. In order to correct this I took a camera and tri-pod out the following Saturday and simply captured a close up shot of the main character as it was him talking in a voiceover. I did this to make it seem as though the character was in deep thought during his voiceover as earlier in the voiceover he wasn't in the shot and it was focusing on another character.

Below you can see how the audio goes further than the footage.

After collecting all of the necessary footage for the film it was able to all be edited together correctly on the timeline. After being synced with the audio the footage of the film was all finished being edited. During post production my partner Tony and I split up to create different graphics for the opening title card and company logo for the film.

I used flash to create a short animation featuring a company logo named Cashcush Productions, created out of the last names of both myself (Cushingham) and my partner Tony (Cash). The animation was purposely simplistic, not reminiscent of any specific styles and was intended to have no genre-specific impact on the viewer.






While I was creating the company logo animation my film partner Tony was creating a title card for the film, which is called "Ruby Red". After looking up a few tutorials Tony was able to create the title card In Photoshop by layering images and text over one another and by manipulating lighting effects provided by Photoshop. The title card was created to purposely reflect Film Noir aspects, with a spotlight on the title and the title font being quite curved.

December feedback

You are making excellent progress toward the deadline and have produced a promising first edit.  I am expecting you to reach the higher grades so aspire to these.

Planning needs to be documented thoroughly on the web-log. You have done this with the script and the storyboards so now add production schedules and any other documentation. Use the Foundation portfolio booklet as a guide.

Once an edit is complete begin to evaluate your opening sequence.

Film Noir : The Pitch

Film Noir Pitch; Ruby Red.

 

Set in quite a murky location, small woods with a small open lake nearby. Quite a lot of the trees provide shade and affect the lighting of the area to be moderately dark. The film incorporates three signature characters of the Film Noir genre. The hardboiled detective protagonist, a sidekick secondary character detective and finally the memorable femme fatale character are all evident within the film’s opening sequence. Appropriate Mise en scene costumes have been collected in order to provide recognisable clichés for the characters, such as fedoras/trilbies and long coats for the detectives, a very wealthy looking fur coat and outfit for the femme fatale and appropriate suits for the detectives.

 

Synopsis

 

When Detective Gilbert, a hardboiled detective with years of experience is called in for a crime scene following connotations towards his previous cases, he finds himself indulged in a large scale homicide centred on a single ruby red ring. The targets of three cases have all been employees of the law, all found with a ruby red gem-encrusted item of jewellery found on their corpse when found. Accompanied by Detective Patmore, Gilbert must uncover the clues that lead towards several young cops’ demise, all while attempting to cope with his unprofessional interests with the alluring Olivia Garnet; a suspect in the case.

 

Characters

 

Detective Gilbert: The main character and protagonist of the film. A stern but compassionate detective who’s years of experience have hardened his exterior. Gilbert has recently been involved in two murder cases of young employees of the law, and both cases have left a significant item of jewellery at the scene coloured in ruby red. With a third murder and a third item of jewellery uncovering before him, Gilbert must attempt to remain professional while still dealing with his newly developed and unexplainable attraction towards a suspect, the miss Olivia Garnet.

 

-          Played by Isaac Turner.

 

Detective Patmore: A secondary character and sidekick to Detective Gilbert. A young detective who’s lack of experience leaves him with a laid back personality which contrasts with his newly appointed partner; Detective Gilbert. Despite his relaxed personality he is eager to view cases and seem relevant to the situation. Gilbert is talkative and usually the evident voice due to his obnoxious persistence and attempts to lighten the mood. He joins Detective Gilbert on the new homicide case uprising in the town.

 

-          Played by Alistair Goodwin

 

Olivia Garnet: A main character and femme fatale of the film. The youthful daughter of a rich tycoon in the town who’s exterior presents her as timid and helpless. Olivia is the femme fatale character who is introduced when she initially involves herself in a murder case after claiming ownership of evidence in the case to get closer to Detective Gilbert. Gilbert finds her alluring and is oblivious to her manipulative nature which he is warned of by Patmore. Olivia is well dressed and evidently wealthy, adorned in a cream fur jacket and an alluring outfit, she also has an obvious English accent which emphasises her high class status.

 

-          Played by Amy Morris

 

Ned Henry: Minor character, the corpse in the opening sequence. Ned is a recently deceased cop whose killer is still undetermined and being investigated by Gilbert and Patmore after their involvement with similar cases. Ned was murdered with a slice to the neck and was left with a single ruby red ring on his body upon his discovery.

 

-          Played by Bradley Lee

 

Charles Graves: A minor character who appears in the background. Charles is a cop who takes a statement by Olivia Garnet after she insists involvement in the case and is declared a suspect.

 

-          Played by Lee Bradley

Representation: The Detective

Representation

Detective

 

The detective is a blatant staple in the Film Noir movie genre, as he is usually given the status as main character and protagonist. The detective usually falls into a category defined by several unique traits and repetitive qualities which truly individualize the character and demonstrate who he is and what he’s about.

 

The detective is often introduced as a very quiet character, as he is defined by his hard-boiled attitude and is often facing inner-turmoil which makes him an introvert when observed by other people. Despite his silent and somewhat anti-social nature the detective remains confident and assertive in his abilities and is capable of getting his own way through force and persuasion. Although the detective is shown as quite powerful and masculine he has a strong weakness through the femme fatale, who is an antagonistic character who easily takes control of the detective through manipulation and deception. The detective is very gullible and a sucker for love, meaning he is an easy target for the femme fatale, made even worse by his unique passionate nature and chauvinistic attitude which deludes him into thinking he’s in control of the situation. The detective is often depicted as quite suave and sophisticated, adorned in a traditional black suit, topped off by a distinct trilby hat, if not his styled gelled back hair to give him a trait of class. The detective is often shown to be quite relaxed and in control, despite this he is often actually facing quite a deal of inner-turmoil and stress, often a result of the storyline, stemming from the mystery, this may lead to alcoholism through the detective, a significant sub-plot in certain film noirs if not a subtle note of the character as he is often seen drinking.

 

On top of the detective’s battle with his emotions he ends up managing a love-life, however to his dismay it ends up being intimate with the femme fatale, a result of the detective’s initial flirtatious nature which gives him a sense of an ego as it implies that he is in control, however he ends up losing control to the femme fatale as she dominates the relationship and effectively manipulates the protagonist unbeknownst to him. The detective is always depicted as a heterosexual protagonist, as this gives him opportunities to be sexually involved with women and panders to an incredibly large audience of very traditional conservative viewers, he is quite masculine and misogynistic towards woman, often talking in a very patronising way towards them, addressing women in pet names that may be quite degrading, somewhat referring to them as objects or possessions. Despite the fact that the Detective’s misogynistic attitude seems to come back to bite him when the femme fatale takes advantage of his male instincts and makes him vulnerable, in the end the femme fatale often gets her comeuppance from the detective, restoring his respectable hero role and making him seem like the winner in the end. Due to the general outline of the film noir genre the detective ends up getting away with his bias views towards women and receives no backlash from his actions, since the femme fatale is the antagonist and film noirs do not like to have many loose ends she is often killed off and the protagonist justified and admired.

 

Thoroughly the detective as the protagonist of the film noir genre is evident everywhere and provides room for a lot of emotional drama, romance, action, sex and mystery due to his personality in general personifying the entire film noir series in its clichés. The detective reflects a lot of the conventions of a film noir through himself since he’s the main character, which interests and excites an audience.

Representation: The Femme Fatale

Representation

Femme Fatale

 

The femme fatale is a very unique and classic character in the Film Noir film genre, nearly always one of the main characters and sometimes revealed to be the primary or secondary antagonist towards the end, deciphered throughout the story. The femme fatale is usually depicted opposite the main protagonist, commonly the detective, presented as a love interest towards him after she involves herself with the main story and becomes entangled within the protagonist’s priorities.

 

The femme fatale is introduced to the film noir genre in many different ways, as there is an enormous field of traits that can be given to the femme fatale which are dependent on the specific character portrayed through the convention. Commonly the femme fatale is introduced as a very independent, enticing woman who is more outgoing and assertive than the other women around her, these unique qualities attracting the antagonist’s attention. As the story progresses the femme fatale proves to be a dangerous individual who is revealed to have malevolent, selfish motives and a manipulative quality over men. The femme fatale brings new traits to the female gender, as it was introduced as a brand new turn for the gender, breaking from the generic roles women were given at the time and presenting them as a more independent group who are more liberated and intelligent than they are given credit for. The femme fatale finds confidence in their gender and doesn’t let it hinder them, something which men have attempted to do to women for countless generations. Because of this the femme fatale commonly defies the control of men and rejects the idea of a nuclear family and marriage, as they find it confining, dull and demeaning. The femme fatale uses her feminine qualities to her advantage, such as working woman stereotypes to her advantage, playing innocent and timid, while simultaneously playing on male weaknesses by exploiting their sexual vulnerability and helpless desire for women. Despite the femme fatale’s evident independence and strength they are still commonly seen as objects to possess by men in the film noir genre, the males in the movie commonly becoming ensnared by the woman’s glamorous persona but then attempting to control the woman and solely make her theirs. This is where the femme fatale is unafraid to murder, the femme fatale commonly poisons men with her desirability, and manipulates them to do the dirty work for her, however she is also very vindictive and is not afraid to cut all ties to a man and effectively end them if she feels suffocated or controlled like a piece of property. When the femme fatale’s are introduced they are often given English accents and desirable outfits, to give them an image of authority and wealth, as American audiences see English accents as high class and immediately dub the femme fatale as a very important person just from this simple first impression.

 

The femme fatale character type has paved a new medium for female independence and empowerment, however despite the fact that the women are portrayed as very powerful and wealthy they are also portrayed as the antagonist, being shown as devilish and evil. The femme fatale simultaneously gives a positive role for women and also a negative role, despite the fact that she is given power, assertiveness and a new sense of confidence which was previously unavailable to women it also personifies women themselves as very vindictive, single-minded individuals with very shallow perceptions and untrustworthy intentions. The femme fatale, after all is an antagonist so despite her seemingly empowering attributes she is still the villain in the story and so is antagonized thoroughly throughout the course of the film, making the audience slowly resent her. Conservative, old fashioned audiences may grow to resent the femme fatale even before her role as a vindictive villain is evident, some audiences may see her eccentric and independent nature as threatening. During certain film noirs the femme fatale becomes strikingly defensive, protecting her status as a woman while still trying to seem respectable, often using her manipulative abilities on the defense rather than the offense to try and sway the blame to other people or even the person accusing her if she is nearly caught in her actions.

 

Sadly, the femme fatale’s independent and empowering persona isn’t always one to be looked up to, as stated before she is technically a bad role model in several aspects due to her villainous and poisonous nature. On top of this the femme fatale is nearly always victim to “The Hays Code”, which is a code that states that justice must be served in the end and the villain must get their comeuppance. Audiences do not like to be left unknowing of the fate of very important characters, so there must be no doubts about the fates of our antagonist, this case being the femme fatale, who from the very start of the film is regrettably fated to lose or die in the end. This provides a sense of justice for the viewers, as up until this point it may have tried to empathise the detective to a male audience, and so when the femme fatale lures him in and takes advantage of him, the entire male audience feels betrayed and vulnerable just like the protagonist. This fact makes the femme fatale’s fated demise in the end all that much more satisfying to the male audience and even the female audience who did not enjoy the femme fatale’s interpretation of women from the start.

Identifying an Audience

Identifying an Audience

 

With anything there is always a wide range of audiences with many different perspectives when viewing a piece of material, these audiences have many different opinions that can be positive, negative or just befuddled with what they’re looking at. Modern audiences have a lot more independence and scepticism then it comes to being spoon fed information, they will often take it upon themselves to prove newfound information as fact themselves rather than take the word of the media. When technology was new and unexplored many audiences took what they were given and had little eccentric opinions on subjects.

 

The War of the Worlds radio broadcast in 1938 was a perfect example of audience reception being incredibly confused and panicked. The broadcast essentially described an alien invasion and without much guidance other than the radio broadcast itself the majority of the public was understandably confused and terrified by the catastrophe. At this point is completely alien for the media to purposely lie to the public, it was unknown to them to say anything except for fact. This ended up becoming an aberrant reading of the situation, as in truth the broadcast was an audio play which was not supposed to be taken seriously as a genuine announcement, and it was instead an original storytelling which had gone on air. Mass media had confused the public due to their broadcast which was completely unlike their other broadcasts which would just display the truth on air, so audiences took this new knowledge as truth.

 

There are four different ways a person can interpret material, reading them in several different ways, either understanding the media, not understanding it or interpreting it completely differently. This stems from Stewart Halls’ encoding Theory, which states that there are many different ways to read the same text due to varying perspectives and ideologies.

 

Preferred Reading – This is what the director of the material wants the audience to think, it is the reading which is intended to the public and the message that is supposed to be grasped.

 

Opposite Reading – This is the opposite of the preferred reading, where the message is received exactly opposite of what was intended, which often spurs confusion.

 

Negotiated Reading – A negotiated reading is similar to the preferred reading. The audience grasps the message however they develop their own opinion on the matter based on their own knowledge and get a different message to what was originally intended.

 

Aberrant Reading – This is when the message is interpreted in the completely wrong way, this may be due to a general lack of knowledge on the audience’s part however they do not manage to grasp the message whatsoever and develop a completely abnormal conclusion.

 

Another example was displayed in 1957 by Panorama, BBC; this displayed a short documentary on the harvesting of Spaghetti as a crop, which we know is not the way Spaghetti is created. This documentary follows the hypodermic needle theory, which generally states that the media can manage to brainwash the public audiences by saying certain things as facts to very passive audiences which take what they are given and they are lead to believe this things as truth. The documentary kept a very serious tone and went through the process of how spaghetti is harvested from crops before it is dried and then professionally prepared and served as food. These lead many audiences either confused or sceptic, the scandal was generally received by a negotiated audience. The audience understood that the documentary was a joke and knew that spaghetti was not actually grown on trees based on their own knowledge on the subject, these lead too many opinions and realised that the whole thing was simply a joke by the BBC. Despite this, the audiences were very passive and could have easily believed this to be fact as they are commonly lead to believe that everything on television is known as fact and it was uncommon to question that up until that point. BBC did a similar joke in 2008, with a short documentary styled advertisement about a unique group of penguins who could fly, displayed through the use of computer editing. This was a lot more recent than the spaghetti farm joke and audience at our time period are a lot more active rather than passive, meaning they are much more sceptical of the information which is commonly spoon fed to them and they are more inclined to go by things based on their own knowledge and findings rather than what other people say. Very few audiences found aberrant readings of the advert, not many actually believing the hoax to be true.

 

An advertisement was released by T-Mobile depicting the royal wedding in a much more modern and relatable image, simply named “T-Mobile Royal Wedding”. The advertisements had the royal wedding scrap the traditional ceremony and had many people who would have originally been walking down the aisle gracefully energetically dancing to a very up-beat song and outrageously expressive dance moves which would definitely not normally be in a formal wedding ceremony. The advert depicted the royal wedding in a different light in order to try and communicate a level of modern relevance and humorous portrayal of T-Mobile as a company. The advert attempted to make the royal family relatable, making them seem very light-hearted and energetic which would be empathised by young audiences. There were many ways to interpret this advert shown by various audiences. The preferred reading of the advert was to recognise that T-Mobile was attempting to portray itself as a very modern service which panders towards modern people of generally young ages by taking a very relevant stance on the royal wedding and making it seem very unique and funny. A negotiated reading would be one that understood the general idea that T-Mobile was using the royal wedding as a gateway to make themselves more relevant through a parody however doesn’t really understand how T-Mobile is relevant in any way to the advert so doesn’t understand it overall. An opposite reading would be one that takes moral offense to the advert, believing it may be parodying the traditional wedding ceremony in such a way that it is in offensive taste and it is a direct mockery of the royal family to portray them in such a way. This kind of interpretation might be existent in people with very conservative views and are protective of the monarchy, probably people over the age of 60 who have been alive long enough to appreciate the traditional forms of the country. Finally an aberrant reading would be one that fails to understand the message of the advertisement, potentially based on their lack of knowledge and may accidently interpret the advert as real footage of the royal wedding and not understand the relevance of the advertisement. Due to this advert being released in the time it was released it was easily exposed to viral advertising, the advert poked fun at the royal wedding which was a very relevant topic and so people who may have found it online or saw what company it was made by would be inclined to share it with others or talk about T-Mobile since they created the advert. Viral advertising is practically the golden result of any commercial or professional advertisement as it is insanely likely that the advertisement will gain viral popularity if it is interesting enough to be shared in such a way, gaining professional and also unprofessional attention.

Feedback November

Excellent progress Connor. I am expecting a production of the highest quality. Show initiative and start filming and editing so that you have time to improve the edit.

I am expecting you to achieve a grade A on the basis of your progress so far.

You are working at level 4 for research and planning which is thorough and impressive in detail.

 

Targets for November

Film

Conduct a risk assessment

Edit

Consider sound and titles to add meaning and atmosphere

Manage your time effectively

Preliminary Task Evaluation

Preliminary Task Evaluation
Connor Cushingham

For our Preliminary Task we created a short video roughly under forty seconds in order to practice our camera shooting skills and to see how much we could edit in Adobe Premiere. In the short video we followed a guide on what shots to make from a small power point presentation which was printed off and given to us. Throughout the video we were not to break the 180 degree rule in order to keep continuity errors to a minimum, the shots within the video were taken around the college and show the progression of a student running around towards the entrance after receiving a phone call which was implied to be a threat.

The film remains true to the 180 degree rule, keeping quite a steady continuity throughout the short video and makes sure that the viewer knows where the next scene is relative to the last. The short video makes use of several camera angles and shots which do well to emphasise the scenes. Each shot has a decent length of time given to it so that the shots aren't too fast paced while also making sure that the shots do not drag on too much either. We added a music track over the top of the video created in garage band in order to give some volume to the short sequence and give it an atmosphere of urgency. At the end of the video we also added a green screened explosion over the top of a still image of the school, using slightly advanced forms of editing in Adobe Premiere.

While we kept to the 180 degree rule in order to avoid continuity errors and keep the viewer invested without confusion we accidently ended up with a continuity error during filming which we had not noticed until afterwards when editing. There is a shot where our character checks their phone in one hand, however when the shot changes and he goes to put his phone away the phone appears in the opposite hand he was holding it with in the last shot. This provides a continuity error as the shots were back to back and he did not move the phone to another hand through a shot, it happened instantaneously. Another bad point would come from the explosion at the end, despite it being slightly advanced editing it isn't that refined, the lighting of the image behind the explosion doesn't compliment the special effect and so green tints are evident in the explosion which are results of the green screen. The explosion also doesn't show much realism to the scene, however that much is to be expected.

I believe the continuity error would be a good place to improve, it would only require the reshooting of a single shot which was not very long. The simple thing to do would be to look over the scene prior and then replicate it however with the simple change of having the phone in the same hand as it's supposed to be evident in the scene before. Another improvement would be to change the graphic of the explosion special effect so that it better fits the dimensions of the image behind it, to give it a better sense of realism.

In conclusion I believe that the short video turned out quite well, luckily the only errors being a single minor continuity error which would be difficult to notice without closer inspection due to the fast pace of the scene in total. Throughout the short video we used techniques in order to amplify the quality of the video such as original music and imported special effects.

Film Noir Script

FADE IN:

EXT. LOCAL PARK – LATE NIGHT

 {ESTABLISHING SHOT} DETECTIVE GILBERT stands silently over a motionless corpse by the lake, holding a lit cigarette. Adorned in a trilby hat, a long dark coat trailing to his knees and his worn out black suit which appears to have been thrown on hastily. Several police cars illuminate the twilight as DETECTIVE GILBERT watches over the lifeless husk. 

DETECTIVE GILBERT (V.O): Twelve years working in this town, you’d have thought I’d seen everything, and I nearly have, but that doesn’t change the fact that this town is shrouded in sorrows. This guy makes three now. I’m sure we can conclude that this is a homicide case.

 {OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT} Detective Gilbert’s face is shrouded in darkness by the shade of his trilby hat, however the amount of expression we’re exposed to seems stern and unmoved as he watches over the body, as if expected it to get up and walk away.

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: I can’t believe this.

 {WORMS EYE VIEW SHOT} Detective Gilbert is approached from the rear by DETECTIVE PATMORE, who has a lighter aura than Gilbert, less stern about the situation in his unprofessional posture.

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Here already Gilbert? I guess nothing gets by you, huh?

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: I was called in, considering I’ve dealt with the last two just like this man in the last two weeks. {Gilbert sighs and rubs his eyes after staring at his cigarette.

 {TWO-SHOT/MID-SHOT} Detective Gilbert turns to Detective Patmore

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: So what d’ya think? Anything to go on?

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: Not exactly, the way he was murdered is pretty standard, but almost identical to earlier cases. All three cases show the bodies left in plain sight near local landmarks, this time being the small lake in the woods, a popular dog walking area. It’s like he’s showing off his work, it’s disgusting.

 {CLOSE UP OF PATMORE}

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Heh, yeah we got some right sickos in this town don’t we Detective? He was just a rookie cop too, yaknow? Couple years outta school an’ everythin’. Anyway it seems we recovered some evidence from this guy.

 {CLOSE-UP OF GILBERT}

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: Is it like before?

 {SHOT-REVERSE-SHOT OF PATMORE}

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Bingo detective, here take a look for yourself.

 {AERIAL SHOT OF DETECTIVE PATMORE} Patmore looks down and slides his hand beneath the fabrics of his long coat and his clean suit, which seems a bit more ironed than Detective Gilbert’s, it’s evident Patmore doesn’t do a lot of field work. Patmore pulls out a small pocket-sized evidence bag, sealed tightly with a beautiful ruby red ring sitting comfortably inside, as if on display.

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: It’s a ring, ruby red too. Quite a beauty, wouldn’t ya say?

 {CLOSE UP OF RING}

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: The earring, the necklace and now a ring, all ruby red. There’s no doubt now, it’s the same guy.

 {Detective Gilbert puts his hand out to the ring, gripping the evidence bag and taking it from Patmore. Gilbert holds the evidence back up to his face, examining the ring carefully with the same stern face he wore earlier}

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Detective that’s not all.

 {OVER THE SHOULDER SHOT FROM PATMORE TO GILBERT} Detective Gilbert rises his gaze from the ring and focuses on Detective Patmore

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: Was there another ring?

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Not exactly. There’s somethin’ funny about this one. A woman says this ring belongs to her.

 Gilbert acts astonished, letting a soft gasp which is almost inaudible

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: Is she here?

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: ‘Course Detective.

 {POINT OF VIEW SHOT FROM DETECTIVE PATMORE} Detective Patmore rises his hand and stretches his arm out across the local park, extending his finger and pointing to the police cars which illuminate the area around them.

 {CLOSE UP SHOT OF WOMAN} A woman with long straight blonde hair stands by the police cars, looking quite distraught and at a loss of breath as she makes inaudible conversation with a young cop next to her. She appears to be wearing a long cream fur coat and a quite desirable outfit. She’s obviously quite wealthy.

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Miss Olivia Garnet, quite a sweetheart, don’tcha think?

 DETECTIVE GILBERT: You mean from the Garnet Family?

 DETECTIVE PATMORE: Right on the money, Detective.

 DETECTIVE GILBERT (V.O): The Garnet Family, the wealthiest family in the town. Olivia’s father has had quite a few run-ins with our department, so you could say I almost know him personally. Despite this I’ve never formally met the lovely darling Olivia I can’t deny her beauty, but she’s a suspect, and that’s all I can let her be.

 

  

Film Noir Storyboard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media Assignment: Blue Velvet

Media Assignment: Blue Velvet Analysis

The opening scene to Blue Velvet has no diegetic dialogue throughout the two minutes that it spans. Instead a non-diegetic song named “Blue Velvet” just like the film is played over the sequence as it shows several scenarios surrounded in urban happiness and bliss.

The first scene is a downwards tilt from the perfectly blue sky towards a white picket fence and a bed of red roses at a worms eye view. This shot connotes safety and happiness to the viewer due to the summer sky and the connection to nature. The white picket fence is reminiscent of those seen in early 50s generic advertisements where a dream American house would be depicted surrounded by a white picket fence. This connotes that the scene is in 50s America and is in a safe, ideal neighbourhood where nothing could go wrong. The bed of roses also connotes the idea of love and happiness due to their role as a flower to promote passion. These three things complementing each other give the scene a very pleasant and blissful aura and connotes to the viewer that the setting is calm and inviting. The scene then fades into a wide shot of a man waving with a Dalmatian dog on a very old fashioned looking fire truck, which appears to be a model used in the 50s, similar to the generic idea of a white picket fenced in America. This solidifies the idea that the opening sequence is supposed to represent a safe ideal America. The fire truck slowly drives past a white house in the background which is surrounded by the white picket fence seen in the previous shot. The house also seems reminiscent of the dream American home from the 50s. The fire truck passes by in slow motion so that the viewer can officially take in everything that is happening in the scene. The slow motion of the scene also connotes some form of eeriness as the movements are quite unnatural. The man is hanging on the side of the fire truck waving to the viewer in a docile manner, with a very relaxed Dalmatian dog sitting by his feet on the truck. Firemen have some status of authority and are thought to protect civilians and are often portrayed in very intense scenarios due to their role as firemen. To see a person riding so relaxed on the side of a fire truck connotes a large amount of safety in the area, as even the firemen seem to be under absolutely no pressure and are enjoying the sunny weather. The sequence continues to portray the town that they’re in as a very relaxed and safe place, filled with bliss where the firemen are carefree and the houses are all reminiscent of the American dream. The fireman seems to have direct eye contact with the viewer as he waves, which almost breaks the fourth wall as he stares towards you. This connotes that the fireman isn’t looking towards the camera but is more so looking directly at the viewer which gives off a very eerie atmosphere. This is further emphasised by the soft music in the background which aims to make the sequence seem calm but does an even better job at making it seem quite creepy.

The next scene is again of the white picket fence from the first shot, however this time with yellow tulips rather than red roses. This further connotes the idea of safety due to the traditional idea of a safe America through the ideal white picket fence presented in the scene. All of the shots appear to be fading into one another, which seems like a very unnatural transition in a movie. This connotes the idea that perhaps the entire sequence of the movie is unnatural. The shot then fades into a wide shot of a lollipop woman with a stop sign in the middle of a road, escorting several children across the road. This provides an atmosphere of safety and connotes to the viewer that everything is safe, the same premise which the opening sequence has been reinforcing thus far. Despite this there is still a seed of doubt placed in the viewer’s mind due to the unrealistic nature of a perfect town. The song in the background of the sequence further reinforces the idea of a creepy, eerie and unrealistic idea for a perfect town. The scene once again fades to another shot, this time of what seems to be an establishing shot of a white painted house with a white picket fence and an array of greenery. This connotes the idea of an ideal house; these kinds of houses are also always seen in generic teenage horror films or thrillers, often set in suburban American towns. The scene fades to a full body shot of what seems to be a generic old family man watering the flowers on his garden. This connotes an atmosphere of calmness and serenity, where absolutely nothing could go wrong. The shot once again fades through a transition, this time to what is assumed to be the interior of the fantasy house portrayed in the last scene. A middle shot of an elderly woman drinking tea while watching television. The atmosphere connotes a docile tone and safety, however it is soon contrasted by what is scene on the image of the television opposite of the woman. A gun is scene on the television, presumably from some form of television drama. The gun connotes immediate danger to the audience despite being only on the television, and adds a contrast to the perfect fantasy town which has been slowly built up thus far. This promotes a sense of impending danger for the audience. There is an evident contrast between the gun on the television and the town they’re living in, as the gun connotes to an impending threat however the town they’re in has been structured throughout the sequence to connote a blissful atmosphere. This implies that the town may not be what it seems on the surface layer, and the true underbelly of the town is being shown through the television to the audience temporarily. This is also quite strange because ordinarily the television is what displays a fantasy setting of perfection and unobtainable bliss while reality displays the cruel mortality of the world, however it seems switched in this sequence possibly to suggest that the town is hiding something as nothing could be this perfect. The opening shot to the entire Blue Velvet sequence may also support this idea, as the shot was a worms eye shot and could connote that it is from the perspective of a worm or somebody close to the ground, which could link to the shady underbelly of the town. As if the ugly reality of the town is looking up from below towards the blissful scenario.

The scene once again transitions through a fade back outside to the family man watering the garden with a carefree demeanour. The eerie music still playing over the music through non-diegetic sound. Gradually the music is slowly drowned out by the irritating screams of the hose faucet the man is using to water his flowers. The shot repeatedly looks towards the screaming faucet as well as a knot in the hose, causing a shortage of water to the hose. The loud noises of the hose which frequently interrupt the music or drown it out connote some form of impending danger since the sounds are rather loud, unexpected and threatening. The repetition of the screaming faucet also only builds up the idea of impending danger due to the fact that the threatening noise is not letting up and is only repeating, as if getting closer. Despite the impending danger that the hose connotes there ends up being no immediate scare, instead the man watering the flowers squeaks and frantically grabs his neck before dropping to the ground in pain. This unexpected turn connotes confusion and danger to the audience right after the build-up of the screaming hose. It is unclear why the man has fell to the floor however his actions could connote some internal injury rather than something physically hurting him which the build-up of danger had lead the audience to believe. As the man drops to the floor there is a full body shot of him lying in pain with the hose still spraying upwards, and a family dog playfully biting at the water as if it were a toy. This connotes an eerie vibe from the scene, as the non-diegetic music continues to play over the scene, still disconcerting and unusual, the dog seems to be playing right on top of the mans injured body as if nothing is wrong. The idea that the dog sees nothing wrong connotes the idea of the dog being oblivious, which may link to the entire town being completely oblivious of the dark underbelly of its own town’s happenings. The shot also zooms in on the dog attacking the hose and plays it in slow-motion, similar to the fire truck earlier in the sequence however with the added zoom on the dog. This slow down allows the audience to take in precisely what is happening without missing anything and the unusual movements of the dog in collaboration with the eerie music connotes an inhuman atmosphere.

After this the camera starts to gradually zoom towards the soil beside the man and the blue velvet music is gradually drowned out by the sound of a strange rumbling noise. The eerie rumbling connotes an impending danger, as the music that had once assured the audience that everything was safe in spite of its eerie connotations had now started to fade, and the gradual zoom in on the soil with the loud noise makes the viewer uncertain of what is going to happen, and therefore scared. As the camera continues to zoom in the scene changes to accommodate a better visual of the soil, the music completely gone and the rumbling noise slowly transitioning into what appears to be the crawling of bugs. What was once the dark soil was now the dark squirming bodies of repulsive insect’s right before the viewer. This definitely connotes an uneasy atmosphere to the viewer, connoting fear and danger due to the identity of the insects. The insects themselves represent the dark underbelly of the town, they are placed right below the family man and his blissful house to Imply that the shady dark side of the town is everywhere, it’s just right beneath them all the time, always prevalent. They are also placed there due to the fact that insects are not commonly difficult to find, similar to the dark scenario beneath the town. The blissful ignorance set up by the sequence so far implies that the townspeople themselves consciously ignore the goings on right under their noses however they turn a blind eye, enjoying their lives ignorantly.