Where to get my props and costumes from.

I am currently in a bit of a panick right now as i have calculated that i need a lot of props. I guess this is the bad side to having just one person to play all of your characters. I have made a list that will hopefully help me be more organised and im also going to add in where i will get some of these props from:


Women


Black, lace, sequin, fur - These are the specifications of the women when they are round the poker table. I made sure they are classic film noir. They create the glamourous, mysterious and expensive feel that i am looking for. Black shoes, tights and possibly black leather gloves could be used to create my desired look, i do have to make sure that everything is fitting to the 1950's specification - no bleached denim or flares! This is also set in England, so i have to make sure there is no confusion with the style of dress, eventhough most film noirs were made and set in America. For when when one of the women murders the buisnessman, she will be wearing a camel coloured coat and a vintage trilby to create the indidentifiable mystery of the women. I still need to make sure the audience knows she is a woman, but still not to make it too obvious about what woman it is.

Hair and make-up - As i have one person playing all of my characters, i have decided to use wigs to individuallise each lady. It would give a different personallity and persona for each character. It will also help the audience with telling them apart. My actress is a brunette so as three women are in the scene - essentially 2 wigs will be used -  to create the scene of a blonde, brunette and a red-head. This wigs are easy to get from a costume shop, and im not bothered about them looking like wigs - as hopefully this would be humourous. Before the wigs are first worn, i will have to style them into the 50's look with LOTS of hairspray and pins. The make-up will be very natural but with red lips and eyeliner.

Wealthy Buissnessman

Suited and booted - To make the male character look wealthy and buisnessman-like, he definately needs to wear a suit, this will also be what a man would have worn to meet ladies and to play poker with them - he needs to dress to impress. He also needs to have a hankerchief in the left pocket of his jacket so that he can wipe the sweat of his nerves in a close-up shot while playing poker. The suit and trousers will be black with prefferably a pin-stripe (to support the buisnessman image) and black, very shiney brogues. The character will also be wearing a white shirt and a black bow tie and probably cuff links. For the scene in the streets before he is about to get shot, the man will be wearing a smart coat to show the cold of outside. He will also be carrtying a briefcase and wearing a suit underneath.

Slick Hair - The hair of the wealthy buisnessman should be shiney, neat and slick. This shows that the character knows how to look good and cares for himself. This will be done by my actress wearing her hair back with a slick and sharp fringe, we will get away with this because you will only see the front of her face. To make the scene also humourous, a fake moustache would needed to be worn, these can be found in any costume or joke shop. He will have the same hair and moustache for the scene where he is killed.

Props

There are props that everyone will use to make the atmosphere as smokey, tense and lejitimatly 50's as possible. These things include:

• Cigarettes - would have been a social thing to do and everyone did it at that time
• Whiskey served on tumblers (not real!) would be on the poker table, to make the scene look as if the evening is sociable.
• Cards and poker table - My dads friend and the drama department culd hopefully help me here!
• Chips and money - for the poker game, its the props that will be won by the buissnessman at the end of the game.
• Gun - Id rather not shoot (pun!) this scene in public as i dont want to be hunted down by the police, so somehow i think i will have to film that scene somewhere else but film it in such a way that it looks as if it was filmed on the steps where the murder is happening. This gun has to be light enough for a women to be able to carry and small enough to fit into her pocket.

Linking costumes and props back to audience

I was planning to get images of example off the internet, but was then reminded of copyright laws, so instead of being sued, i thought id put photos of my relatives up to show the hairstyles and clothes that i am aiming for. Novembre heureux!