Problems, yet no solutions.

I have just had feedback of all of my ideas for my film noir OTS (there will be a post about this very soon!). I have discovered a few problems that need to be figured out ASAP, before its too late! The solutions to these annoying priblems will also be on a post very soon! I have made a list so that it is easier to complete and tick off:

1. By having one person to play all of my characters, HOW will i film this, and WHAT is the reason for doing this. Is it to show that every rich person is the same? The same personality?
2. Where am i going to get my sound from without breaking copyright laws?
3. How am i going to create shots of two people or more, if the characters are being played my one person.
4. What am i going to do about modern shops, cars and people if i need to film a wide shot?
5. Why is the title in French? What does it show or give the impression of?

These questions and my 'feedback experience' will be answered in my next post VERY soon!!!

A glamorous scandal...

I love this photo. I found it the other day during my search of my relatives in the 1950's. On the back of this photo it says "Paul with Gloria Swanson and Miss World 1956". The man with the blue inked cross above his head is one of my Great-Grandmothers ex-boyfriends, and the blonde (she wasn't always blonde) with her arms behind her back is Gloria Swanson. I think the lady right of her is Miss World but I'm not 100% sure about that. This photo was probably originally in a newspaper and my Great-Grandmother was so proud that her beloved was in the paper, she wanted a copy. There is a reason for my to upload this photo though, Gloria Swanson is mainly known for staring in 'Sunset Boulevard' (1950 and directed by Billy Wilder) portraying Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie star who falls in love with the younger screenwriter Joe Gillis, played by William Holden. This was the main film noir she stared in as after this film, she stared in comedy and romance films.

I also uploaded this photo for the purpose of planning my costumes. The hair, the coat, the bag, the suits and the car - will wont be very easy to get hold of. It wouldn't matter if i got hold of it or not as a car isn't going to be involved in my OTS at all. I was walking down St Benedicts (one of my locations for filming) the other day and saw that there are A LOT of cars to a small road, but I'm just a bit concerned that if discover when I'm editing, that i accidentally got a shot of a new Audi A6 rolling past, i think i will be very annoyed at that one particular driver. So this can not happen. But to make the chance of this happening smaller, i am filming at night, in the winter, were ice and snow might be on the roads, so hopefully there wont be many cars in the way of me getting a perfect shot. Bonsoir!

Black, lace, sequins, fur and pearls....

I have started to get exited to put my outfits together for my OTS, i feel like I'm in my element, its the thing i know a little about. When i think about the 1950's people were conservative, very feminine and the women's outfits were definitely figure-flattering. I have been inspired by the 1950's vogue photographs, especially ones the featured the women in black and white. There were some things i noticed; 1. They were very pale which contrasted well with the black dress they wore, 2. They never really wore trousers - they liked to dress very womanly by showing off their assets. 3. Red lips, red nails and black eyeliner was all the rage. I was also quite annoyed with myself, because i have loads of 1960's vogue covers shots on my PC but no 1950's. I definitely need to look outside the box that i am in.

Inspired by these iconic images, i started to route through my own messy wardrobe and my mum's black lace throws. I do understand that fur back then wasn't as frowned upon as it is now, i don't agree with fur but stroking the much-loved fur collar that was my Great-Grandmothers (the lady in the previous pictures) made me question my own beliefs, the collar was so warm and cosy and very well-kept - but i stopped suddenly with the thought about what my actress would say about wearing it. She has probably seen fur in most thrift shops, or has some that has been passed down from her relatives, but i don't think she has ever actually worn it. I don't think i have ever actually worn it

Oh and looking at this image (left) also gave me the idea for my killer to wear gloves. It wouldn't be because she wanted to hide her fingerprints as i don't think they knew about that stuff back then, but it would definately add to the mysterious, but glamorous look! If this outfit was black it would be perfect. However i must also note that this lady is wearing a day dress, so she would be wearing something similar but not exactly the same at night while playing poker.

The other items i found were very delicate lace black dresses and my very heavy prom dress which has more sequins and beads on it than the amount of people in China. I will very soon be uploading pictures to this blog of my actress wearing the different outfits that i have combined for her. I will probably take these pictures against the cobbled wall outside my house. She is also very pretty and photo-genic which helps with the glamorous and seductive look i am aiming for, as it is very common in film noir.

I was curious to find out what happened when i typed in '1950's Chanel', and this popped up: ->   How lovely. It was Chanel's first women's suit in 1953. Its black, elegant and shes wearing pearls, this look makes her look like a strong and independant woman. Chanel making this shows that a woman can wear a suit and still look feminine. Perfect.

Going onto the killers costumes, i will probably use my trusty vintage women's trilby and my on trend camel coat which i have used for just about every 'dress-up time' when we have had to take pictures or film. I have purposely made sure that the killers outfit isn't black. This is to show the distance and difference between the women at the poker table and the killer (it also makes a welcome changed to just black). It makes the killer even more unidentifiable.

I have been distracted by the three ladies outfits, i haven't even thought about the mans. I think my trendy dad will have something hiding at the back of his wardrobe (he strangely has more clothes than me) which would be suitable for the sharp look. A white crisp shirt is a must, but with a budget, i am not planning to fork out for a £130 'Vivienne Westwood men's plain orb white shirt' just for 3 minutes of film. I don't think the examiner will care that much.

If the examiner doesn't care that much about costumes, why am i bothering so much about it? I think i would feel as if the OTS was incomplete without the costumes looking authentic, i would feel cheated that i wasn't able to achieve the EXACT look i wanted. I'm a perfectionist.

Photos of what items of clothing i will be using will hopefully be uploaded soon, and the pictures of my actress wearing the carefully put together outfits will definitely be uploaded in a few weeks!

Beaux vêtements signifie une bonne lecture!

                                   

Forgotten Important Point!

I was looking through some film noir openings on youtube.com and came across the OTS of Notorious (1946). And i suddenly realised i haven't thought about applying credits to my OTS yet. As it is going to be conventional and very typical of film noir, i HAVE to add credits to make it believable. In the OTS of Notorious, the credits are on a still scene of a cityscape which looks like to be New York but I'm not too sure. I was thinking as my OTS is going to be set in winter England, maybe i could go on the big hill near Norwich Prison to get a still shot - you can see the whole of Norwich from there and all i would have to do is edit the same contrasting black and white effect as i will do with the rest of the filming. The weather will be frosty and cold this time of year, especially in the morning when the sun has just come up - sticking with the mysterious, cold and dark atmosphere i am aiming for. I thought it would be a good idea to look at flickr pictures to see if anyone has taken the sort of thing i am looking for of Norwich and to my amazement, i found a photo that is soo much of what i want, I'm going to have to find out where it is taken and recreate that image myself (to avoid my unwanted copyright imprisonment). I have always loved taking pictures of landscapes with interesting clouds and low fog, so hopefully this could give me the opportunity to do that! Look at this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/anglia24/2496338657/

On top of this scene, i will add writing which has an old font with swirls and calligraphy-like to be very conventional. I think the worst thing about doing a film noir that is conventional and typical is that people have seen it before. They might know what to expect. They might get bored as they know what is going to happen next. They might stop watching. I need something that will make my OTS stand-out. But another problem is, i have to find that something.

Ekco...Ekco...Ekco...Ekco...Idea!

As we were watching other people do their filmed presentations of their concept board, i was reminded of the present my dad got me for Christmas last year. The present was a 1963 Ekco radio in nick condish - which has been refurbished so i can plug my ipod into it discreetly, even though this goes against my idea of 'keeping things the way they were made', i think this will give me the opportunity to create an old distorted sound and i could choose what soundtrack i want. Just imagine the kind of sound that has come out of this sound system! It is also quite helpful because I'm ridiculously bad with technology and this is simple to use without creating the effect on the PC. I cant really involve this radio in the filming or the set as it is a 1963 one and it wouldnt make sense to put it into a 1950's-set film...unless they started to make that model in the 1950's...i think i will have to research it and check it out. P.s this photo looks exactly like mine but mine is a darker shade of red and is a bit more rough around the edges. Good ole' Dad!

Photos for inspriation.

I found these pictures while snooping through a box on my dining room table, these people are closely related to me - mainly of my grandfather and his mother (my great-grandmother). They were always smartly dress, lived in London and my great-grandmother especially loved to wear fur with pearls. I made sure the photos that i picked were from the 1950's. Please note: My great-grandmothers taste was sometimes a bit 'out-there' at times, but she was definatley the person to take vintage fashion inspiration from. Hope you like them!

                                                                                                     This is one of my favourite pictures. My Great-Grandmother is wearing a fur coat which could show her wealth and her love of luxuries. I like the idea of a big coat dress and flat shoes for my own OTS in the murdering scene for the woman if only the whole outfit was black. She is also wearing her much-loved pearls which would create wealth and glamour in my OTS during the poker scene. I have to make sure that no jewellery is recognisable during the murder as this could be the thing that makes the woman identifyable by the audience and they could figure out who it is more easily.My Grandfather is wearing a double breasted suit which could have looked sharper and smarter if all of the buttons were done up and the trousers were the same colour as the suit. I will make sure that the whole of the buisnessman's suit is black exept from the shirt which will be white.                

The hair of my Grandfather is very slick and wavey. As my actress has straight hair, it would probably turn out more flat and less shine, but this is the basic idea of what i am aiming to achieve with my buissnessman's hairstyle. the suit on the left is very much what i would like to aim for, eventhough this photo was taken in 1961, the smartness and sharpness is still there for me to take note on. The black and white is a good look as it is a clean and fresh look which is also easy to re-create. Instead of a tie, i would like a black bow tie, i think it would look less cliche and more interesting. And as my actress would be wearing a fake moustache, it would be amusing to have the bow tie to finish the look off! The shoes he is wearing are uber-shiney which wil look good if i chose to have a shot of them 'tapping' under the poker table (to show a nervous and inpatient feeling he might be having). I must also note on his stance which is confident and may also come across as powerful - exactly what i would like my male character to come across as.

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!