VISUAL NOTEBOOK

VISUAL STUDIES BOOK

Thursday, 1 September 11

ORIGINAL INSPIRATION
Whilst watching Keith
Detective’ (2003), I found m G o r d o n ’ s ‘ T h e S i n g i n g
entertainment values, to the yself drawn, in aesthetic and
ho
crime scenes. the opening scen mage to the stylised, witty
very interesting, as well as cr e and chase scenes I found
into the movie’s inspiration an eative and fun. I researched
noir’ genre that I found bothd genre, discovering the ‘ﬁlm
entertaining ﬁlmmaking. to be very innovative and


BILLY WILDER
I N S P I R A T I O N

ms ‘Double
m noir, I came across the fil of which I
As I was looking into fil set Boulevard’ (1950) - both
Indemnity’ (1944) and ‘Sun noir films, and both by director Billy
found particularly inspiring , camerawork, lighting and direction I
Wilder. His characters, sets opriate to what he wanted to convey.
found very inspiring and appr


‘DOUB LE INDEMNITY’ ANDLER [...] AND
ER AND R AYMOND CH OLD STANDARD OF
REPARTEE BY WILD
H DIAMOND-HARD APHY BY THE GREAT JOHN SEITZ, THIS IS THE
G
“WIT
GHOULISH CINEMATOGR N THE LINE.” (JWin, ‘Time Out London’)
‘40S NOIR, STR AIGHT DOW

The first noir film I watched was
Wilder’s ‘Double Indemnity’: I was
particularly inspired by the use of
lighting on set, used to highlight
and conceal; the use of venetian
bli nds to cut sha dow s acr oss
otherwise bland surfaces; the dead-
man-walking narrative of Walter
Neff, an honest, regretful character
try ing to red eem him sel f; and ,
finally, the iniquitous femme fatale
Phyllis Dietrichson. Her immorality,
det erm ina tion , sel f-in volvem ent
and lust for power inspired me to
look at the femme fatale’s motifs in
more depth, and eventually base
my film upon the “deadly women” of
noir.


el,
Phyllis’ entrance - ﬁrst in nothing but a white tea tow
her
then casually descending the staircase, buttoning up ive.
dress - was striking, rememberable and subtly seductand
I aspire to use similar techniques with mise-en-scene
camera movement to create the same effect.
VIDEO CLIP -
WALKING DOWN
STAIRS

Phyllis’ reaction when Walter kills her husband
(similar to that of Kathie as she kills in Jacques
Tourneur’s 1947 noir ‘Out Of The Past’) is blank,
emotionless, with the delicate hint of a sadistic smile:
VIDEO CLIP - FACE it is all at once haunting and telling of just who she is.

WHEN NEFF KILLS


‘SOME LIKE IT HOT’
Wilder’s acclaimed 1959 comedy ‘So
inspiration: opening minutes of chas me Like It Hot’, whilst not a film noir, still gave me with
e
the noir genre, and the mise-en-scen scenes through streets and alleyways were reminiscent of
luxurious, the perfect interior desig e of the Funeral/Bar and the Florida hotel was ornate and
darker and grimier to fit into the filmn of what I wished to capture in my own film, only slightly
noir genre.


‘FILM NOIR’
ALAIN SILVER & JAMES URSINI
R E S E A R C H


NA RRATIVE IS O FLEETING
A OIR PROTAGONIST A NN IB L E A N D
“THE PAST TOIT N IS R E A L A N D
T G
PHANTOM .
MENACING.”
and found it
hool’s library,taught me the
the sc
I found this book in l and informative: it as
both incredibly usefu ves, characters and directors,.
ati
range of noirpnarrnt visual conventions of the genre
well as the im orta


FEM ME FATALE APPED IN A M A L E -
G WO M E N T R
“[ .. .] ST R O NUNIVERSE, WHO WERE WILLINXUALIT Y, G TO USE
DOMINATED N, INCLUDING THEIR OWN SE
ANY WEAPO E PLAYING FIELD.”
TO LEVEL TH on e character
ly informative ble thsight on the
ib
This book was incred iving me a valua in
traits,
e fatale, g
of the femm rns of the characters, on their help in
twists and tu weaknesses, that gave me a lot of
strengths and creation and development.
my character


CARAVAGGIO
C I N E M A T O G R A P H Y


plays off
ing, espe cially how it
nd shado w very inspir ces.
ggio’s use of light a lour and tone to his pie
I ﬁnd Carava in and adds such co
the human sk


PAOLO ROVERSI


‘THE GREAT I
LLUSION’
I love Roversi’s use
play of the shadow of experimental shadows; the
u
a g a in s t a p la in b s and light cutting across eachse and
cinematography (an a c k g r o u n d r e m in d m e o f th other
helping make an oth d it’s favoured use of venetian e n o ir
erwise ordinary pictu blinds) in
re extraordinary.


‘STY LE NOIR’ photoshoot is in
inspiration from this t brutal sexual
The ﬁlm noir lov the almos
the very title: Ias the use of selective lighting and
e
presence, as wellstume, hair and make-up are also
shadows. The co
inspirations.


NICK KNIGHT


His use of
the silhou angles and ligh ‘SKINH
power it g ettes against th ting are partic
ives. e blinding ular EADS’
white, anly inspiring in th
d the sens
e of anis photograph: I lo
onymity, d
anger and ve


PETER LINDBERGH


‘KATE THE GRE
AT’
There is a sense of ‘sleazy glamour’ in these photograp
femme fatale. I ﬁnd the use of focus and blur interesting hs that I think perfectly encapsulates the
and hope to experiment with a similar effect. on the photograph of her putting on make-up,


‘LEADING LADY’
esting results I would like to
The obvious and severe use of light in this editorial has effective and inter le, less incongruous to its
achieve in my ﬁlm: however, I would like the light source to be more subt
surroundings.


EMIL NOLDE

il Nolde’s
I love German Expressionist Em almost
d
use of heavy, thick outlines an e way
. Th
seeping stokes in his portraits
and white
he uses pitch black shadow
m ir e th e
lig ht is st ri ki ng , an d I ad reality
surrealistic detachment from es and
star
conveyed in the unattached visually
disillusioned faces. I hope to
tachment,
connect this darkness and de ht, into
lig
as well as his use of dark and
my production.


CHRISTIAN DIOR
RUNWAY SPRING 2010
W A R D R O B E A N D M A K E U P


WA RDROBE x ous fabric;
ers of sheer, lulauris - the idea
T ine a pearance: lay
he very femins andp eams, seductive reds and b ck
cr
the dusky pinkdued colour palette for day
of a muted, sub a n d b la c k s )
ls
( b a s ic c a m e gainst a sultr y,
juxtaposed a
lette for
se xualised coloublupa, blacks).
r
es
night (bold reds,e noir input of
There is also th - modernised,
the trench cont li g h te r, b u t
a
a d
s h o r te n e d g a n e le m e n t o f
in tr o d u c in o iconography.
powerful mach


AC CESSORIES es are
co otations of
black, holding glannourous and
All of the accexsorise, as well as danger.
es
pen
m
elegance and sparse yet selective jewellery.
classic pieces,


HAIR & M
AKE-UP
“A PROV
FATALE OCATIVE, S
EYE HA WITH A SIDMOULDERI
IRDO AN E- NG F
D REDPARTED, OVE EMME
LIPS” (ww
The make-up in th R-
w.style. ONE-
noir: the seducti is show was very com)
enhanced by flir ve lips make the bold and common of film
powerful
flawless. The hair tatious eyelashes, the s statement, eyes
style: stylised bu is glamorous and remin kin pearly and
t not fixed and sti iscent of the 40s
ff.


MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS
W A R D R O B E


MAGAZINE CLIPPINGS
V I S U A L S T Y L E


LOCATIONS


AER0PLANE
Trains are a common convention in noir, visually
my ﬁlm in this way, with an opening shot connot symbolic of the theme of escapism: I wanted in introduce
with a more contemporary form of transportatioating ideas of escapism. Instead of a train, I decided to go
scenes in David Fincher’s cult classic Fight Club n: an aeroplane. I was heavily inspired by the noir-esque
different place - a desire of my protagonists - (1999): the idea of waking up as a different person in a
wa
December 2010, en-route on a family holiday to Am s appealing and relevant. I will shoot the footage in
will use editing and voiceovers to my advantage. erica: unfortunately my actors cannot be on plane,
but I


I wanted to use a shot out of the window of the aeroplane for the ultimate high angle shot: a God
down at the Earth. It would make both my protagonist and her tale smaller, almost insigniﬁcant shot looking
-
the millions of them in the world, an idea inspired by the closing narration of the ‘Naked City’ just one in
television
show and the opening of Jules Dassin’s noir ﬁlm of the same title, ‘The Naked City’ (1948).

VIDEO CLIP - VIDEO CLIP - THE
NAKED CITY NAKED CITY
ENDING OPENING


S TREETS / A LLEYWAYS osphere of
to recreate the omnipresent noir datmfind streets
to
e real stre et locations in Belfast establishing a level of realism. I trie around filming
I wanted to us d populated isolation, as well as and moving/carrying
clau strophobia an itable, for the be nefit of my actors e noir world I wished to capture.
that were accessliblylosu tions that would easily translate into th
equipment, as wel as ca


‘JOY’S ENTRY’ ALL
I found this small alley st
EY
it’s enclosed, towering st reet in the centre of Belfast, called ‘Joy
perfectly captured the fil ructures, that ran not in a straight lin’s Entry’. I was immediately drawn to
lighting will be difficult, bu noir mise-en-scene. Claustrophobic, e but were curiously angled - I felt it
m
t fortunately the traffic go the only
ing through the alleyissues are space and people:
seems sparse.


THE ‘A LBERT CLOCK’ in with my script, and so need
a strong presence in my film, fitting ’s towering structure, with its
I want the idea of time to be nders throughout. The Albert Clock
almost constant visual statues and the way it leans slightly to one side, reminded me of-scene an
remi Germ
of
gothic architecture and noir mise-en
Expression, and the bold, simplisti c clock face reminded me of the film
simplicity.


THE MER CHANT HOTEL my film
rather than creating a set that
I wanted to film in a real hotel, s in Belfast, I came across The
To enhance the realism and quality of results. After researching many hotel s presence and
would be low-budget and yieto meorer diately, with it’s strong, gothic architecture, luxurioued and emailed
ld po
imme
Merchant Hotel: it appealedgive my film some glamour, juxtaposing the subject matter. I phon in the hallway
inherent elegance. It would me access to one of their rooms twice, as well permission to film
the hotel and they permitted erchanthotel.com.
and outside. Photographs: www.them


THE LIGHTING
r ﬁlms, yet my location
I wanted to re-create the effect of the venetian blinds seen so frequently in noi Y venetian blinds using
internet to create my own D.I.
didn’t have venetian blinds. I got the idea from the tionately across the box, I set it up in front of the light
a cereal box and scissors; after cuttingetian propor e shadow across the room.
slits
blind typ
- that, when turned on, then cast a ven


DIANE
C H A R A C T E R S

Diane is the dame of the tale, as we
for power and control, but has fou ll as the protagonist. She has entered the world of crime
femme fatale, luring men to their nd it controlling her. Stuck in this world of crime and de in a search
ce
explores her entrapment, as welldeserved or undeserved fate. The film is one of her man it, she is a
redemption or reverie, but, in noir as her lust for dominance. At the end of the film y stories: it
fashion, is stuck in the life she has she finds no
made for herself.


FRANK / MANC H A R A C T E R S

oking for, but
of the cruel noir fate. He is not the man Dianheis lo everyman,
e
is an
Frank is Di ane’s victim, and a victim d into her life; his name mirrors his nature: n he catches Diane
is entangle wn whe
through a simple mistake a slight privacy problem and temperaments(sho meaningless to her, as it is
with soul
honest and sincere, pockets). He is killed as he wastes Diane’s time,ehi turns and ﬁnds the man she is
Dian re
looking through his oking for. At the end of the movie, when e Diane’s entrapment in her deadly cycle
not the one she’s lo ally the twin of Frank: this is to symbolis
looking for, he is visuhat she does, she cannot escape.
and how, no matter w


THE GUN P R O P S

ally for it’s size and
I bought the gun from Amazon: it was a small, blue cap gun. I choose was drawspecithe style of this gun,
and I
this one
n to
design: a bigger gun would not have ﬁt into Diane’s bag as easily,in style.
as it reminded me of Phyllis Dietrichson’s, and is quite feminine ng it a matte black.
I then bought black spray paint and sprayed the gun completely, leavi


THE PAPERWORK P R O P S

working for, I wrote in a
insight into the character of Diane and ing o she is of the man she is after. I
wh
To give the audience more paperwork, contain details
short scene in which we see her pourint Ioverld use the font ‘Hammerkeys‘ (I choose it for it’s messy,
g
cou
created the papers in Photoshop so tha on her victim. Then, to bulk it up, I printed out several pages of
typewriter style). I wrote a short fact file I choose this specific book because of it’s themes on loneliness
J.D. Salinger’s ‘The Catcher In The Rye’:slightly to make them look more worn and read, and annotated
and confusion. I crumpled up the pages
several pages and quick notes. ided the character of Diane would hide
I hid the pag es in Paul Auster’s novel ‘The New York Trit: I chodec this book for it’s first story (‘City Of
sigh
logy’: I
ose
the paperwork, instead of keeping them in plain more about the human identity and reality, as well as
Glass’) because, though it is a detective story, it is
madness.


THE SUITCASE P R O P S

I
After deliberation, I choose this suitcase because t:
compac
wanted the suitcase to be small, black andto reﬂect
sleek and stylish, with minimum fuss,
Diane’s lifestyle.


THE BAG P R O P S

a bag that gave the
I bought this bag in a charity shop for the purpose of this production: Ibag I ted it gave that aura. The
wan
felt
and gold chain on this
impression of being expensive, and with the white silk shing Diane’s gun at the same time.
white colour of the bag symbolises purity, ironically sta


FRANK’S WARDROBE W A R D R O B E

mal as possible, to reinforce him as an
s wardrobe to be incredibly simple and as norck trousers and a white shirt, as well as a
I wanted Frank’ ck shoes, bla
everyman. I chose the basic everyman uniform of bla et, I attempted to ﬁnd or borrow a man’s trench coat
paisley printed tie to add some character. For his jack , the wrong design or too expensive for my budget.
but had no luck: the ones I found were either too big asked him to wear it, feeling that it added a homely,
I
However my actor had his own large, woollen blazer:
lower class feel to the character.


DIANE’S WARDROBE
W A R D R O B E

For Diane’s wardrobe, I went through a lot of
choices, from my own wardrobe, my sister’s
and my friends. From my inspiration from I
the Christian Dior Spring 2010 runway,ls:
wanted to keep the day costume in neutra
in strict beiges and black. And for the
evening costume, I wanted to inject bold
colour.
I photographed each piece from a
angles to try and get an idea of how it variety of
wo
on ﬁlm, especially at extreme low angle uld look
evening costume. s with the


I wante
and luxd the jewelle
cheap. e, avoiding ry to be ve
M
gold and y aspiratio things that ry sophistica
pearl - b ns f wer ted
oth of wor the colour e kitsch or
hich ooz th
e glamo eme was
ur.


VISUAL NOTEBOOK

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