Exchange Synopsis

Synopsis

The Femme Fatale stands around a corner waiting patiently for someone.

A man comes out of the lift as she peeks around the corner. The woman seal and envelope with a kiss and seductively walks past the man passing him the envelope, he continue walking.

Unaware the man opens the sealed envelope unaware that a surprise awaits him...

Exchange Treatment

Treatment

We are using several diverse shots such as from about shots to represent the vulnerability of the male character and shots from under the Femme Fatale's feet as she is walking to createa sence of power and domination.

We are using natural lighting but are going to convert the video into black and white to reflect the classic Film Noir.

We will be recording background sound to use as atmospheric sound, but will also use music to go with the scenes. The piece of music would idealy be dark and mysteriousbut at the same time quick and fast paced. The opening scen starts by panning the femme fatale, we have used a costune to represent the typical femme fatale character, this starts with the heels, representing a strong and intelligent woman. she is dressed in very feminine and seductive clothing.

We then see a shot of the male coming out of the elevator, and walks down the corridor, the next shots are the exchange between the two.

We have also got shots of the femme fatale walking over the camera, to represent her power.

There is a close up of the exchange and the two hands passing the envelope to ensure that the audience knows the exchange has take place. The envelope is pink the represent the the woman the femme fatale is.

Then the male character open the envelope.

Example of Neo Noir

Sin City

Directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez in 2005

This is a movie centered on the criminal deeds of people in Sin City. It plot is 3 different stories by Frank Miller, “That Yellow Basted”, “The Hard Goodbye” and ”The Big Fat Kill”.

This is film noir for reason such as the use of voice-over and flashback, the use of high contrast lighting, this helps emphasize the violence, and the death and the anxiety character feel throughout the movie.

Another element that makes sin city a film noir is the use of voice over, this gives the viewer an insight on the characters life, personality and valuable information.

There are no scenes during the day time, this shows that it is set in a dark place, which adds that psychological effect that Film Noir is always very fond of. Because the whole movie is in black and white this makes it high contrast lighting, which give the movie a comic book look; although there is some color this makes draws the viewer’s attention.

Definition of Neo-Noir

Film-Noir critics argue that the term “Noir” Could only be applied to Post WW2 movies, one of the last Film Noir was “Touch of Evil” by Orson Welles 1958. This marked the end of people’s bloodstained mentalities, as they became for optimistic so did the movies they choose to watch.

However the term became more flexible as in the1970s more Noir movies developed, this was called “Neo-noir” Neo is a Greek word meaning new. The film genre came back, this time in colour. This is as the classic Film Noir was in the 1930's 1940's era.

Neo Noir or Contemporary Noir are modern Noirs films that have the same characteristics of classic Film Noir, these are things such as the the typical plots, these are elements that made Film Noir what it was in it's time.

Some examples of Neo-Noirs are Sin City and Brick

Three Examples of Classic Film Noir

There are many films that represent just what Film Noir was all about.

Double Indemnity

Directed by Billie Wilder in 1944

Synopsis

An insurance

sales man meets Phyllis Dietrichson the wife of one of his clients and this soon leads to an affair between the two of them. Phyllis then proposes her husband’s death, she persuades Neff into it, so that they can be together. By killing Mr Dietrichson the two of them would get insurance money and Neff uses his job to make this p

ossible under the double indemnity clause. Not only this would make them carefree lovers but it would also make them rich. So they make up a plan and kill Mr Dietrichson. However the death is investigated by detective Keyes, who suspects Ms Dietrichson and an accomplice committed the murder of Mr Dietrichson. Neff is later alarmed when Lola Dietrichson, Mr Dietrichson’s daughter, informs him that her mother had also died of suspicious reasons when Phyllis Dietrichson was her nurse. As Neff uncovers the truth and the true plot of Ms Dietrichson, he decides to find a way out of the whole situation. The moment come when it is either his life or her life, this is the point when she tells him that she was only using him, but also that she had just fallen in love with him, but Neff had no other choice but to kill her.

This film shows characteristics of Film Noir in the characters, Walter Neff is a typical protagonist who is seduced by the Femme fatale into becoming someone or doing something that they wouldn't normally do such a crime. Phyllis Dietrichson is a typical Femme Fatale of Film Noir as she is beautiful and successfully seductive. This al

so makes the narrative pessimistic and dark like most other film noir narratives.

Sunset Boulevard

Directed by Billie Wilder in 1950

Synopsis

The movie opens with a corpse found on a swimming pool, it is that of Joe Gillis a struggling screen-writer, due to his low financial statues he tries many times to make his way up but is unable to, this includes a bad review from Betty Schaefer, a woman in the Reader Department. Due to a twist of fate Gillis meets Norma Desmond an older woman who is also an actress, soon they start working together on Norma’s comeback screen-play, this leads to a very close relationship between the two until the day that Norma confesses that she is in love with Gillis, this causes him to meet Betty Schaefer who now appreciates some of Gillis’ work, and also want to move out of the Desmond household, but is informed that Norman attempted suicide so he decides to stay by her side. Norma finishes her script and send it off but this

turns out to be unsuccessful.

Gillis starts meeting up with Betty Schaefer, they relationship grown closer and leads to love between the two of them. Upon discovering this Norma tries to break them up, this causes Gillis to pack his bags, Norma threatens him with her own life, but when he ignores this, and Norma feels like she is no longer the centre of Gillis’ attention she shoots, his body falls in the pool.

Again this is a very film noir type of narrative, and the movie also opens with the same scene it closes with, giving it the film noir type of mystery and edginess by using a non chronological time line. Although Norma is not the the characteristic Femme Fatale as she is an older woman, but she does have the power over Gills, also the narrative isn't about a Femme Fatale convincing the protagonist to do something immoral, but instead is about her dangerous and unwanted love for him.

Maltese Falcon

Directed by John Huston in 1941

Sypnosis

Sam Spade and Miles archer as two private dectectives who are hired by the beautiful Ruth Wonderly to find her missing sister. Soon after Miles is killed while going after a man named Floyd Thursby, a man who is involved with Ruth's sister.

As Ruth is acquainted with many dangerous men Sam Spade protects her from them, even thought he is a murder suspect by the police. The men are after a precious statue of a bird, The Maltese Falcon.

Also Ruth Wonderly turns out not to be who she said she is.

The characters and narrative seems to be very Film Noir as does the enigma in the story.