Major Project Research- Lighting

My project will be filmed mostly on green screenin a neo noir style therefore lighting is extremely important throughout the overall film. I want noir lighting on the characters as they stop into close ups or to meet at the end. This is where my project will be at it's advantage. The lighting really develops the noir style and audience members will see the extreme contrasts and complex lighting set ups and see the unique style different from most films.

Major Project Research- Gun wounds and bleeding

So I needed help on the how to make a prosthetic bullet wound for when Eddie shoots the villain in the chest and for the blood pouring from inside Eddie's shirt as he looks down. The video above is an excellent tutorial on how to make prosthetic bullet wounds and as the villain will be wearing his shirt on top of this it won't matter if it is perfect, although it's better to have it than not bother as it will make it look more real.
For the blood pack I had practice it already with squirting blood when filming my practice project and using the hand to squirt blood from. Here we used a syringe, filling it with runny fake blood and putting the pipe into the finger that was being chopped off. This is similar to the way we did this and I would repeat that way of doing it again.

How To Make Fake-Realistic Gunshot Wounds!!; stevestudiolife; 2011; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSRtiRBXD2I

Major Project Research- Gun firing

The gun shot tutorial is extremely common on youtube and is the best way to go about making my gun shot look real for the final product. I think as the gun will only be shot 4 times throughout the film it will be a sufficient enough to put over after effects. This is the way professional films add in muzzle flash in post production. I think my gun will look a lot better with this effect on it.

After Effects Tutorial- Realistic Gun Shots!; Lawton Records; 2011; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnjmOu7w2QU

Major Project Research- Colt Detective Special

This will be the gun that Eddie uses in the film, this is because when researching typical noir guns this was the actual guns that were used in the 1940's and 50's when this film is set. This is a very typical noir style gun as you can see by the picture of Russell Crowe with the gun in his hand in L.A Confidential (Hanson, 1997). I have stayed in the comfort zone in the noir style as I wanted to make sure the audience does not pick anything unusual about the film out and can be completely immersed into this short as everything is correct and accounted for in the style it is supposed to be in. This revolver will be the one that kills the villain at the end so it has to be strong but not strong enough to blow a chunk out of his chest and kill him instantly like a magnun would. I think this is probably the perfect gun to use and still look realistic in the film.

Colt Detective Special; http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Colt_Detective_Special

L.A Confidential; 1997; Curtis Hanson; http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=colt+detective+special+in+noir+film&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1277&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=blWXab96mGTfIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/L.A._Confidential&docid=E3FpmBUi_J-SVM&imgurl=http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/b/b2/LAC-Bud-3.jpg/601px-LAC-Bud-3.jpg&w=601&h=251&ei=0OTTUM2oAsuW0QXp64HQCQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=720&vpy=375&dur=3997&hovh=145&hovw=348&tx=183&ty=98&sig=105972740967480288129&page=3&tbnh=137&tbnw=274&start=46&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:69,s:0,i:297

Major Research Project- Rooftops image

The rooftops they are running on will be 1950's New York rooftops, therefore the images above identify just what I am aiming for, however the lighting seems to be to bright on them therefore the image below shows the effect I want when they are on the rooftop. This will bring more obscurity into the scene and raise tension to the audience as we expect the unexpected.

Rooftops, 42nd Street New York; 1940; http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=1950+New+York+Rooftops&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1277&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=6pQG1vNwoa-_nM:&imgrefurl=http://www.artvalue.com/auctionresult--feininger-andreas-1907-1999-us-rooftops-42nd-street-new-york-2788075.htm&docid=UNXUTbFCyp_-RM&imgurl=http://www.artvalue.com/photos/auction/0/49/49440/feininger-andreas-1907-1999-us-rooftops-42nd-street-new-york-2788075.jpg&w=370&h=480&ei=S-HTUKarL-ns0gXv-IFA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=786&vpy=230&dur=1212&hovh=256&hovw=197&tx=103&ty=129&sig=105972740967480288129&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=103&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:15,s:0,i:130

An industrial rooftop; 2006; Alex Reisner; http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=1950+New+York+Rooftops&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1277&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=KYblJMa2PjM1JM:&imgrefurl=http://alexreisner.com/nyc&docid=TOR6OPD8YSymDM&imgurl=http://www.alexreisner.com/img/nyc/pulaski.rooftop.jpg&w=260&h=211&ei=S-HTUKarL-ns0gXv-IFA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=1030&vpy=337&dur=162&hovh=168&hovw=208&tx=124&ty=175&sig=105972740967480288129&page=1&tbnh=143&tbnw=165&start=0&ndsp=26&ved=1t:429,r:25,s:0,i:165

Killers Kiss; Stanley Kubrick; 1955; http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=1950%27s+Noir+Rooftops&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1277&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=geyNJpXIZLz8vM:&imgrefurl=http://thehollywoodprojects.com/category/film-noir/&docid=piVSOZoZqIjHjM&itg=1&imgurl=http://thehollywoodprojects.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/rooftops.png%253Fw%253D300%2526h%253D225&w=300&h=225&ei=WeDTUMiYComo0QWHn4D4Bg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=606&vpy=152&dur=276&hovh=180&hovw=240&tx=82&ty=95&sig=105972740967480288129&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=188&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:21,s:0,i:153

The Big Combo; 1955; Joseph H. Lewis; http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=1950%27s+noir+Rooftops&start=143&um=1&hl=en&client=safari&sa=N&tbo=d&rls=en&authuser=0&biw=1277&bih=616&tbm=isch&tbnid=GdizwMDAFTt-4M:&imgrefurl=http://romethesecondtime.blogspot.com/2009_12_01_archive.html&docid=02L-VIo-vIEaiM&imgurl=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzn1l7EyttNhKCtUZNl4iegc8D0JXmz0sa2n6c0dbIIzd8KmIinOPzy5ncS1-K2lV9Ns8_wC4zLfaMS5YaUvSvBxlvIb6DjCBwek7p_S25qnGvFWStIGuabq4edAru_VdqtTeBJKTHgOU/s1600/The%252BBig%252BCombo%252Bnoir%252Bpic%252B1955.jpg&w=300&h=184&ei=NuPTUPigCKmg0QWD74G4BA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=998&vpy=46&dur=119&hovh=147&hovw=240&tx=76&ty=82&sig=105972740967480288129&page=6&tbnh=142&tbnw=215&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:50,s:100,i:154

CPR Proposal- Visual Realisation Final

VISUAL REALISATION

The piece will be a noir style action drama that will be filmed in a low-key black and white visual style with a strong red as an additional colour throughout the film used for the colour of Eddie’s tie and the blood at the end. This will be the same shade of red for both parts. I aim to use these colours to emphasise the noir aspect of the film creating a neo-noir feel, much like graphic novel adaptation Sin City (Miller, 2005) or The Spirit (Miller, 2008). The red will be rendered in just the blood and Eddie’s tie as I feel this will make it a touch more visually appealing but entertaining for the audience. When rendering out the colour I will include a gritty spotlight feel to each shot making the contrast between dark and light so extreme that the shot’s look slightly fuzzy but still clear and sharp.

As this is 1952 New York, the noir period, black and white suits what I aim for. However this is an action drama as well therefore there will be quick cuts between Eddie and the villain running in fluid tracking shots gliding with the movement of the two characters to the side of them as they run along the rooftops. Their movement will be fluid as well, a neo-noir style such as the running shots in The Spirit (Miller, 2008). Villain is an action film therefore the shots will be quick cut to evoke tension. The villain will have his face obscured by his black balaclava and will wear low key black clothing; black trousers, black shoes, black 50’s style coat over a black suit. He also carries a light grey coloured crosshatch sack full of bank notes that overflow as he runs. Eddie is a typical plain clothed detective you would expect to see in a 50’s noir film; 50’s grey trench coat, 50’s suit underneath but with a strong red tie, 50’s grey trousers and a detective hat with a black ribbon around it.

The scene is desolate 50’s New York rooftops, a maze of obstacles and mist that obscure a straight shot of the villain; mist rises out of the ventilation shafts adding to the night air creating almost silhouette figures of the two characters. The rooftops are high up and have dangerous gaps between them, one specifically where Eddie almost doesn’t make it before he tries firing at the villain but misses. This shot would be done from a bird’s eye view as he jumps to show the height he is jumping from.

Lighting will be low-key; a Venetian blind spotlight effect that has extreme dark/light contrasts on Eddie as he chases the villain. This will be especially evident when he leaps over the ledge and rolls then shoots at the villain. He will stop in a ‘Close Up/Mid Shot’ to show this effect and the lighting will be fairly exposed; aimed just on his face and a letterbox effect on his eyes. This will be transposed onto the villain in the same shot as he reveals himself at the end to juxtapose the two faces as to emphasise the twist even more for the audience. The rest of the scene will be very low key and combined with the mist will create almost silhouettes of the characters. 

CPR Proposal- Synopsis final

SYNOPSIS

Detective Eddie Norman a plainclothes private eye detective runs through the maze of 1952, New York Rooftops at the dead of night as Eddie chases a Villain in dangerous territory. The villain, an armed and dangerous robber holds a brown crosshatch sack so full of bank notes that they are overflowing from out of the sack and flying into the misty night air. He slows more and more, closer into the reach of Eddie’s hands but still to far for him to grasp. Eddie is dressed in noir plainclothes uniform, a brown trench coat, suit, a hat and a bright red tie to make the formality all the more striking. The villain is dressed all in black, black jacket, black formal trousers and has his face covered by a black balaclava. Paper notes continue to escape into the air as he desperately tries to escape. Eddie strides closer fearlessly following the villain, jumping over a high ledge just making it to the other side. He lands, rolling on impact and fires shots at the villain narrowly missing the target, bullets ricocheting past his head, hitting a ventilation shaft and a wooden emergency door instead.

Reluctantly Eddie follows on making up for the time stopped. He takes a diversion by swinging on a loose wire to the next ledge that the villain is already made it to. Eddie takes a blind fire at the villain; the bullet hits the money sack making money fly’s everywhere. The villain holds onto the money sack with money now flying everywhere. Still the villain keeps running through the rooftops as Eddie begins to trail behind.

Finally the villain stops at the end of the last rooftop. He looks over the edge to see police back up waiting down on the ground, a spot light aiming up toward him. A dead end. Eddie approaches the scene holding his gun to the villain. He aims and takes a fire at him pretty much immediately; it hit’s his chest. The villain looks at his chest and falls to his knees, he throws the money sack over the side of the building notes flying everywhere. He rips off his balaclava revealing Eddie’s face. He is Eddie. Detective Eddie looks in disbelief then looks down at his own chest, it begins to bleed rapidly and he clenches it as he falls to his knees. They are now both on their knees looking at each other.  The villain smiles at him then leans back with force throwing himself over the side of the building, falling to his death. Detective Eddie is left for a few seconds realising his impending death, a few seconds that feels like a lifetime. Everything slows down as he shares the Villains impact. Eddie smashes onto the rooftop floor with such force he is killed instantly.