Femme Fatale

A femme fatale is an alluring and seductive woman whose charm tends to trap her lovers in irresistible desires, which often leaves them facing dangerous and deadly situations. Her ability to charm and hypnotize the male victim was seen as being supernatural, hence having a power akin to an enchantress, vampire, female monster or demon. The 'femme fatale' remains an example of female independence and a threat to traditional female gender roles.

The phrase is French for 'deadly woman'. A femme fatale tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as beauty, charm and sexual allure. Typically, she is exceptionally well endowed with these qualities. In some situations, she uses lying or coercion rather than charm. She could also be a victim in a sense that she’s caught in a situation from which she cannot escape.

Although typically wicked, femme fatales have also appeared as anti-heroines in some stories, and some even repent and become heroines by the end of the tale. In social life, the femme fatale tortures her lover in an irregular relationship, denying confirmation of her affection of him. She usually drives him to the point of obsession and exhaustion so that he is incapable of making rational decisions.

Posted by BILAAL MUGHAL

The 1940's Lifestyle and Fashion

I have bulletpointed information about the lifestyle and fashion of the 1940's for our group to understand the era for our production...

The 1940’s

During the War which ended 1945
Rationing
Hollywood’s Golden Age for Film
The idea of “Make do and mend”
Clothes reflected the war – drabness and uniformity
Jitterbugging was a popular dance style

Women’s Fashion

Mainly dresses worn – But also trousers as everyday wear
Colourful scarves in their hair
Long curly or wavy hair – bleach blonde was popular
During the daytime, hair was hidden in hats – health and safety at work
Feminine hats
Ankle strap shoes, courts ect.
Headscarf tied under the chin became popular during this period

Men’s Fashion

A wide-brimmed fedora hat
Patterned tie – shorter and wider, held by clips
Zoot suit (stereotypically worn by the mafia) – oversized jacked and high waisted trousers
Boxy, roomy coats
Suspenders and cufflinks
Wingtip spectator shoes, similar to brogues but more colorful

Posted by BIANCA GREEN

The Conventions of Film Noir

Film noir is a style of film that was popular in the USA in the 1900s. It is often mistaken for being a genre, but it is the conventions and cinematography of a film that make it a film noir.

There are three main periods of film noir - proto-noir, classic film noir and post-classic noir.

Proto-noirs are films from the 1900s to 1930s. This period of film noir is not considered to be proper film noir, but rather the beginnings of and inspiration for classic film noir.

The classic film noir period was from the 1940s to 1950s. This was in the Golden Age of Hollywood films, which is known for having narratives that the audience will be able to identify with. The Golden Age also used camera angles, camera movements and all aspects of the mise-en-scene to convey messages that could not be done because of the lack of technology. This is seen in classic film noir because the directors and producers had to rely on cinematography as a substitution for technological effects.

Many believe that the film noir era ended in the late 1950s. However, there were still films being released that some consider could be categorised as film noirs. These are post-classic noirs, which have been going since the 1960s. Post-classic noirs can be coloured films but still contain the main conventions of classic film noirs. Post-classic noirs are usually psychological thrillers that use the mise-en-scene in the same way classic film noirs did.

I looked at the conventions of film noir and how they changed through the different periods so my group would be able to use the conventions that we find necessary to make our production authentic.

Proto-noir Conventions
Gangster/Crime/Mystery genres, also sometimes comedy
Male protagonist (dominant representation of men)
Mysterious female character
Love, usually between the protagonist and mysterious female character
Death
Money
Police, usually corrupt
Black and white
Low-key lighting creating dramatic shadows over parts of the set and characters' faces

Classic noir conventions
Females given a bigger role, sometimes protagonists
Protagonists usually victims of crime but are also criminals
First person narration, usually the protagonist
Affair between the married lead male character and the female protagonist
Love
Death
Jealousy
Money
Black and white
Urban setting, a lot of the action is set in the streets
Complicated narrative

Post-classic noir conventions
Complicated narrative
Many different storylines that come together at the end

Posted by ASHA KABADEH

Our Aims

To prepare for our filming, as a group we need to look at:

1. An overview of our film idea DONE

2. The conventions of film noir DONE

3. Fashion and lifestyle of the 1940's DONE

4. The Femme Fatale character DONE

5. Character profiles and possible actors DONE

6. Locations DONE

7. We also need to create a meeting timetable to use reguarly DONE

Posted by BIANCA GREEN

Film Pitch

Innocence: AB Productions for Prime Time Productions

What would you do if you were framed for a crime you didn’t commit?
Five people who don’t know each other turn out to have more in common than they could ever imagine.

Equilibrium
Five characters maintaining the status quo, just going about their everyday lives.
They get a phone call telling them to go somewhere.

Disequilibrium
They visit the location and are arrested for a crime they didn’t commit.

Recognition
Afterwards, it is revealed that they have been set up but they don’t know who by.

Attempt to Resolve
Throughout the film they try to find out who set them up.

New Equilibrium
In the end, they find out it was the femme fatale seeking revenge after her heartache.

The Idea We Went For

IDEA TWO

A film noir style
Genre – Crime/Mystery
Overview – Five random male characters are all framed for a crime that neither of them committed. In the end, it turns out that they have history and paths that cross each other. They have more in common than they ever could imagine!

We decided to go for this idea over the thriller idea because we think that there is a lot more originality to this idea. Also, it would be a challenge for a low-budget independent film company to produce a film like our first idea so it doesn't match our brief as well as this idea. Our first idea was more of a Hollywood blockbuster because of the numerous different settings and styles that the protagonist is transported to. This idea has more of a low-budget narrative.

Posted by ASHA KABADEH

Our first thoughts and ideas...

IDEA ONE

Genre – Thriller
Overview – A male character's partner commits suicide. He then strangely keeps transporting to different locations. These locations have a significance to his lover's death. It reveals the lover was murdeded by the male's best friend due to envy.

IDEA TWO

A film noir style
Genre – Crime/Mystery
Overview – Five random male characters are all framed for a crime that neither of them committed. In the end, it turns out that they have history and paths that cross each other. They have more in common than they ever could imagine!

Posted by BIANCA GREEN