Above demonstrate the typical detective look, The first image was a screenshot taken from the film Seven which was released in 1995. This story line was based on two detectives and as I studied it previously I taken inspired from this look and implemented it into my own work. Meanwhile the second image was a screenshot of the detective in The Maltese Falcon released in 1941. The contrast of images demonstrate that the detective's carry a very similar look as they're dressed in suits and a simple hat, these also show that the way a detective is portrayed hasn't changed over the years although there is a different time period. For my female role of the femme fatale I used other films to inspire the look I wanted to create. As the femme fatale is always presented as a woman of high maintenance and desirable to be around I wanted to establish this feeling of superiority. This juxtaposes the fragile fragmented personality of her character. The femme fatale is someone whom men fall in love with, those who seem vulnerable and in need, but beneath this persona is an evil cunning character one that is very familiar to audiences who enjoy film noirs. Going back to the Maltese Falcon I based the look I wanted to create which one which have been presented though this film and another film.
As pictured she looks very expensive with her fur placed over the shoulder and a hat. I have taken inspired from the coat to clarify that my femme fatale is this manipulative type of character. I have also focused on my modern interpretations of a femme fatatle, unlike the detective the costumes have varied throughout the years. One in particular in which I looked at was Sherlock Holmes, actress Rachel McAdams is presented as the femme fatale however her clothing is slightly different to the previous woman pictured.
Rachel McAdams (pictured above) plays the role of the femme fatale. Unlike the lady before she does not hold any items which convey that she has a lot of money for example: fur. However, she is presented much more elegantly, a flawless finish to her make-up which complimentary colours and a touch of colour to the lips emphasising this feature in particular. Many people see the lips as an important feature on the face, they also can symbolise acts of affection and intimacy. As a femme fatale these factors are considered more important as they want the male (detective) to fall in love with them so doing these certain things could give them a better chance. For my femme fatale in my film I decided to use red lipstick, using lipstick to emphasise features was inspired by Rachel McAdams in Sherlock Holmes. However, I chosen to use red as I felt it held much more symbolism, people associate the colour red with many things, this can range from passion, love to danger and warning. This shows what the character is about she strives for love and once found she becomes a danger as her secrets are untold in the story later on.
The conventions of a film noir were also challenged in other ways, such as the lighting and props used. The lighting was low key, many film noir's are very famous for the classic use of low-key lighting. In my film I decided to try and use one main source of light, this built up a nice contrast of tones featured onto the face. A lot of the time low-key lighting is used to created a mysterious atmosphere, because of this reason I wanted to show the dark overtones in my opening sequence to make sure it had the same atmosphere. Also because of the low-key lighting it shows viewers the type of genre my film is
When producing the film I wanted to challenge the typical conventions of a film noir, this was because I wanted to show a new, different type of film noir which is so precise within it's characters and general story line. From this I decided to change the role of the detective to a woman as I felt it would show that the roles have been challenged. However, when filming it like this the story didn't work meaning I went back to the generic conventions of a film noir.
For location I began filming in places where it would be typical for a detective to be. These places include a bar and an office. The different locations conveyed different feelings, the bar shows a sense of comfort. This is a place people go to because they want to get away from the same settings, to have a drink and relax from their problems. Due to these connections I wanted to demonstrate that this was the type of character he was. Someone tired of the same routine and looks to things like alcohol to calm himself from this problems. In many old films a bar is a classic location for the male characters in particular. The second location chosen was an office, this was picked because I wanted to show his career and that he is a man of the middle class, owning his own office, having his own secretary. In the Maltese Falcon, an office is used to introduce the characters, this was one of my main inspirations in my work as I felt for the type of film I'm doing it suited the theme I was trying to portray.
Overall I have made sure that my openings fit the conventions of a film noir previously stated. Although they were challenged in certain ways, I did decide to not challenge the conventions due to the outcome not portraying the atmosphere I wanted to achieve.
