Critical Research

What character types are most applicable to neo-noir film making? – Ben Davis

My study will focus on character theory in relation to neo-noir film. I will relate them to my primary texts characters in order to understand which character types are most applicable to this genre of film. Neo-noir is a modernisation of film noir. Film noir appeared after World War II in America, films often reflected its dark mood. These narratives were frequent with the protagonist following a journey with no good foreseeable ending. Film noir was mainly shot in black and white to present sombre themes. J. P. Telotte notes film noir will not sit still for an accurate or conventional portrait. (1) It engages and stimulates the audience to participate in a narrative quest rather than displaying a linear narrative with a predictable outcome. (2)

Some neo-noir films are based on comic books that have clear binary opposition, showing good triumphing over evil may suggest the outcome may be predictable. Mark Conard notes that film noir is a classic genre characterised by visual elements such as tilted camera angles, skewed scene compositions, and interplay between darkness and light. (3) Compared to neo-noir, there are few differences; however, these visual elements are reinforced through the characters as well as the characters personas.

Neo-noir films are sometimes filmed in colour; an example of this would be one of my primary texts Se7en. The Dark Knight uses interplay between darkness and light to portray Batman as an intimidating, dangerous character. Sin City is filmed in black and white apart from certain parts of the film the use of skewed camera shots; partially stick to the conventions of film noir. Fight Club, like film noir and neo-noir films, have non-linear narratives with no distinct ‘good’ characters.

The analysis of my texts will centralise around Neo-noir films conformity to character film theory. The two are Propp and Goffman. If you put Propp’s character types in to context of neo-noir films, you may find that they are not applicable to every role. Propp’s character theory indicates that there were 7 broad character types in the 100 tales he analysed, which could be applied to media, for example, In the film the Lion King it is clear that Scar is The villain/false hero since he betrays and kills his brother Mufasa and struggles against the hero, Simba for control over Pride Rock. The donor, Mufasa, prepares Simba to be the king of Pride Rock, he also sends Simba on his journey to save Pride Rock from Scar. The helper would refer to Timone and Pumba who aid Simba on his quest. The princess, Nala, is whom Simba marries and is sought for during the narrative. The dispatcher, Raffiki, prepares Simba to go back to save Pride Rock (4).

Goffman’s theory may, apply more accurately to neo-noir films due to the complexity of the characters. It requires broader categories for them to fit into. Goffman’s theory suggests that there are four character types used in any type of media text or production. This can be applied to the film Finding Nemo. The protagonist, Marlin, is the centralised character since it follows his journey to find his son. The deuteragonist, the secondary character, could be Nemo as he is the focal point of the narrative.  The bit player, Dory, is a character whose background is not clear to the audience. Finally, the fool, a character that uses humour to convey messages could be Bubbles, who makes the film more light-hearted (4).

Most neo-noir films seem to conform to Propp’s character types. In Se7en, there is no clear hero. Detective Mills could be perceived as a hero or false hero. The idea of it seems to be played with throughout the film. Mills’ seems to be a detective who wishes to make a difference in crime. But, in the end, one might say that he becomes evil. Cited by Terri Murray, both Doe and Mills perpetuate the wrongs they aspire to wipe clean. (5) Mills chooses to eradicate evil without realising his methods may be seen as immoral by being the ‘trigger-happy’ cop, completing John Doe’s ‘masterpiece’ when Mills kills him, becoming wrath.

Doe could be seen as the villain or dispatcher. His crimes caused Mills’ investigation. Detective Somerset is another character that is difficult to place in to a character archetype. He shares similarities to Doe as they are both educated and cultured. This could mean that even Doe is difficult to place in to a character type because of the complexity of his character. One of my references, tvtropes.org, notes they both recognise how horrible society is. They differ in their respective approaches to trying to improve the world. (6) This backs my point that Doe and Somerset are similar. This may suggest why he doesn’t fit in to Propps’ character types. There’s also no clear donor in Se7en due to Se7en being a neo-noir film. A donor usually gives a backstory to the hero’s journey and a neo-noir convention is to keep characters’ pasts a mystery.

If Se7en is applied to Goffman’s theory Mills fits the protagonist role, he is the leading character. A protagonist doesn’t need a high moral compass like a hero. The protagonist is simply a main character who moves the narrative forward. Mills has been used to do this, as the whole ending is comprised of his decision to kill Doe.

Somerset fits the role of the deuteragonist; he has an influential role in the narrative. He is a teacher and a mentor to Mills. His journey is ending because he wishes to retire after this case with Mills. The director may have done this in order for the spectator to align with this character because he seems to be the only character not corrupted by society. There is a use of film tropes in Se7en. A film trope is a phrase or image used in a new and different way in order to create an artistic effect. Cited from tvtropes.org, the trope of Red Oni, Blue Oni is used in Se7en. This trope is about two individuals who are significantly linked together somehow e.g. co-workers. They have differing personalities and, with it, often different approaches to the world in general, especially to whatever they might be competing in, for, or over. The Red Oni is associated with passion. A red oni character is often has more brawn than brain, like Detective Mills for example. The Blue Oni is a polar opposite in most ways to The Red Oni. The Blue Oni is more intellectual and cultured like Somerset (7). So when analysing the use of this trope, one may suggest that Somerset could be seen as the Blue Oni. He is Mills’ co-worker and mentor trying to harden the Mills heart to the harsh realities of life. Attempting to show him the reality of a detective’s life in this part of town. This is almost identical to the description of The Red Oni. The young and emotional Mills’ later loses everything to John Doe, as he cannot control his impulsive nature that Somerset (The Blue Oni) tries to calm. (8)

John Doe could fit the role of the fool, but rather than humour to create messages, uses a more sinister method. This suggests that Goffman’s character theory may be suited to neo-noir films because they present less deterministic roles, which complex characters can fit into, better than Propp’s character archetypes which present fixed roles from fairy tales. Neo-noir attempts to represent a bleak ideology of society and a depressing view of the future.

Looking at mise-en-scene, if we compare Mills’ costume in the last scene of Se7en to earlier scenes, there’s a distinct difference in colour. On the left, below, Mills wears a darker outfit, mostly black. The white shirt he has worn throughout most of the film is covered by the black jumper. This may suggest that David Fincher has tried to highlight that Doe has essentially broken Mills. In context of Propp’s character types, this has changed Mills’ from the hero to the false hero. This could have caused the spectator to change their alignment with Mills’. They may now align more with Somerset due to the route that the director took with Mills’ character, shooting Doe multiple times. This may also change the spectators’ allegiance through the use of a-central imagining. Becoming unaligned and losing allegiance to Mills due to their own moral code, disagreeing with Mills’ reckless decision. Quoted from Wikipedia ‘Mills looks much younger than Detective Somerset, with a younger complexion and more modern hairstyle, leading us to think he will be quite vulnerable, and will perhaps be changed by the disruption of the equilibrium or the villain himself by the end of the film.’ (9) This is expressed by the darkness of his clothing. The colour black has been used to represent evil or corruption. Since Mills becomes the sin of wrath, it may not be a coincidence that he wears black in this scene. This could represent his tainted purity, covering the white shirt due to the colour white representing purity.











In context of the film Fight Club Propps’ character types may not apply completely to this neo noir film. It is very different from the other films that I have explored so far. You could argue that The Narrator is someone who he deludes himself to create Tyler Durden, who he wishes to be. Durden could fit multiple character types from Propps’ character types such as the dispatcher because, without the creation of Durden in the narrator’s mind, there would be no journey for him to embark on.  Durden could also be considered the villain due to the fact that he is a terrorist, bent on bringing down the current society. Durden may also be considered the helper, as without the creation of him, the narrator would have never begun to control his own life. Tyler is an amalgamation of these characters; this may be due to the fact that the narrator is schizophrenic. Through the use of diegetic sound, Durden attempts to coach the narrator in to not conforming to capitalism, which is what he really wants to do anyway; he wants to be an individual, being apart from the system. During the chemical burn scene, even though the use of diegetic sound is significant, the use of central imagining reinforces this as the narrator’s screams provoke the spectator to have a physical response, evoking feeling for him.









Roger Ebert looks in to Durden’s character. Whether Durden represents hidden aspects of the male psyche is a question the movie uses as a loophole--but is not able to escape through, because "Fight Club" is not about its ending but its action. (10) I agree with Ebert’s claim; the entire plot is driven by Durden’s actions and represents in terms of psychology, the narrator’s ID, taking over his Ego and Superego. Since Propps’ character types are meant to have one classification for one character, it simplifies roles played in film/media productions because Tyler’s character fits in to many of these roles throughout the film. Tyler sends the narrator on his journey as the dispatcher, he is the helper during the scene when the narrator’s apartment blows up, and he is the villain who destroys everything at the end. The reason for this is most likely due to Tyler being a manifestation of who the narrator wishes to be; he wants to reject the society he is forced into and creates an alternative. This links to Ebert’s exploration of Durden’s character a telling point about the bestial nature of man and what can happen when the numbing effects of day-to-day drudgery cause people to go a little crazy. (11) The use of mise-en-scene and dreary, Noir style lightning the narrators own opinion of the society is projected, painting capitalism in a negative light presenting capitalism as Tyler’s creator. This is represented through Durden’s clothing. His outfit differs from the colour palette used to create the setting, causing him to stand out. Durden’s jacket is red, since he is an anarchist and the colour red could represent revolution or anarchy.

If Fight Club is placed in context of Goffman’s character theory we are unsure whether the narrator is the protagonist and whether Tyler is the deuteragonist. This could be because the two are different manifestations of the same person. Due to this, Goffman’s theory may not be applicable to Fight Club since the protagonist is also the deuteragonist even though Goffman’s theory outlines a broader range of character types than Propp’s character types. It may seem that characters in Neo-noir films like Fight Club are too complex to fit into theories suggesting characters can only play the role of a single character type.

If Sin City’s put in context of Propps’ character types the only character type that characters fit in to at first glance seem to be false heroes and villain’s. Sin City is full of corruption, full of people with questionable morals. Marv is an example of this. Although he has good intentions, he wishes to avenge the character Goldie by murdering anyone who stands in his way. This suggests Marv may not fit in to Propp’s character types as he’s not a conventional hero, he’s described as a character that enjoys bloodshed. An example of this is where Marv kills Kevin, cuts off his limbs, watching his pet wolf eat him showing his sadistic side.

Mise-en-scene and cinematography is used to present a key example of Marv’s character. The scene shows Marv standing, holding Kevin’s severed head whilst holding a saw. The cinematography places Marv in a position of power with the use of a low angled shot, looking up at him. This reinforces the idea that Marv is a powerful individual and why he may fit in to the role of a hero or superhero based on his exaggerated strength. However, mise-en-scene may portray him as a psychopathic killer or horror villain through the use of special effects to create lightening in the background. Peter Bradshaw expresses his own observation of Sin City. Everything is constructed digitally and composed in a starkly defined monochrome on which splashes of lurid colour show up like wounds. Their blood, are lividly painted on to the Weegee-photo-style black and white. (12) Bradshaw’s observation of style reinforces how Marv’s props, costume and makeup have been used. The blood is the only piece of colour shown, Marv has blood all over his face as well as his shirt. His props are a saw and Kevin’s severed head, causing him to further look like a horror villain. This suggest’s that due to the unpredictable and psychopathic nature of the character Marv could mean he is unable to be placed in to Propp’s character types as he seeks justice like a hero, but his means to reach that justice are more like a villain. Marv, could be described as an anti-hero.

Sin City play’s with the idea of a hero. There are, however, clear villains, such as The Yellow Bastard, the Rourk family, and Kevin. These characters are extreme exaggerations of what it means to be evil. They are either cannibals, pedophiles, murderers, drug traffickers or rapists. The Yellow Bastard is an example of a extreme exaggeration of villain’s. He is a rapist and a murderer and therefore is presented in a way that distances the audiences from even viewing him as a human being. The use of mise-en-scene, specifically costume, present this. Central imagining is used to affect alignment. His disfigured face combined with the characters nature causes him to be viewed as some sort of monstrous creature. This causes the spectator to feel repulsed by him and therefore failing to align with him.

There are a lot of characters who could be considered bit players in Sin City who, in neo-noir films would be considered ‘femme fetales’ like Miho and Gail. They both fit the role of bit players as they are characters who we are unaware of their past. They also fit the roles of deuteragonists, they both assist Dwight in his story, making it difficult in placement of a category of Goffman’s character theory. However,  due to the convention of ‘femme fetales’ in Neo-Noir films, they are characters who assist the protagonist but we are usually made unaware of their past and there is little character development. The mise-en-scene, specifically costume and make cause them to fit the role of the ‘femme fetale’. They are sexualised because they are dressed in such a way that does not leave much to the imagination. This fits the convention of the ‘femme fetales’ as in the film they are both seen as sexually promiscuous and dangerous.

The Dark Knight was influenced by a comic book; because of this, one might say that Propp’s character types may apply to this film due to comics being. Batman may be considered as the hero; he drives the narrative forward and he saves Gotham and defeats the Joker. In fairy tales Propp studied, a prince often adopts this role. This is ironic as Bruce Wayne who is Batman’s alter ego, is referred to as the prince of Gotham. The Joker is the clear villain in Batman as he attempts to terrorise Gotham and Batman, villains in fairy tales also attempt to do this and are deformed, like the Joker, the Joker also fits in to the idea of Neo-Noir since we are made unaware of his past. The use of mise-en-scene in this film makes villains such as the Joker and Two Face look frightening and deformities make the audience believe they are villainous before they speak. Two Face’s face is burnt, showing part of his skull. This use of makeup and effects make him look demonic, reinforcing his role as a villain in the narrative. The Joker has scars around his face. The mise-en-scene specifically his makeup makes him look like a clown. However, it is used to hide his scars, which are prominent on his face. This seems to make him a walking oxymoron. A clown who is meant to bring joy to people is instead terrorising them in a sadistic manner, reinforcing his role of a villain.

Harvey Dent could also be seen as the false hero, since at the beginning Batman wishes for Harvey to take over his mantle as the protector of Gotham so he can retire. However, when Rachel is killed and Dent is left disfigured becoming the villainous Two-Face. This suggests that Propp’s character types may apply to The Dark Knight; this is reinforced by the use of binary opposition within the film between Batman and the Joker, the hero, versus the villain. Below, an example of this is shown. We can see Batman interrogating the Joker; the use of cinematography aligns us with the hero through an over the shoulder shot, observing Batman’s perspective. Batman is placed in a position of power through this shot and through diegetic sound his voice reinforces this, for example, his deep husky voice creates a symbol of his dark reckoning that he enforces on Gotham’s criminals.

In conclusion, Goffman’s character types apply to neo-noir films which involve thriller aspects. The characters are too complex and seem too real for them to be simplified down in to a categorisation e.g.  Se7en. Whereas Propp’s character types apply to films adapted from action or fantasy. For example, The Dark Knight, Sin City and Fight Club are film adaptions from novels or comic books involving exaggerated characters with seemingly superhuman abilities. Propps research for his theory was formed from fantasy stories and myths which involve a lot more characters which are simplified to fit in to these specific roles for the story.

Word Count: 3280
References:
J. P. Telotte, Voices in the Dark: Narrative Patterns of Film Noir (1)
http://www.crimeculture.com/Contents/Articles-Summer11/nissen_neo-noir.html#_ftn1 (2)
http://markconard.com/philosophyofneonoir.htm (3)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Character_theory_(media) (4)
https://philosophynow.org/issues/78/Se7en (5)
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/Se7en (6)
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RedOniBlueOni (7)
http://allthetropes.wikia.com/wiki/Se7en (8)
http://hannahlovescomedy.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/textual-analysis-of-se7en/ (9)
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/seven-1995 (10)
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/fight-club-1999  (11)
http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2005/jun/03/1  (12)

Synopsis

My film begins from the perspective of the detectives life with a destructive past named John. John has not been the same since the night which changed his life forever which is made unclear to the audience about what that actually is. Because of this, John is let go from the detective agency, we are made known by this as he reveals it to us when he opens the letter he is holding.

Later that night John receives a call from an unknown number, he picks up and realizes it's from an old work colleague of his named Sam. Sam disappeared a few years ago from the agency and John had no idea why. Sam offers John a job and mentions to him how he knows that he does not have many other options otherwise he will lose his apartment. John reluctantly complies as he doesn't have any other options. The jobs involve assaulting and intimidating government officials who owe Sam's generous benefactors favors who they have apparently refused to uphold. John's detective instinct kicks in once he meets the character Sarah, someone else working for Sam who longs for a way out of this life. John and Sarah begin to investigate together and they soon discover that the 'benefactors' who they're working for seem to be using people like himself and Sarah not to scare officials in to upholding their favors, but instead to manipulate them to get Sam's benefactors in to power by supporting them. The films ends with a confrontation between Sam and John, ending with Sarah killing Sam as Sam is about to shoot John. The film ends without giving the audience any idea of John or Sarah's fate. (Similar to Se7en's ending).

Layout of Key Frames

1) Medium close up shot of John inside his car driving. he is wearing a long pale green coat, a grayish, pale green shirt and a red tie. (The red is being used to represents the characters anger with his current situation, the pale green is being used to represent how uneasy he feels at the moment). This is a technique used from Sin City to represent emotion. This scene is also a direct reference to Tarantino's scene that he directed in Sin City with Dwight and Jackie Boy in the car.

2) John pulls up in to a busy car park late at night, we see he open a letter that states 'Letter of resignation' with his name bellow it. The focus on the letter will emphasize the focus surrounding this scene. This is similar to Fincher's use of cinematography in Zodiac

3) John steps outside of his car and the camera cuts to a close up shot with a focus on his hands and part of his mouth which shows him lighting the cigarette in his mouth. This is also similar to Fincher's use of cinematography, focusing on inanimate objects in peoples hands in Zodiac.

4) The next shot features a medium close up from the side of John exhaling the smoke from his cigarette. This relates to the scene in Sin City featuring Marv smoking after beating Kevin as a way of releasing stress.

5) The next shot features John with the envelope again, we see him tearing the envelope up. This again links to the use of Fincher's use of cinematography but this time in the introductory title screen of Se7en.

6) The scene ends with a final shot of John attempting to light this envelope. This again relates to the introductory scene of Se7en where there is a focus on John's hands, like how there is on John Doe's hands in that scene.

7) The scene opens to a distant shot of John in his office, the shot is as if someone is watching him. This shot also shows John's drinking issue as from the use of the prop of a can of beer in this scene. (This foreshadows to the conversation to come with Sam). This is similar to how Dwight is watches Jackie Boy in Sin City as well as how Paul in Zodiac resorts to alcoholism to deal with his issues.

8) The next shot is a close up, shot but placed over John's shoulder. Focusing on John's hand holding a photo of himself and his wife to emphasise his distress about losing his job. This is similar to Bruce Wayne reflecting on child hood memories in The Dark Knight.

9) Close up on John's phone as an unknown number calls him.

10) The next shot shows John on the phone, looking slightly angry due to the fact that he doesn't want to work for his old colleague Sam. This is similar to the cinematography Fight Club to see the narrators emotion when he is on the phone. The scene ends with this shot.

11) The next shot is an over the shoulder shot showing John working for Sam, assaulting a government official. This is similar to the the interrogation scenes in The Dark Knight and Sin City.

12) The next scene uses an observing shot and is in Sam office, it shows John and Sam both inside with Sam smirking and John with a stern expression on his face, wearing a black shirt with a red tie. On Sam's desk there are three photos spread out of the assaulted government official. The black shirt represents his power and hints that what John may be, being corrupted.

13) The next shot shows John about to leave Sam's building, as he's walking he crosses paths with Sarah. This shot is an observing shot, where the male gaze is clearly represented with how we will see John looking at Sarah.

14) The next shot shows the pair of them talking, but for strangers they are quite intimately close when they speak to each other. I will use photoshop to give Sarah blue eyes as the colour blue represents that someone is trustworthy.

15) The next shot is a behind the shoulder shot of John and Sarah, they have met in Sam's office in order to raid it. They find on Sam's laptop there is a document on the laptop revealing his 'benefactors' project. Sam's 'benefactors' are using people to place their corrupt people in power and if the people they place no longer support their interests. They use people to threaten them in to compliance. This shot is similar to the scene in Zodiac when Robert and Paul are looking at information from the Zodiac case and come to a realisation.

16) As they make this realisation they decide that it would be unwise to split up and both insinuate to go on the run together as they become very close and intimate with each other again. For this shot I will use a observation shot from the side of the pair of them. This is similar to the unspoken intimacy in Sin City during the customer is always right between the man and the customer.

17) Sam arrives at his office, this shot will be a point of view shot from Sam's perspective, as  he aims and shoots at Sarah. This is similar to the confrontation scene between Jackie Boy and the Basin City prostitutes.

18) The next shot is just after John is knocked on to the floor by Sam after . The shot is an over the shoulder shot of Sam as he aims his gun at John. This is similar to Fight club where Tyler, the narrators subconscious is enforcing his power over the narrator.

19) The next shot features Sarah as she is bleeding out shooting John in the neck. This shot is a low angled, focused shot, focusing on Sarah. This shot relates to the cinematography during the scene in Sin City where Shellie threatens Jackie Boy with a knife.

20) After this Sarah passes out, John stands over Sam's body, holding Sarah in his arms, John will have blood over his face from the beating he endured and Sarah will have a puncture in her clothing with blood around it. This shot will be a low angle shot, portraying John in a position of power over the dead Sam's body. This shot relates to Sin City where Marv standing over Kevin after beating him.

Treatment

My film will focus is influenced by neo-noir films and during my key frames a script I will be attempting to create characters which represent or are similar to characters from other neo-noir films who are too complex to simply be placed into a character archetype such as Propps character types. Instead, Goffman's character theory which gives a broader range of character types than Propps. The character John has been influenced by the character John Hartigan from Sin City who is also a detective. The character of Sam has been influenced by Bob from Sin City that betrays Hartigan in the story The Yellow Bastard. The character of Sarah was also influenced by the femme fetale's of Sin City. e.g. Miho, Gail and Wendy.

My film begins with a medium close up shot featuring John in his car. After driving for a bit he parks his care in a dingy car park. In reference to Goffman's character theory we know he is the protagonist due to the cinematography being focused around him. We see John open a letter in his hand that states 'Letter of Resignation. I will use a POV shot focusing on the letter, this is similar to the opening sequence of Se7en, featuring John Doe preparing to begin his 'masterpiece'.  John steps out of the car and lights a cigarette, which features a cut shot of John's hands and part of his face as he lights it. He inhales and exhales the smoke. This features a medium close up shot from slightly the side using the technique of cinema veritay to give a observers view as we do not know much of the character as of yet which is similar to Sin City during the first story the customer is always right. The final shot of this sequence features an over the shoulder shot of John with the letter torn apart as he burns it with his lighter This is similar to Fincher's use of camera shots in Zodiac, focusing on the watch during the investigation.









The film then cuts to a scene late at night with John looking at a picture of himself, and his wife, with a shot from behind him to show his distress due to the loss of his job, trying to find comfort by reminiscing old memories. Which is a technique in neo-noir films to show either flashbacks or scenes hinting towards information that is key to learning about the character, or their past. Based on a spectators extra-textual experiences they may also show allegiance to John if they have suffered similarly with the loss of a loved one. This is like how in The Dark Knight a flashback is used to show Bruce Wayne's relationship with Commissioner Gordon. The next shot zooms out and John moves to photo out of sight as he picks up a beer to show how ashamed he is of turning to alcoholism to resolve his problems. In reference to Propps character types this could cause him to be viewed as a false hero due to the self-destructive past that he seems to be beginning to set himself down. The next shot focuses on John's phone as it lights up and he gets a call from a private number. The next shot is a close up on John's face to show how he is feeling, reluctantly choosing to work for Sam who is offering him a job. At this point in reference to Goffman's character theory Sam may be considered as a bit player. Also, in reference to Propp, he may be considered the dispatcher for John, sending him on his path for redemption. This is similar to Fight Club in terms of the close up shot on the Narrator on the phone will be similar to my shot. The scene ends with this shot.

The next few scenes shows John working for Sam, violently assaulting a government official who hasn't returned his favours to the people who put them in power. This shot shows three different characters who John intimidates to 'return his favours'. I will use an observation shot, using cinema veritay again. In reference to Propp at this point in the film he may be considered either a villain or false hero. This is similar to the interrogation scene in the Dark Knight between Batman and the Joker, as well as when Marv is tortured by Wendy in Sin City.

The film then cuts to a short scene. This scene introduces Sarah, in reference to Goffman she may be considered a bit player due to the bit players character sharing similarities to that of a femme fetale, which is the kind of character I would like Sarah to be, a mixture between Miho and Wendy from Sin City is what I would like to have in my key frames. The first shot is a point of view shot from John, looking at Sarah through the Male Gaze, similar to how women are portrayed in Sin City. During this scene they get very close and the scene becomes quite intimate to each other during their conversation where they both question what Sam's 'benefactors' real agenda is. The next shot shows John and Sarah raiding Sam's office, looking for any information on the people Sam is working for as the audience learns more about Sam his character will change from a bit player to a deuteragonist. Again, I will be using an observing shot, focusing on the door of Sam's office, to present the risks with this matter because someone could walk in to his office at any moment and if they are caught, they are dead. The last shot of this scene shows that some of the people who John had assaulted had files here, in their younger years they used to work for Sam's benefactors and they put them got them into power. When the people put in the power would no longer support the benefactors they hired people to threaten them into compliance.

As the two make this realisation and are about to leave, because they both know they cannot work for Sam anymore as it is against their morals. This represents the completion of the 'heroes journey' in reference to Propp, portraying John as a hero. The next shot is an observation shot which shows another conversation between John and Sarah as they become very intimate again and both decide to go on the run and disappear. Sam then arrives, this is revealed through a POV shot, focusing on Sam smirking as he aims his gun at Sarah. the next shot shows John shooting her. In reference to Propp, this would turn Sarah in to a damsel he must be rescued by the hero (John). A fight between John and Sam ensues which features a shot aimed towards Sam knocking John to the floor by smacking him with his gun, followed by a shot of John looking up at Sam as Sam aims his gun at John. The next shot shows Sarah shooting Sam in the neck as she lays on the floor. The final shot of the film features John with the injured and unconscious Sarah in his arms. In reference to Propp this represents binary opposition with the hero (John) triumphing over the villain (Sam). This is similar to the shot of Hartigan and Nancy in Sin City near the end of the story The Yellow Bastard where he has killed The Yellow Bastard. It is also similar to the scene where Marv realizes that Goldie is dead.

Script

Casting Considerations

Recce Report/Risk Assessment

First Location: Benn Kelly's Car: I have changed my first location as I believe that not letting the audience know what John's past job was adds to the mystery surrounding the narrative, which is a key feature of neo-noir films like Sin City and Se7en. This location is also easily accessible as it is one of my actor's to use, I only had to pay him back for fuel as well and that was reasonably cheap.
Risk: The only possibly risk would be if my actor were to lose concentration whilst in his car which was counter measured by filming the scene whilst he drove around a car park.

Second location: Walnut tree avenue (The car park next to The Cressy Arms pub): This second location emphasises the fact that John is alone in this world, instead of going home right away he secludes himself and deals with his issues in a filled up car park where no one will notice him.
Risk: The only risk would have been car's driving around the car park but since it was filmed at night it was practically empty.

Third Location: 128 Hawley Road, The Davis Household (John's study):
This location is easily accessible to my actors and cheap to use. This is also great for my script as this will be John's personal study where his alcohol addiction is presented and when he goes down this dark path that Sam presents to him.
Risk: There is next to no risk for this location as there is nothing in this room that could seriously harm any of may actors apart from the laptop and computer, but it is highly unlikely that anything could seriously go wrong with that.

Fourth Location: 128 Hawley Road, The Davis' Garage (An Undisclosed Location):
This location is great to set the scene for my key frames as the natural dark lightening from the garage will present a dark, neo-noiresk feel to my photo's. This is also a easily accessible location for my actors as well as cheap to use.
Risk: The only risk is some of the sharp objects stored inside the garage but that was counter measured by them being moved or covered up before filming.










Fifth Location: Green Street, Green Road, The Leigh Technology Academy Principals Office and the Admin Office (Sam's Building/Office): This location suits my topic of study as the size of the room will allow for a lot of tracking and observing shots in order to focus on the development in the sexual tension between Sarah and John.
Risk: There is next to no risk for this location as there is nothing in this room that could seriously harm any of may actors apart from the computers, but it is highly unlikely that anything could seriously go wrong with them.










Sixth Location: Green Street, Green Road, The Leigh Technology Academy Principals Office (Sam's Office): This location is good for my key frames as I need some sort of office to access to make this final part of the film make sense. Risk: There is next to no risk for this location as there is nothing in this room that could seriously harm any of may actors apart from the laptop and computer, but it is highly unlikely that anything could seriously go wrong with them.