Before we started with location shooting and mock filming, I went ahead and looked up film noir movie scenes to get a rough basic idea of use of lighting, angles and shadows.
I was thinking we could use this approach to film the scene where the reporter is murdered.
Shadows created on a face using blinds create a sense of drama.
Lots and lots of silhouette play.
And natural light casting on actor's face showing rough facial lines. I realized this method has been used in many films to show the essence of a character.
Narrative sequence
How we interpreted the scenes in our heads into paper.
[Gallery/?] An exchange is carried out. No alarm goes off, the 2 walk out unnoticed. 1 piece dropped and is left there.
[Office] *monday morning* Reporter arrives to work. Immediately, loud voice is heard "(Jones?)! WHERE'S MY STORY! IT'S BEEN 3 MONTHS!" Frustrated reporter distracts by flipping through paper. She comes across article 'Mystery: stolen artifact' and reads into it. Gets up & leaves office.
[Gallery/?] Reporter arrives to do new story. Curator shows up & is seen very unwilling - claims he knows nothing- to help her answer questions. An object is spotted in the corner. Reporter quickly thanks and dismisses curator to slowly go pick it up.
[Classroom L-table] At home reporter examines the piece left behind & does web research. Learns about codes but comes across a blog which veers off into topic of cults. Discovers articles about rumoured cult stealing codes written by anonymous who seems very insightful about this topic. Arranges a meeting with blogger.
[Multimedia room] Cult surveils the clips of that night as there was a loophole in their progress. Finds out a piece was accidentally left behind then sees a woman picking it up. Notices movements of reporter & decides to do something with her.
[Rooftop] Late evening, reporter makes her way to location. She reaches rooftop sees blogger sitting there. Walks up to her, they both get acquainted. Reporter shows the piece she found and asks questions, blogger begins telling. The sky gets dark and reporter has her final question when blogger stops abruptly and calls it a night. "Another time." "Wait- " "I'm sure you have some place to go now."
[Lift] Reporter leaves premises. Walks into lift which slowly goes down and stops at (?) floor. 2 woman walk in reporter makes way for them. When lift reaches LG reporter steps out only to be tackled by these 2.
[Classroom] Cloth is taken off reporter's head. 3 suddenly appear somewhere else. Conversation is made between 2 sides, 2 woman are revealed cult member. Explanation given, requests reporter to join. "So what do I need to do?"
[Discussion room] Uncoding begins. Reporter is given orders, at the same time continues her story undercover. Days pass and no progress on cult's background, reporter starts getting frustrated.
[Rooftop] Reporter & blogger back on rooftop "I need to know more than this! Why??" Blogger reveals cult's manifesto, they're ultimate goal all along. Reporter's realization, "Wai- ...then what now? What am I in this?" Blogger tells reporter to escape. They run together.
[Stairs][Uni square][Underground space][Carpark] Run run run. Blogger leaves halfway & doesn't come back. When reporter reaches car she starts to think straight and relax. A trigger and gunshot is heard. "Start mapping it out."
*scenes of everyday life*
[Pangkor beach] Cult members meet leader in a secluded cove. "It is done?" "Yes, it's right here." "Good job. Finally we- " blogger interrupts *trigger heard, scene closes*
OR
[Discussion room] Cult members prepare the ultimate information for leader *muted convo* and finally leader "Good job, people. Now we start-" interrupted by blogger.
*trigger heard, scene goes blank*
Visual Interpretation/Idea Variation
For our shots we experimented on different angles and their possibilities.
The use of light to bring out the environment.
Uni square as one of the locations for reporter's escape.
in this shot we wanted to capture the curve of the window panels
A scene where she is struggling to find her keys to her car.
Testing out lighting. With the lights on.
& lights off. In this shot, we see natural light coming from the window sill & how the light from this iPad lights her face, which creates a typical noir feel.
A scene where the cult members realise the missing piece through surveillance. In this shot, I really like the lighting pattern created in the walls.
Running away using the stairs. Shot form the bottom of this flight & the railing.
My favourite shot from our location hunt. This will be the "tunnel" that the reporter eventually gets shot.
Project Planning
We brought all the scenes together and organized them onto a sequence/storyboard.
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