Our still shots

Miss Bonnie Kensington:

We chose this photograph for our still shot of our femme fatale because of many reasons. We also tried to stick to as many of the conventional aspects of film noir as we could so we could have a realistic look for each character - and therefore a realistic character that an audience would believe.

The white background was chosen because she is a main character in our film so we wanted her to stand out. It also could be a portrayal of innocence, but because we chose to have our shots in black and white it also may signify a sense of mystery around the character.

Her costume was chosen very carefully, this outfit is more like how she will look towards the end of the movie when she doesnt have to pretend she is innocent. She is wearing a bright red dress which signifies lust and passion - which she uses to manipulate the characters around her, however it also signifies danger - to show there is some underlying characteristics that the men don't know about. This is also mixed in with the red lipstick and nails which is very conventional of femme fatale's in film noir, as the colour red is almost seen to lure in the unexpected men into her trap. The shawl we decided to use is made of faux fur (which is conventional, though in those days it would have been made of real fur), this signifies wealth and status as fur was often only worn by aristocrats who could afford it in those days. The hat was also chosen to hide part of the actresses face, this is to show the audience that she is hiding something from the other people in the film. It also gives her a sense of mystery which is perfect for our film. Although you cannot see it, she is also wearing heels to show off her femininity and power (coloured black) - and she is also wearing tights (maybe stockings as women of that era usually wore stockings with a suspender belt rather than tights) - this will make our character seem more sexual, which is what we want for this role. She will also wear some expensive looking jewellery, which will show off her wealth in the same way the the fur shawl does.

Detective John Carter:

Again we have used the white background to make the actor stand out. However we have faded in a slight blackness around the edges which for one makes him stand out even more, and second gives a slight bit of confusion to the character - this is conventional because in most film noirs, the detective is usually on the line of the law, he has a sense of justice etc however he has the wrong moralities to get what needs to be done (like in our film where he pulls the gun and ends up shooting Bobby). His costume is also perfect for the role:

The hat is black, very much like one which would be worn in that time period. It also stands out from the background. We are using the hat in our film as a metaphor for his control of the situation, he will take it off a lot around Miss Kensington (Our Femme Fatale) - then when he realises she has double crossed him and he runs out to try and stop her...his hat will fly off again in the process. The suit is also perfect for the role as in contrasts nicely, yet is in a very conventional style. Grey suit, white shirt and black tie go very well together and will be perfect for our film. What I particularly like about this shot is the shadow across half of the actors face, this again creates a sense of mystery surrounding the character, making the audience wonder if there is more to this Detective than meets the eye.

Mister Bobby Dents:

Now this shot is perfect for our mob boss, he has so much status without even having to look at the camera. Again we have put him against a white background to show his importance, but what is different between him and the other male characters in the film in this photo is that he isn't wearing a blazer. This signifies maybe that he has a lot of work to do, but also that he is the boss, he doesn't have to dress smart to impress anyone - however he does wear a suit (waistcoat, shirt, tie, trousers) which shows he likes to make sure people know that he is of a high status (which he needs as a mob boss, he likes to be able to intimidate people) - It also shows him as being clean shaven, as most business men were of that time, and hair fairly well groomed, quite short etc.

His hand also covers part of his face which again leads an audience to believe there is more to this character - which we realise at the end of the film when he was actually covering up for Bonnie. As you can also see from this photograph, our actor has quite broad shoulders, this is conventional because most bosses liked to be as big as they could to intimidate any enemies (however on our actor his broadness is due to muscles and bone, rather than fat) - He is much bigger in stature than our detective, this was done on purpose as in scene 5 he tries to belittle/patronise the detective.

Miss Scarlett Jones:

The significant difference you see about this photograph is the background, unlike the previous photos this background is black. Scarlett isn't really a main character in our film so we decided to use the black background, this is also because we do not know much about her character as her story isn't really told in the film - all we know is that she works for Bobby and is slightly protective over him (as you will see later in the filming of the beginning of scene 5).

The black background also mixes with her black hair and dress, this makes her skin really stand out nicely and her eyes look deep into the camera with a slight suspicion - this is the same look she gives the Detective when he turns up on Bobby's doorstep. Her arms are crosses in front of her which may make the believe that there is something she is keeping to herself..again bringing out the conventional sense of mystery of the film noir genre. Her lips like Bonnie's are painted red, to show a slight hidden lustful side of the character.

Chester:

Using the black background again shows that Chester is a small character in our film (mainly because we need the actor as he is our main camera man as he has the best skills out of all of us in this area). As a policeman he is also a professional business man and is therefore also wearing a suit. looking directly at the camera he looks interested and intrigued (with also the use of his hand) which is what a normal police officer would looks like when they have to try and unravel a case.