The Postman Always Rings Twice

A married woman and a drifter fall in love, then plot to murder her husband... but even once the deed is done, they must live with the consequences of their actions.

An example of a classic Film Noir genre film...'The Postman Always Rings Twice'.

Storyline: Nick Smith, the middle-aged proprietor of a roadside restaurant, hires drifter Frank Chambers as a handyman. Frank eventually begins an affair with Nick's beautiful wife Cora, who talks Frank into helping her kill Nick, by "accident."

Key words in the plot: 'Drifter' 'Murder' 'Love' 'Beautiful Wife'. These words all fit the conventions of the Film Noir genre. For example, the fact that there is a man and a 'beautiful woman' involved in the story line.

Generic Conventions of Film Noir:

Characters: Corrupt Cops, Alienated Protagonist, Misogynistic Men, Femme Fatale


Visual Style: Low Key Lighting, Frequently cast shadows, Dutch Angles, Low Angle Shots, Wide Angle Lense, Shot of characters reflection in one or more mirrors, Night for Night filming


Iconography: Dark Side walks, Rain drenched streets, Flashing neon signs, hostile city, Alcohol/Alcoholics, Cigarettes, Guns, Trench Coats


Themes: Transgression of Social Norms, Someone evil going against what you would normally expect, Taboo


Settings: Urban Setting, Bars, Lounges, Nightclubs, Gambling Dens, Industrial Setting - Factories, Train yards, Power plants


Narrative Devices: Convoluted Storyline, Flashbacks, Voice Over Narration, Classic Noir Usually from First Person Narrative

Media: Chosen Genre

My group have chose the genre: 'Film Noir' for developing an opening scene portfolio.

Task:
Preliminary Exercise: Continuity task involving filming and editing a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue. The task should demonstrate match on action, shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree rule.

Main Task: The titles and opening of a new fiction film, to last a maximum of two minutes.

All video and audio material must be original, produced by the candidates, with the exception of music or audio effects from a copyright-free source.