Intertextual References - UPDATED

In our Thriller opening we wanted to include references to other films through things such as costume, lighting and character. 
After doing research on the genre of film Noir, we collectively agreed that we all liked the character of the femme fetale, and wanted to include inspiration from this through our own Thriller. 
Our female character, played by Caitlin Mapes, is inspired by the classic femme fetale, shown through our use of costume and lighting. 
Costume was important because we knew it would give the audience a first impression of the character, so we chose a dark grey dress, completed with a leather jacket and high top boots. This dark combination of clothing felt fitting as we thought it could reflect of the darkness and cynical corruption of this character, traits often found within the classic femme fetale. 

We felt that the use of a leather jacket would give a contemporary twist on the classic character, making her character seem more of a thick-skinned, fierce woman like the femme fetale. This modern twist was particularly inspired by Natasha Romanoff - also known as Black Widow - a character found in Marvel comic books and the Avengers (2012). This fierce character is often seen wearing black leather, a reason why we felt a black leather jacket for our own contemporary femme fetale would have similar connotations. 
Furthermore, our actors red hair was also useful, as red often has connotations of danger and seduction, a colour often found in film noir when considering the femme fetale.

 An example of this is Sin City (2005), a black and white film in which a scene depicting a woman in a red dress and red lipstick contrasts with the grey tone of the surrounding mise-en-scene. This makes the red stand out, suggesting the connotations it has of danger and seduction is important with this character. We wanted to reference this within our own film, but also to keep our modern style. To do this we partly chose our actor because of her red hair, making sure this stood out in the scene by using a harsh light against it so it would contrast with the grey tones, a technique Sin City used.

Lighting was also important when considering our female character, particularly in the scene that they are first introduced to the audience. We wanted make this character a sillouhette, to ensure the theme of mystery and intrigue often found in a femme fetale was applied. To do this we used the harsh light of a cars headlights behind her character, so her slow reveal after she lifts up the garage door in the last scene, is still intertwined with the theme of mystery within her character, as her reveal still does not fully reveal who she is. 

We felt the positioning of her character was also important, as we wanted her to be central within that scene, particularly within the shots that she is revealed. To do this, we positioned her character in the centre, but also slightly to the left. This is because an audience tends to view the screen from left to right, as our eyes are drawn to the left side first. Putting this character slightly on the left means that she is the first thing that the audience will see, showing that she is central to the scene and to the overall plot of our film, much like any femme fetale that is found within film noir.