Pitch Black Heist (John Maclean, 2011) is a black and white crime short that Film4 helped to produce. Set in an unnamed location in modern day England, it follows two professional safe crackers, Liam and Michael, on a job to rob an office rigged with a light sensitive alarm, prompting the criminals to act in complete darkness. The robbery itself makes up the later portion of the film, with the opening and middle sections showing the pair rehearsing the heist blindfolded to become accustomed to an absence of visual aid and reminiscing previous missions that seemed to yield a far greater reward. When they eventually come to open the office safe, all seems to be going according to plan, until Michael lights a cigarette, apparently forgetting about the alarm, which is immediately triggered.
The first obvious appeal of Pitch Black Heist in regards to my coursework is the fact that it is black and white and frequently utilises chiaroscuro lighting. This contrast causes the faces of both characters to be slightly obscured in several conversational scenes, adding to their mystique which is typical of criminal characters and by extension the noir genre. Whilst likely inspired by the noir genre, Pitch Black Heist is unlike other homage films I have seen in that it maintains a sharp focus throughout and lacks substantial noise or grain filters. This has inspired me to use sharp footage for my coursework wherever I can because I now know it in fact enhances the contrast of light and dark. I also appreciated the use of fluorescent lighting, as seen in the background of the above shot, which provides an extra layer of contrast outside of natural lighting. The use of vignette in several of the shots prior to the heist is similarly intriguing because it evokes an old fashioned feeling that I would like to replicate.
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