Nocturne Tradecraft at the Diner Window

Concept & Style * Era feel: 1950s retro (Kodachrome-like warm yellow light + cool green shadows). * Cinematography: Exterior “peeping” → glass reflections → bar counter diagonal composition; minimal push-ins, mostly static observation. * Music/SFX: Gentle jazz quartet (piano / double bass / brushed cymbals / sax); heels on an empty street, door chime, low diner machine hum, lighter click, an ultra-soft camera shutter. * Color cues: Dark green overcoat (protagonist), creamy yellow bar lights, chrome-silver coffee machine, neon lipstick-red reflections. * Key props: Cigarette case (double-layer compartment), two cigarettes (intel hidden in the filter), “glasses camera” with a lens (resembling modern smart glasses). Beat-by-Beat Shots (00–50s) 00–05s | Exterior · cool gray-blue morning * Locked wide: an empty street corner, neon still on. Heel taps—“tak… tak…”—approach from afar. * Low bed of music; ambience leads. * At frame right, warm golden light inside the window silhouettes three figures. 05–08s | Outside → inside, through the door * Woman in a dark-green coat enters frame; door bell tinkles. Camera remains outside, shooting through glass. * For a moment, her profile overlaps with a red neon reflection on the glass. 08–12s | Interior lock-off · Hopper-style wide * Two or three patrons inside; at the end of the counter, a short-haired woman lifts a hand in greeting. * The server polishes a glass in the distance, creating depth. Jazz rises slightly. 12–16s | Sit and reverse * Alternating mids: the green-coat woman and the short-haired woman take adjacent seats (side-by-side, turned ~45°). * Cup set-down “ding.” They smile like old friends. 16–20s | Inserted gaze: the man in the distance * Long-lens compression: a man with glasses-camera in the corner lifts his cup; a glint flashes on the lens. * He tilts the rim slightly; within the lens a very faint framing UI (if you want sci-fi, hint it only via the reflection). 20–24s | Cigarette handoff 1 (casual sparring) * Hands close-up: short-haired woman opens a vintage cigarette case and offers one; green-coat woman takes it and passes her own case back. * Brushed-cymbal sweep in the background; lighter click. Smoke turns golden in the warm light. 24–28s | Cigarette handoff 2 (the swap completes) * Reverse close-up: green-coat woman naturally slides “the other cigarette” into the case’s hidden compartment; the short-haired woman slips “this one” into an opened lipstick 💄. * They keep chatting and smiling—weather-small talk vibes. 28–32s | The signal in the glass * Camera returns outside, looking in through the window: their cup rims touch—ding. * Neon reflections briefly form a green arrow pointing toward the corner man (a visual metaphor). 32–36s | The man records * Extreme close-up: he steadies his glasses, the lens shifts; an ultra-soft shutter merges with the clink of cup and saucer into one beat. * His eyes drift away, as if waiting for the bill. 36–41s | Unhurried exit * Medium: short-haired woman stands, heading toward the restroom; green-coat woman lowers her gaze to adjust gloves, revealing the matching cigarette filter peeking out (confirmation of the swap). * The server passes, blocking our view for a beat (a natural “cut”). 41–46s | Street-corner light change & easy façade * Door opens and closes; the green-coat woman leaves first. Heels echo again on the empty street. * Inside, the three-person tableau settles back into Hopper-like stillness—as if nothing happened. 46–50s | Afterglow & full stop * The corner man lays down cash and rises. One last glint on his lenses. * Music resolves on a double-bass sustain; hold on the empty counter and a still-steaming cup, then cut to black.