SKILL: Film Noir Classic Specialist

Domain: Low-Key Lighting, Venetian Blind Shadows, Femme Fatale, Hard-Boiled Detective, Urban Dread

Version: 1.0

For: Hermes Agent — Prompt Engineering & Scene Planning

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This skill encodes the complete visual vocabulary of classical American film noir (1941–1958) — from The Maltese Falcon and Double Indemnity to The Third Man and Sunset Boulevard. It covers the specific low-key lighting science, the venetian blind shadow motif, the ethical ambiguity of the noir protagonist, the dangerous allure of the femme fatale, cigarette smoke as atmosphere, rain-slicked urban environments, and the specific high-contrast black-and-white aesthetic that defines the genre.

When this skill is active, the agent should:

• Use noir-specific lighting terms (low-key, hard shadow, venetian blind pattern, key light from below)
• Apply extreme contrast ratios (8:1 to 16:1) with crushed blacks
• Reference specific noir archetypes (detective, femme fatale, corrupt official, fallen hero)
• Build scenes using diagonal compositions and claustrophobic framing
• Understand the emotional register: fatalism, moral ambiguity, desire, dread, cynicism