For my Film Noir main task, I decided to work on my own. This would make it so that I have to be more self-reliant on myself and I know that if I don't complete tasks then I won't get help with it.
The plot for my opening scene I am going to try and make as mysterious as possible. A lot of the opening scenes of Film Noir's I have watched left me wanting to watch on further due to the mysteriousness so I will be trying to attempt and reenact this in my opening. Something I really want because of this is a murder. I've noticed that a lot of murders are not shown in Film Noir's which is also something I plan on doing in my opening which will add even more to the mystery. Due to the small budget available I will be unable to create a traditional fill in my opening so will instead make my Film Noir based in modern times. I will still however try and keep typical conventions of Film Noir in my opening scene. The opening will involve a man, who will also be a narrator, walking down his street into his home. During his walk will be where the narration takes place developing the narrative and storyline for the film. I also want this man to be smoking as I think this will add to the conventions of Film Noir although I will need to find someone willing to. The man will finish his cigarette and go into his home. He will hang up his jacket and go into his living room turning on a lamp. We will then move out the door and see another male character in his house holding a gun and walking into the living room. The scene will end with the shot being fired. I believe ending the scene with the murder will be the biggest mystery of my whole opening scene.
Something I really want in my opening scene is a one continuous shot. I have seen in a lot of Film Noir openings this used and it is very effective and looks very professional when done right. However, because of it being one continuous shit lasting two minutes everything will have to be perfect for it to go right. I think this is something I will need to decide on later in my production.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
Target Audience Research - Film Noir Questionnaire
As we can see from the results I tried my best when handing out my questionnaires to get a good mix of people. For the age range people were mostly my age or my friends parents for the higher ages. This would allow us to get views from different generations of people.
There is also a good mix of male and female people questioned which wasn't a problem.
It was hard to get different races of people as I mostly know White British people, however I tried to find different races of people of friends I knew.
As I live in the East of England it was again hard to find people from different areas. I instead asked people to answer with where they grew up so this could help create a greater range of people.
The different class of people was hard to judge. I instead filled this in myself on what class of people I thought they fitted into instead of what they thought as it was a very 'touchy' subject. So these results cannot be considered entirely accurate.
As you can see, Action was the most popular film genre. I think this mainly due to the excitement that the Action genre offers. Out of the rest of the genres comedy was also very popular with the rest getting very mixed reactions. This would suggest to me that my Film Noir should contain some Action as a sub-genre to my movie as it was seen as the most popular choice of genre.
Film Noir didn't prove very popular with the people I surveyed with only 10 out of 32 saying they liked Film Noir. Not one 16-25 year old said they liked Film Noir which would suggest to me that my target audience would be of a higher age range.
It is very interesting to see that 26 out of 32 people said they would enjoy Film Noir if it was set in modern times. This goes against a convention of Film Noir with them normally set in the 40s or 50s. However, with more interest in the genre if it was modernised it could be a good idea to do this.
When of the main suggestions that people said they would like to see more of in a Film Noir movie is a mysterious storyline with a twist. For my opening I was aiming to make a mysterious opening involving a murder which could be good to this suggestion what people would like to see in a Film Noir. Nobody also said that they would like to see colour which was something I was expecting from the answers. Thsi means that people presume that a Film Noir movie shoould always be filmed in black and white.
Looking at people's favourite movies there was a large mix of different movies mentioned. A lot of British and American comedies such as Shaun of the Dead and Superbad were mentioned a lot and only one Film Noir movie was said to be a favourite, Sunset Boulevard. This to me suggests that Film Noir isn't a very popular genre in modern days. This is something I think I should set out on doing with my film opening, making the opening as likeable and popular among my audience as popular. I would like to make my openings target audience as 40-50 year olds but unfortunately I think I will have to make it more applicable to students as these are the main age rangte of people who will see my opening as it will only be shown to everyone in school. There will also be the chance for people to view my opening on YouTube but with a small chance of it gaining many views.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Similar Products - Film Noir Openings
Sunset Boulevard
The opening scene of Sunset Boulevard bares all the usual conventions of the Film Noir genre. In the opening scene will learn that the film is set in Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. Hollywood is a very conventional place for a Film Noir to be set. The titles of the film such as characters and cast are all shown in the opening scene which is also very conventional for Film Noir films whereas we would expect them at the end of the film in the modern day. The movie was also set in 1950 and the way in which the titles are shown on the screen as the camera is tracking down the road would show high levels of editing with the technology available in the 50s. We also are allowed straight into a big story in the movie with a crime taking place. The first characters we see are the police in police cars and detectives which again are very conventional for the Film Noir genre. It is also interesting to see the way in which the narrator describes the man who has been murdered in the pool when we actually learn that it is him. There is a sudden transition from talking in the third person about himself and then beginning to talk in the first person. The way in which it is narrated we can also relate to the modern film 'American Beauty' where the character, Lester Burnham, talks about the street where he lives and a lot about what happened in his life before his death.
Double Indemnity
The opening scene to this film shows something that we are used to commonly in Film Noir films, lighting. It is filmed at night with many different lights such as street lights, traffic lights and car lights as it shows this car speeding down a city road. The way in which the character, Walter Neff, is driving very dangerously would suggest that he is a daring character. We also him wearing a hat and long trench jacket which is very conventional to the Film Noir genre. Unlike Sunset Boulevard we don't develop a narrative into what is happening in the film straight away and instead just see the opening scene as a man, who we presume is rather wealthy by the way he is addressed as Mr Neff, just walking into an office. This would leave the audience questioning who this man is and wondering how the film will develop with the way in which the opening scene leaves strangeness in our minds about what is actually going on.
Scarface
Something that becomes very apparent and purposely done at the beginning on this opening scene is that there is a message to the film aimed to the government at the time. We can tell by the words used "What are you going to do about it?" that something will happen in the film that is above government control which also states "You are the government" which indicates that this message is aimed at everyone watching. Something very notable about the opening scene is that it is all filmed in one shot. We know that the film is set in America by the sign '22nd Street' which is the way in which American streets are labelled. The characters sitting smoking after the party that had taken place are Italian which makes us think they are from the Mafia and are gangsters which are very conventional to Film Noir. The use of shadows where the man is shown against the wall and then with the gun killing the Italian man is very effective and again conventional to the Film Noir genre. The killing is also not shown which is something used a lot in the Film Noir genre and again the Italian characters are wearing suits and the killer is wearing a hat and trench coat.
The opening scene of Sunset Boulevard bares all the usual conventions of the Film Noir genre. In the opening scene will learn that the film is set in Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood. Hollywood is a very conventional place for a Film Noir to be set. The titles of the film such as characters and cast are all shown in the opening scene which is also very conventional for Film Noir films whereas we would expect them at the end of the film in the modern day. The movie was also set in 1950 and the way in which the titles are shown on the screen as the camera is tracking down the road would show high levels of editing with the technology available in the 50s. We also are allowed straight into a big story in the movie with a crime taking place. The first characters we see are the police in police cars and detectives which again are very conventional for the Film Noir genre. It is also interesting to see the way in which the narrator describes the man who has been murdered in the pool when we actually learn that it is him. There is a sudden transition from talking in the third person about himself and then beginning to talk in the first person. The way in which it is narrated we can also relate to the modern film 'American Beauty' where the character, Lester Burnham, talks about the street where he lives and a lot about what happened in his life before his death.
Double Indemnity
The opening scene to this film shows something that we are used to commonly in Film Noir films, lighting. It is filmed at night with many different lights such as street lights, traffic lights and car lights as it shows this car speeding down a city road. The way in which the character, Walter Neff, is driving very dangerously would suggest that he is a daring character. We also him wearing a hat and long trench jacket which is very conventional to the Film Noir genre. Unlike Sunset Boulevard we don't develop a narrative into what is happening in the film straight away and instead just see the opening scene as a man, who we presume is rather wealthy by the way he is addressed as Mr Neff, just walking into an office. This would leave the audience questioning who this man is and wondering how the film will develop with the way in which the opening scene leaves strangeness in our minds about what is actually going on.
Scarface
Something that becomes very apparent and purposely done at the beginning on this opening scene is that there is a message to the film aimed to the government at the time. We can tell by the words used "What are you going to do about it?" that something will happen in the film that is above government control which also states "You are the government" which indicates that this message is aimed at everyone watching. Something very notable about the opening scene is that it is all filmed in one shot. We know that the film is set in America by the sign '22nd Street' which is the way in which American streets are labelled. The characters sitting smoking after the party that had taken place are Italian which makes us think they are from the Mafia and are gangsters which are very conventional to Film Noir. The use of shadows where the man is shown against the wall and then with the gun killing the Italian man is very effective and again conventional to the Film Noir genre. The killing is also not shown which is something used a lot in the Film Noir genre and again the Italian characters are wearing suits and the killer is wearing a hat and trench coat.
From the film poster we can tell instantly that the film is about a Hollywood film with it stating 'A Hollywood Story' and the film tape wrapped around the poster with the title' Sunset Boulevard. The big face of the woman with an evil glare would suggest that she is the villain in this film. She also has red hair and is staring directly at the couple who seem scared of her which would suggest that she is the villain even more and the couple are the good people in the film. We are also able to tell that they are a couple by the way in which they hold each other in the poster.
From the film poster we are able to tell that there is a love triangle going on with the couple holding each other possibly being Walter Neff and his lover. This also suggests the third character present is probably being killed with the words 'From the moment they met it was murder' next to the couple. The actor’s surnames are in massive capitals on the poster which shows that they may have been well known at the time and easily recognisable. It is also interesting to note the poster is pink which isn't something we would expect from a Film Noir poster involving murder as we see pink as a very 'girly' colour.
Something is very strange about this film poster is how it doesn't seem very dark and scary compared to what would be expected of the film, it is instead seems very happy and colourful. Again in this film poster the actor’s surnames are in large text suggesting that they were well known in the 30s when Scarface was filmed. At the bottom of the poster the pictures are in black and white and yellow which is very different to the top of the poster which is in full colour. Interestingly, Scarface seems to be wearing lipstick in this poster which isn't something that would be expected of a gangster.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Similar Products - Film Noir
"A style or genre of cinematographic film marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, and menace. The term was originally applied to American thriller or detective films made in the period 1944–54"
Typical Film Noir Conventions:
Black and White Picture
American Characters
Variety of Music
Romance
Suits, Hats and Long Coats
Odd Camera Angles
Hero/Villain
Femme Fatale (Fatal Female)
Mystery
Low Lighting
Detectives
Journalists
Crime (Murder/Drugs)
Wealth
Corruption
Sunset Boulevard
"The story, set in '50s Hollywood, focuses on Norma Desmond, a silent-screen goddess whose pathetic belief in her own indestructibility has turned her into a demented recluse."
M
"Someone is murdering children in Berlin. The Police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible."
Double Indemnity
"In 1938, Walter Neff, an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy and Walter devises a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause."
The Third Man
"An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident."
The Maltese Falcon
"Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wanderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead."
In all the Film Noir movies listed a death takes place of some sort whether it is murder or just a common accident. The relationship between males and females is clearly very important in Film Noir films with their romance being the reason towards many of the murders taking place. Not all the films are located in America which the usual setting of a Film Noir with some taking place in Europe. All the films associate with a job of some sort that needs to be done and are usually police, detective or financial based.
Typical Film Noir Conventions:
Black and White Picture
American Characters
Variety of Music
Romance
Suits, Hats and Long Coats
Odd Camera Angles
Hero/Villain
Femme Fatale (Fatal Female)
Mystery
Low Lighting
Detectives
Journalists
Crime (Murder/Drugs)
Wealth
Corruption
Sunset Boulevard
"The story, set in '50s Hollywood, focuses on Norma Desmond, a silent-screen goddess whose pathetic belief in her own indestructibility has turned her into a demented recluse."
M
"Someone is murdering children in Berlin. The Police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible."
Double Indemnity
"In 1938, Walter Neff, an experienced salesman of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Co., meets the seductive wife of one of his clients, Phyllis Dietrichson, and they have an affair. Phyllis proposes to kill her husband to receive the proceeds of an accident insurance policy and Walter devises a scheme to receive twice the amount based on a double indemnity clause."
The Third Man
"An out of work pulp fiction novelist, Holly Martins, arrives in a post war Vienna divided into sectors by the victorious allies, and where a shortage of supplies has lead to a flourishing black market. He arrives at the invitation of an ex-school friend, Harry Lime, who has offered him a job, only to discover that Lime has recently died in a peculiar traffic accident."
The Maltese Falcon
"Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wanderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead."
In all the Film Noir movies listed a death takes place of some sort whether it is murder or just a common accident. The relationship between males and females is clearly very important in Film Noir films with their romance being the reason towards many of the murders taking place. Not all the films are located in America which the usual setting of a Film Noir with some taking place in Europe. All the films associate with a job of some sort that needs to be done and are usually police, detective or financial based.
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