Thursday, 22 January 2009
Decision on Name of Movie Opening Sequence
Through reading Josh's script, no one had any problems with the name he had suggested - "Shadows Present". The name seemed to fit well with what was supposed to happen, and now we are completing our agreed tasks. My job role as Cinematographer/Cameraman/Director means that I shall be making notes on shots to use and making decisions on how to correctly film our production in the location we have chosen - foliage and dense woodland in Alexandra Park behind the College building. I am also going to act in this production - I will be Peter on-screen, in the park and in the room.
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
Group Production Meetings: Decisions Made
Previously, during our most recent lecture, we had been set the task to [each] make a whole synopsis for our desired noir film, based on our knowledge from our research of the term "Film Noir".
Once I had joined in a group of four, we looked at each other's individual ideas for the whole synopsis of a noir film, then selected the best two and combined them in the synopsis of our Noir coursework. My idea about a film containing lots of murders was dismissed because there were too many murders involved and the synopsis did not seem to be the stereotypical film noir. Josh had written about a film containing revenge, where the character pursuing revenge was represented by 'shadows', adding to the mystery and enigmas that would be understood by the end of the film. Emily's idea contained a man in a bedroom, preferably a hotel room, drinking a glass of whisky, staring down at the street through his window, and a girl who sympathises with him and tells him that he 'shouldn't have done it', shouldn't have committed the crime - the murder.
After much discussion, we decided to combine both Josh's and Emily's ideas to make a group idea. This would contain the mystery of the shadows from Josh's idea, and the room where the man wish he hadn't committed the deed in Emily's idea, thus creating "Shadows Present", a title which Josh had created in his idea and upon which we had all agreed.
When we were confident about our synopsis for our group project, we were given a worksheet containing the details of each job role within the group. We thought about what we would like to become within the group, and which job role was best suited to us all. I was to be the Director and Cameraman/Cinematographer, Josh Payne was the Script Writer (since his synopsis was the one which we had chosen), Emily Swager the Art Director (because she had a good idea of the clothing and props to be used in the interior shots in her synopsis which was combined with Josh's synopsis) and Chloe Atkins the Editor.
On Wednesday 7th January, we thought about the possible locations for our film noir opening sequence. Each of us took a copy of a draft of the script, written up by Josh, and mentioned anything we thought should be included. We all discussed the shots that should be used, where they should appear in the script, and finalised a list of individual pre-production tasks which we had to do. We decided upon completing four or five tasks each from this list. We also decided on the actors - I was to play the main character and Josh's friend agreed he'd star as the "Shadow" in our opening sequence.
Josh had decided upon a location for the exterior sequences, and I agreed that he show me the location. Covered completely in foliage and only accessible by a gap in a fence, it is situated in Alexandra Park, near to the construction site of our new College building, and its whereabouts is our secret!
The following Wednesday (14th January) Emily, with the help of me, Josh and Chloe, produced a list of costumes and props we would be needing for use in our opening sequence. We agreed on who would obtain each item. Also we decided what I should wear, in terms of costume, as the main character in each location (exterior and interior). The exterior location was the one that Josh had shown to me, and the interior was to be a dark room, but its location was to be decided late on.
Josh and I agreed on showing our location to the girls, since they had no idea about where we were talking about. We took some photographs, and looked at where the main character would be running through. We looked at where the camera could be positioned in order for us to film the best shots that we could possibly get. Also how the camera will be positioned - the possibility of using Dutch Tilts.
In more detail, Chloe Atkins had produced the Production Schedule and had since posted this up on her blog (Chloe's Blog). Here is the finished Production Schedule (written up as we went along):
Group progress and discussions
In order to reach conclusions about our film noir opening, we meet up in our group to discuss ideas and answer any problems. Below are notes on what we discussed during our meetings along with the general progress we made towards creating our finished sequence:
Wednesday 7th January 2009 - Emily looked at locations for our film noir opening. We each took a copy of the first script draft from Josh and mentioned anything else we wanted to be included. We all discussed what shots should be used where in the script and finalised a list of individual pre-production tasks to be getting on with. As editor, I asked about when we wanted the titles to appear and we decided that the main title would go at the end and the personnel titles at the beginning. We also decided who would play each character and decided on Chris to be the main person.
Wednesday 14th January - Chris was finishing the storyboard whilst Emily produced a list of costumes and props we each needed to fetch, and discussed who would get each one. We also looked at what the main character would be wearing in each location (woods and in the dark room). We all went to go and look at our chosen location, Alexandra Park, to take pictures, look at where the main character would be running from and to think about where the camera could be positioned to get the best shots possible.
Thursday 22nd January - Chris scanned the finished draft of the storyboard into the computer to create an animatic. We each prepared something to say to the class in tomorrow's presentation speech (except I was off ill so I did mine at home).
Friday 23rd January - Today we did our speech to the rest of our media class and showed them our finished animatic. We answered any questions they gave us and considered their comments. One of the things someone mentioned was that it may be too much to film with too little time to show it all. We took this on board and will consider shortening the scripts and including less of our ideas to make it more simple, yet still with the same desired effect.
Wednesday 28th January - We finalised all our pre-production work and Josh asked if there were any issues we found with the script. Emily reminded us of what props and costumes we needed to bring in individually, and I suggested that we used a small glass block (which I have at home) if the college cafe couldn't supply any ice-cubes to us. I also took the questionnaire results away to write up an analysis on them, whilst Chris thought about what we would do in wet weather conditions. We decided that if it was rainy on the day of the shoot, we would have to take the camera kit out during the half term holidays, or film the following week. Or we could use an umbrella to shelter the camera , though this would limit our filming abilities and we doubt the media department would allow it, though the rainy effect would add to the atmosphere of our film! We all went to the college library during break to search for sound effects CD's that could us in our film. We took out 4 in total with footsteps, outdoor atmosphere noise, indoor atmosphere noise and gunshots on each. We would listen to them tomorrow. ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT UNTIL OUR FILMING DAY - WEDNESDAY 4TH!
Thursday 29th January - Today we spilt up as a group as Emily and Josh remained in the media classroom to look over the pre-production work and finish a birds-eyed view map of our Alexandra Park location, whilst Chris and I went into the editing suit to listen to our music choices. We came up with a shortlist of 4 possible music pieces, each from the CD albums that Chris and Josh found at home and brought in. We listened to the sound effect tracks and decided that the gunshots would be useful, but the footsteps didn't sound very realistic so we would try and record our own on the day.
Wednesday 4th February - Today was our filming day and the weather was perfect for it. However the ground was icy and (in places) slippery with mud, and it was freezing cold being outside for hours. We all gathered at the media department where Chris had arrived early to take out all the kit we needed. We spent about 30mins checking everything worked and asking any last minute questions before leaving for Alexandra Park at 10am. The park is only 10mins walk away so no transport was required. Emily left the group at 2pm though we carried on filming until 2.30pm. We ensured we got all our shots from the storyboard and extras just in case. Once we'd captured all our footage and viewed it from the camera, we returned to college to give back some of the kit (microphone etc). We took the camera to the library and logged our best shots so it would be easier once we were in the editing suite.
Thursday 5th February - We went into the editing suite to view our best shots on the computer and to check that everything was working. We finished our animatic and decided on a piece of music we wanted to use. WE chose 'Mausam and Escape' by A R Rahman as we all agreed it's suitability to our noir.
Wednesday 11th February - Today we filmed the rest of our footage from the media studio. We began filming at about 9.30am once we'd all arrived and checked the kit was working. We arranged and lit the set to create a film noir approach, and used a piece of card to create a Venetian blind lighting effect. We were only given maximum 3 hours to film all of footage in the studio, so we ended up being finished at about 1.30pm. Altogether we took about the same amount of time to film in the studio as in the wood, and we captured a total of 25mins footage - though we won't use it all!
Wednesday 25th February - Today we went into the editing suite to capture our woods footage onto the computer. Josh and Emily then logged the best shots from our studio footage whilst Chris and I began a rough-cut of the woods footage.
Wednesday 4th March - We all continued with our editing and added the music to our footage. We also captured our studio footage and realised that one of our shots containing synchronised sound would have to be taken again as the volume was too quiet.
Thursday 5th March - Me, Chris and Josh went into the editing suit at 12 today to sort out our music and get some extra editing done.
Wednesday 11th March - Chris, Josh and Emily went to the studio today to film our synchronised speech close-up shot of Chris at the desk speaking his first line of dialogue. Whilst I stayed in the editing suite to rearrange the music. We finished our rough cut today though we are reconsidering the order of our shots and thinking about where we would position transitions effects and titles (though we didn't add them today). Emily also recorded Chris's voice over and the various sound effects we might need to include - e.g. Chris's coat zip, the desk lamp switch and shuffling money.
Wednesday 18th March - Today we finished our rough cut of our film and began to apply titles. After showing our finished rough cut to class members and Jon (our media teacher), we were advised that we should change our music as it was setting a too manic atmosphere and it was looking like a movie trailer, rather than a film opening. Therefore, we took a copy of our timeline and applied our second music choice 'Clues'. As a group we all found that this piece of calmer, more noir style music better suited our noir opening than our first choice.
Wednesday 25th March - Today we started a new sequence with the same 'Clues' music but with all our studio scenes in the beginning and our woods scenes at the end. We found this presented more of an enigma straight away, rather than confusing the audience about what's going on. This is our 3rd sequence we have made, and we all agreed as a group that this is the best one simple because it meet the noir codes and conventions, and looks less like a film trailer and more like a film opening sequence. We began to apply titles to our scenes and changed our minds about the final film title 'Shadows Present'. before we had the film name appearing on a piece of paper attached to the package. though after following advice that this shot looked 'too student-like and unprofessional' we decided that an ordinary title would look best. Chris, Josh and I stayed in the editing suite through lunch time today as Chris was looking for a good gunshot sound effect (with a silencer) so that it sounded like it was shot inside a room, rather than outside. And Josh and I were fiddling around with the titles to ensure they worked well with our footage. We also applied church bells to the beginning of our sequence as we felt they gave connotations of death and funerals.
Wednesday 1st April - Today we decided to try out a new sequence layout for our film by adding new titles in between the action to break it up a bit but keep up the pace. We also experimented with the film transitions ('tumbler', 'spin', 'blur' etc.) We liked the 'blur' effect on the titles as they would disorientate the audience and the fitted in well with the noir theme. We then screened our opening to 2 people in our class who hadn't seen it before. They're response was useful and we took their opinions into account when putting the final finishing touches to our film.
Wednesday 22nd April - Today was the last editing session we had left to finish our opening sequence. We finished applying titles and used feedback from group members about how to reduce the hissing noise in the background of our voice over. For this we applied a 'Constant Power' fade onto the end of each sound bar so that the hissing noise blended in and couldn't be heard as loudly. We then screened our film to Jon, our media teacher, who suggested we should ensure the font style and size of each title was the same. This would add continuity to our film and make it seem more professional and less amateurish. Simple things like this are quick and easy to correct but are still important as they can often be really noticeable to the audience. At about 12 o'clock we had finished our film completely and began to render the file so it could be written to a DVD. We could have spent another few weeks tweaking and changing little things about our film, but as a group we're happy with the standard of film we've produced and I'm particularly pleased that no drastic errors occurred throughout our entire project. We worked well as a group and although we often spent too long on decision making, we still managed to end up with a good finished noir style film opening within the deadline. As editor I've learnt lots about how to use the editing software 'Adobe Pro' to make the best of our footage, and am pleased with the end result.
Once I had joined in a group of four, we looked at each other's individual ideas for the whole synopsis of a noir film, then selected the best two and combined them in the synopsis of our Noir coursework. My idea about a film containing lots of murders was dismissed because there were too many murders involved and the synopsis did not seem to be the stereotypical film noir. Josh had written about a film containing revenge, where the character pursuing revenge was represented by 'shadows', adding to the mystery and enigmas that would be understood by the end of the film. Emily's idea contained a man in a bedroom, preferably a hotel room, drinking a glass of whisky, staring down at the street through his window, and a girl who sympathises with him and tells him that he 'shouldn't have done it', shouldn't have committed the crime - the murder.
After much discussion, we decided to combine both Josh's and Emily's ideas to make a group idea. This would contain the mystery of the shadows from Josh's idea, and the room where the man wish he hadn't committed the deed in Emily's idea, thus creating "Shadows Present", a title which Josh had created in his idea and upon which we had all agreed.
When we were confident about our synopsis for our group project, we were given a worksheet containing the details of each job role within the group. We thought about what we would like to become within the group, and which job role was best suited to us all. I was to be the Director and Cameraman/Cinematographer, Josh Payne was the Script Writer (since his synopsis was the one which we had chosen), Emily Swager the Art Director (because she had a good idea of the clothing and props to be used in the interior shots in her synopsis which was combined with Josh's synopsis) and Chloe Atkins the Editor.
On Wednesday 7th January, we thought about the possible locations for our film noir opening sequence. Each of us took a copy of a draft of the script, written up by Josh, and mentioned anything we thought should be included. We all discussed the shots that should be used, where they should appear in the script, and finalised a list of individual pre-production tasks which we had to do. We decided upon completing four or five tasks each from this list. We also decided on the actors - I was to play the main character and Josh's friend agreed he'd star as the "Shadow" in our opening sequence.
Josh had decided upon a location for the exterior sequences, and I agreed that he show me the location. Covered completely in foliage and only accessible by a gap in a fence, it is situated in Alexandra Park, near to the construction site of our new College building, and its whereabouts is our secret!
The following Wednesday (14th January) Emily, with the help of me, Josh and Chloe, produced a list of costumes and props we would be needing for use in our opening sequence. We agreed on who would obtain each item. Also we decided what I should wear, in terms of costume, as the main character in each location (exterior and interior). The exterior location was the one that Josh had shown to me, and the interior was to be a dark room, but its location was to be decided late on.
Josh and I agreed on showing our location to the girls, since they had no idea about where we were talking about. We took some photographs, and looked at where the main character would be running through. We looked at where the camera could be positioned in order for us to film the best shots that we could possibly get. Also how the camera will be positioned - the possibility of using Dutch Tilts.
In more detail, Chloe Atkins had produced the Production Schedule and had since posted this up on her blog (Chloe's Blog). Here is the finished Production Schedule (written up as we went along):
Group progress and discussions
In order to reach conclusions about our film noir opening, we meet up in our group to discuss ideas and answer any problems. Below are notes on what we discussed during our meetings along with the general progress we made towards creating our finished sequence:
Wednesday 7th January 2009 - Emily looked at locations for our film noir opening. We each took a copy of the first script draft from Josh and mentioned anything else we wanted to be included. We all discussed what shots should be used where in the script and finalised a list of individual pre-production tasks to be getting on with. As editor, I asked about when we wanted the titles to appear and we decided that the main title would go at the end and the personnel titles at the beginning. We also decided who would play each character and decided on Chris to be the main person.
Wednesday 14th January - Chris was finishing the storyboard whilst Emily produced a list of costumes and props we each needed to fetch, and discussed who would get each one. We also looked at what the main character would be wearing in each location (woods and in the dark room). We all went to go and look at our chosen location, Alexandra Park, to take pictures, look at where the main character would be running from and to think about where the camera could be positioned to get the best shots possible.
Thursday 22nd January - Chris scanned the finished draft of the storyboard into the computer to create an animatic. We each prepared something to say to the class in tomorrow's presentation speech (except I was off ill so I did mine at home).
Friday 23rd January - Today we did our speech to the rest of our media class and showed them our finished animatic. We answered any questions they gave us and considered their comments. One of the things someone mentioned was that it may be too much to film with too little time to show it all. We took this on board and will consider shortening the scripts and including less of our ideas to make it more simple, yet still with the same desired effect.
Wednesday 28th January - We finalised all our pre-production work and Josh asked if there were any issues we found with the script. Emily reminded us of what props and costumes we needed to bring in individually, and I suggested that we used a small glass block (which I have at home) if the college cafe couldn't supply any ice-cubes to us. I also took the questionnaire results away to write up an analysis on them, whilst Chris thought about what we would do in wet weather conditions. We decided that if it was rainy on the day of the shoot, we would have to take the camera kit out during the half term holidays, or film the following week. Or we could use an umbrella to shelter the camera , though this would limit our filming abilities and we doubt the media department would allow it, though the rainy effect would add to the atmosphere of our film! We all went to the college library during break to search for sound effects CD's that could us in our film. We took out 4 in total with footsteps, outdoor atmosphere noise, indoor atmosphere noise and gunshots on each. We would listen to them tomorrow. ONLY 1 WEEK LEFT UNTIL OUR FILMING DAY - WEDNESDAY 4TH!
Thursday 29th January - Today we spilt up as a group as Emily and Josh remained in the media classroom to look over the pre-production work and finish a birds-eyed view map of our Alexandra Park location, whilst Chris and I went into the editing suit to listen to our music choices. We came up with a shortlist of 4 possible music pieces, each from the CD albums that Chris and Josh found at home and brought in. We listened to the sound effect tracks and decided that the gunshots would be useful, but the footsteps didn't sound very realistic so we would try and record our own on the day.
Wednesday 4th February - Today was our filming day and the weather was perfect for it. However the ground was icy and (in places) slippery with mud, and it was freezing cold being outside for hours. We all gathered at the media department where Chris had arrived early to take out all the kit we needed. We spent about 30mins checking everything worked and asking any last minute questions before leaving for Alexandra Park at 10am. The park is only 10mins walk away so no transport was required. Emily left the group at 2pm though we carried on filming until 2.30pm. We ensured we got all our shots from the storyboard and extras just in case. Once we'd captured all our footage and viewed it from the camera, we returned to college to give back some of the kit (microphone etc). We took the camera to the library and logged our best shots so it would be easier once we were in the editing suite.
Thursday 5th February - We went into the editing suite to view our best shots on the computer and to check that everything was working. We finished our animatic and decided on a piece of music we wanted to use. WE chose 'Mausam and Escape' by A R Rahman as we all agreed it's suitability to our noir.
Wednesday 11th February - Today we filmed the rest of our footage from the media studio. We began filming at about 9.30am once we'd all arrived and checked the kit was working. We arranged and lit the set to create a film noir approach, and used a piece of card to create a Venetian blind lighting effect. We were only given maximum 3 hours to film all of footage in the studio, so we ended up being finished at about 1.30pm. Altogether we took about the same amount of time to film in the studio as in the wood, and we captured a total of 25mins footage - though we won't use it all!
Wednesday 25th February - Today we went into the editing suite to capture our woods footage onto the computer. Josh and Emily then logged the best shots from our studio footage whilst Chris and I began a rough-cut of the woods footage.
Wednesday 4th March - We all continued with our editing and added the music to our footage. We also captured our studio footage and realised that one of our shots containing synchronised sound would have to be taken again as the volume was too quiet.
Thursday 5th March - Me, Chris and Josh went into the editing suit at 12 today to sort out our music and get some extra editing done.
Wednesday 11th March - Chris, Josh and Emily went to the studio today to film our synchronised speech close-up shot of Chris at the desk speaking his first line of dialogue. Whilst I stayed in the editing suite to rearrange the music. We finished our rough cut today though we are reconsidering the order of our shots and thinking about where we would position transitions effects and titles (though we didn't add them today). Emily also recorded Chris's voice over and the various sound effects we might need to include - e.g. Chris's coat zip, the desk lamp switch and shuffling money.
Wednesday 18th March - Today we finished our rough cut of our film and began to apply titles. After showing our finished rough cut to class members and Jon (our media teacher), we were advised that we should change our music as it was setting a too manic atmosphere and it was looking like a movie trailer, rather than a film opening. Therefore, we took a copy of our timeline and applied our second music choice 'Clues'. As a group we all found that this piece of calmer, more noir style music better suited our noir opening than our first choice.
Wednesday 25th March - Today we started a new sequence with the same 'Clues' music but with all our studio scenes in the beginning and our woods scenes at the end. We found this presented more of an enigma straight away, rather than confusing the audience about what's going on. This is our 3rd sequence we have made, and we all agreed as a group that this is the best one simple because it meet the noir codes and conventions, and looks less like a film trailer and more like a film opening sequence. We began to apply titles to our scenes and changed our minds about the final film title 'Shadows Present'. before we had the film name appearing on a piece of paper attached to the package. though after following advice that this shot looked 'too student-like and unprofessional' we decided that an ordinary title would look best. Chris, Josh and I stayed in the editing suite through lunch time today as Chris was looking for a good gunshot sound effect (with a silencer) so that it sounded like it was shot inside a room, rather than outside. And Josh and I were fiddling around with the titles to ensure they worked well with our footage. We also applied church bells to the beginning of our sequence as we felt they gave connotations of death and funerals.
Wednesday 1st April - Today we decided to try out a new sequence layout for our film by adding new titles in between the action to break it up a bit but keep up the pace. We also experimented with the film transitions ('tumbler', 'spin', 'blur' etc.) We liked the 'blur' effect on the titles as they would disorientate the audience and the fitted in well with the noir theme. We then screened our opening to 2 people in our class who hadn't seen it before. They're response was useful and we took their opinions into account when putting the final finishing touches to our film.
Wednesday 22nd April - Today was the last editing session we had left to finish our opening sequence. We finished applying titles and used feedback from group members about how to reduce the hissing noise in the background of our voice over. For this we applied a 'Constant Power' fade onto the end of each sound bar so that the hissing noise blended in and couldn't be heard as loudly. We then screened our film to Jon, our media teacher, who suggested we should ensure the font style and size of each title was the same. This would add continuity to our film and make it seem more professional and less amateurish. Simple things like this are quick and easy to correct but are still important as they can often be really noticeable to the audience. At about 12 o'clock we had finished our film completely and began to render the file so it could be written to a DVD. We could have spent another few weeks tweaking and changing little things about our film, but as a group we're happy with the standard of film we've produced and I'm particularly pleased that no drastic errors occurred throughout our entire project. We worked well as a group and although we often spent too long on decision making, we still managed to end up with a good finished noir style film opening within the deadline. As editor I've learnt lots about how to use the editing software 'Adobe Pro' to make the best of our footage, and am pleased with the end result.
Sunday, 18 January 2009
Individual Noir Initial Ideas - Opening Sequence & Treatment (ECMS) for “Murdered!”
The screen is black. The first shot of the opening sequence, the establishing shot, fades in from the black. The camera has been placed on the ground, next to a tree, and is looking down a footpath, with trees acting as a fence on either sides of the path. A man runs past the camera, but all we see of him is his feet. The camera is slightly tilted, but not much of a Dutch Tilt. The personnel titles appear vertically on the trunks of the trees as the man runs past, through the first few shots of the film.
The man is young, in his mid-twenties, and wears a black leather jacket, black jeans, blue and white trainers, and has black crew-cut hair.
Also, as the man runs past the trees, he reveals them, then on different shots he runs past the trees one-by-one, and the titles seem to “wipe” away as he runs past each name. he cannot see these names as these are for the viewer, and have been added through editing (post production).
The next few shots are of him running through a park, and he glances behind him several times as if being followed. Finally he reaches a long and winding stone driveway. He runs all the way, without stopping, until he reaches a large mansion hidden by trees in a large park. Several Dutch Tilts are used when he runs up the driveway, and all we see when he eventually gets to the door of the mansion is his feet and the light from inside on the floor when the door is opened.
After ringing the door bell, the exhausted man is let in and he runs through the mansion. Heavy, pounding, fast-paced music runs throughout the whole opening sequence. The camera is placed on the banister of the grand, red-carpeted stairway, which spirals upwards in a square-shape. The camera, placed at an angle (Dutch Tilt) pans right to follow the man as he runs up the staircase, not missing a single step.
The next shot is placed on top of the ledge above the doorway where he will run through once coming off the staircase. He does run through, and the camera tilts down slowly as he approaches the door to keep him in frame.
The next shot is from behind a chair. In the chair sits another man, the landlord of the mansion and grounds, a man much older and in his sixties, much more formerly dressed and sitting behind a dark brown desk. The younger man runs through the open doorway and slows down quickly before approaching the desk. The camera is placed behind the head-rest on the armchair, at the eye level of the landlord.
The younger man reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a white envelope. Inside the envelope lies one hundred pounds. It is not a gift, but a loan re-payment. The landlord was the loan shark, yet now is repossessing people’s properties - from those who didn’t repay him for his generosity some years ago.
The landlord smokes a posh (and very expensive) cigar, and places it on the ashtray in front of him. As he blows-out smoke from his mouth, it begins to swirl around the room. He instructs the younger man to close-over the blinds behind him, in case anyone was watching. The camera pans to the right and follows the younger man approach the blinds. The camera is then placed in the doorway (wide-shot) and is still 9no movements). The younger lad closes the blinds, then the camera tracks to the right in a semicircular fashion, as the younger man comes back around to the front of the desk (he walks to the left as the camera tracks to the right). The camera stops behind the landlord’s chair. THE LANDLORD’S FACE IS NOT SEEN THROUGHOUT!
The younger man sits down opposite the older man, and makes himself comfortable by stretching out his legs and placing his feet on the table to the left of the landlord and consequently where the camera is placed. Whilst the younger man had been closing the blinds, the landlord had browsed-over the envelope (inspected it).
Now that they are both sitting down, the next camera shot is a kind-of over-the-shoulder shot on the landlord’s left shoulder. He takes one more puff of the cigar, then pierces open the envelope with his envelope-opener (a blunt knife). YET WE STILL DO NOT SEE THE LANDLORD’S FACE!
The focus on the camera changes at this point, from the whole picture to just the envelope. The landlord pulls out the money, then takes yet another puff at the cigar. Very little light is being let through the windows now, since the blinds are blocking most of it (giving the effect of the Venetian Blind). He is pleased with what he sees.
The next shot is an extreme close-up of the cigar as it burns in the ashtray. The conversation between the two men begins. The younger man is revealed as being called Fredrick, the older man referred to as “Sir”.
Sir- Good. You have exceeded my expectations. Tell me, if your father was still around, would he, perhaps, repay me for my time?
Fred- I don’t know, Sir, maybe. But what about my wages? I got a kid to look after.
Sir- Yes, I see.
The landlord (Sir) opens a desk and takes out fifty-pounds. This is the young man’s wages. The sounds are all we hear, and the sound of Fred (the younger man) getting up and scraping the wooden legs of the chair along the floor tells us that eh is leaving.
The cigar is taken by a hand, then the older man whistles to his white, furry cat. Behind the chair once more, the camera watches as the cat jumps to its owner’s lap. The camera physically moves upwards, without panning or tilting, to focus on the landlord’s (Sir) lap. He calmly strokes the cat’s fur as he puffs more of his cigar.
The camera now tilts up to the black ceiling, and the name of the film appears - “Murdered!”. The rest of the personnel titles appear, along with the main actors’ names. The opening sequence ends and the camera tilts down from the black ceiling, revealing the landlord to now be sitting in his lounging area, still stroking his cat and smoking his cigar, but overlooking the whole room from his desk chair.
Later in the film, the landlord who was only revealed as “Sir” in the dialogue, is called by his real name, Henry Screamer. The younger man who we only know as Fred was the personal assistant of Henry, yet we do not see him again and is referred to only as “Fredrick” by Henry and other characters. Also, the cat does not play a big part through the film, as it is accidentally shot with a gun when on Henry’s lap by another character when the two characters (Henry one of the two) dispute over a disagreement.
The man is young, in his mid-twenties, and wears a black leather jacket, black jeans, blue and white trainers, and has black crew-cut hair.
Also, as the man runs past the trees, he reveals them, then on different shots he runs past the trees one-by-one, and the titles seem to “wipe” away as he runs past each name. he cannot see these names as these are for the viewer, and have been added through editing (post production).
The next few shots are of him running through a park, and he glances behind him several times as if being followed. Finally he reaches a long and winding stone driveway. He runs all the way, without stopping, until he reaches a large mansion hidden by trees in a large park. Several Dutch Tilts are used when he runs up the driveway, and all we see when he eventually gets to the door of the mansion is his feet and the light from inside on the floor when the door is opened.
After ringing the door bell, the exhausted man is let in and he runs through the mansion. Heavy, pounding, fast-paced music runs throughout the whole opening sequence. The camera is placed on the banister of the grand, red-carpeted stairway, which spirals upwards in a square-shape. The camera, placed at an angle (Dutch Tilt) pans right to follow the man as he runs up the staircase, not missing a single step.
The next shot is placed on top of the ledge above the doorway where he will run through once coming off the staircase. He does run through, and the camera tilts down slowly as he approaches the door to keep him in frame.
The next shot is from behind a chair. In the chair sits another man, the landlord of the mansion and grounds, a man much older and in his sixties, much more formerly dressed and sitting behind a dark brown desk. The younger man runs through the open doorway and slows down quickly before approaching the desk. The camera is placed behind the head-rest on the armchair, at the eye level of the landlord.
The younger man reaches inside his jacket and pulls out a white envelope. Inside the envelope lies one hundred pounds. It is not a gift, but a loan re-payment. The landlord was the loan shark, yet now is repossessing people’s properties - from those who didn’t repay him for his generosity some years ago.
The landlord smokes a posh (and very expensive) cigar, and places it on the ashtray in front of him. As he blows-out smoke from his mouth, it begins to swirl around the room. He instructs the younger man to close-over the blinds behind him, in case anyone was watching. The camera pans to the right and follows the younger man approach the blinds. The camera is then placed in the doorway (wide-shot) and is still 9no movements). The younger lad closes the blinds, then the camera tracks to the right in a semicircular fashion, as the younger man comes back around to the front of the desk (he walks to the left as the camera tracks to the right). The camera stops behind the landlord’s chair. THE LANDLORD’S FACE IS NOT SEEN THROUGHOUT!
The younger man sits down opposite the older man, and makes himself comfortable by stretching out his legs and placing his feet on the table to the left of the landlord and consequently where the camera is placed. Whilst the younger man had been closing the blinds, the landlord had browsed-over the envelope (inspected it).
Now that they are both sitting down, the next camera shot is a kind-of over-the-shoulder shot on the landlord’s left shoulder. He takes one more puff of the cigar, then pierces open the envelope with his envelope-opener (a blunt knife). YET WE STILL DO NOT SEE THE LANDLORD’S FACE!
The focus on the camera changes at this point, from the whole picture to just the envelope. The landlord pulls out the money, then takes yet another puff at the cigar. Very little light is being let through the windows now, since the blinds are blocking most of it (giving the effect of the Venetian Blind). He is pleased with what he sees.
The next shot is an extreme close-up of the cigar as it burns in the ashtray. The conversation between the two men begins. The younger man is revealed as being called Fredrick, the older man referred to as “Sir”.
Sir- Good. You have exceeded my expectations. Tell me, if your father was still around, would he, perhaps, repay me for my time?
Fred- I don’t know, Sir, maybe. But what about my wages? I got a kid to look after.
Sir- Yes, I see.
The landlord (Sir) opens a desk and takes out fifty-pounds. This is the young man’s wages. The sounds are all we hear, and the sound of Fred (the younger man) getting up and scraping the wooden legs of the chair along the floor tells us that eh is leaving.
The cigar is taken by a hand, then the older man whistles to his white, furry cat. Behind the chair once more, the camera watches as the cat jumps to its owner’s lap. The camera physically moves upwards, without panning or tilting, to focus on the landlord’s (Sir) lap. He calmly strokes the cat’s fur as he puffs more of his cigar.
The camera now tilts up to the black ceiling, and the name of the film appears - “Murdered!”. The rest of the personnel titles appear, along with the main actors’ names. The opening sequence ends and the camera tilts down from the black ceiling, revealing the landlord to now be sitting in his lounging area, still stroking his cat and smoking his cigar, but overlooking the whole room from his desk chair.
Later in the film, the landlord who was only revealed as “Sir” in the dialogue, is called by his real name, Henry Screamer. The younger man who we only know as Fred was the personal assistant of Henry, yet we do not see him again and is referred to only as “Fredrick” by Henry and other characters. Also, the cat does not play a big part through the film, as it is accidentally shot with a gun when on Henry’s lap by another character when the two characters (Henry one of the two) dispute over a disagreement.
Individual Initial Noir Ideas: Synopsis for Whole Film
It all starts when there is a burglary at a house, and Henry Screamer, the house owner, sets about hiring someone to kill the burglar, since he knows the burglar all too well. He hires Jimmy Nash, a professional killer for-hire. The agreement is set that Jimmy is to go to the burglar’s house and kill his parents, since the burglar is only a teenager. Jimmy successfully does this, but the burglar keeps quiet when Police question him.
The teenager (burglar) knows what’s happened and who did it, and while Henry is out on a shooting trip (Henry is upper-class and owns a big mansion) the teenager wrecks the library (snooker table, bookcases, table and chairs, windows and mirrors) and then sets the room alight with a cigarette lighter. The room is destroyed by the fire and Henry knows it was an arson attack. He stabs Jimmy in the stomach, telling him at the point-of-dying that he was a “useless asset”. He drives out to the river just three miles from his house in his sports-car (Austin-Healey 3000) and dumps Jimmy’s body in the river next to the road. But after leaving the site, heading home he is stopped by a policeman, who wants to know why he is driving on a country road with his lights off and at one o’clock in the morning. When asked to step-out of the car, Henry agrees but stabs the policeman beside his sports car. In turn, the policeman thumps Henry in the nose, who falls to the ground, dropping the knife. The policeman staggers back to his police car, and makes a mayday call. Henry wipes his nose with his fingertips and realises it is bleeding. A bloody nose makes Henry very angry, so he picks up the knife and staggers towards the police car, leaning on the bonnet to support himself.
In a blind rage Henry repeatedly stabs the policeman then throws the body into the river beside the road. However, as Henry leaves the scene he doesn’t realise that he has left one vital piece of evidence on the bonnet of the police car - his bloody fingerprints.
The next morning, Henry meets with a few of his upper-class friends in a café after being driven down in his £400,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom by his own personal chauffeur. They talk about burglaries, and Frag (his working-class pal and owner of the café), thinking that the dried-blood on Henry’s moustache was from a fight with a burglar, recommends a talk with a crime lord.
The talk is set-up. A time and location is agreed between the crime lord’s personal assistant and Frag, who tells Henry to be early.
Henry arrives in his car five minutes early. However, instead of meeting him, the crime lord’s top two professionals creep up on Henry’s car without him even knowing. When they suddenly appear by the car, the shock sets off a heart attack, landing Henry in hospital, when he really needs to be at home waiting for a phone call from the crime lord.
Henry finally comes out of hospital, but on leaving is confronted by the crime lord and his ‘assistants’, who urge him to get into the back of the chauffeur-driven black stretched limousine. An agreement is made and Henry is dropped off at his driveway. He thinks over their agreement as he walks up the long and winding driveway to his mansion.
The new hired killer makes a hoax phone call to the teenage burglar, pretending to be his best friend. He meets the teenager on an empty tube train and shoots him dead, but not undetected!!
Although there may not have been any people on board the carriage the CCTV camera recorded the killing. The professional, dressed in white t-shirt, black hooded jumper and blue jeans, walks home, taking a shortcut through a back alley. An undercover policeman spots him entering the alley and notifies his partner. His partner enters the alley from the other end, wearing a brown leather jacket and a dark green woolly hat. He deliberately barges past the professional and slips a copy of the CCTV camera tape into his pocket. The crime lord finds out there is still an original tape of the murder. Thinking Henry will inform the police of his connection with the hired professional killer he orders a hunt-to-kill search party, to find Henry Screamer!
Meanwhile, the Police investigation into the death of the policeman and Jimmy, both found on the banks of the same river, is ongoing and the DNA of the “bonnet-blood” is identified as Mr. H. Screamer’s blood. And after finding the teenager’s fingerprints on the cigarette lighter at Henry’s burnt out library, they begin to suspect a connection between the arson attack and the teenager’s death.
They had asked themselves why Henry’s fingerprints were on the bonnet of the police car, then worked out that he must have been the murderer of both of the ‘river bank’ victims. The undercover policemen search for Henry at the same time as the crime lord.
It is the undercover police who get to Henry’s mansion first, but find out that he has been killed whilst eating his dinner. The crime lord enters and thinks that the undercover police have killed Henry. Just then the butler comes into the room carrying a stainless steel oval shaped plate covered with a white cloth. He peels off the cloth to reveal a very bloody red knife. He says to everybody in the room “it was his time”.
The teenager (burglar) knows what’s happened and who did it, and while Henry is out on a shooting trip (Henry is upper-class and owns a big mansion) the teenager wrecks the library (snooker table, bookcases, table and chairs, windows and mirrors) and then sets the room alight with a cigarette lighter. The room is destroyed by the fire and Henry knows it was an arson attack. He stabs Jimmy in the stomach, telling him at the point-of-dying that he was a “useless asset”. He drives out to the river just three miles from his house in his sports-car (Austin-Healey 3000) and dumps Jimmy’s body in the river next to the road. But after leaving the site, heading home he is stopped by a policeman, who wants to know why he is driving on a country road with his lights off and at one o’clock in the morning. When asked to step-out of the car, Henry agrees but stabs the policeman beside his sports car. In turn, the policeman thumps Henry in the nose, who falls to the ground, dropping the knife. The policeman staggers back to his police car, and makes a mayday call. Henry wipes his nose with his fingertips and realises it is bleeding. A bloody nose makes Henry very angry, so he picks up the knife and staggers towards the police car, leaning on the bonnet to support himself.
In a blind rage Henry repeatedly stabs the policeman then throws the body into the river beside the road. However, as Henry leaves the scene he doesn’t realise that he has left one vital piece of evidence on the bonnet of the police car - his bloody fingerprints.
The next morning, Henry meets with a few of his upper-class friends in a café after being driven down in his £400,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom by his own personal chauffeur. They talk about burglaries, and Frag (his working-class pal and owner of the café), thinking that the dried-blood on Henry’s moustache was from a fight with a burglar, recommends a talk with a crime lord.
The talk is set-up. A time and location is agreed between the crime lord’s personal assistant and Frag, who tells Henry to be early.
Henry arrives in his car five minutes early. However, instead of meeting him, the crime lord’s top two professionals creep up on Henry’s car without him even knowing. When they suddenly appear by the car, the shock sets off a heart attack, landing Henry in hospital, when he really needs to be at home waiting for a phone call from the crime lord.
Henry finally comes out of hospital, but on leaving is confronted by the crime lord and his ‘assistants’, who urge him to get into the back of the chauffeur-driven black stretched limousine. An agreement is made and Henry is dropped off at his driveway. He thinks over their agreement as he walks up the long and winding driveway to his mansion.
The new hired killer makes a hoax phone call to the teenage burglar, pretending to be his best friend. He meets the teenager on an empty tube train and shoots him dead, but not undetected!!
Although there may not have been any people on board the carriage the CCTV camera recorded the killing. The professional, dressed in white t-shirt, black hooded jumper and blue jeans, walks home, taking a shortcut through a back alley. An undercover policeman spots him entering the alley and notifies his partner. His partner enters the alley from the other end, wearing a brown leather jacket and a dark green woolly hat. He deliberately barges past the professional and slips a copy of the CCTV camera tape into his pocket. The crime lord finds out there is still an original tape of the murder. Thinking Henry will inform the police of his connection with the hired professional killer he orders a hunt-to-kill search party, to find Henry Screamer!
Meanwhile, the Police investigation into the death of the policeman and Jimmy, both found on the banks of the same river, is ongoing and the DNA of the “bonnet-blood” is identified as Mr. H. Screamer’s blood. And after finding the teenager’s fingerprints on the cigarette lighter at Henry’s burnt out library, they begin to suspect a connection between the arson attack and the teenager’s death.
They had asked themselves why Henry’s fingerprints were on the bonnet of the police car, then worked out that he must have been the murderer of both of the ‘river bank’ victims. The undercover policemen search for Henry at the same time as the crime lord.
It is the undercover police who get to Henry’s mansion first, but find out that he has been killed whilst eating his dinner. The crime lord enters and thinks that the undercover police have killed Henry. Just then the butler comes into the room carrying a stainless steel oval shaped plate covered with a white cloth. He peels off the cloth to reveal a very bloody red knife. He says to everybody in the room “it was his time”.
Cinematography - Research
Below are various video clips from YouTube, where I learnt basic cinematography skills. Some clips used interesting techniques.
Below: a look at an opening sequence (I mainly used this to give my ideas on titles and credits).
Below: in CCTV footage style. Interesting use of camera position.
Below: another opening sequence used for ideas on titles and credits.
Below: An interesting use of the camera-a tracking shot, where the lens zooms out as the camera is (physically) moved towards the characters.
Below: one of the opening sequences I analysed in detail (Fargo - 1996, Coen Brothers)
Below: a car chase scene from one of my all-time favourite films about a Driver-for-hire called "The Driver" and a cop that's out to get him. I noticed a few bad cuts in amongst the good camera positions and die-hard action, so I used this when studying the continuity in my storyboard drawings. A massive inspiration on my work.
Below: whilst looking at the (above) car chase, I found the original 1978 trailer for the film, The Driver. Again, some interesting camera positions from the film.
Below: the best car chase scene in movie history, from Bullitt (1968-with Steve McQueen), the action and camera positions, just like in The Driver, were a massive inspiration on my work.
Below: another trailer I used, from The Driver.
Below: like the opening sequence from Fargo, I used this sequence from Catch Me If You Can (stars Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio) and analysed it in more detail.
Below: though it is quite funny to watch, I found a YouTube video that uses a Tracking Shot on a LEGO figure to show the emotions on its face.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Analysis of 2 Film Opening Sequences: Catch Me If You Can (Steven Spielberg, 2002)
The title sequence begins in an airport. It is an animation and uses thin, silhouetted people moving across a blue background. A thin young man, in casual clothes is the first to appear from the left of the screen. The actor’s name appears - Leonardo DiCaprio. He watches pilots and stewardesses go by. Suddenly a close-up shows that his clothes change from casual to a pilot’s uniform. A man in a suit and hat watches him as he follows the stewardesses. The actor’s name (Tom Hanks) appears on-screen. Then there’s a close-up of several pairs of feet - the stewardesses. The man runs after the pilot but the pilot escapes - setting up the film and showing the audience that the film’s name is also the name of the game that is being played by the pilot - Catch Me If You Can (basically the older man is going to be chasing the younger one - but why?)
The clever use of lines means the animators can portray several scenes in one. An example of the clever use of animation is when (picture below) we have a close-up of the pilot, then we zoom out to the full picture and notice that there is a man reading a newspaper sitting on a chair which has been drawn with the lines. Then Tom Hanks’ name appears and the man’s head swivels round to follow the pilot. Next, there is an elevator and the stewardesses are going down on it, then close-up of their feet as they walk. Picture below: the pilot takes a look behind him and realises someone’s following him and runs up a staircase which falls behind him so that the man in suit can’t chase him any more. Stairs fall, man watches as line shoots up - to the movie title.
More use of the clever lines - this time a taxi on the road going under a bridge - lines from name representing a highway bridge.
After the title of the film the background changes colour for each different chase scene.
The scenes change from an airport to a swimming pool, followed by a hospital, where the young man (Leonardo DiCaprio) has changed into a doctors coat with stethoscope. Still we see the older man in a suit chasing him. Still the young man escapes. More scenes are illustrated in which the young man changes into different clothes, but the older man in the suit still chases him - eventually the sequence ends with them running on top of the globe, chasing all over the world.
Sound
There is no dialogue just music in the title sequence. The music is by John Williams, a composer of many film scores. It is retro, with saxophone and clicking fingers, typical of 1950’s music.
The music starts with a simple, quick tune which is repeated using a xylophone and clicking fingers. Then there is a jazz session and then the opening tune is repeated. This sequence of repetitive tune followed by a jazz session gradually builds in pitch and volume to add tension to the chase scenes in the title sequence. At the end the music is quieter and slower, suggesting the chase is coming to an end.
Titles
The titles are unusual as the font has long lines coming from some of the letters, up and down the screen. Two different fonts are used to separate names from jobs. Up until the title of the film “Catch Me If You Can” the font has been in black or bold-black. In the title of the film, the ‘Me’ is written in white which fades and moves like a cloud as the animated aeroplane passes close by. Then different coloured fonts are used for the rest of the titles, sometimes to contrast with the background, sometimes to be the same colour as the animations.
PS - the man in the suit is a 1950's detective.
Here are some screenshots from this title sequence:
Analysis of 2 Film Opening Sequences: Fargo (1996 - The Coen Brothers)
Fargo is a contemporary noir film made in 1996 by the Coen Brothers. It is filmed in colour in the Upper Midwest of America, around the area of Minnesota. It is a story about a man who has hired two men to kidnap his wife. He is in debt, and believes that if his wife is missing a big sum of money will come his way, since his wife’s father is a million-dollar businessman.
The opening sequence is very interesting. A harp is played during the titles, and the words telling the viewer that the film is based on fact appear on a black screen, then fade-out to a pale blue screen. The “blue” is then depicted as a cold fog, as you can just see the headlights of a car.
The scene with the car’s headlights lasts for about twenty seconds as it approaches the camera. The cameraman has been very clever about the camera position. The car seems to vanish behind a hill, the harp is still being played slowly. This music at first seems dreary and sad, as if someone has died. As soon as the car is visible again, drums from the orchestra play five beats before the rest of the orchestra begins to play. The music that we now hear is not dreary and sad anymore, but instead happy and lively. This is a clever use of sound and is also a good contrast between sad moods and happy moods, where lively music is used to show happiness and slow, dreary music that is often used at funerals.
The shot in use is a Wide Shot. The car approaches the camera, and the cameraman pans left to follow the car, which is towing another car. Once the camera has stopped panning left and the car is out of frame, the name of the film is shown on the pale blue background. The only sound that is used, apart from the music, is the noise of the car engine, the tyres on the road, and the noise of the trailer as it is towed across the bumps in the road. The typeface is simple, in capital letters, and each letter is spaced apart evenly to fit across the centre of the screen. As with the titles shown before the name of the movie, all words are in black, in capitals, and are spaced evenly. There is one clever use of the titles - with the names of people in the movie, their first names are normally spaced, yet their surnames are situated to the bottom right of their first name and is spaced-out to fill the screen, just like the name of the movie.
The name “Fargo” vanishes, and the first shot is of a building in the distance in the background, and the camera pans to the left, on a wide-shot, to follow the car. The editing of camera shots can be spotted because the camera stops panning and the car is out of frame. Then we have another shot of the road ahead, and the car enters the frame from the right-hand side. But the switch between the two camera shots is done quickly without any delays, so that on first viewing you don’t realise it as much. The noises from the car fade away as the car itself travels away from the camera. This could be natural sound or the sound could have been faded-out through the use of editing in post-production.
The camera stays in position and doesn’t move physically or zoom in, pan or tilt. The orchestra still plays the happy music, which has now turned into a serious-sounding, sinister piece of music. The editing of the film can be seen again: the car travels on the road, away from the camera, then the shot fades-out to a black screen.
The next camera position is on the corner of a slip-road coming off the road, on the outskirts of a snow-covered town. The camera stays still as the car enters the frame, travelling from left to right, still towing the other car. The camera stays still, on the same shot, until the car turns right into the car park of a roadside café. The roadside café has been in the frame since the shot fades-in from a black screen. The musical orchestra stops playing as the car travels from the middle to the right-hand side of the frame. Before we go inside the café, Country & Folk music can be heard very lightly as it is faded-in. It is the music that is being played inside the café.
There is a shot from inside the café, of a man walking into a bar. The Country & Folk music is consequently louder because it is coming from some sort of music player in the background in the café. He stops, and within the next shot are two men playing snooker. Centre-right of the frame, but in the background and hardly noticeable are the two kidnappers he has hired. They are out of focus, and the snooker players are consequently in focus.
There is a close-up shot of the man, who is to the right of the screen. All we can see is his head and his shoulders, but because he is on the right-hand side of the screen we are meant to believe that he is looking at the two kidnappers, as he looks to the left of the screen and past the camera.
A sequence of shot-reverse shot starts after he has walked across the room and had sat down opposite the two hired-kidnappers. The 180 degree line rule is used for the shot-reverse shot camera angles, with an over-the-shoulder shot on William H. Macy as his character discusses the terms of the kidnapping. The sequence finishes when the lead-kidnapper decides to take a look at the car, the car that the William H. Macy character has just towed; and the screen fades-out to black. The opening scene ends here.
Analysis of 2 Film Opening Sequences - Introduction
So, what makes a good opening sequence?
There are many different things that a title sequence must have to ensure it's quality, and since I'm creating my own sequence, this research would be very useful to me. Below is a list 7 key points to consider:
Cinematography
A mixture of interesting shots must be used to capture the audience's attention.
Narrative
The opening must have an enigma(s) or a mystery attached to ensure the audience will want to watch on.
Sound
Dialogue, music and sound effects can all be used to set a certain atmosphere and interest the audience.
Characters
The main character(s) in the film must be interesting and well set-up in the opening. The audience must be able to relate to them and establish a relationship with them.
Mise-en-scene
This includes the location, props, costumes, performance ad lighting. They must all be carefully thought out to create the right impression and atmosphere
Editing
The pace, rhythm, transitions, titles and special effects must also be carefully planned to introduce the film well and keep the audience's attention.
Genre
The opening must include the correct characteristics that meet its genre e.g. a noir opening would include shadows, darkness, dodgy characters etc. to ensure the audience know what they're watching.
The opening sequence to a film is always important because it is where the film is introduced to the audience. Rather like an introduction to a book or novel, it sets out the story briefly (within the first 5 minutes) and, in the case of noir films, usually contains a set of enigmas. Examples of classic film noir opening sequences include The Maltese Falcon, Laura and Touch of Evil. Examples of contemporary film noir opening sequences include Fargo, Blue Velvet and Blade Runner. The use of lighting, costumes, camera shots and sizes, location and sound add to the effect the opening has on the audience. The way characters are represented, who the film is made for, the narrative, and genre of the story all contribute in their own ways to how the opening sequence is interpreted by the audience. If the director wants the viewer to feel less powerful than the subject on-screen, they will use low-angled camera positions to accomplish this task.
For this task, I am going to analyse the opening sequences of two films. One of them is a noir film - Fargo. The other film I have chosen from my collection of DVDs is The Driver.
There are many different things that a title sequence must have to ensure it's quality, and since I'm creating my own sequence, this research would be very useful to me. Below is a list 7 key points to consider:
Cinematography
A mixture of interesting shots must be used to capture the audience's attention.
Narrative
The opening must have an enigma(s) or a mystery attached to ensure the audience will want to watch on.
Sound
Dialogue, music and sound effects can all be used to set a certain atmosphere and interest the audience.
Characters
The main character(s) in the film must be interesting and well set-up in the opening. The audience must be able to relate to them and establish a relationship with them.
Mise-en-scene
This includes the location, props, costumes, performance ad lighting. They must all be carefully thought out to create the right impression and atmosphere
Editing
The pace, rhythm, transitions, titles and special effects must also be carefully planned to introduce the film well and keep the audience's attention.
Genre
The opening must include the correct characteristics that meet its genre e.g. a noir opening would include shadows, darkness, dodgy characters etc. to ensure the audience know what they're watching.
The opening sequence to a film is always important because it is where the film is introduced to the audience. Rather like an introduction to a book or novel, it sets out the story briefly (within the first 5 minutes) and, in the case of noir films, usually contains a set of enigmas. Examples of classic film noir opening sequences include The Maltese Falcon, Laura and Touch of Evil. Examples of contemporary film noir opening sequences include Fargo, Blue Velvet and Blade Runner. The use of lighting, costumes, camera shots and sizes, location and sound add to the effect the opening has on the audience. The way characters are represented, who the film is made for, the narrative, and genre of the story all contribute in their own ways to how the opening sequence is interpreted by the audience. If the director wants the viewer to feel less powerful than the subject on-screen, they will use low-angled camera positions to accomplish this task.
For this task, I am going to analyse the opening sequences of two films. One of them is a noir film - Fargo. The other film I have chosen from my collection of DVDs is The Driver.
Monday, 15 December 2008
The Exchange Project
For this project, we were asked to improve our skills from the Preliminary Exercise and produce a sequence where a package (e.g. microfilm, briefcase, envelope etc.) was exchanged between two characters. Unlike in the Preliminary Exercise, there was to be no talking, dialogue or voiceovers in this media product. I have learnt from the things I can do and the things which I cannot, and in this exercise how to portray feelings and represent characters without the use of dialogue, where a voiceover can very much help the progress of the story in a typical Film Noir.
I drew a storyboard, and coloured it in, to show that the location was an alley and that the exchange was deliberate but also accidental. Josh and Marc, my two friends in my group who had also drawn storyboards, agreed that my storyboard was a good plan, and after discussing it and making a few modifications we completed the pre-production process. There were a few concerns about my plot, but Josh made the decision that my plot, narrative and storyboards were more interesting, and his and Marc's looked quite bleak when compared to mine.
The location that we were going to use was a back alley near to Josh's primary school. He knew the location well, and surprisingly it was only a few minutes walk from the College Campus and was the right size and shape for filming our project. I had looked at a footpath around the back of the 6th Form building, but after looking at the photographs that Josh had taken of his chosen alley and my chosen footpath, we decided that the footpath I'd chosen just wasn't the correct choice. Mainly because there wasn't much space available for setting-up the camera and also shooting the sequence. Plus, the stretch of footpath I had chosen wasn't very long, so the Exchange would have taken less time, and there would have been less build-up to the main action, just like in the Preliminary Exercise when there wasn't enough build-up to the main action, and the audience were left dazed and confused.
The shooting went well, but just as we were about to film our final few shots we ran out of battery-power, and had forgotten to take with us a spare battery. We shot again on location about a week later, getting the footage that we needed, taking a spare battery in case we needed it, then we were ready for editing our piece. Next time, on the coursework project, this will NOT happen, and I will make sure it doesn't by first checking the equipment, then making sure that we have more than enough battery-supplies before we start the production of the opening sequence to a Noir-style thriller movie.
I thought Editing went as planned, although I had to do it myself on the first day since my group were all off ill. Nevertheless, I had finished the editing of our final piece by the end of the first day, and on the second day Marc came in and helped me to finalise the project, by adding titles to the beginning and end and by converting the whole sequence from colour to black and white. We wanted to give the feel of a Noir film, yet we shouldn't have coverted it to black and white since our task was to update the Noir genre, not replicate it, so my ideal coursework product will contain no black and white, except in flashbacks.
I drew a storyboard, and coloured it in, to show that the location was an alley and that the exchange was deliberate but also accidental. Josh and Marc, my two friends in my group who had also drawn storyboards, agreed that my storyboard was a good plan, and after discussing it and making a few modifications we completed the pre-production process. There were a few concerns about my plot, but Josh made the decision that my plot, narrative and storyboards were more interesting, and his and Marc's looked quite bleak when compared to mine.
The location that we were going to use was a back alley near to Josh's primary school. He knew the location well, and surprisingly it was only a few minutes walk from the College Campus and was the right size and shape for filming our project. I had looked at a footpath around the back of the 6th Form building, but after looking at the photographs that Josh had taken of his chosen alley and my chosen footpath, we decided that the footpath I'd chosen just wasn't the correct choice. Mainly because there wasn't much space available for setting-up the camera and also shooting the sequence. Plus, the stretch of footpath I had chosen wasn't very long, so the Exchange would have taken less time, and there would have been less build-up to the main action, just like in the Preliminary Exercise when there wasn't enough build-up to the main action, and the audience were left dazed and confused.
The shooting went well, but just as we were about to film our final few shots we ran out of battery-power, and had forgotten to take with us a spare battery. We shot again on location about a week later, getting the footage that we needed, taking a spare battery in case we needed it, then we were ready for editing our piece. Next time, on the coursework project, this will NOT happen, and I will make sure it doesn't by first checking the equipment, then making sure that we have more than enough battery-supplies before we start the production of the opening sequence to a Noir-style thriller movie.
I thought Editing went as planned, although I had to do it myself on the first day since my group were all off ill. Nevertheless, I had finished the editing of our final piece by the end of the first day, and on the second day Marc came in and helped me to finalise the project, by adding titles to the beginning and end and by converting the whole sequence from colour to black and white. We wanted to give the feel of a Noir film, yet we shouldn't have coverted it to black and white since our task was to update the Noir genre, not replicate it, so my ideal coursework product will contain no black and white, except in flashbacks.
It didn't take as long as anticipated to complete the final edit because I was on my own, and there were no discussions, and I had a rough idea of what I wanted to create by referring back to my storyboards each time I edited the sequence. I changed a few bits along the way to improve the whole understanding of the sequence, so that it was easier for the audience to understand the plot.
To do this, we decided on selecting a clip from the end and adding this clip to the beginning of the sequence. Therefore, from this shot the screen would fade out to black. We also unintentionally created the main "Exchange" in true Noir-style as a flashback. Then we decided on adding a title to refer to the next shot, suggesting to the audience that the action to follow was a flashback. I typed-in "This is the full story". Then these titles could fade out to black, and the next shot could then fade in from black. This shot would then be the [initial] establishing shot, following the "This is the full story" titles, and would contain the selected background music for the first time in the project.
At the end of the lecture on the last day of editing, whilst I was putting the final touches to our sequence, a member of another group told another group (who were still editing), "If you think yours is good, then you want to check theirs out. It's much better than all the ones I've seen." I thanked the other group member for complimenting our sequence, and went into the next lecture, where all projects were to be screened, with a positive attitude.
The feedback we received, as from the previous lecture (editing), was all positive. The other group member (called Chris R.) went further with his compliments, making a gesture that we should be applauded for having made the best project. Our lecturer did, however, give us some pointers for the future:
There would be the use of one font or typeface only. Two many different fonts and typefaces can spoil the effect of the sequence on the audience. For instance, a blue "outline" is used on the opening title screen, and on the "this is the full story" title screen. Also, a big, orange,
Italicised and nursery-themed typeface was used on the opening title screen. On the final shot, the closing title screen, another typeface was used, this time adding the effect of an American Presidential Campaign. This was a stupid mistake which I didn't realise, and my intentions were to only be creative and imaginative. Next time, I shall have to control my creativity and imagination.
To do this, we decided on selecting a clip from the end and adding this clip to the beginning of the sequence. Therefore, from this shot the screen would fade out to black. We also unintentionally created the main "Exchange" in true Noir-style as a flashback. Then we decided on adding a title to refer to the next shot, suggesting to the audience that the action to follow was a flashback. I typed-in "This is the full story". Then these titles could fade out to black, and the next shot could then fade in from black. This shot would then be the [initial] establishing shot, following the "This is the full story" titles, and would contain the selected background music for the first time in the project.
At the end of the lecture on the last day of editing, whilst I was putting the final touches to our sequence, a member of another group told another group (who were still editing), "If you think yours is good, then you want to check theirs out. It's much better than all the ones I've seen." I thanked the other group member for complimenting our sequence, and went into the next lecture, where all projects were to be screened, with a positive attitude.
The feedback we received, as from the previous lecture (editing), was all positive. The other group member (called Chris R.) went further with his compliments, making a gesture that we should be applauded for having made the best project. Our lecturer did, however, give us some pointers for the future:
There would be the use of one font or typeface only. Two many different fonts and typefaces can spoil the effect of the sequence on the audience. For instance, a blue "outline" is used on the opening title screen, and on the "this is the full story" title screen. Also, a big, orange,
Italicised and nursery-themed typeface was used on the opening title screen. On the final shot, the closing title screen, another typeface was used, this time adding the effect of an American Presidential Campaign. This was a stupid mistake which I didn't realise, and my intentions were to only be creative and imaginative. Next time, I shall have to control my creativity and imagination.
We had been asked, as part of the task set, to "update" the Noir genre, not replicate the black and white noir films, so he advised us to not film in black and white. This was true. We had a class discussion about the colour/black and white factor, and the results were that the majority of students in our lecture would prefer to watch a colour film over a black and white film. These will be useful points to consider when carrying out my coursework project.
On the last shot (of an empty alley), Marc and I decided that the background thriller-style music should stop as soon as the last shot began, to show that the character who had just given the package to the other person had vanished. A heartbeat, drum roll or percussion "bang" sound effect would have been nice on the last shot, to emphasise my character vanishing, but we couldn't find anything on the free internet libraries, and since we were running out of time we left the film as it was. The sequence, in my opinion, was as good as we could have made it, so we wouldn't have needed to add any more to it. Though I may have been wrong about the "colour/black and white" factor and the "titles" issues.
After watching it so many times, I have to admit that I'm not the best actor in the world! The establishing shot on me, when I am entering the alley (I'm the tall bloke with the hat and leather jacket, I'm the one who barges into the other guy!) , well it is clear that I'm laughing and trying not to smile, probably because I'm camera shy (though I am not admitting to that), and next time I shall make sure I am ready before the shot is taken of me, in the final coursework project.
Now, judge it for yourself! What do you think about it? Please post your comments, as this will help me to produce an even better piece, as my main Coursework Project (the 2-3 minute Film Noir Thriller opening sequence). You will need some speakers or headphones to listen to the sound, otherwise you're only seeing half of the final piece!!
Monday, 1 December 2008
The Preliminary Exercise
We were set a task, the Preliminary Exercise, a continuity task including filming and editing a short sequence: "a character opening a door, crossing a room and sitting down in a chair opposite another character, with whom he/she then exchanges a couple of lines of dialogue." And, we had to show that we knew the 180-degree line rule, a shot/reverse shot, and match on action - the continuity through the story. Continuity meant that if there was a chair on one side of the room that was very noticeable on-screen, it had to remain in the same position for the whole production. If it had moved we would have had to show the audience how it had moved.
We had a plot - a man had returned to his boss after killing someone, but the script did not make sense to the audience:
A: "Am I late?"
B: "No. Are you clean?"
A: "Yeah, he was easy."
B: "Good, now we can begin."
(You will need a set of headphones or speakers to listen to the sound. Otherwise, you are only experiencing half of the whole thing!)
If we had male actors, it probably would have gone okay, but because we had female actresses our production seemed to be out of context. The feedback we received was interesting because we learnt that other people interpret storylines in a different way. So to make them understand what you're trying to say, you have to explain your point clearly through the use of camera shots and angles, and editing. One key thing I have learnt from this exercise is what looks good on paper and on the storyboard looks a lot different on a big screen, projected to a wider audience than just Josh and myself.
We were told to KISS our work - Keep It Simple Stupid. This basically means we had to keep the plot and camera angles simple, and not to complicate things.
Also, handles was a big factor that did not go well in our first production. It was the first shot, of Person A walking down a corridor to a door, and opening it and walking through. I added enough handles but didn't make sure that the camera was recording, so when editing we found that we only had the bit where she is right beside the door and opens it. The beginning was therefore too sudden and the audience didn't have a chance to try to understand the storyline before the dialogue. Next time, I shall make sure that I leave at least a ten-second handle before each shot, since we've got 60 minutes of tape available.
Another factor that I failed to understand whilst filming was the microphone actually recording sound. It was half-way through, when playing-back our work, that we realised that I hadn't recorded any sound, so the dialogue (one of the most important aspects of the production) was missing. This meant we had to film everything again. Next time, I shall remember to check that the equipment is working properly before we start recording our footage.
Titles, or credits, is an area within the editing process which I really need to look at. Making them is fine, but I need to learn how to make the words fly and shoot across the screen, the basic title-transitions, using the provided editing software at the Editing Suite in College, "Adobe Premiere Pro". I know how to do screen animations and how to use transitions in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, so I now need to take those skills and use and develop them to a high standard in the editing of a moving sequence.
We had a plot - a man had returned to his boss after killing someone, but the script did not make sense to the audience:
A: "Am I late?"
B: "No. Are you clean?"
A: "Yeah, he was easy."
B: "Good, now we can begin."
(You will need a set of headphones or speakers to listen to the sound. Otherwise, you are only experiencing half of the whole thing!)
If we had male actors, it probably would have gone okay, but because we had female actresses our production seemed to be out of context. The feedback we received was interesting because we learnt that other people interpret storylines in a different way. So to make them understand what you're trying to say, you have to explain your point clearly through the use of camera shots and angles, and editing. One key thing I have learnt from this exercise is what looks good on paper and on the storyboard looks a lot different on a big screen, projected to a wider audience than just Josh and myself.
We were told to KISS our work - Keep It Simple Stupid. This basically means we had to keep the plot and camera angles simple, and not to complicate things.
Also, handles was a big factor that did not go well in our first production. It was the first shot, of Person A walking down a corridor to a door, and opening it and walking through. I added enough handles but didn't make sure that the camera was recording, so when editing we found that we only had the bit where she is right beside the door and opens it. The beginning was therefore too sudden and the audience didn't have a chance to try to understand the storyline before the dialogue. Next time, I shall make sure that I leave at least a ten-second handle before each shot, since we've got 60 minutes of tape available.
Another factor that I failed to understand whilst filming was the microphone actually recording sound. It was half-way through, when playing-back our work, that we realised that I hadn't recorded any sound, so the dialogue (one of the most important aspects of the production) was missing. This meant we had to film everything again. Next time, I shall remember to check that the equipment is working properly before we start recording our footage.
Titles, or credits, is an area within the editing process which I really need to look at. Making them is fine, but I need to learn how to make the words fly and shoot across the screen, the basic title-transitions, using the provided editing software at the Editing Suite in College, "Adobe Premiere Pro". I know how to do screen animations and how to use transitions in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, so I now need to take those skills and use and develop them to a high standard in the editing of a moving sequence.
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
The BBFC & The Classification of Our Film Noir Thriller Opening Sequence
In a group discussion about our film noir opening, we decided that our target audience would be 15-24 year olds. This is because we would be aiming our media text at students and young adults between 15 and 24, which is the main cinema-going audience.
In November, as a class, we went to the 'Hollywood Cinema' in Ipswich to participate in a talk from the BBFC, after a screening of an interesting and inspiring film A Guide To Recognising Your Saints. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are an independent, non-governmental company who certify different media texts to their suited audience. These media texts include film trailers and advertisements, DVDs, videos and their advertisements, video and computer games and other interactive media texts.
The main reason for attending this talk was to gain further understanding of what content we are allowed to include in terms of content in the film, and how this content in our film noir opening sequence will be classified. The BBFC could look at sexual content, the use or promotion of drugs and smoking, and the use of violence and sexual violence.
The talk given by a representative and a member of the BBFC was interesting and extremely useful, and one thing that I have learnt from the talk was that last year (2007) they certified 639 different films, of which 227 where certified at 15. This point shows that 15 films are very popular, at almost a third (1/3) of the total number of films that they certified.
After a brief introduction to the screening and talk, we were shown the film (A Guide To Recognising Your Saints), which was released in 2007. This was a typical 15 film and was specifically aimed at people our age. This was one of the 227 out of 639 films the BBFC had rated at certificate '15' in that year.
The reason the BBFC had rated this film a '15' was evident in the content of the film, such as the way the characters talked, behaved and dressed. Our aims of watching this film were to see what content was allowed and what would make the film a certificate '15', and how it's directed to appeal to such an audience.
During our pre-production process, many ideas and concepts will be considered from this film, even though it isn't a typical noir film, but the fact that it's aimed at the same audience as ours makes the film relevant to our studies.
In November, as a class, we went to the 'Hollywood Cinema' in Ipswich to participate in a talk from the BBFC, after a screening of an interesting and inspiring film A Guide To Recognising Your Saints. The BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) are an independent, non-governmental company who certify different media texts to their suited audience. These media texts include film trailers and advertisements, DVDs, videos and their advertisements, video and computer games and other interactive media texts.
The main reason for attending this talk was to gain further understanding of what content we are allowed to include in terms of content in the film, and how this content in our film noir opening sequence will be classified. The BBFC could look at sexual content, the use or promotion of drugs and smoking, and the use of violence and sexual violence.
The talk given by a representative and a member of the BBFC was interesting and extremely useful, and one thing that I have learnt from the talk was that last year (2007) they certified 639 different films, of which 227 where certified at 15. This point shows that 15 films are very popular, at almost a third (1/3) of the total number of films that they certified.
After a brief introduction to the screening and talk, we were shown the film (A Guide To Recognising Your Saints), which was released in 2007. This was a typical 15 film and was specifically aimed at people our age. This was one of the 227 out of 639 films the BBFC had rated at certificate '15' in that year.
The reason the BBFC had rated this film a '15' was evident in the content of the film, such as the way the characters talked, behaved and dressed. Our aims of watching this film were to see what content was allowed and what would make the film a certificate '15', and how it's directed to appeal to such an audience.
During our pre-production process, many ideas and concepts will be considered from this film, even though it isn't a typical noir film, but the fact that it's aimed at the same audience as ours makes the film relevant to our studies.
Below are some of the websites and webpages which we found useful in the classification of our film noir thriller opening sequence:
The BBFC Official Website: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
The BBFC Official Website: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/
A BBFC webpage specifically designed for Media and Film Studies students:
The BBFC Webpages (by age rating):
Certificate 'U' & 'Uc': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_ucu.php
Certificate 'PG': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_pg.php
Certificate '12' & '12A': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_12.php
Certificate '15': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_15.php
Certificate '18': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_18.php
Certificate 'R18': http://www.bbfc.co.uk/classification/c_R18.php
Saturday, 25 October 2008
Three Examples of Contemporary Film Noir
I researched three contemporary film noirs, the Coen Brothers’ 1996 film Fargo, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), and David Lynch’s 1986 film Blue Velvet.
The heavily pregnant but highly intelligent Chief of Police (played by Frances McDormand) is smarter-than-she-looks, and appears to the audience as the one who solves the crime within the first few minutes after the opening sequence, with her comic policeman-partner.
With stark white vistas and backdrops, the noir film was shot in the Upper Midwest of America (Minnesota and North Dakota), not actually in the city of Fargo as the title may suggest. The film is supposed to be based on truth, the real story taking place in Minnesota in 1987. The names of the characters have been altered as requested by survivors but the story itself was told “exactly as it happened”, in respect for the dead.
The film was shot during periods of cloudy skies, because sunlight reflected off the white surface would have exposed the camera lens to a bright light. This was an important factor to consider when filming in these conditions and locations because the main subject in the opening sequence may not have shown up on screen because of the increased exposure to the light.
Set in the year 2019, the wasteland of Los Angeles shows a decaying planet. The original 1982 version shows Harrison Ford’s character as a human bounty hunter, but Ridley Scott’s tenth anniversary ‘Directors Cut’ shows the character as a replicant and so science fiction fans look at the two versions as completely different films.
The heavily pregnant but highly intelligent Chief of Police (played by Frances McDormand) is smarter-than-she-looks, and appears to the audience as the one who solves the crime within the first few minutes after the opening sequence, with her comic policeman-partner.
With stark white vistas and backdrops, the noir film was shot in the Upper Midwest of America (Minnesota and North Dakota), not actually in the city of Fargo as the title may suggest. The film is supposed to be based on truth, the real story taking place in Minnesota in 1987. The names of the characters have been altered as requested by survivors but the story itself was told “exactly as it happened”, in respect for the dead.
The film was shot during periods of cloudy skies, because sunlight reflected off the white surface would have exposed the camera lens to a bright light. This was an important factor to consider when filming in these conditions and locations because the main subject in the opening sequence may not have shown up on screen because of the increased exposure to the light.
Set in the year 2019, the wasteland of Los Angeles shows a decaying planet. The original 1982 version shows Harrison Ford’s character as a human bounty hunter, but Ridley Scott’s tenth anniversary ‘Directors Cut’ shows the character as a replicant and so science fiction fans look at the two versions as completely different films.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Three Examples of Classic Film Noir
I researched three classic film noirs, The Maltese Falcon (1941), directed by John Huston; Laura (1944) directed by Otto Preminger; and Touch of Evil (1958), directed by Orson Welles.The Maltese Falcon is a detective mystery starring Humphrey Bogart and Mary Aster. It is a mixture of mystery, romance and thriller, known mostly for its corrupt, hardened characters and the plot which is full of double-crossings and deceptions.
Laura, on the other hand, is a romantic melodramatic mystery and detective thriller. It is about a naïve, Southern playboy from Kentucky (played by Vincent Price); a society columnist and homosexual bachelor (Cliffton Webb); an ageing female (Judith Anderson) who wants the younger playboy to be ‘her’ man; the beautiful advertisement designer and heroine (Gene Tierney) who is presumed dead for half of the film; and a detective (played by Dana Andrews) who chain-smokes and plays puzzles.
Touch of Evil is a dark crime thriller filmed on location in California rather than the film’s setting in Mexico. The actress Janet Leigh plays a character who is staying in a motel. The motel landlord (Dennis Weaver) won’t leave her alone. The police captain is an obsessed, driven and bloated character who is a tragic figure with a “touch of evil” in his enforcement of the law. The controversial film considers the themes of racism, betrayal of friends, sexual ambiguity, frame-up, drugs and police corruption of power.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
The Characteristics, Forms and Coventions of Film Noir
The main character is often male, either a cop, private eye, or war veteran, and is trapped in a difficult situation (often because of a woman). Sometimes he would be stuck between two women, one dutiful and responsible whilst the other was sexually attractive and unreliable (the Femme Fatale - a woman with no morals). The male would make decisions out of desperation. In Fargo, the 1996 film by the Coen 
Brothers, the main character has some kind of debt (which is not revealed) and knows he’ll receive lots of money if his wife is kidnapped, because she and her father are both very wealthy.
Brothers, the main character has some kind of debt (which is not revealed) and knows he’ll receive lots of money if his wife is kidnapped, because she and her father are both very wealthy.Film noirs covered a wide range of genres, from gangster movies, detective and private-eye stories to films about social problems. They were made in black and white not only because this was low-budget compared with the new ‘Technicolor’, but also gave a dark and sinister feel to the film. The mood is also created by the setting, the dialogue, the filtered lighting through 'Venetian Blinds' which gives long shadows, and the locations which were often dimly-lit rooms with circling cigarette smoke to give a claustrophobic, gloomy appearance. Back alleys were often used to create paranoia and the fear of being followed. First-person voice-overs were used in some films to give a sense of reality and to speak directly to the audience. The music was often heavy, discordant and serious. 
Some tunes became popular because of their haunting nature, such as the theme tune from the film Laura (1944).
Some tunes became popular because of their haunting nature, such as the theme tune from the film Laura (1944).Camera techniques included low-angled camera shots which made the character seem taller and more powerful; deep-focus shots allowed both the foreground and background to remain in focus in the same shot; high contrast lighting was used to produce silhouettes and shadows in some of the films whilst camera panning was also used in film noir. The most used narrative is the first person voiceover, using flashbacks to tell the story, and sometimes narrated by the character who had died. Deep shadows, odd camera angles and wide shots were used to give a sense of perverse reality.
(Sources used: Wikipedia-"Film Noir" and "Neo-Noir"; A Guide to Film Noir Genre - http://rogerebert.suntimes.com; www.filmsite.org; The Rough Guide To Film Noir (book) by Alexander Ballinger & Danny Graydon, 2007)
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
The History of Film Noir
Through research I found out that film noir literally means ‘black film or cinema’ and the term was invented by Nino Frank in 1946. It was first used by French film critics to describe a type of film which was of a dark or negative nature. These type of films were made in black and white during the 1940’s and 1950’s, the last one being Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil in 1958. The directors of Film Noir include John Huston, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Edgar Ulmer, Douglas Sirk, Robert Siodmak, Fritz Lang, Otto Preminger, Henry Hathaway and Howard Hawks. The directors who had emigrated from Europe to America brought with them the moods and feelings of Europe during the Second World War. The gloomy films typically had a main character who was brutal and moody and the films never had happy endings.(Sources used: Wikipedia-"Film Noir" and "Neo-Noir"; A Guide to Film Noir Genre - http://rogerebert.suntimes.com; www.filmsite.org; The Rough Guide To Film Noir (book) by Alexander Ballinger & Danny Graydon, 2007)
Monday, 29 September 2008
The Brief for my AS Media Coursework Project
· To produce a 2-3 minute film opening with the theme of “contemporary ‘film noir’ thrillers”.
· To introduce a new audience to the values, traditions, narrative, mood and conventions of film noir but in an updated, contemporary style and setting.
· To mention the type of institution it would sit within.
· To consider the cinemas and distribution patterns the film would have.
· To consider the best time slot in a television schedule and which channel would be most suitable.
· To evaluate the finished film noir opening sequence.
· To introduce a new audience to the values, traditions, narrative, mood and conventions of film noir but in an updated, contemporary style and setting.
· To mention the type of institution it would sit within.
· To consider the cinemas and distribution patterns the film would have.
· To consider the best time slot in a television schedule and which channel would be most suitable.
· To evaluate the finished film noir opening sequence.
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