NEO-NOIR OPENING: INDIVIDUAL IDEA

Synopsis: Film set in British working class suburbia in an area with an underworld of crime and drug dealing. Main character is a young teenage male with a troubled and violent upbringing who turns to drugs to try to escape reality of life. He gets involved in the urban underworld and finds himself in debt to dealers and gangs. Becomes enemy to the gang because of this and an affair he has with the girlfriend of one of the members. This leads to his ultimate downfall. Main location will be under a bridge in a park possibly at night or in twilight

Beginning: Film follows non-linear storyline and is narrated in voice-over as a flashback from the main character's perspective. Opening scene is the end of the story. Character stands under bridge smoking cannabis on his own when he gets a distressed phone call from his girlfriend warning him about a gang that is after him. A chase begins as he tries in vain to run away but he is caught and taken somewhere out of camera shot. Audience doesn’t know what happens but the scene is narrated by the main character. Following scene is set around one year previous to this and along with the rest of the opening scenes introduces the character's background and family and begins the story of why he ended up in the situation he was in at the end of the story.

Middle: The middle of the film is where his downfall begins to gather place. He is on a slippery slope and begins to lose his remaining allies. His drug addiction gets steadily worse as does his relationship with his family. During this time he becomes more known to the gangs and drug dealers in the area, even more so when he meets the girl. After she is initially presented as a possible lifeline for him it becomes apparent that she is dating one of the gang members which increases their hatred towards him.

End: The end of the film builds to the finale which we saw at the beginning. He is now known to the underworld in the area and has been targeted. He receives various threats and gets involved in fights. The final scene continues from where the opening scene left of as he is killed.

The opening scene would be shot under a bridge in an area with minimal light. The establishing shot would be a wide shot of the location with the character standing on his own smoking followed by a close up showing a worried and insecure look on his face (for the filming a normal cigarette would of course be used). A voice over from this character begins the narration, voice obviously has a melancholy and reflective tone to it. As he receives the phone call the only voice we hear is his girlfriend’s on the other end, minimal dialogue would be used as she would only say something like ‘get out of there now, they’re after you’. During the conversation there would be heavy breathing by the characters. As the conversation ends he would look around with an extreme close-up of his eyes shifting. Next we see a person running round the corner followed by the character making an attempt to run away. During the chase scene the camera man runs with the camera firstly from the perspective of the character being chased occasionally looking back at his pursuer. Next shot is also running but from the perspective of pursuer with character in front looking back once to show the audience the fear on his face. The character then trips and falls to the ground with a Dutch tilt on the ground being used as he hits the ground. A struggle then ensues as the character tries to get away. To end the scene he is dragged into an area out of shot round a corner, little or no dialogue apart from the voice-over narration is used throughout this sequence.


With the establishing shot being under a bridge it allows for the familiar noir lighting techniques with the character being under a bridge but with the light outide creating a sharp contrast. If it was filmed at night a lamp post could provide the light. Beginning with a wide shot also establishes the location and shows the character is on his own and isolated. The downbeat and reflective voice-over establishes the tone of the film and helps guide the audience through the storyline. The heavy breathing and emotion that can be heard in the telephone conversation helps to reinforce this tone. The extreme close-up that comes next of him looking round shows his fear as well as giving an unnatural and uncomfortable perspective to the audience. During this sequence the music used would be slow and melancholy but also foreboding to fit in with the minimal movement that goes on in this part of the scene. As the pursuer arrives and the chase sequence begins the pace of the music rises and more of a rhythm is established to fit in with the increased movement and the feeling that the scene is building to a climax. With the cameraman running with the camera it creates a realistic feeling to the audience that they are part of the chase and by running from the perspctive of both the hunter and the hunted it gives the audience a chance to experience it from both sides. The shot from the perspective of the characterbeing chased enables some of his fear to transmit onto the audience. Using a dutch tilt shot on the ground as the character falls creates an unnatural and uncomfortable look and creates a sense of falling to the ground with the character. To create a sense of mystery the charecters will have their faces partially obscured by hoods. This will be especially useful for the chasing character as nobody will know who he is thus creating an enigma. The clothes may also reinforce perceptions of teenage stereotypes.

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE & EVALUATION

This excercise presented me with the opportunity to familiarise myself with operating and positioning the camera according to the type of shot illustrated on the storyboard and this was the first opportunity we had to use the hand held microphone and boom to record sound and dialogue. My responsibilities along with the rest of the group included writing a storyboard, shooting and finally editing the piece together. Overall I was able to do this without too many problems although I made a rather basic error when I accidently allowed the boom to briefly appear in the top of a shot. I also need to work on the positioning of the camera in over-shoulder shots with regard to the rule of thirds. For the editing each of us had the chance to contribute and I have now become more familiar with the equipment. For this exercise we were introduced to the basics such as logging each clip with the 'in point' and 'out point' ready for them to be edited, then putting each clip into the correct position on the timeline and I had the chance to try this for myself. Initially I struggled a little with the editing process although once I was shown again I got a better grasp of it. For the next project however I aim to make more of a contribution to the editing process.

 This excercise presented us with our first opportunity to create a storyboard and this helped to enhance my knowledge of appropriate shot types and sizes for the sequence being produced. For this sequence a good range of shot types had to be used. This was my first chance to put what we learnt about shot sizes into practice and see if it had the desired effect such as an initial long shot setting the scene or a close-up showing a persons emotion. As mentioned earlier this exercise enabled us to use the editing machines for the first time so I learnt how they worked and the basics of editing. This will be useful for further projects when the editing and cinematography have to be genre specific. Overall after seeing the finished product I now have greater understanding of the importance of camera positioning as well as editing correctly to make sure the transitions and continuity between shots are seamless and realistic to the audience. I also learnt about the 180 degree line rule which we had to follow.

The technical quality of the finished video was overall satisfactory for the project we were undertaking with the camera movement being smooth and no major continuity errors. However the errors that were spotted gave me an idea of what needs to be improved on by the next project. If I did this exercise again I would be more careful about where I position the camera especially in over-shoulder shots and make sure that I was more vigilant with shot/reverse shot, I would also be more careful when handling the boom as when it moved it affected the quality of the sound. If we did this exercise again during the editing process I would be more vigilant about any continuity errors such as making sure a person is the same length through a door when we change shots.

Overall I think the finished sequence came across as we had planned on the original storyboard. Considering how basic this exercise was most of our ideas worked on the finished piece and the majority of what we eventually produced matched the original criteria for the exercise. The problems we experienced were to do with the positioning of the camera during shots and putting what we had planned on our storyboard into practice was slightly harder than I anticipated although the 180 degree line rule was stuck to throughout. The feedback we got was satisfactory and we were pointed out the errors with framing and shot/reverse shot. Overall it matched the previous examples that we had been show in class.

In conclusion the finished sequence turned out as we had planned with relatively few major errors. If I got the chance to do the project again I would be more vigilant with my shooting with regard to shot/reverse shot and during the editing process I would try to be more aware of any continuity errors.

PRELIMINARY EXERCISE BRIEF

The preliminary excercise was a simple continuity task involving a character walking into a room, sitting down opposite another character and exchanging roughly 4 lines of dialogue. This task required us to shoot and edit. This presented us with the chance to learn the basics of creating a storyboard and shooting as well as introducing us to the editing equipment. As we were all relatively unfamiliar with the camera and the editing equipment all responsibilities were shared out equally amongst the groups of three giving each of us the chance to familiarise ourselves with the equipment. The responsibilities each of us had during the excercise included writing a basic storyboard consisting of around 6 shots and including dialogue, shooting each of these at the right shot size and eventually editing the piece together using 'final cut pro' on the editing machines. One of the main aims of this exercise was to introduce us to the basic rules of filming such as shot/reverse shot and the 180 degree line rule.

FILM OPENINGS ANALYSIS

'Blade Runner is one of the best examples of a neo-noir film and the style and tone of the movie is demonstrated right from the opening scene. Before the first shot we see the words 'Los Angeles 2022' on a black background showing it is set in the future but giving a hint that it is a dark place, this is reinforced by slow and melancholy music which adds to the downbeat tone. The establishing shot that begins the film is a wide shot of downtown Los Angeles set in the future. This is shot at night but lights from the buildings and regular explosions help give it a typically noir visual style. The negative feeling the audience gets from this shot immeadiately sets the scene for a dark thriller and indicates a setting full of violence and darkness, a very pessimistic look on the future. It is also clear the various special effects that this is a film made on a high budget. The next shot we see is an unusual extreme close-up of an eye with the city in its reflection. After seeing the initial shot of the city we are introduced to the head quarters of the corporation at the centre of the story although at the time the audience does not know this. The significance of the building is however shown with a low angle shot zooming in aswell as its very intimidating appearance. Inside the building the light is also minimal and we are inroduced to a person for the first time, he is shown up in silouhette and smoking a cigarette. All we hear at this point is background noise which includes an alarm going off which adds to the threatening and insecure atomsphere that the film is trying to transmit onto the audience

'Memento' is another well known neo-noir film based around a character suffering from amnesia. Much of the opening scene is focused on a close-up of a hand holding a polaroid and shaking it as the titles appear over the picture. The first shot the audience sees is a disturbing picture on this polaroid of what is clearly a blood spattered room indicating something violent and disturbing a person has obviously very recently captured. The fact the audience at this point don't know the story behind the polariod picture or who is holding and shaking the picture immeadiately creates a disturbing enigma which encourages them to watch on. Slow and ominous but sad music plays over much of this scene to add effect and the titles appear over the shot in an old fashioned roman font. Soon the polariod picture fades away which adds yet more enigma as it is the opposite of what someone would expect although this does make reference to the rest of the film in that it presents memory loss. The next shot is a close up of the characters face covered in sweat and blood, this immeadiately introduces the audience to a character in distress and continues the negative tone and the enigma of why he is in this situation. What happens next is visually confusing for the audience as what happened before is played in reverse. We get a shot of the room he is in and and a man that has recently been shot but time is played backwards and we see this man getting up and a bullet going back into a gun. It becomes clear that the entire scene was played in the same way giving it a very unusual and quite disturbing feel. As well as establishing the tone of the film and the genre (dark thriller) it sets up the film by introducing the audience to the theme of amnesia that the film is centred around.

'The Lion King' is a well known disney animated film with an incredibly detailed opening scene. The first picture the audience sees is a sun rising over a savanna which immeadiately sets the location with a wide shot and helps add a sense of optimism. This, much like the rest of the scene is accompanied by african music which fits in with the location of the film. We are introduced to the animals as they all walk in a pack in the same direction showing something important is about to happen. The entire scene is designed to build anticipation and emotion in the audience for the rest of the film. With the rest of the animals we are drawn to and the introduced to the main characters one by one. The main lion, Mufasa is introduced to us with a low angle shot immeadiately giving him a superior look and giving an idea of his status as king. As his new born cub, Simba is introduced the music quietens which presents him as a very important character in the film. The importance of him and his father as characters in this film is reinforced as he is presented to the rest of the animals from the top of a rock. A low angle shot is used and as he is lifted up the volume of the music rises once more. This opening scene proviedes a very optimistic opening to the film by only introducing the 'good guys' and invites the audience to immeadiately bond with these characters and take their side. The upbeat tone to this opening scene combined with the fact it is animated and involves animals immeadiately presents it as fantasy.

Opening to 'Memento' - my personal favourite

NEO NOIR ANALYSIS 'BRICK'

         
The film 'Brick' was produced in 2005 and was written and directed by Rian Johnson. This is a film that embodies alot of the visual traits of classic film noir and has a very dark plot. This film also appears to have been made on quite a small budget unlike some of the more well known Neo noirs such as 'Blade Runner' or 'Sin City', this could be a throwback to the B-movies that classic noir stemmed from. What is especially distinctive about this movie is its very original and quite experimental cinematography and editing techniques which can be quite visually confusing for the audience and make them jump. The film and its characters are based around an American high school and the plot is centered around a student named Brendan Frye.

His ex-girlfriend emily has been murdered and he sees it as his duty to solve the murder. During this mission he encounters an underworld to his community with high school crime, gangs, drug dealing etc. The storyline is complicated, twisting and non-linear starting at the middle with the first part of the story being a flashback similar to many classic noirs and the second part following a more conventional storyline (starting in the middle and finishing at the end). As the storyline evolves it becomes clear that Emily had familiarised herself with a highly dangerous group of people and this is what led to her death. The mystery of her murder provides the basis for a typical noir storyline and the various gang members and drug dealers reinforce many of the perceptions of noir characters but they fit far more into modern society than the gangsters, detectives etc in classic film noirs.

           

The opening scene is shot in a storm drain by a tunnel and embodies many noir characteristics. The very first shot we see is an extreme close-up of Brendan's eyes immeadiately giving it an uncomfortable look and feel. We quickly get an idea of what the plot might be when we see a dead girl's body lying next to him. This scene is accompanied by fairly low key lighting and slow, sinister but quite modern sounding music is played. As in many classic noirs this is a scene we revisit on several occasions.

The following scene is set two days previous to the first and involves Brendan in a distressed phonecall with his ex girlfriend emily who is crying and obviously in distress. Here she is talking about how she did not know that 'the brick' was bad and how 'the Pin's on it' making reference to the plot and what happens later in the film . There is the familiar heavy breathing as the characters talk making the audience feel the character's discomfort. In following scenes he gets into a fight with her current boyfriend and then meets up with her. She tells him about 'trouble with the brick' and then leaves him. Lots of close up shots are used here to capture the emotion and obvious distress on the characters faces.
        
One of the film's most striking shots is used in a dream Brendan is having a dream where he is standing in the same storm drain where Em's body was dumped. The camera is facing the tunnel and something very quickly rises out of the water and engulfs the camera, this is accompanied by a foreboding sound that gets progressively louder. This was one of many unusual cinematography techniques used to shock the viewer or make them jump.

Soon after we return to the tunnel with Brendan next to his ex's body. Here we see some familiar noir lighting techniques as he hears footsteps running towards him and runs down the tunnel. At this point it is shot from inside the tunnel and we see some high contrast in the light as we look toward the end of the tunnel. The sound of footsteps but characters being invisible in the darkness help give the sense of insecurity and claustrophobia to the audience. Sinister and foreboding background music is played everytime we revisit the tunnel.

One of the key sequences in the film is when we are introduced to violent gang member Tug. He is first seen punching Brendan and we see this from the perspective of Brendan himself giving the audience the idea they are being punched. A low angle shot from the perspective of Brendan lying on the ground to emphasise the superior stature of tug. Shortly afterwards we revisit the same character and once again he is punched repeatedly. As he is the picture is sometimes blurred or appears to vibrate which can be quite disorientating for the viewer (I found it made me a bit dizzy) and adds to the sense that they are part of the fight. Afterwards he is taken in the boot of a car to a building to see the gang's ringleader and drug dealer 'the Pin'. He is introduced to us in a poorly lit room from a long shot that is initially blurred as it is from the perspective of Brendan without his glasses on. Moments later he is thrown to the ground and we see an example of a dutch tilt as the camera is shown to be crashing onto its side along with Brendan. This combined with the low key lighting used in this indoor scene probably embodies noir cinematography and lighting more than any other sequence and it is presumably designed to give a disorientating and uncomfortable feel to the audience throughout.

Some of the mise en scene used is typical to the noir genre with characters very regularly smoking cigarettes. There is also a scene where a character is shot dead by the tunnel where a gun appears, incidentally much of this scene was also shot from inside the tunnel giving the same high contrast lighting as mentioned earlier. The clothes the characters wear are typical of the age group and type of people these characters are represented as e.g the main character wearing a jacket and t-shirt most of the time and the tug wearing a white vest showing his muscle. The locations tend to just be simple suburban or school environments.

Overall I think this film fits in very well with modern society and the storyline is contempory and designed to appeal to a young audience. The film recieved positive reviews and was praised for the originality of some of its visual techniques as well as what the director had managed to produce on a limited budget.

       

CLASSIC FILM NOIR REPORT - DOUBLE INDEMNITY

The 1944 film noir ‘Double Indemnity’ is widely considered one of the best classic noirs and reinforces many of the genre’s stereotypical characteristics.

The feeling of threat and insecurity which this film is known for is felt immediately from the opening credits sequence which contains bold lettering and shows a man dressed in a top hat walking slowly closer and therefore getting bigger. He is shown up only in silhouette immediately demonstrating the visual characteristics of these films. This is accompanied with dramatic foreboding music to create a sense of suspense in the audience.

As mentioned in an earlier post this film follows a non linear storyline in which the same scene is shown at the beginning and the end. The first character we are shown is the insurance salesman Walter Neff who has recently been shot although at this point the audience does not know why. At this point he is in his office beginning to record his confession over a Dictaphone and thus begin the story. During this scene there is no music or background noise and the only noise that can be heard apart from the talking is his heavy breathing. This is most likely due to his injury but nevertheless still creates a sense of insecurity. Throughout the film it often cuts away from the story to re-visit Neff in his office and each one of these scenes is almost identical with a dark room and very little background noise. The manner in which Neff tells his story is very reflective and seemingly full of regret; lines such as “I didn’t get the money, I didn’t get the woman” show this. This style of narration is used throughout.

We are introduced to the femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson fairly early on as Neff makes his call to her house to renew insurance. She is immediately represented as slutty and flirtatious as she is first seen wearing clothes which would be considered revealing at the time and she talks to Neff in a flirty manner. Neff is attracted to her straight away and this starts to show the evil and manipulative nature that femme fatales were known for.

One of the most important scenes is the one where Phyllis tells Walter she wants her husband dead and asks to take out a life insurance policy which comes with a clause that will guarantee a huge pay-off if it succeeds. This takes place at Neff’s apartment which at the time is very poorly lit. Many of the recognisable visual stylistics are used here such as minimal use of light and high contrast between light and dark in the shots. Rain outside can also be seen and heard which creates pathetic fallacy and adds to the downbeat tone. As Phyllis tells Neff of her hatred of her husbands she breaks down and cries with Neff seeing it as genuine emotion when in fact it is all an act to make him believe her story. This is another example of the manipulation and mind games the women in these films used to take a hold on the man.

Close ups are regularly used throughout the film especially in the most important or dramatic scenes. Phyllis and Walter are both shown in close up when the insurance policy is signed with only them and the audience knowing what was about to happen. The most notable close ups however are of Phyllis during the part of the film where the murder is carried out. As they are about to set off her husband says to her ‘I’ll be back Monday at the latest’ at which point the camera focuses on Phyllis facial expression which looks rather smug in a threatening way. As Neff kills him in the car the camera is one again focuses on Phyllis’ face while the audience can only hear the killing taking place in the background and her expression appears to show very little emotion and remorse which captures her cold and heartless nature.

Cigarette smoke and use of lighting through venetian blinds appear in regularly in various scenes. One such scene takes place in the inquest room where the investigator, Mr Keyes immediately becomes suspicious that the death was not accidental and suspects Phyllis murdered her husband. Cigarette smoke was very prominent in the room where the scene was shot. The most striking use of venetian blinds was in the scene where Lola tells Walter the truth about Phyllis. With this being one of the film’s most pivotal scenes the room where the conversation takes place is very poorly lit and this makes the light and shadows created by the venetian blinds very visible and helps add to the slightly un natural look and feel that film noir is famous for.

Neff realises the mess he has got himself into after the conversation with Lola and this leads on to the scene where he is shot. After Phyllis shoots him once she finds herself unable to fire a second shot and the gun is taken from her. In the moments before Phyllis is shot an over-shoulder shot is used as Phyllis tries to beg him not to shoot. This is possibly the only time we ever see any genuine emotion from Phyllis although it may still be fake. If it is genuine it may show the love she feels for him although seconds later she is shot twice in quick succession and killed. After this we return to Neff recording his confession for the final time before Mr Keyes walks in on him and finds out. Neff collapses as he tries in vain to escape giving the film a very downbeat ending.

2 EXAMPLES OF NEO NOIR

The 1982 film ‘Blade Runner’ directed by Ridley Scott is considered to be one of the best examples of neo noir. The film is a big budget dark Hollywood sci-fi set in the future (2019) and is based around human clones known as replicants designed by the ‘Tyrell corporation’ to serve in off-world colonies that illegally escape to earth and have to be tracked down by retired ‘blade-runner’ Rick Deckard to be ‘retired’. Deckard is the film’s main protagonist and is at the centre of the story.

        

Like all noir style films the plot is dark and complicated with Deckard being despatched on a mission to track down 4 replicants who made it to earth after hijacking a spaceship after he is shown a video of one of the replicants shooting another blade runner after it is exposed thus highlighting the use of guns which were popular in classic noir. As the film progresses it is clear that the attempts to make human replicants have backfired and they are far more intelligent than was originally thought and one of them who is Tyrell’s assistant is an experimental model who thinks she is a human because of an implanted memory. Tyrell is eventually killed by one of the replicants who in turn dies along with the other three while the film ends with Deckard and Racheal leaving to an uncertain future.

        

Like classic film noirs the visual style and sound are designed to give the film a sinister and uncomfortable feel. The film is set in Los Angeles and much of it including the opening scene is shot at night in a futuristic urban environment with bright lights against a dark backdrop. Venitian blinds and cigarette smoke are used in some of the indoor scenes as are close ups of the characters in conversation. The music used has an incredibly sinister and foreboding tone to it especially the opening credits sequence.

         

Like some of the classic film noirs this is a film which may be designed to capture fears about the future. Blade Runner may have been written with possible fears amongst society of mankind becoming too intelligent for its own good.

 

Sin City was produced in 2005 and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. It is a crime thriller set in a fictional city following four separate storylines that twist together to form the main plot giving it a complex and quite unusual storyline.

       

The fictional city the film is set in is full of criminals, crooked cops and corrupt law enforcement giving it an unpleasant and frightening feel. The main protagonists include a salesman and a police officer who each appear in different stories with the final one being narrated in 1^st person by the salesman. Guns and prostitutes are common features along with the criminals and cops.

         

This film is well known for its distinctive and unusual visual style with the majority of it being shot in black and white with typically high contrasting. However certain objects within a shot sometimes appear in colour (such as a red light on a button to activate a bomb) which may allow for greater emphasis on the most important objects within a scene or shot. The titles appear in bold lettering with the words ‘Sin City’ showing up in red in a font that makes it look as if it were written in blood immediately giving the audience an idea of what to expect. The way the characters talk is very threatening but often in a quiet way which can give a greater sense of insecurity to the audience than if somebody was shouting.

         

Overall this is a film that uses many of the classic noir techniques especially visually but gives them a modern twist to still give the film a cutting edge look and feel.

       

WHAT IS NEO NOIR?

Neo noir or contemporary noir is a style of film that has existed from the 1970s onwards. It carries forward many of the codes and conventions of classic film noir but tends to use modern sets and storylines that are more in keeping with modern society.

The wider genres of these films tend to be crime or thriller which is similar to classic noir. These films are not all shot in black and white although the use of low key lighting and high contrast that classic noir was famous for can still be seen. The use of downbeat music and non-linear storylines are also still evident. Like in classic film noir the characters, plot and stylistics used are designed to give the film an insecure and depressing feel and endings are rarely happy. Examples of famous neo noirs include Pulp Fiction, Blade Runner, Sin City and Memento.

SILOUHETTE SHOT FROM 'THE BIG COMBO'

This is one of the most famous film noir shots taken from 'The Big Combo' (1955). This image perfectly demonstrates the visual characteristics of film noir with black and white being positioned side by side to show nothing but the silouette of the man and the woman although the typical noir dress sense of a suit and top hat for the man and a dress for the woman can still be seen. The use of steam in this shot which is another common film noir feature tells you about the dark, damp setting they appear to be in and creates a sinister looking background to give the audience the sense of insecurity. Interestingly the wheelbarrow suggests a rural night setting which goes against the urban night that is traditionally used.

WALTER NEFF'S DICTAPHONIC CONFESSION, DOUBLE INDEMNITY

This image shows Walter Neff's confession for the murder of Phyllis Dietrichson's husband in Double Indemnity. The top hat and smart clothes reinforce the stereotype of the male character in this films. His facial expression looks realtively calm but also cold and very serious.

IMAGE OF PHYLLIS DIETRICHSON, FEMME FATALE FROM DOUBLE INDEMNITY

Here is Phyllis Dietrichson from Double indemnity, a stereotypical femme fatale. You can see her beauty but also the seriousness and coldness of her facial expression suggesting she is about to do something evil. Another familiar trait here is her dark clothes and lipstick.

2 EXAMPLES OF CLASSIC FILM NOIRS

One of the early film noir classics was ‘Double Indemnity’ produced in 1944 and directed by Billy Wilder. Many of the stereotypical noir characteristics are evident in this film with the main protagonist being an insurance salesman named Walter Neff and a beautiful but evil femme fatale named Phyllis Dietrichson. 

          The majority of the story is told as a flashback in first person narration by Neff who is confessing the murder of Phyllis over a Dictaphone in his empty office gravely wounded from a bullet. The confession book-ends the film giving it a dark non-linear storyline before he collapses and dies at the end. The story centres around Walter Neff who first meets Phyllis Dietrichson during a routine call to renew her husband’s car insurance. Neff is quickly attracted to this woman because of her beauty and flirty nature. It becomes apparent that Dietrichson wants her husband dead and asks to take out a policy on his life insurance. After originally being cautious Neff soon agrees to take part thus highlighting the Femme Fatale’s huge manipulative powers. Neff uses his knowledge of his business to come up with a plan for him to die by ‘accidently’ falling out of a moving train with a clause in the insurance policy meaning Mrs Dietrichson would be paid twice the normal amount for his death. After the plan is carried out the investigator Mr Keyes is suspicious of Phyllis but not so of Neff as he knows him. It also soon becomes apparent that Phyllis has been seeing the victims daughter, Lola’s boyfriend behind both his and Neff’s back showing another twist in the storyline and highlighting the Femme Fatale’s typically unfaithful and slutty nature. Lola is also suspicious that her step mother, Phyllis was behind her fathers death and maybe also her biological mother’s death. When Neff learns of Phyllis’ unfaithfulness he realises with horror what he has got himself involved in tries to remove himself. When Phyllis tells her side of the story which is that she is seeing Lola’s boyfriend because she wants him to kill Lola out of jealousy he is so disgusted he tries to shoot her only to be shot first. She is about to shoot again when Neff takes the gun from her, shoots her twice and kills her. Neff then drives to his office to confess over the Dictaphone when inspector Keyes arrives and hears the confession as it is being made. Neff tries to flee to avoid a death sentence but collapses and dies seconds later giving a typically depressing noir ending in which the two main protagonists are both killed by the same gun ending the film where it started giving an example of a classic non-linear storyline.

            As well as the narrative the visual and aural stylistics are also very recognisable with the majority of the films most important scenes being shot at night and often in poorly lit rooms. Venetian blinds are used regularly throughout in scenes such as the one in Phyllis Dietrichson's house where she tells Neff she wants him to kill her husband and the scene in the inquest room. Close-ups of Dietrichson and Neff are shown as the policy is signed but one of the most striking and threatening close-ups is of Phyllis Dietrichson's face as her husband is killed. What is notable in this scene is that the audience only gets to hear her husband being killed by Neff and all they can see is Phyllis' face appearing to show very little emotion and remorse. Dramatic but negative music is used in many of the scenes especially when important events happen. There is no music however in the scenes with Neff in his office recording the confession. He breathes heavily as he talks and this can clearly be heard because of the silent background, this helps give it a sinister atmosphere.

Another recognised classic film noir was ‘Kiss me Deadly’ produced in 1955 and directed by Robert Aldrich. The main protagonist in this film is a character named Mike Hammer played by Ralph Meeker.

           The story begins when hammer picks up a hitchhiker named Christina. The opening scene takes place on a rural road in near pitch darkness until the car and headlights appear giving it a very recognisable film noir visual style with bright lights on a dark background, as they are driving very little other than their faces are visible. On their journey they are intercepted by thugs who torture Christina to death and push the car off a cliff. Hammer immediately becomes suspicious that Christina must be connected with something and decides to pursue the case. This leads him to the apartment of the films Femme Fatale Lily Carver (played by Gaby Rogers) posing as Christina’s ex room-mate. It becomes apparent that she is in hiding and is after a mysterious box that she believes contains a fortune and wants Hammer to protect her. The ending takes place in a beach house with Lily and her boss Dr.Soberin both fighting for the contents of the box, Lily then shoots Soberin believing she can keep the contents of the box. What she is unaware of however is that the box contains stolen radioactive material which when opened results in an extraordinarily violent ending when the material explodes killing everybody in the house including Hammer and his lover, Velda. The final scene relied heavily on the use of bright and at times flashing light aswell as fast paced music to accompany the explosion, of course this was filmed at night to allow for the film noir lighting techniques. Although this was less stereotypical of film noirs in terms of characteristics it did contain many familiar elements such as a private eye as one of the main characters, guns and a typically explosive ending with all of the main protagonists dead. The inclusion of nuclear material in this film also captured the fear that was felt across America at that time shortly after the Second World War about the cold war and fear of a possible nuclear attack.

          

CODES & CONVENTIONS OF FILM NOIR

The name ‘Film Noir’ (literally meaning ‘black film’) relates heavily to the general tone and mood with which these films were made in terms of characters, settings, storylines and lighting techniques. These films were recognisable for their generally downbeat tone as well as the cold, cynical characters and rather complex non-linear storylines.         

         

One of the typical stock characters in a film noir would be a female character known as a femme fatale and a storyline would often be centred around her and a male character who would often be a seedy, hard boiled detective or private eye, cop or gangster. Femme Fatales (meaning deadly woman) were represented as beautiful, seductive but also cold, manipulative and often quite slutty. In many of these films the woman would use her power given to her by her attractiveness to take a hold on the man who would find himself unable to resist and manipulate him into doing things which would lead to an inevitable downfall. These things could include killing someone (Double Indemnity) or getting involved in a chase to find an object (Kiss Me Deadly). Male characters are often flawed fall guys who are heavily influenced by their past. ‘Choose a dame with a past and a hero with no future’ is a well known quote related to the conventions of a typical film noir. The femme fatale became common in these films because of the greater power given to women as a result of the war effort. Men felt threatened by this and the femme fatales capture the new found power and independence of women at the time. A distinctive feature of some film noir storylines was that they were non-linear meaning they would start and end at the same place with the story being told in the middle.

          

A common feature of film noir was 1^st person narration by the main protagonist. The voice would be cold, serious and reflective but also sharp and witty. The way characters talked in the films was similar and reflected their personalities with a serious and threatening tone but in a quiet way as shouting was not especially common. Flashbacks from the point of view of one of the main characters were also used regularly as amnesia was common amongst characters. The background music would be foreboding and go well with the voiceovers to add to the negative tone and always give the audience the feel bad things were happening. Often when there was no music heavy breathing could be heard from the characters to show their insecurity and transfer it to the audience. Titles of famous film noirs include ‘Out of the past’ ‘Kiss me deadly’ and ‘Touch of evil’ which all make reference to either death, evil, doomed romances or being unable to run away from the past which immediately give the audience an idea of the dark tone and themes of the films.

         

The style of film noir was heavily influenced by German expressionism which. relied heavily on the use of shadows and minimal light to create the visual style that is associated with classic film noir. The dark shots and settings that were used were designed to give a sense of claustrophobia and oppression to the audience as well as the darkness and gloom that these films were known for. Especially recognisable was the contrast in the shades with light and dark often appearing next to each other.  Examples of the low key lighting used include having half a person’s face being obscured by darkness or a whole person being shown up in silhouette to make them look more threatening. Similarly the use of venetian blinds with light shining through against a dark background would also be used to partially obscure a characters face and emphasise the contrast between the dark and light shots as well as add to the sense of insecurity felt by the audience. Other examples of the cinematography designed to make the audience feel ill at ease included the use of extreme close-ups and dutch tilts which gave the setting or shot an unnatural look.  A typical setting for a film noir was a dark back alley at night in a large American city such as New York, Los Angeles or San Francisco. These streets would often be damp and poorly lit with very little except shadows visible and steam from sewers giving them an insecure feel to the audience as dark urban back alleys are often associated with crime. The interiors were similarly poorly lit and cigarettes and smoke was a common part of the mise-en-scene. The way the characters dressed tended to be similar with men typically dressed smartly in a dark suit and tie with top hat to give him the stereotypical image of a detective or gangster. Femme fatales similarly tended to be dressed in dark shades but generally looked glamorous often with lipstick. One of the most well known parts of film noir iconography were cigarettes which every character seemed to smoke and provided the common swirling smoke background. Guns were another object that were also quite specific to film noir with its roots lying in the Crime & Gangster genre.

           

Overall the ideology of film noir was to mirror what American society was like at the time with the femme fatales capturing the new found independence of women and the storylines and characteristics capturing the general insecurity that was felt at the time.

          

ORIGINS AND BRIEF HISTORY OF FILM NOIR

     Most of the classic film noirs were made in America as the themes and ideas were imported to Hollywood from Europe. The heyday years were during and after the Second World War from the early 1940s to late 1950s

    The name ‘Film Noir’ was first given in France by French film critic Nino Frank in 1946 as he started noticing similar characteristics in these films as they started arriving in Europe from Hollywood.

     'Genre' is the term given to a film to categorize it according to its visual & aural style, typical characters, storylines, iconography etc. Comedy and Horror are examples of film Genres. Wether film noir is a genre in its own right or not has long been the subject of debate. Some people see it as a separate genre because of their distinctive visual characteristics and narratives whereas others see it as simply an extension of the Crime & Ganster genre which influences the majority film noirs. Some also see the title 'film noir' as more an indication of the mood and tone of a film rather than a genre.

     Film Noirs began during a time when Hollywood movies were divided into A-movies and B-movies. The A-movies were the main productions involving the big name actors and actresses and the vast majority of the money was spent on them. B-movies were made alot more cheaply with lessor known actors and often re-using sets. As a result less attention was paid to them by critics allowing the directors to take more risks and be very experimental stylistically. Early film noirs came from these B-movies meaning many were not big budget productions. The original genre film noir developed from was Crime and Gangster and this can be seen in many of their storylines.

      

      The early film noirs were made during the Second World War at a time of great social and political unrest around the world. This provided the base for many of the storylines as did the increased importance and power of women at the time which contributed to the making of the 'femme fatale' which will be mentioned in codes and conventions.

     The Second World War is seen as the biggest factor that contributed to the making of film noir. One of the reasons was that many Eastern European film makers fled to Hollywood as they tried to escape the growing Nazi oppression in their own countries. The film noirs these people made were some of the best ever not only because of the dark and pessimistic mood they bought with them which contributed to many plots and storylines but also because they bought with them their own visual style known as German Expressionism. This style was prominant in many German films of the 1920s and 1930s and relied very heavily on the use of shadows, silohette and very striking juxtapositioning of light and dark sections within the shots. This style was new to Hollywood at the time and is what made film noir so distinctive visually. Another political factor behind film noir was the left wing politician Mccarthy who was deeply hated because of the sympathy he apparently felt for communists who were feared because of the cold war. Deep anxiety and paranoia was felt around hollywood at the time and the more artistic community was associated left wing group. This feeling was captured in many film noirs of the time.

   

WELCOME TO MY BLOG :) COURSEWORK BRIEF

      Welcome to my blog. Here is a brief explanation of what my AS media coursework will consist of  and the eventual aims of what we need to produce.

     
For our AS media coursework we have been asked in groups of 4 to produce the opening sequence to a contemporary Film Noir thriller which will last approximately 2-3 minutes. To do this we will need to carry forward the well known codes and conventions of film noir to a modern set and environment and make it so it will appeal to a new audience. We will need to consider what titles and music should be used to reflect the pace and mood of the film and genre as well as choosing settings and mise-en-scene to best fit with the style of film we are producing.

       A lot of research and planning will have to be undertaken and responsibilities will be shared out amongst the groups according to our individual strengths and weaknesses. All research and planning will be put on our personal blogs so will always be available online. A preliminary exercise will also have to be undertaken consisting of a short film scene/sequence. The production will be made using the skills we will learn throughout the course and this will consist of abilities to shoot and edit as well as planning and evaluating. An evaluation will be made by each of us upon completion of the production paying close attention to the area of the production we were individually responsible for. The institutions that would best suit the film will also need to be considered and mentioned.