Analysis of Exchange

I filmed this exercise about 3 weeks ago with Emily and Chloe (actors in my preliminary project). This time around, I did most of the camera work while Emily and Chloe acted and edited it.

The main objective in this exercise was to show the real characteristics of a Film Noir, which I think that we achieved to an extent.

The camera work in general I think is good, better than my last attempt on the preliminary project, I used a variety of shots including: long shots, wide shots, close ups, extreme close ups, low angle, high angle, and a panning view.

I'm sure that I managed to keep the camera in focus and steady during the shoot, so I don't think that's much of a problem in the video. The acting was well done by Emily and Chloe and the only problem that arised was the envelop exchange being too slow.

Another let-down about the project was that I failed to follow the 30-Degree-Angle rule; however, I did keep to the 180-Degree-Line rule and almost kept to the Rule-of-Thirds. In some shots the Rule-of-Thirds is strictly followed, where as in others it is obviously disobeyed, this is something that I'll have to work on when I shoot next time.

The costumes went well with the Film Noir theme, the long overcoats are a strong characteristic of a Film Noir. The location that we picked was decent, as agreed with by our class, it suits the Film Noir style and seems quite seperated from the rest of the world.

In our low-angle shot the sun was in the way of the camera, high exposure like this caused the shot to be very dark, which ruined that shot. Something to work on next time around would be to make sure that the sun is never in the way, I could achieve this by finding something to block it or just not filming towards the sun.

The music that we used was from D.O.A. (the Film Noir, Dead on Arrival) which Emily chose. I personally, as agreed with by the majority of the class, did not think that this music went too well with the film as it just did not suit the environment and actions.

In conclusion I think that although there is a list of things to improve next time, the piece itself is not too bad, and is certainly better than my preliminary project. The things to work on next time though, are: the Rule-of-Thirds, the music, the length of the film, making sure the sun isn't in the way and increasing the pace of each shot.

Analysis of Preliminary Exercise

This was our first real exercise in the media course, it was to test our current knowledge and help us to improve our camera skills.

The shooting didn't go too badly and the shots used were mediocre. We tried to use as many shots and styles as possible in the time given to us, and we did almost that. Although we could have used more shots, we managed to get in an over the shoulder shot, long shot, wide shot and panning view.

The actual camera work was well done in my opinion, me and Nick both did equal amounts of work with the camera and I think that we managed to keep it steady and focused correctly throughout the short film.

The editing in general was okay, I did the majority of the editing and things like keeping the sound flowing together between shots was smooth enough to become unnoticable. One problem that we had was that the dialog was pretty quiet, this was solved by upping the volume in the edit. Next time we would ensure that our actors actually spoke less quietly so that the quality isn't reduced in the edit.

Although we followed the 180-Degree-Line rule, we failed mostly on the Rule-of-Thirds, as you can see in most of the shots the faces aren't lined up as well as they should be and there is too much blank space in the shots. Next time we'll try to improve this by lining up each shot before shooting it to ensure that the Rule-of-Thirds is followed.

Overall I think that the short film went well, the shooting was steady and the edits were smooth, but our main problem that we need to improve on next time is making sure that the rules are followed. One other problem is that towards the end, Chloe looks at the camera, which is something that we'll need to ensure our actors don't do next time.

The Characteristics of Film Noir

The typical Film Noir is about murder, crime, alienation, pessimism and jealousy. They are usually set in an urban environment with first person voice-over narration. In terms of women and the family, the messages shown in Film Noir seem to be: women who overstep the boundries of standard family life meet an extreme punishment. An example of this is Murder, My Sweet.

The typical characters in Film Noir are usually detectives, cops and gangsters. An example of typical Film Noir females are the dutiful dame and the predatory femme fatale. A typical male is the seeker-hero, who is on some kind of quest or adventure. This is usually the character that is picked on, beaten up and interrogated.

Film Noir typically used low-key lighting to produce dramatic shadows and dark/light contrasts on the scene. Characters typically wear long detective-like clothes with hats and the females would wear long dresses. The scene is usually set in an urban setting. Examples of this setting and environment are Film Noirs such as: Kiss Me Deadly, The Big Heat and Touch of Evil.


In Film Noir you'd generally expect to hear voice-overs in first person usually from the main character. You'd also have ambient sound such as people talking in the background, or whispers – this is due to the pessimistic and anxious theme of Film Noir. You'd also hear music which has a sense of inevitable evil.

When it comes to cinematography Film Noir is most known for it's Dutch angles, low angle shots and wide angle lenses. Film Noir usually involves a variety of disorientating shots. A common shot is that where a figure is shown reflected in one or two mirrors or through frosted glass. Such as Strangers on a Train.

Flashbacks are extremely common in Film Noir, Film Noir is never usually linear – it is usually mixed up and not in chronological order. Flashbacks are used a lot to disorientate the viewer or confuse them; however, they are also used to help the viewer understand more of the plot.

A Brief History of Film Noir

Film Noir is French for 'black film' and first originated in France. Nino Frank, a French film critic, is best known for being the first to use the term 'Film Noir'.

Film Noir first came about in the 1940's and became most prominent in the years shortly after the war. I think this was because of how suspicious and anxious people were after the war. I think film makers took advantage of this when making Film Noir.

Some of the most popular directors associated with Film Noir are Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Edgar Ulmer, Douglas Sirk and Henry Hathaway. European directors are mostly associated with Film Noir because of it's origin (Europe).

Film Noir is not considered a genre but more of an atmosphere, mood or point of view. Personally, Film Noir would fit in mostly as a Crime or Detective-Mystery genre.

Film Noir was generally made because it was cheap. Film makers could make low-budget films that people watched because Film Noirs were generally minimalistic and didn't require anything too expensive.

Film Noir films were generally low-budget. Terence Fisher, for example, directed several low-budget Film Noirs. All of which were still popular.

I think Film Noir directors managed to create such atypical studio films because Film Noir wasn't around too long and there wasn't much of an example. There was also a lot to Film Noir with a lot of different possible stories and ideas.

Neo Noir is a film which uses aspects and elements of Film Noir but brings them up to date with updated content, style and visual effects. It usually has updated themes that were not seen in Film Noir during the 1940s and 1950s.

The Brief

You are being commissioned to produce a film opening and the theme is 'contemporary film noir thrillers.' Your work should update the noir genre but bring the values, traditions, narrative, mood and conventions of film noir to a new audience in contemporary style and setting. You must give consideration to distribution, audience and institutions.

In group of three of four you will be expected to produce a film opening lasting approximately 2 minutes. The opening should be suitable for 15-18 specification. Titles and music must reflect the genre, pace and mood of the film. All members should try different roles in production but will be expected to take responsibility for one of those roles.

Here is an example of what we will be doing:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tODtjmGzo7k&feature=related

Introduction

My name is Conna Cook and I am an AS Media student at Suffolk New College in Ipswich. Our task is to create the opening of a Film Noir thriller for coursework in groups of 4. I will be writing in this blog as me and my team advance through the project so that my understanding of media can be shown at the end.