PRELIMINARY FILMING EXERCISE

In groups of 2-3 we were asked to create a preliminary filming exercise, this was in order to get familiar with the equipment we would be using to film on this course. It also gave us practise of working in groups to create a finished piece, from filming and acting, to editing and finishing the scene.

We were asked to create 4 lines of dialogue between two actors and to incorporate different shot types within our scene. We had a 6-8 shot limit to create this scene.

In our Preliminary exercise we used a wide variety of shot types such as close up, long shot, medium long, two shot and over the shoulder/reverse over the shoulder shots. We followed the 180° line by always filming the same side of the characters on screen, even when using shot/reverse shot, we did this to keep continuity within the scene and avoid confusion for the audience. When framing our shots we always kept the focus on the character who was talking, to show the dialogue clearly and make it easy for the audience to understand. Within our piece we use both still shots and panning movements with the camera, panning was used to show movement in the corridor, which worked with the movement of the feet. In contrast we used stationary shots for the dialogue, as on screen camera movement would have been confusing to watch, we did however change shot type and position to show dialogue pattern and character change throughout the shots.

Within the shooting of the footage we forgot to include handles on the shots, so some of the shots are short and appear slightly rushed, because of this the sound within the scene is a bit rushed and so seems the scene seems unnatural, if I did this exercise again i would remember to include around 3-6seconds of handles at the start and end of eat shot in order to give the scene better flow.

KILL BILL,2003, QUENTIN TARANTINO

opening analysis
The first thing that comes into the audiences view is a quote which sets the scene for the entire film. The quote “ revenge is a dish best served cold” sets the mood for the whole film, telling the audience the film genre type and sets the scene for what is to be expected straight after the quote the film scene starts showing a woman laying on the floor. This is a strong film noir link as it shows a distorted storyline, where the outcome of an event is shown before it is explained with the story.
This distorted storyline creates an enigma for the audience to follow throughout the film .This is the aspect of the opening which holds the attention of the viewers but also links to the rest of the film without giving away the entire narrative of the whole film. The enigma in the film is the man who is out of shot. the mise en scene in the shot tells the audience the name of the man as all that is shown of him is a hand and an embroidered handkerchief with his name on.
The dialogue in this shot is very important as it familiarises the characters and shows the viewers that they know each other. This creates a stronger sense of enigma as it leaves questions (such as why is she covered in blood, what’s he done to her, why has he done it etc) unanswered.
After the main opening scene the shot goes to black and the credits start to role. The non diegetic music which sounds over the top of the credits links with the first scene and so the effect of the scene still remains in the audiences subconscious as they listen and watch over the title sequence.
I think Tarantino has listed the titles on a plain black background as it increases the sense of suspense left from the last scene and also gives the audience some thinking time about what has just happened.
Right at the end of the opening sequence the silhouette of the woman laying down is very similar to the characteristics shown in classic film noir, because of this the film immediately seems a bit darker and grittier and it also shows the focus is mainly on that one female character which makes the audience focus more of her side of the story and also makes it clear why the narrative is from the woman’s point of view within the film

ROMEO + JULIET, 1996, BAZ LUHRMANN

Opening analysis

In the opening scenes of Romeo and Juliet, the shots are fast panning and zooming shot, these are used to create establishing shots and also to put greater emphasis on the characters which are important within this scene. The tracking of Tybalt Capulet when his shoes are in shot shows the importance of his character even without exposing his face or appearance. The shots within the scene continuously move from the Montague family to the Capulet family, this shows emotions contrasting between the two and sets the Capulet family with higher power, this is backed up by the fact that when “Abra Capulet” is first introduced he walks into a low angle shot, whereas the male Montague character is shot at eyelevel, making his seem inferior to the Capulet and showing the fear linked with the Capulet family. Towards the end of the shot as dialogue speeds up, the shots transitions become more frequent, cutting from one shot to another, to create a fast action feel to the scene.

    The graphics in this scene only appear to show the names of the characters and therefore are for introduction alone. The introduction of these select characters show the audience the importance of them in the scene and that they are also likely to appear within the rest of the main film. The actual graphics themselves  are small in comparison to the whole shot and  are clearly visible so it’s clear to the audience however its set off centre and so the characters are still left as the main focus within the shot, because of this the graphics act like a label, visually introducing the characters.

   The narrative within the scene shows a definite history between the two families and because of this it creates an enigma. The audience are led to want to find out what has caused the Montague’s and Capulet’s to argue and so want to watch to see if the enigma is resolved within the film.

        The Mise En Scene shows the audience a warm location , the Montague’s are laid back and the more childish of the two families, with unbuttoned shirts and immature behaviour, whereas the Capulet’s are dressed smarter and have a mature feel to them , making them seem like the higher power between the two. The expensive cars and ownership of guns suggests wealthy backgrounds. The division between the families is reinforced with the positioning of the two families, they both stay of separate sides of the gas station, and when Benvolio Capulet comes out the door, he crosses that like subconsciously and so the fight is started.

    The sound within the scene is mostly in diegetic form, dialogue, and sound effects within the shot, however when certain characters are introduced non diegetic music is added in order to create dramatic effect and suspense.

INDIVIDUAL IDEA

My own idea for a film opening:
A man wakes up at home in his room, he has a head ache and appears confused and dazed. His phone rings and he checks, it’s a new text message asking where one of his friends is as he hasn’t been seen for 3 days. Confused as he saw the friend in question just yesterday he checks the date, he has been unconscious for 4 days and starts to wonder what happened as he cant remember anything from the 4 previous days. He goes about his day and starts having short, few second long flashbacks about the past 4 days, slowly the flashbacks start to piece together and he follows the places he sees in his flashbacks in order to find out what happened to his friend. His search goes on for a week and he finally comes to the end of the mystery of his missing friend, the dark gritty street life he was part of reveals the truth behind the missing person, and the reality behind what he has done.

KISS KISS BANG BANG, 2005,SHANE BLACK

In the opening of kiss kiss bang bang the director Shane black has used an animated opening. Because of this the whole mise-en-scene is under the directors artistic control. The opening also uses the concept of shadow very cleverly as silhouettes are used instead of the actual characters this gives the viewers a sense of “film noir” style in a neo noir format. It also creates an enigma within the opening which draws the audience in. The opening includes what appears to be a lead female character and a smart male character which could be the neo noir equivalent of an “anti hero” and a “femme fatale”. The non diegetic music in the opening also creates a slightly sinister atmosphere which in turn leads to a certain scene being set for the film ahead.

SIN CITY,2005, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ,

Sin City uses the basics of film noir in order to create a neo noir experience to a similar effect of the classic film noirs. In this opening black and white is the main visual similarity to the classic noir genre, Rodriguez uses the idea of shadow to his advantage in this seedy neo noir as the small use of colour highlights the main aspects of the film. This opening strongly shows the basic aspects of film noir in the three minutes of the opening. The character being played by josh Hartnett shows the anti hero character that is familiar to that of the type of character in classic noirs and the lady in the red dress is the “femme fatale“ the female character who deceives the anti hero, forcing him to act against his usual state of mind.

WHAT IS A NEO-NOIR?

Neo- noir is a modern take on the classic style of “film noir”. These films usually are set in a modern era and location; however they still retain the classic characteristics of film noir. The changes in storyline and Mise en scene are the most altered, leading to the modernisation of the genre.

A few examples of the Neo noir genre are:

DOUBLE IDEMNITY, 1944,BILLY WILDER

Double Indemnity takes us through the story of insurance salesman Walter Neff and femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson. In this film we see the two main characters meet at the Dietrichson home, where Neff and Phyllis spark immediate chemistry. As the film progresses we see the relationship between the two characters develop. The "hero" character Neff is convinced by Phyllis Dietrichson, to include himself in her plans to create life insurance papers in order to gain a large some of money for the death of her husband. The story continues through the murder of Mr Dietrichson by Walter Neff, and the events leading up to Neff’s confession to the police.

  The story runs in a non linear narrative, we know this because it doesn’t run in chronological order, the main character Walter Neff, tells the story through a series of flashbacks and explanations, with the film ending in the same place where it had opened.

THE MALTESE FALCON,1941,JOHN HUSTON

This summary is taken from “http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033870/plotsummary”

“Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wanderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead. And so is a man named Floyd Thursby. It seems Miss Wanderly is surrounded by dangerous men. There's Joel Cairo, who uses gardenia-scented calling cards. There's Kasper Gutman, with his enormous girth and feigned civility. Her only hope of protection comes from Sam, who is suspected by the police of one or the other murder. More murders are yet to come, and it will all be because of these dangerous men -- and their lust for a statuette of a bird: the Maltese Falcon.”

CHARACTERISTICS OF FILM NOIR

Film noir narratives have often “distorted” storylines. Unlike a basic, chronological narrative, a film noir narrative will often jump between the timeline of a film, distorting the narrative. This could be done with a circular narrative as is shown by first person narration in “The protagonist”.

   Most narrative sequences go in order of “equilibrium, disruption, recognition, attempt to repair the disruption, return to equilibrium. however  in the majority of film noirs, there is an establishing shot, which introduces the audience to the situation. (most commonly a murder or crime) and then commonly a voiceover narration guiding us though the rest of the storyline. This causes major distortion in the narration as the storyline is skipping backwards and forwards throughout the narrative, causing it to follow an unusual timeline in narrative. This is often done using flashbacks or voiceovers like in films such as “the naked city”

Film noirs usually follow a very similar visual pattern. The originals are filmed in black and white and have a very strong contrast between the shadows and the area where low key lighting is present, this automatically creates a mysterious pillar, for the narrative and so immediately, sets a scene. In “sleep my love” this shot using a black silhouetted figure  creates a sense of mystery, whilst sticking to low budget options.

Because  of the tight budgets most of the film noirs had, many scenes were set on location, meaning that the background people (who in high budget films would be paid extras) would have been normal people. This was very common when shooting in large city streets because of both the fact it kept cost to a minimum and also because of the sense of reality it puts forward.
    Another common aspect to consider in film noirs is the angle of camera shots. In most, if not all the early film noirs, shots such as low angle shots and wide lens shots would be used. In both cases this would visually enhance a single character , giving them a sense of importance or mystery. When using a low angle shot, its usual to have only part of the figure in shot the result is to usually make the subject seem of higher importance, or to create a  sense of hierarchy within the scene. On the other hand  a wide angle lens would usually show the whole of a figure within a shot, by doing this, they can create set atmospheres  easily within the scene by using position, body language and facial expressions.


femme fatale



There are certain types of characters that are famously associated with film noirs. Almost all the time in a film noir all the characters will have a “crooked” side to them. This helps keep the dark undertone all the way throughout the film.  The dark characters represented in film noirs could also represent how people were viewed in the second world war, this could be why there is always a suspicious edge the characters. The iconic character is every film noir is the “femme fatale” or the deadly woman. This character is usually the centre of the goings on and tends to draw the “hero” figure into dangerous situations.





HISTORY OF FILM NOIR

The visuals of film noir are deeply influenced by German expressionism in the 1920’s. With the increasing opportunities which were offered by Hollywood, in the late 1920’s many people fled from Nazi occupied Germany, to America, including many directors and producers. Because the time of mass emigration from Germany, many of the cinematic artists had been involved or closely linked to the expressionist movement, which brought to Hollywood the ideas of shadowed lighting and darker storylines to create the noir styling which we recognise.

   Even though the noir style originated from Germany, the actual phrase “film noir” was created in France by film critic Nino Frank in 1946.It literally meant (black film)  in French and described the visual appearance of the genre, including high contrast shadows and even could be linked to the darker storyline that became popular.

    These types of films became highly popular after the Second World War as they were quick and easy to make, which was important after the financial state of America after the war. They also were representative of the country at that time. The female characters played an important role being of “femme fatale”, which was similar to the increased importance of women in the 1940’s because of the roles they had played during and after the war.

Crime and usually murder, is an element of almost all film noirs, they tend to revolve around heroes who are more flawed and “shifty” than what is usually expected of the hero figure. It’s hard to define whether “film noir” is a genre or its own style, many people would argue that the average plot or storyline of a film noir would indeed be able to be put under genres such as crime, drama or mystery and so the “film noir” title would be little more than a style. However it could also be argued that film noirs contain characteristics, unique to that type of film and so would class it as an independent genre.

 

WELCOME TO MY AS MEDIA BLOG AND BRIEF

Hi, Im Larni Martin
welcome to my AS Media blog  this blog will be documenting my progress in my AS media coursework for AS 2010-11 at suffolk new college.

The Brief: film noir opening
My media brief is to produce a contemporary movie opening in the “film noir“genre to be suitable for age certificate 15-18. It is to be set in the modern day and must be a modern take on an original noir style film. Our film opening must include the common values, traditions, and conventions that are included in all the original film noir movies e.g., a crime or suspicious situation, a crooked character. Etc.
  In our sequence we have to update the “film noir” genre and give it a contemporary style and setting so it appeals to the new, current day audience. In our work we will need to also state the type of institution it would sit within. We must also show how it should be shown at the cinema and the distribution pattern the film would undertake. When it would be shown on public television, and the channel or channel category its best suited for.