Film Noir- In lesson work - Lighting workshop

In our last lesson we begun the lighting tutorial that gives you the information needed to use the lighting kit for our production. So far I've learned how to set up the lighting kit and how not to kill myself in the process.

I've learnt all the names and equipment that are included in the kit, which are:

-2x Redheads
-2x Stand
-2x Barn Door
-2x Bulb
-Power Lead
-2x Power Surge
-Gloves
-Set of Clips
-Set of Gels


I've learnt the uses of the kit, for example the scrim is used to dim out the lighting, which makes shadow less upfront and causes the light on the face to be duller.

Next lesson we are finishing the tutorial as we still have more to learn about the lighting kit. Below is an example of scrim and the typical lighting kit we will use in our production.

Film Noir- Similiar Products- Script Second Draft

For our second draft we changed the last line of the script because you cant really tell who that the detective is undercover, so we thought adding this line would make it perfectly clear that he is.

Montoya Downfall Second Draft

Film Noir- Similar Products- Script First Draft

Montoya Downfall Draft 1

Film Noir- Similiar Products- Questionnare

Below is an example of the questionnare I used to determine the style of film noir that would work best for my target audience.

Example of questionnare

From looking at hte results of hte questionnares I have a pretty clear idea of what characters i want in my film noir and who should be the main character in the opening. The chart below shows that the most liked character is the Gang leader, and as the henchman in the least liked it would be good if he were to be killed in the opening.

This next graph shows the age of the people I questioned which gives me a rough idea of the age of the target audience

From the questionnaire and the graphs I can see that the audience want something with a twist in it or some kind of mystery, so I think there will have to be a detective character in the opening at some point.

It would be good to have it set in hte gang hideout or bar so that the gang leader, henchman and femme fatale could all be in the opening as well really portraying a classic film noir.

Film Noir- My group for Production

For the production I'm working with Sam Morris and Stephen Page

Film Noir - Similar Products- Film Noir Poster Analysis

I've analysed some film noir posters and the things I've picked up on is that most of them are cartoon like with no real life images. There is a lot of attention on the titles in the posters with bright colors used to draw your attention, along with this most of the posters are in color where as the film are in black and white. This is because if a poster was in black and white it would be dull and unattractive to the audience therefore producers made the poster colorful to attract people.

I've also noticed that the characters shown in the posters aren't looking at you, there attention is always elsewhere making you wonder what is so important in the film to grab their attention. Another film that is common in film noir posters is that an attractive female, or femme fatale, is always in them. This convention of attractive females in glamorous dresses is brought through to film noir posters showing the importance of it throughout the genre.

There are some unconventional posters such as the big sleep poster that is in black and white, this is due to a very well known actor of the time, Humphrey Bogart, featuring in the film which gives it the right to be in black and white as his name alone attracts people to the poster.

Film Noir - Similar Products- Film Noir Openings

Opening 1- Touch of Evil



What I like about this opening is the use of only one shot throughout most of the opening, which shows the conventional lack of editing in film noirs. This would be someone I'd like to use in my film for instance walking through a bar or down a back alley.Also, i like how you don't see the villains face and you see his shadow flash across the wall which is a great effect.
I also like how their is music in the background that draws you in, along with the fact that you want to know when the bomb planted in the back of the car will go off. This gets the audiences attention and makes sure they aren't bored, as you are gripped as you think the bomb could go off at any point.
                                           

Opening 2- Sunset Boulevard



In the opening of this for about half of it there's just the credits that nowadays you'd find at the end of a film, however with film noir it is conventional for them to be at the beginning, this is something that could be used but it would look better if something was going on in the background so you have something that is pulling you in. What i do like about the opening is the narrator that tells you the background the Sunset Boulevard, and the first shot of the police cars going past as it quickly pans round to watch them pass. The camerawork and editing in this opening is quite unconventional for a film noir however it works well with the narrator in the background. The use of editing in the opening wasn't to obvious with the clever narrator in the background and this could be an idea for my film noir opening.

Opening 3- Double indemnity



From this trailer the things i liked was that the sign said stop way before the car was near the lights but he still went on as he must have been in a rush. This though is a metaphor for the whole film as he had time to stop and turn back but he didn't, these little metaphors and hidden messages could be used well in my opening.
The main character in the opening that is the detective figure is wearing the conventional hat and trench coat that is a must have for our opening as it is a very well known convention of the genre.
Another good thing from this opening is the seen in the lift where the shot doesn't change at all throughout their conversation, this shows more the conventional lack of editing seen in film noir that I'd like to use in my opening, its also a nice shot after that as it tracks out with the detective to look over a workplace, very common in film noir but works very well as you don't really want the editing to stand out.