Film Noir: Still Camera Shots

We have to put together a series of still camera shots of our characters before we shoot the film, and personally I think this will really help us to develop our own characters even further.

I researched many of the film noir women, looking at their make up, hair, fashion and body language so that I could create the same atmosphere in my photographs I will take of Ellen.

This is one of the photographs which are of the most similarity to Ellen and her features. I want to style her hair in this exact manner, and use the simplicity of just eyeliner on the top and a fairly dark lipgloss to create a 'femme fatale' look. The darkness surrounding her makes her light features appear almost angelic, and the shadows created by the lighting shining on her from the right hand side of the frame make her appear mysterious and dangerous, just as a femme fatale should be. I would like to create this kind of effect with my photograph.

This sultry pose is very seductive and the way she is lying down is incredibly suggestive. She has a lot more make up on than the girl in the previous picture, and the opposite effect to the angelic look the previous one entails - her dark features imply a dangerous tone and create the more wary idea about her as a woman instead of an approachable, loving woman. However the lighting surrounding her is lighter than the edges and so suggests that she may be angelic in appearance but have a much darker line of intentions underneath.

I like this photograph because even though the frame is black and a lot of shadows are created, the woman is smiling and looks incredibly approachable, as well as wearing white which is a known symbol of purity and innocence. I love the way the lighting across her varies, signifying that she could be unpredictable, perhaps hiding something underneath her smiling exterior.

This photo is one that shows the usual formal wear of a male in film noir and a cigarette being lit but because it's a woman not a man, it shows her in a state of power, like a femme fatale should be. The flickers of lighting imitate gentle lighting created through some blinds, and the black feature in the corner looks much like it's era and so adds to the darkness of the image.

Film Noir: Film Ideas

On the 10th of January Toby, Ellen and I all sat down and began brainstorming ideas for our film. We decided that we wanted to do the film in black and white, making it similar to films such as Double Indemnity that we have studied. After also looking at Black Dahlia, despite liking the film, we did not feel that it was as effective in the style of Film Noir as Double Indemnity. Personally I feel that the black and white effect on the film reflects the darkness of the era that the genre came out of, and so by keeping to this colouring we can come closer to acheiving a Film Noir style short film.

Through deciding the style that we wanted we came to designing our storyline.
First we chose the characters we wanted involved and then developed their traits to lead us to a storyline.

A detective is on the hunt for a drug dealer, and the dealer's female sidekick (our 'Femme Fatale') comes and tells the detective what are supposed to be the details of the dealer's plans to earn a lot of money. She tells him that she will be killed and so therefore creates a sense of urgency in the detective's mind to catch the dealer. The detective eventually finds the dealer and after shooting him is told that actually the female is the one who had control over the crime and will have now got away with the money. The detective tries to catch and stop the female, but discovers that she has got away. The whole story will be told as a flashback, with inserts of narration.

This is a very simple storyline, but as the film can only be a length of 5 minutes, it is an achievable idea.

On the 12th of January we decided on our characters and their names, using inspiration from films we had seen as research beforehand.

Characters:

• Detective John Carter - Main character, who falls for the femme fatale's ways and goes to find 'bobby'



• Bobby - Bad guy who is made out the leader in a gang who do drug dealing, but is also a murderer so the police are after him anyway.



• Bonnie Kensington - Femme Fatale who is the mastermind behind the drug dealing scandal; she tempts John Carter with her seductive manner and sob story



• Scarlett Lena Jones - Bobby's sidekick



• Chester - fellow policeman



• Archie - fellow policeman

During the planning of the characters, we decided on our opening scene, and how we wanted to portray it. It was important for us to make clear that the story was being told as a flashback, so this scene was key to not only setting the scene, explaining some of the story, but also allowing the audience to understand the layout of the screenplay.

A first brief paragraph of an idea for the narration going over the first clip is:

Detective John Carter: "I was told that these photographs of the towns latest criminals contained some of those we have before seen on many occasions. They were not wrong. 'Bobby' as he had been known had been in these photographs of the most wanted since he murdered my father. He had also been drug dealing since I began my job back in '54. This lady was supposedly known to have a connection with him. I knew it was my job to try and find the two so that I could finally be at peace with the death of my father. Had I known what wool was to be pulled over my eyes, things could have ended very differently."

This speech is supposed to exemplify not only a negative air that is so prominent in 'Film Noir' films but also help the audience to warm to the character. As he is the lead, we need the viewers to feel some kind of emotion towards him, and in this film it will be as though they are on his side. This is evident in the way we have immediately let the audience into his mind - they know what he is thinking and therefore automatically feel closer to him. The fact that he has told of his father's death also brings them closer to him - perhaps even leading them to trust him. I think by having this kind of speech at the beginning it really sets the mood. In double indemnity, the story is told as a flashback, with an office scene at the beginning. I felt this was incredibly effective and therefore feel it will hopefully be as effective in our own rendition of a 'Film Noir.'
It will be told in a rough american accent, with hesitancy and sharp, quick wording.

Film Noir: Films I've Seen

BODY HEAT (1981):

Set in the midst of a Florida heatwave, a lawyer called Ned Racine meets a rich, married woman called Matty Walker. They begin a passionate affair, and both become enticed by greed and long for Matty's husband's fortune. He devises a plan to kill Edmund so that they can both have the money, but a few twists and turns inevitably prevent this from being a smooth encounter. Despite Ned's knowledge of the law, his unawareness of Matty's deep intelligence forces the plan they have developed 'together' to turn out very wrong.

Matty can be seen in a red dress a lot and this I find definitely enhances her danger as a character. I would like to use a red dress in our film for our femme fatale certainly. Of course smoking is also key in the film, especially in the males. Matty is also seen in white, emulating purity, which we can also use in our own films to represent the contrasting sides of our female.Unusual for many Film Noir films, the sexual nature of the affair is revealed intensely on camera. I don't want to recreate this feature as I don't think it is appropriate for our age group, but unlike the other films it actually presents the raw attraction between the protagonist and femme fatale, which I feel certainly drives the story and makes it a more exciting one to watch.

DETOUR (1945):

This story is also set in a flashback. A man called Al used to accompany his girlfriend on piano whilst she sang, so when she left for Hollywood he decided to hitchhike there from New York to join her. The person who gives him a ride however promising a direct route to LA mysteriously dies. After Al has to hide the body due to being disbelieved by the police about the death if he didn't, Al gives a ride to someone called Vera. She knew the driver who was named Charles Haskell Junior, and so she blackmails Al into taking the drivers identity to avoid trouble, but actually lands him deeper into disaster.

The story is fairly simple, but also unusual. It is not one that would perhaps usually persuade me to watch the film but I actually quite enjoyed it. Again, the femme fatale has a great deal of control.

Making the male protagonist weaker than the woman is not that popular in film noir's, but I think it succeeds in putting across the darkness pursued by men in the times after the second world war. I really like the fact it is in black and white; I definitely prefer Noir film's in black and white instead of colour.

BRICK (2005):

The first part of the story is told as a flashback. A high school kid who's ex girlfriend Emily is found dead by a tunnel at the beginning of the story takes us back through to how he followed her, stole her notepad after talking to her, read a note, translated it and found where the meeting place on it was - he then goes to the tunnel and finds her dead, taking us to the present day.

After Brendan (the high school boy and main character) fights with a number of drug dealers over a 'brick' of heroin, he sleeps with Laura, who has been directing him through discovering the process of the drug dealer's antics. We then notice on her beside table a cigarette with an arrow on, which Brendan has previously seen from a car - linking her to Emily's death. She actually plotted all along by messing around with the number of 'Bricks' the dealers had, plotting to have Emily killed by getting her to tell new boyfriend and drug dealer Tug that her baby was his. Laura then tells Brendan at the end that Emily was going to abort the baby that actually belonged to him.

I like the idea of modernizing film noir but because it has only smoking and no other tradition elements of Film Noir in it, it's depressing, twisted storyline is the only thing that makes it so. Personally it is a very complex story and is slightly too difficult to understand when watching, but after talking to other classmates, we began to piece it all together.

The camera shots, editing and transitions used in this film were really good - it helped the whole thing flow and made it really suspenseful and interesting. Liked that part of it a lot!

BLACK DAHLIA (2006):

Based on the most horrific murder in Hollywood in 1947 the story of the Black Dahlia shows two cops who are trying to solve the crime.

One of the cops (Blanchard) is married and the solving of the crime puts a lot of pressure on his relationship, and begins to pull them apart. The other cop (Bleichert) falls for Madeline Linscott who happens to be in connection with the murder they are trying to solve. Both the cop's careers and personal lives are destroyed through dealing with the murder case.

I like the simple idea behind the storyline, and the way the policemen fall apart, because the murder was so horrific and it shows that anyone can be affected, not just families involved. The colour use I felt was good - even though I prefer black and white I actually enjoyed watching this film. The traditional film noir essence isn't that obvious at first appearance but the dark drama of the story turns it into one for sure. Using love and seduction to affect the way a policeman thinks and behaves would be a good idea to have in our own film. Typical noir characteristics such as the hat and smoking are visible, which exerts the genre as film noir.

LA CONFIDENTIAL (1997):

This film is set in 1950's Los Angeles and is based on Police Corruption. Three cops, Detective Wendall White, Detective Jack Vincennes and Sargeant Edmund Exley are central to the story surrounding the LA Police Department. (LAPD)

The reputation of the department is destroyed when the police end up beating up mexican prisoners after being intoxicated with alcohol (for the christmas party) and 'Bloody Christmas' hits headlines.

As Exley stays out of it, he gets a promotion to Lieutenant.

He gets called to a murder at a coffee shop called the 'Night Owl'. Cook is killed and others brutally murdered in the kitchens. One of the people murdered (Stensland) was discovered later to have carried a body and buried it in his girlfriend's garden. She was in the coffee shop and so police linked her to her house and found her mother covering up an unpleasant stench with a towel at the bottom of the door. The body is of Buzz Meeks who is murdered supposedly due to large supply of heroin in possession.

Jack finds the connection between Smith, Buzz and Stensland and goes to talk to Smith, telling him that he has not told any other policemen of the connection he has discovered. Smith shoots Jack in the chest.

White falls for Lynn Bracken who is a prositute - she seduces Exley and someone who is in on the Heroin deal photographs it and therefore winds up White. White nearly kills Exley but they both realise that it has been a set up and share all the information they have gathered from separate case inspections. They go after Dudley Smith who is also in on the heroin deal and he tries to kill both policemen - White is injured but does not die, and Exley gets a medal of Valour.

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944):

Set in 1938, an insurance salesman called Walter Neff meets a wife of one of his clients, and they begin to have an affair. She wants the money she could claim through an accident insurance policy called a 'double indemnity clause' if her husband died 'accidentally' and so she decides to kill him, and Walter helps her.

Someone called Keyes suspects Phyllis is in connection with the death of her husband, but does not suspect his best friend, Walter. The connection is seen because Phyllis is suspected to have killed her stepmother too. (The daughter from that marriage is Lola) Phyllis is caught seeing Lola's boyfriend Nino behind Walter's back, and so he goes after her.

Phyllis shoots Walter but does not kill him instantly, and so he then shoots and kills her. He dies before he goes to Mexico to avoid a death sentence however due to the wound.

The story is told as a flashback. I really like this idea and I think it makes the story seem much more of a reality, because someone is reflecting on a time in their past. The audience are drawn in closer to the main character due to the first person narrative, which also makes the story a more appealing one.

The story's femme fatale Phyllis is a very strong one. I would like our story to have the same dominance in her character as this film does.

La Confidential, Body Heat, Brick and Black Dahlia are in colour; Double Indemnity and Detour in black and white. In creating the perfect mood for film noir, in my mind, the films should be in black and white. I felt a lot more like the true time period of the films were reflected in the black and white films, because that's the colour they would have been shown in in those days. LA Confidential and Black Dahlia have an awful lot of the gruesome violence we expect in these films which definitely makes it a 'black film', but I don't think that a bloody story line will be one we can create without perhaps coming across as humorous. I really liked the female figures in Double Indemnity, Body Heat and Detour because they really do make the depressed element of the time period come across in the weakness of the men they seduce. In our own film I think that creating a storyline based around a femme fatale will be much more successful than a gruesome one - I would like to see what ideas we can come up with!

Film Noir: Camera Shots, Effects, Angles, Iconography & Conventions

Throughout the whole genre of Film Noir, there are a number of conventions that create the style and represent the darkness of it as a whole, through camera shots, angles, effects and locations.

Low Key Lighting - one of the most important effects simply because it creates the sense of the unknown, of unease, danger and suspicion that is really significant when representing the dark and depressed characters.

It's very common to see shadows that are cast by 'venetian blinds' on the character's faces and in their rooms, so it's something that directly connects us to the genre and is therefore important for us to involve in our own film to a similar effect.

Low Angle Shots - these are regularly used in these films, largely due to the fact that they make the subject of the shot appear more powerful. This is a technique used for both the 'Femme Fatale' and the male lead to interpret to the audience when they are at the heights and lows of their power during the progression of the film.

Dutch Angle Shots - These are often used in these films to portray to the audience a sense of unease or 'madness' the character is feeling psychologically. It's when the camera is tilted instead of being vertical or horizontal.

Mirror reflections - One or more characters are usually shot in the reflection of a mirror. This can signify the development of a relationship, or reflect the two common sides of a femme fatale; the one she knows and the one the protagonist (main male character) knows.

Iconography:

• Cigarettes
• rain (pathetic fallacy)
• alcohol
• guns
• trench coats
• usually set in bars/offices
• gambling is commonly seen as a popular trait in film noir characters

A lot of film noir films are based on a first person perspective. This makes the audience 'take their side' but also helps us understand the dark times men went through after the war - a film is used to express their difficult emotions, rather than them perhaps confiding in a relative. A lot of the films show the main male character as very much an outcast; someone who is detached from the life they are living. This is portrayed through the selection of a first person narrative.

Film Noir: Character Profiles

Main Male Character:
The audience relates to this character as the anti-hero. The character usually lack courage, grace and honour not to mention a sense of morality. The anti-hero can be tough yet sympathetic, or display vulnerable and weak traits. In most examples of the films, the 'Femme Fatale' is the character that brings out the dishonesty which was perhaps previously disguised as honesty and pulls them to their most likely dark death or 'doom'.

Femme Fatale:
The femme fatale is in most scenarios a cruel woman who uses the main male character to achieve her goals. The males are usually unable to refuse her, therefore making her 'fatal'. She usually has the idea in the males head that they will spend their lives together after he has done what he needs to do for her, but in most cases either dies or gets caught out.
Famous Noir femme fatales include Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity) who we would like to base our character 'Bonnie Kensington' on, Rita Hayworth (Gilda) and Lana Turner (The Postman Always Rings Twice). Sometimes the roles reverse and the female is the innocent whilst the male is evil, like in 'Gaslight' with Ingrid Bergman. The femme fatale is not always the only woman in the main characters love life. There is often a rivalry between the evil femme fatale with an innocent lady who only wants what is right for the male. The Femme Fatale wins every time.
Archetypes of film noir women:

Innocent women:

• dutiful


• reliable


• trustworthy


• pretty


• pure


• Femmes fatales


• mysterious


• duplicitous


• gorgeous


• predatory


• manipulative

Secondary male character:
These usually appear as a rival to the male protagonist and most of the time are rivalling for the femme fatale, however on occasions they can be rivalling for recognition or victory on the same side (e.g solving a murder first and perhaps killing on the way)

Secondary female character:
This character is usually completely innocent and is designed to create juxtaposition with the femme fatale. The male protagonist sometimes will fall victim to the fatale and this character deters him and somemtimes he falls in love with her - her innocence against the fatale's is what usually attracts the men to her. Of course in the era the men were feeling weak and failing so the innocent, gentle nature of this character provides them with the opportunity to be masculin again.

The femme fatale is usually the reason that both of herself and the main male character fall into their doom, and of course her menacing ways get her there, and his stupidity in ambition of their relationship puts him there too.

By making the male a detective it creates irony - they are supposed to help solve crimes, not commit them or indeed help a femme fatale commit one.
Noir heroes are irresponsible people who are never ever portrayed as perfect in these films, reflecting the time period they were made in, and of course reflecting on the broken, decietful characters of the men who returned from the war.

Film Noir Introduction

Film Noir: "A film that is marked by a mood of pessimism, fatalism, menace and sexual, cynical characters"; a name applied by french critics (aka Nino Frank, 1946) to describe American thriller or detective films in the early 1940's through to the late 1950's.
The idea of the 'Film Noir' period is developed from the idea that the countries were falling apart after the war. Not only have many men lost their courage through fighting outrageous battles, but they also have to compete with the growing strength of the women. During the war they took on the roles of the men, and so the character 'Femme Fatale' apparent in these films are seen to represent this era of new women. Usually the main character (male) is displayed as a weakened man, usually corrupt, as many men would have been after the war.

The first film recognised as under the guise of 'Film Noir' was Stranger On The Third Floor (1940), directed by Boris Ingster.