Location Scouting

One location our group agreed on using was a burnt down community known as 'The Civ.' This was chosen as it is a particularly bleak, dark setting that connotates images of immorality and destruction.
A lane that leads up to the location we will primarily be filming in. It may be included in an opening shot of our film, intertwining with the opening titles of our film. This was chosen as it connotates images of isolation with its narrow, forest lane alongside its very dark and gothic surroundings.


One of the few entrances to the civ. This frayed hole in a fence may be used in the first shots of our scene as it emphasises entrapment and a feeling of desperation if used for either an entrance or exit. Such factors as the rust of the gate also indicate certain qualities of thriller, indicating a lack of care and a flawed enviroment.

A gate that blocks off many entrances to the civ. This may be used in our film because of its connotations of not only isolation and entrapment, but its paticular structure of sharp points at the top indicating danger and harm. It also contains the qualities of the hole in the fence with its distinctive lack of maintenance, emphasising the bleak and dark qualities of thriller.




This is the main corridor once entering our location. This will definatly be used in our thriller as it shows many factors of the thriller films we have been studying. The distinct destruction, grafitti and litter indicates a dark, flawed enviroment and the long, bleak and isolated setting draws many comparisons scenes in "The Third Man".



(Above) Film group member Dan going through the main corridor of the civ. (Below) Two scenes of iconic thriller film "The Third Man" that shares qualities of the scene above, particulerly the very narrow, unavoidable path.

This image will most probably be included in our film. Mainly because it emphasises not just a flawed, destroyed, immoral word shown in many thriller films but the light beaming through indicates a battle of morality, something also scene in "The Third Man."































(Left) An image from location scouting in the civ. (Right) An image from "The Third Man" that draws up the same imagery of a battle of morality, light and dark. Another similarity is how this battle is shown, with light breaking through a particuler hole and exit in what is scene as somewere dark and isolated. The left image may be shown in our film with our title spraypainted alongside the hole, used in our opening sequence. Drawing imagery from the image below, the music album cover of "Who Needs Actions When You've Got Words" by "Plan B", which also connotates images of bleakness and desolation.

Continuety Task 2

1) The planning for my filiming task consisted of my group and I constructing both a storyboard and a shooting map consisting in detail what we were going to film and how.





2) The 180 degree rule used in my filming task a basic guideline in film making that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera infringes the axis connecting the two characters the audience is confused and disorientated.

A picture showing the definition and rules of the 180 degree rule.

3) In the continuety task my group used an array of shot types and angles, with the main shot in question when character 1 walks down the corridor. This is shot with a tracking shot, emphasising the location used, a school, as it creates the illusion someone is also going down the corridor, following the character.

How Is The 'In Bruges' Conventional/Unconventional Of Thriller?

Just some notes taken in class, when we were discussing several British gangster thrillers and how they are linked to conventional thiller.

Conventional

Lighting shows battle of morality in the contrast of light and dark

Mis-En-Scene shows a theme of bleakness and darkness

Gothic, angular, sharp settings, churches and statue of cupid shows moral ambiguity

Unconventional

Large, light space, focuses more on the characters being insignificant than relying on the theme of intrapment and isolation shown in films like 'The Third Man'

Burger King references to modern culture, doesn't create its own world like many films in 'Film Noir' to display morality, good and evil.

Scenes of comedy

Continuity Map

This is the map plan for my continuity task, in which a character must walk through a door, sit at a table and have a two line conversation with another character, showing camera shots and storyboarding the scenes

Cosmetics Advert

The Conventions Of L.A Noir

L.A Noir is a sub-genre of film that takes elements such as moral uncertainty, deception and bleak content and displays them in the bright, famous and glamourous setting of L.A. The use of the bright setting shocks and creates unease the audience, the bleak, harsh happenings taking place in what can be seen to many as 'paradise.'



In the opening for L.A noir film 'L.A Confedential,' many comparisons can be made with the opening for 'The Third Man.' Both use a bright, cheery soundtrack alongside the seedy, dark plot to unsettle the viewer. This is also achieved by the narration, a light, happy voiceover of the crime and dark scenarios taking place, the voiceover also mentions L.A being "A Garden Of Eden", ironically conveying themes of morality and moral battles, more irony is conveyed by the voiceover when the audience is informed that L.A have "the best police force in the world.

Audience Research

My proposal was to interview teenagers in their musical taste of "emotional rock", giving them the popular name "emos". This interview was to determine how these "emos" watched and heard about films. I expected for many to not go to the cinema often, as they known to be withdrawn individuals; with this in mind I also expected them to watch films alone, and only hear about new films in most ways except word of mouth, or friend recommendation.


















The age of the twenty people I questioned
10 males and 10 females.

Out of the 20 "emos" I interviewed, a majority 12 watched 1-5 films a month, this was expected as an average. Out of these films watched a majority 9 out of 20 stated that horror was there favourite genre, which was expected as they are commonly associated with gore, death and horror, 6 of these 9 were females, which was also expected as the social group "emos" are predominantly female.

When given Empire Magazines top 5 films of all time, a majority 7 picked 'Star Wars' as their preferred film, this was unexpected, as horror film 'Jaws' was also in the list, that only 3 people chose.

When asked how many times they go to the cinema, only 1-5 times a year expected of the prehaps anti-social and isolated people interviewed. This was the case, as a large 50% agreed, one participant even stating that she never goes to the cinema. With this in mind, I predicted that the majority would state that they preferred to watch films at home, and many would answer that they watched 1-5 films weekly or even daily at home. This prediction was correct, as 50% of people questioned answered that they watch 1-5 films at home a week.



The next question was to determine how many people they preferred to watch these films with. My expected result was that a large majority watched films by themselves, or with only 1-2 friends. Out of the 20 people interviewed, 9, almost half, of these people stated they watched films by themselves out of preference with the next highest value being the 7 that preferred to watch films with just 1 person.


The next part of the questionaire was focused towards film marketing, asking the audience how they heard about films. The expected results were that the majority would not hear about films due to word of mouth, most probably the internet, or television. The results back were suprising, with the methods of word of mouth and television both gaining the majority vote, with 20% of the votes each.

The last question was what attracted the people questioned to a film, there was no expected majority as it is impossible to pinpoint what the narrowed audience would pick due to their social group. The majority vote was a tie between genre and plot, with 5 out of 20 each voting.

What Noir Conventions Are Shown In The Opening Of 'The Third Man?'

This is a page of notes made in lesson, when we were analysing the opening of film noir film 'The Third Man'

Binary Opposites and Enigma in Film Noir

Binary opposites are pairs of opposites used to create intrest, drama and conflict within films.

In this shot, taken from the intro to 'The Third Man', for example, the bold, opaque darkness of the buildings contrast imensely with the light of the sky, hinting at a battle of morality, good and evil. This conflict reflects the moral struggles within the film, as protagonist Holly Martins struggles to find his friend Harry Lime despite Lime's immorality of selling faking penicillin.

This can also be seen in this shot of 'Double Indemnity' protagonist Walter Neff. The contrast of shadow and light on his face emphasising deception and moral ambiguity, reflecting the plot of Neff dispatching of Phyllis's husband for the insurance money.

Another classic binary opposite used in film noir is that of male and female. In another shot of 'Double Idemnity', despite the male not even looking at the female, reinforcing male dominance, the female is behind him, emphasising the femme fatale qualities of deception and taking the male and also the audience by suprise.

In these pictures of the opening of neo-noir film 'The Black Dahlia' many binary opposites are used. There is imense contrast of light and dark, white buildings against the night sky, connotating images of a battle between good and evil, this battle is turned on its head with the white costumes of the criminals and the black costumes of the police. The mention of the main characters boxing nicknames 'Mr Fire v Mr Ice' is also a binary opposite.

An enigma is a mystery that is shown commonly at the beginning of the film, usually setting the plot and mood for the rest of the film. Enigmas are used to draw in the viewer and keep their attention, they're questions waiting to be answered.

The intro of Neo-Noir film 'Sin City' uses many enigmas to hold the audiences attention, the characters are nameless and have no introduction, the female character's death a complete mystery. Many questions are asked when viewing the scene that the audience must watch the film to answer.

Jean Paul Gaultier “Le Male"

Film Noir

Taking advantage of the post-war ambience of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion, film noir is not a genre, but more of an entire movement within the film industry. French for ‘black/dark film’, film noir follows a world of darkness and corruption, where heroes are as crooked, violent and flawed as the people they’re trying to stop, where femme fatales use a deadly combination of beauty and cunning to get what they want and where the plot that contains them all takes jagged and rapid twists and turns.

Though the 1940 released ‘Stranger on the Third Floor’ is the movie now most commonly accepted as the first true example of film noir, it did not spark the classic period which took hold in the 40’s and 50s, this is instead credited to Billy Wilder’s 1944 film “Double Indemnity”. With a plot filled with deception, murder and corruption, it introduces the sultry Phyllis Dietrichson as the first fully-fledged femme fatale, who after snaring insurance salesman Walter Neff conspires with him to murder her husband and claim the insurance that Neff would set up. After dispatching of her husband and claiming her fortune, Phyllis then runs away with another man, a bloody confrontation insures, with Phyllis fatally wounding Neff, who manages to kill her before succumbing to confess. Neff dies soon after.

The femme fatale mould that was set by the character of Phyllis is that of a woman who tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine wiles such as seduction and allure. In film noir these purposes are commonly related to money, or power, relying on the male protagonist to murder, steal or basically just do her dirty work for her before her dispatching of them in one way or another, keeping the spoils for herself. Other examples of femme fatales are Rita Hayworth’s character Gilda in the movie of the same name, Lana Turner’s role as Cora Smith in “The Postman Always Rings Twice” and “The Killers” character Kitty Collins played by Ava Gardener. Commonly these characters are in a loveless relationship with a rich and powerful man, which explains their glamorous and expensive attire; often they see the male protagonist as not only a way out of these relationships, but also a way of gaining even more wealth and power.

Alongside the femme fatales are the iconic noir counterpart of the male protagonist. As a large majority of film noir is centred on crime, most frequently murder, male and/or heroes are commonly detectives, private eyes or policeman. Conventionally they are a flawed protagonist, lonely, introverted, troubled and pessimistic, not a run-of the mill hero but are prominent in film culture in their ability to survive and bring back normality in their flawed world. In a world that’s been corrupted and lost any scrap of morality and secure certainty, men/heroes in film noir are seldom heroic at all, and more often than not become violent or corrupt also, warped by their bleak and immoral surroundings. Throughout their quest they are repeatedly tested, interrogated, attacked, persecuted and betrayed and so tend to become amoral and frustrated themselves, losing all faith in their world, despite these strong and mysterious flaws in character the conventional film noir male/hero still sets to unravel the mystery set and re-establish good. A common word to describe a film noir male/hero is an “anti-hero”, which means that even though they set out to do good actions and make the world a better place, their character and goals are antithetical to traditional heroism. They are well-known for a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, and are more inclined to break the law to achieve their aims. Main examples of these anti-heroes are private investigator Sam Spade, private-eye Philip Marlowe, police detective Mark McPherson, investigator Jim Reardon and chief officer Mike Vargas.

Another key component of film noir is the settings, and how they’re shown and treated. Alongside the bleak and dark characters, the setting of film noir is damaged and broken down. It reflects the plot deeply with the battle of morality, heaven between hell by including a large number of churches and cathedrals. There are many contrasts of settings, with a mix between dark, winding streets and deserted, isolated landscapes. Gothic architecture adds a dark grandeur and mystery to plot alongside the labyrinth of the cities. It’s extremely common for these settings to include rain and snow, which not only look impressive but add a feeling of bleakness and depression.

Components like lighting are also pivotal in showing film noir, with a common trait being a deep contrast between light and dark, focusing on morality and battle between good and evil. Certain images of destruction and death are also highlighted with deep intensity. The lighting commonly expresses the feeling of enigma, mystery and suspense by plunging the world of film noir in severe darkness. The use of shadows also reinforces the contrast between the many sides of a character, separating their virtuous side from their vicious.

Camera angles showcase the setting at sharp angles and floating overviews, which adds aesthetic prowess used to capture the viewer’s attention and also to disorientate them. Low angle and high angle shots also express the emotion of superiority between characters.

Men / Heroes Of Film Noir

As a large majority of film noir is centred on crime, most frequently murder, male and/or heroes are commonly detectives, private eyes or policeman. Conventionally they are a flawed protagonist, lonely, introverted, troubled and pessimistic, not a run-of the mill hero but are defined in their ability to survive and restore normality.

In a world that’s been corrupted and lost its moral certainty, men/heroes in film noir are
seldom heroic at all, and more often than not become violent or corrupt also. Throughout their
quest they are repeatedly tested, interrogated, attacked, persecuted and betrayed and so tend to become amoral and frustrated, however even flawed the conventional film noir male/hero still sets to unravel the mystery set and re-establish good.

With twisting, non-linear and cryptic storylines, the role of a male/hero in film noir is that of a witty, razor-sharp protagonist. However strong the confident exterior underneath male/heroes of film noir is they are usually hiding a dark secret or a human weakness, which commonly drive them to commit past mistakes again.

A common word to describe a film noir male/hero is an “anti-hero”, which means that even though they set out to do good and make the world a better place, their character and goals are antithetical to traditional heroism. They are well-
known for a “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, and are more inclined to break the law to achieve their aims.

5 examples of a male/hero of film noir who shows these characteristics are private investigator Sam Spade, private-eye Philip Marlowe, police detective Mark McPherson, investigator Jim Reardon and chief officer Mike Vargas, who have all starred in famous examples of film noir.

5 websites I found useful in researching film noir are:

www.filmnoirstudies.com
www.imdb.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.screenpedia.org
www.filmsnoir.net

Sin City Opening REDRAFT

How Does the Opening of ‘Sin City’ Show Conventions of Film Noir? REDRAFT!



The opening of ‘Sin City’, directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, draw in many elements and conventions of film noir to reinforce its story of corruption, immorality and crime.

It begins in the setting on a penthouse roof of a skyscraper, spanning over the large and dominating city; making the two characters, a male and female, seem lost and insignificant. The costumes of the two also portray common conventions of film noir, the stylish, sophisticated suit of the man and the red dress of the woman; both these outfits exaggerate each gender role, with the close hugging bright red dress tying-in with the role of the femme fatal as the male and the audience eyes are brought straight to the woman’s figure. There is a major contrast between the light of the interior of the building and the dark outside, which hints at the battle of morality taking place throughout the film. As the female is standing outside, the male, narrating, describes his entrance almost romantically and poetically; “She shivers in the wind like the last leaf on a dying tree,” the dialogue reflecting the bleak, dark mood of the film. Instantly the viewer can tell he is in control when he announces that “I let her hear my footsteps. She only goes stiff for a moment."
The male’s first line of dialogue brings up a classic prop of film noir, “care for a smoke?” to which the female agrees. As each cigarette is lit, the viewer can notice a stark contrast between a clash of light and shadows on their faces, hinting at hidden characteristics of both characters. The extreme close-up of the cigarettes strengthens the role they take in film noir as do the extreme close-up of the female’s eyes, which glow green as the cigarette is lit, suggesting she is an enigmatic character and is hiding her true feelings and emotions. The females strong and independent role is shown with her line “are you as bored by the crowd as I am?” Emphasising the film noir role of a 'Femme Fatale' which is used by the director to arouse suspiscion and gain attention from the audience. he male replies again romantically, gushing that “I didn’t come here for the party. I came here for you.” Though this can be seen as romantic is does connotate the classic film noir theme of bleakness and unease in his dominance as a male character, and once again the audience's suspicion is arroused. His next line confirms this suspicion of a strange stalker and also again establishes the control and power he has when he declares that “I’ve watched you for days,” before returning to the romantic “You’re everything a man could ever want. It’s not just your face, your figure, or your voice, it’s your eyes. All the things I see in your eyes.” Its this constant jump from the cold, calculating stalker role into a romantic, gushing, handsome male that causes unease for the audience, and emphasises classic film noir themes of deception and a moral ambiguity the male seems to hold.

The woman, under the spell of the handsome, stylish and confident male, is intrigued deeply in this statement, asking “what is it you see in my eyes?” The male again states deeply “I see a crazy calm. You’re sick of running. You’re ready to face what you have to face. But you don’t want to face it alone.” “No. I don’t want to face it alone.” The audience is interested and yearning to find out what “it” is, a convention of film noir being a hidden twist or event to the plot which is brought into the scene. It is these enigmas used by the director that show film noir connotations and themes in this modern film.

The film then cuts to a animated clip of the characters embrace, the mis-en-scene is shown in complete stark contrast in black and white, highlighting the battle of morals and good and evil so common in film noir.

As the male narrates once more, the romantic and poetic theme is brought up more with the phrase “the wind rises electric. She’s soft and warm and almost weightless. Her perfume is sweet promise that brings tears to my eyes.” The characters embrace and kiss as the narration moves on, “I tell her that everything will be alright. That I’ll save her from whatever she’s scared of and take her far far away.” The pause between the two blunt phrases “I tell her…I love her,” arouses suspicion of deception which is confirmed when the male shoots the female. In an instant the romantic, poetic male is replaced with the calculating, blunt assassin who narrates the scene coldly, stating “the silencer makes a whisper of the gunshot, I hold her close until she’s gone, I’ll never know what she’s running from.” Before the utter coldness and lack of conscience in his words “I’ll cash her cheque in the morning.”

As the camera zooms out, the characters are shown in-between the light of the inside and the dark of the outside, displaying once again the theme of deception, corruption, a battle between good and evil. The birds-eye view shown sets the audience as almost a god-like figure, allowing them to watch the apperent small and insignificant characters battle the constanst war of moral bleakness in the film, it also establishes the audiences knowledge of what were the enigmas displayed.

Red Road Presentation

Red Road


Jackie works as a CCTV operator. Each day she watches over a small part of the world, protecting the people living their lives under her gaze. One day a man appears on her monitor, a man she thought she would never see again, a man she never wanted to see again. Now she has no choice, she is compelled to confront him.


About The Production


Red Road is part of a unique, three-film concept called Advance Party produced by Sigma Films in Glasgow and Zentropa in Denmark. The idea behind Advance Party is that the same group of characters would be given to three different directors who would each have to develop a film around those characters. All the films would shoot for the same length of time in the same city, Glasgow. Sigma and Zentropa had decided to use first time directors paired with first time producers. In their search for three new directors Andrea Arnold came immediately to mind because Sigma had seen her Academy Award®-winning short film Wasp at its first screening at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. The producers met with Andrea who was intrigued by the idea.

“I liked the sound of the concept, the collaborative nature in particular and the idea of working with Zentropa,” recalls Andrea. “Along with the two other filmmakers Morag McKinnon and Mikkel Noergaard, I was given a document that described seven characters who had been developed by Anders Thomas Jensen and Lone Scherfig”


Production Companies

Advanced Party Scheme
BBC Films
Glasgow Film Office
Scottish Screen
Sigma Films (in co-operation with)
UK Film Council
Verve Pictures
Zentropa Entertainments (co-producer)
Zoma Films Ltd. (in cooperation with)


Marketing

Marketing Was Keen To Flaunt After 21 Wins and 7 Wins In Various Awards For ‘Red Road’ And The Prospect Of The ‘Advance Party ‘ Trilogy Pulled In Audiences And Scored A Gross Of $1,128,345

Distribution

Distributed By TARTAN
Was The 6th Highest Gross For Tartan Studios


Distribution Credits

Distributors
A-Film Distribution (2007) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Eclipse Pictures (2006) (Ireland) (theatrical)
Frenetic Films (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
Tartan (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
Verve Pictures (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
A-Film Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)
Arkles Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
California Filmes (2007) (Brazil) (all media)
Palisades Pictures (2007) (USA) (all media)
Palisades Tartan (2006) (USA) (all media)
Sundance Channel (2008) (USA) (TV)
Vivarto (2007) (Poland) (all media)

Exhibited

Shown And Won Awards At Festivals In Washington, Philadelphia, Motovun, Montreal, Miami, London, Goteborg, Dinard, Chlotrudis and Cannes

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Intro

I'm Jordan Howes, 16, and this blog is for my media studies A-Level at the CNS School