Sin City Opening

Film Noir

The ‘dark film’ Source: http://www.bighousefilm.com/noir_intro.htm

The word ‘noir’ is literally French for ‘black’, giving us the concept of ‘dark film’. French film critics coined the term soon after the end of WWII. In the early part of the 1940s France was occupied by Nazis, making it enemy territory forbidden to receive Hollywood product. By war’s end there was a half-decade backlog of American movies which hit French viewers suddenly in one rush, rather than gradually over the years as usual. From a Hollywood point of view, they’d been an audience asleep for half a decade.

The French noticed with surprise after the war how a gloomy, pessimistic worldview had replaced much of the formerly sunny optimism of can-do U.S.A. America’s movies were growing darker in the 1940s - not just visually, but also in terms of theme and content. There were numerous reasons for this, springing from changes both in consciousness and practicalities. The world had become a darker place and the more word seeped out of atrocities of war, the deeper the shadows grew over human nature.

America at that time felt powerless to avoid enigmatic conflicts in foreign climes. This was mirrored in movies with doomed heroes whose fate seemed pre-ordained, and immune to free will. Also the popularity of Freudianism brought psychological concerns into common discourse as the world turned inward. Films reflected this introspection through the use of voice-over to describe interior states. Thrillers of the 1940s (and horror flicks of the time like Val Lewton’s RKO series) often took on the ‘otherworldly’ feel of a waking dream. These and other elements (described below) came together in a fortuitous accident of cinematic history to express the mood: film noir .

Evaluation of Continuity Task

The preliminary task involved planning out a storyboard and a script, in which would then be recorded with a video camera. This would have to include the three rules of continuity, which include;

- Match on action
- Shot reverse shot
- 180 degree rule

To first decide on what the clip would involve, I had to think about what the theme would be. I decided to base it on the theme of horror, as it is simple and easy to use. By doing this, I then had something to base it all on, so it was a lot easier. From basing it onto horror, the lighting can then be darker, and then things such as sounds and special effects can be added to help build the effect of drama/horror.

After a conversation with the other person I am working with for this task, and we had agreed on what we would do, it was then simple to create the storyboard. It consisted of several pictures to represent each shot, which will be taken. The shots involve;
- Medium shot behind the character, tracking him
- Reverse medium shot in front of the character, showing match on action to be used
- Pan from the shot to then show him walking over to the desk and sitting down
- 180 degree rule to be used so that it can show the conversation between the two characters
- Close up of the mysterious man, to show his importance, and then his reaction to what has been given to him
- Point of view shot to then be used as a shot reverse shot, and to then show how he is watching the other person walk out of the room and close the door.

Before filming, storyboards were made, a script was written, and actors were chosen to play the parts. Every shot was previously planned thought been put into it. This was vital so that we didn’t miss out any techniques that needed to be included within the scene.

Filming the clips was hard, as the use of only one camera meant that we had to move from position A to position B and vice versa for parts of the conversation that took place. This was easily overcome however after a few attempts. Some shots had to be re-taken as the two actors kept laughing while trying to say their lines. Not only this, but some shots had to be re-taken just so that we made sure that the techniques we needed to show, were clearly evident.
The hardest and most time consuming part of the project was the editing. The timing had to be completely synchronous. This was difficult with the use of different transitions and effects that were used. However with this in mind, the main focus was still on making the three main techniques we were trying to achieve.

The final product in my opinion could have been improved so much more. But the objectives of the task I think were met which was all we were aiming for. Anything else, transitions or effects, are just extra to help get used to editing. The only main criticism is that the voices are too quiet and that either they should have spoken louder when filming or a voice over should have been used. However the use of a voice over would also be hard to synchronize. As long as the main objectives are met, the rest I feel is just good practice for future projects.

Preliminary Task Video

Preliminary Task Intro

The preliminary task requires you to produce a film in which a character opens a door, walks across a room and sits down opposite another character and exchanges two sentences of conversation. You must include:

>> Match on Action
>> Shot reverse shot
>> 180* Rule

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The task clearly states that there has to be two people within the scene, where one enters and sits down opposite the other. They must speak to each other. Then the character may leave again.

Firstly it is important to consider the setting and background of the scene. It is imperative to have two characters within the scene, where one enters and they both engage in a conversation. The scene should only be roughly thirty seconds long so the conversation is to be brief. However it is enough time to use the 180-degree rule. This will be done by showing one character on the right of the camera, and one on the left when talking.

Match on action will be used when the character opens the door. For example the shot will show him walking towards the door and his hands reaching out to the handle. The next shot will be the character opening the door and walking into the room.

Shot Reverse shot will be used at the end of the scene when one of the characters leaves the room. This will be done by looking at the character that is sat in the chair head on at a medium close up. Then the next shot will be completely reversed and look towards the door where the man is leaving.