Student made Film Noir- Angel for Hire

For inspiration I decided to look at some student made film noir short films which we could look at for ideas to include in our own film noir opening scene. This is the short film noir I decided to look at:

Mise-en-scene

The first shot is of the protagonist in his office. The only items shown in the room are a desk, telephone and a glass. This would be very easy to recreate and does not involve anything too complicated. The protagonist is wearing a suit and a hat which looks like a fedora which is a common convention in film noir's.

I liked the use of an old fashioned phone which looked effective and is suitable for the era when most film noir's were made. I think this would be a good prop to use in our opening scene.

Other props used in this short film noir are cigarettes and a gun which also conforms to the common conventions of film noir. 

The femme fatale is seen wearing a dress and jewelry which is often seen in film noir's. 

Sound

The clip starts with some upbeat classical music including lots of strings which continues to play quietly through the whole clip. The classical music becomes louder towards the end when the protagonist is shot to show the change of mood. We then hear the voiceover of the protagonist which was very effective as the actor had a suitable voice. Next the sound of the old fashioned phone rings and we hear the conversation between the femme fatal and the protagonist. Both actors have good acting skills and they both add accents to fit in with conventions of film noir's which I found very effective. Other sound effects include a gun shot and a voice sounding through a tannoy. 

Camera angles

The majority of camera angles were medium shots these we're used especially during the conversation when there was shot reverse shot. 

One of my favourite camera angles was the extreme close up of her mouth when she was talking on the phone. I also liked the use of shadows in this shot.

Lighting

Lots of shadows are created in this short film noir. It also conforms to film noir's being in black and white. The most common use of shadows are the venetian blinds, silhouettes and half of the face being concealed in shadows.

Location

The locations used were two rooms and a stairway. This would be very easy to use in our film opening as long as the correct mise-en-scene is used and the props are suitable. Lots of the shots were also filmed in front of a wall which is not complex.

Evaluation

Pros:

• Good use of lighting and shadows making it conform to the film noir genre.
• Good acting, this meant that the voice overs sounded good and not too amateurish
• The mise-en-scene such as costumes and props were well used and all conformed to conventions. The props also meant that even though the locations were simple they still looked good.
• I particularly liked the close up shot of her mouth when she was on the phone and how the shadows concealed one side of her face.

Cons:

• To improve I would use less conversation as this was quite long and boring at times.