We have completed the first draft of our film opening and received feedback on it. Overall the opening was very well received, especially our sound editing and use of filters.
After my own inspection of the piece, I found a few other minor issues, namely, the sound clipping at the end. The woman's voiceover is too loud, causing some distortion. This can be fixed in final cut very easily, so it is a change I will definitely make. It will, however, require balancing the music and sound effects as well. The distortion can be found around 2:00 minutes, on the lines "I'd just knock him out, and move in to the next one."
Secondly, the continuity error of the ransom message. The man states that they will meet at "midnight tonight" but when the detective is shown in the alleyway, it is very obviously broad daylight. We attempted to edit the footage to make it appear more like night time, but this negatively affected the quality of the video in other aspects, so we decided to leave it. Thankfully, it did not seem to be a major issue, as in the class feedback, no one mentioned it. Fixing this would require us either reshooting the alley scene or re-recording the voice over. It also seems unusual to have a kidnapper meet the detective in bright daylight, but this is too impractical to fix at this stage in the production.
We received some criticism concerning our mise-en-scene and time period. Supposedly, the costume and tape recorder were not from the same time period, however this is not something we can fix as we do not have more appropriate props available to us, and it would require reshooting, which we cannot do this late in production.
In our film opening, shortly after the blinking animation, I edited the footage to imitate someone's vision slowly focusing on an object, as it adds a sense of realism and helps reinforce the narrative.
I started by selecting the focus blur from the blur filters and applying it to the clip I then centred the effect so that the focus was on the actress' face. I preferred this to the other blur filters as it blurred more at the edges than the centre, which is more realistic. I set the time to the point where I want the transition between "out of focus" and "more focused" to begin.
I then adjusted the values for the focus blur to obscure the image more, to resemble a person's vision shortly after waking up. I then toggled keyframe animation for the "amount" and "softness" values (+ icons in the diamonds).
I then moved the timeline forward slightly and toggled the keyframes again, and adjusted the values. I did want to adjust the interpolation of the keyframes, but I could not find a way to do so in final cut pro. The result can be found at 2:13 in the opening. The effect ends up only being about a second long, but I think it adds a lot to the piece and makes the events clearer (makes it more obvious that he has been struck in the head). If I were to do it again, I would most likely make it longer.
Often the name has something to do with the plot of the film. By looking at different examples of Film Noir names it could help us to come up with a name for our own film noir opening.
The names usually convey the dark mood of the film. As Film Noirs often include guns there are a few names that involve this theme such as 'Gun Crazy', 'Crossfire' and 'This Gun For Hire'. Another common theme in the names are the locations of the films this includes 'The Dark Corner', 'Side Street', 'Night And The City' and 'Sunset Blvd'. Lots of names also have the word 'The' before them.
After having some peer feedback we decided on the name 'Harlem Sunset' the definition of this is 'a fatal wound caused by a knife fight'. This would suit our film opening as it is dark and conveys a sense of foreboding. As we have only created a film opening there could be a knife fight scene in the full film therefore this name would suit the film and gives a sense of what may happen.
Our group's film genre that we presented was film noir Hardboiled and gangster:
Our main concept was favoured by all in the class, so we sticking to our original ideas with no changes to the plot.
We wanted to incorporate film noir slang into the title as we were stuck on names, also it would have embodied the genre further by conforming to the film noir genre.
The class collectively gave their feedback and the unanimous decision had fallen on 'Harlem sunset' meaning a fatale injury caused by a weapon like a knife, and as a group we decided to go with this.
Feedback on our storyboard was generally positive, we were told it was well drawn and clearly labelled by Zayanah.
Location:
The location for the filming, and picture shooting will take place in round Xena's grandmother's house and garage, and in the alley near the house. Though at the time we had no footage of inside the house or garage, we do now and we've agreed that it is a suitable location.
Evaluation:
The general feedback were positive and the only issue was the absence of a title, the audience had voted for 'Harlem Sunset' as the title of our media project, we had taken this into consideration and decided that we would use this title.
The femme fatale is often dressed in a tight red dress and is seen wearing red lipstick. This character is mainly used to lure the protagonist into her own plots which often creates more tension between the male characters and causes trouble. The main protagonist is normally seen falling for the femme fatale. Usually the femme fatale's plot backfires on her and she ends up in danger or is murdered.
Villain
The villain is normally seen plotting to hurt, kill or ruin someone's life. They usually have a reason for causing misery but sometimes they do it for fun.
Protagonist
The main protagonist is often a detective and a lonely male. He is usually out to solve a crime but gets disturbed by the femme fatale along the way. The protagonist is shown as hard-hearted and non-emotional to show his masculinity and conform to stereotypes of men and women in this era.
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.
I have chosen to deconstruct a student made film noir opening called 'Retribution', which I thought was particularly good and of a good standard.
Camera Angles
The starting camera angle is a pan from a neutral level on the floor, across the broken photo frames and glass. This focuses into the lamp and shards of glass which establishes that a violent scene or crime scene has just happened.
We then pan movement is used as transition into the main scene where the crime had been committed. The camera is low down and is still panning from the floor, it allows us to see the woman in the corner as a person of dominance as she is literally in a high position and acts as a looming presence over the dead body when in frame,even though we can not see her face.
The fact that we can see the dead person from the floor enhances the violence of the murder as we can see him on a more personal level.
One part that I particularly like was the close-ups shots that they used, which contrasts her sexual allure and vulnerability.
Her calm demure whilst she's smoking, and red lips are often common conventions of the classic femme fatale, instantly we perceive her as a strong and confident character.
Yet, once the opening progresses we see the hint of the bruised eye conveys the theme of revenge as it's likely that it wasn't self inflicted, giving us insight into why she may be so relaxed whilst there's a bloody body in the room.
I noticed that throughout the scene the women is never filmed from a high angle, above her head, continuing to convey her as a figure potency. Even with the SWAT team surrounding her she seems to be illuminated by the dress in the light from the low-angle-long-shot portraying her defiance right to the end.
The clever use of over-the-shoulder-shot of the shadowed members of the SWAT team not only develops the genre, as shadows are used frequently in film noir, but also creates mystery and dismisses the need for realistic costumes as you only need the outline of the figures to look good.
Sound
Thunder and lightening sound effects conform to the conventions of film noir, and this plays throughout, the pathetic fallacy of the rain outside reflects the ominous setting of the room and death and despair that surrounds the situation.
A music soundtrack by Nancy Sinatra 1966 parallels what has happened previously in the scene, and give's depth to the type of murder that had occurred (A shooting). However this subverts the common conventions of a film noir as it isn't a downbeat jazz piece which is often used, implying that this is a more modern day take on film noir (making it neo-noir)
Mise-en-scene
Mise-en-scene enables us underscores the abusive relationship, which lead to the murder of the husband in the opening scene. Photographs of the "happy couple" surrounded by shards of smashed glass suggests a broken relationship and a struggle. The effective use of leaving the photographs coloured contrasts the happy, joyful-looking couple from the darkness that surrounds the pictures. By doing this, it successfully generates a sense of deceit since the pictures are portraying a normal couple, however monochrome room highlights the sinister events that are happening in real life.
An ash tray conforms to the conventions of film noir as it's a prop that is often used. Also, the wedding ring on her left hand further confirms the relationship between the woman and the man, especially because the ring is shown directly opposite his picture, which is also in colour to make it more prominent in the frame.
Editing
The distortion of the image when thunder and lighting strikes, thus emphasises danger that is foreshadowed, because it creates a feeling of foreboding due to the visual spectacle of blurriness symbolises confusion or a shaken effect, representing how the protagonist may have felt.
Fast-paced match on action is used of the woman turning around, when the SWAT team bursts through the door, creating a sense of immediacy which is effective in developing the climax of the scene.
Sound experiment- creation and examples of non-copyright sound
Before I started doing my practical sound task I wanted to identify the common conventions of sounds that feature in Film noir.
The first part of my practical task that I will do is to find non-copyright sounds that would be suitable for the film noir genre.I wanted to find one example of diegetic and non-diegetic sounds
A good piece of Jazz music I found, that you could download and was non-copyrighted, was called 'Don't get around much' on SoundCloud
Another example of sound that I found is a sound clips of cars passing, as it is a ambient sound of the city, which is a convention in Film noir.
Also, I managed to find a website that a list of non-copyrighted sound clips that may be handy in future.
In Film Noirs a common use of editing is close up shots. These can be used to show lots of detail or to hide the identity of a particular character. As well as this close up shots often have many shadows to further create enigmas of who the villain is.
A non-linear plot is often used and includes flashbacks are used to explain how the detective got into a situation or to show in detail what case he is trying to solve. Throughout the film there may be several flashbacks. Some Film Noir's start at the end of the plot and use flashbacks to tell the story along with this a voice over will be used so that the audience does not get confused.Jump cuts are normally used between different scenes and there is nothing too complex.
Another common convention in the Film Noir genre is the use of a black and white filter. This helps to convey the 1950/1960's era in which most Film Noir's are set. Black and white also enhances the shadows as there is a large contrast between the two colours. Using this filter also means that the colour aspects do not need to be considered in detail and other things such as mise-en-scene can have more focus.
Camera angles in Film Noirs are often skewed or distorted making them uncomfortable to look as well as making the audience feel at unease. This helps to reflect the tone of a Noir. Common angles used are high and low shots. The low angle shots usually make the villain seem powerful and superior whereas the low angle shots are used to make the victim seem helpless and vulnerable.
I decided on using playing cards as a motif, which is common in Film noir films as my opening sequence: 1. First of all I started by setting up by laying out scrap paper against a wall in my conservatory as I wanted the wall to be in the background to convey an industrial underground setting.
2. I next used a dark pink food colouring and tested the colour, as this would be my blood for the introduction, which I would flick onto the cards, with the paintbrush, to create a gunshot blood splatter effect.
3. When filming my first attempt, I slowly dropped the cards and was happy with the way it fell and the diegetic sound it made.
4. However when I used the blood I found that it didn't show up very well and was unsatisfied with the outcome.
5.As a result I moved in closer but I already liked the bloody effect on the cards. So I used this and flicked the food colouring onto the cards again.
6 .In VideoPadeditor I played around with the effects on the video effects tool to see different ways I could make this more appropriate for a Film Noir genre. Firstly I tried to enhance the red but the rest of the cards still wouldn't show up at all.
7. Making the whole thing darker and suturing the image more generated a Film Noir feel.
8. Blurring out the edges I made the cards seem more sinister and dark and thought this was effective for my introduction. After this I used a gunshot sound effect and it's shell falling as the splatter of blood was shown in frame, emphasising the gunshot splatters and making it more realistic and dramatic.
9. Using the text tool I added "Rouge Anecdotes Films" as the name of the company to the side of the frame so it doesn't block the cards. Though I made it fade out later on so the gunshot can be heard and seen, making that the focus of the introduction instead as this made it more dramatically effective.
Final product:
Evaluation
Improvements and developments:
I could make on this would be to remake this with a fresh pack of cardsfor full impact of the gunshot effect, rather than keeping the blood on the cards already, so I can compare which one looked better.
Also, I could have tried to use final cut to edit the clip however as I did this at home and don't have a Mac, I resorted to the next best thing.
What went well:
The filming itself was simple to do and easy to put together, and once it all came together it worked well. I believe that using cards is an appropriate motif for the film noir/ neo noir genre.Therefore, would be suitable for the filming of our opening scene.
