Audience Feedback on First Draft

After completing the first draft of our film opening we collected some audience feedback in order to improve. The audience had to look at the genre, conventions, sound, titles, editing and improvements. 

The first piece of feedback we received suggested that the transitions could be improved by being clearer. After receiving this we made an improvement to the transitions in our opening scene. However, they liked the titles, voiceover and cigarette scene. 

The next piece of feedback we received suggested that we should use a stereotypical location of an American street but this would be very complex to do without being in America. So instead we will stick to an alleyway and detectives office which are also stereotypical locations used in film noir. On the other hand, they liked our female voiceover, typography and match on action.

This feedback suggested that the time period was unclear and there were cars seen in the background. However, when we looked back at this the cars were very far off in the distance and could be seen driving past the entrance of the alley way therefore only a few flashes could be seen and they could have been cars from the 1950's.

 

Another piece of feedback we received helped us to improve our opening scene by making the lighting less bright in order make the money in the briefcase visible. But they liked our voiceover, titles and music. 



 

Overall, the feedback we received helped us to improve our opening scene. It was useful to see what people liked and to make sure the genre was clear. As we knew the storyline well it was also helpful to have people who had never seen it before to watch it in order to make sure the storyline was also clear.

Editing- Female voiceover

Our opening scene involves voice overs. I had to edit in the female/villains voice over which we acquired from a voice actress on the internet. The script we gave to the voice actress included pauses between sentences where we would need to cut in order to fit the voice around the footage.

The image above shows the sound clip as one long clip as the voice actress recorder the whole script in one recording.

I then bladed the clip according to where we had the pauses on the script. This would then enable us to move the sound clips around.

                            

                            

                            

The most important part of the voice over was to make sure that the timings of when it said 'where's the money' fitted in with when the male actor on the screen said this. Therefore, we had to line up the sound clip and footage correctly.

We wanted the female to be heard as soon as the first image appeared on the screen. So I moved the sound clip that began with 'detective number 6' into this position. The next thing I had to do was to line up the sound clip which said 'I would send them the usual ransom note' before the ransom note on the tape recorder began to play. As well as this we did not want the male voice over and the female voice over to be overlapping.

The next clip describes the detective meeting the femme fatale's accomplice in the alleyway therefore this sound clip had to be placed as the detective begins walking down the alleyway. 

The final clip shows the femme fatale walking away with the money in the briefcase as the voice over says 'a girls got to make a living after all'.
After all of the voice overs were put in place I then had to cut them down to make sure that there were't any long pauses between the each of the sound clips.

Evaluation

• Overall, the sound fitted in well with the clips and we were able to edit them to make sure they were the correct length.
• The voice over helped us to convey the story and genre more.

Editing- Creating the blinking effect

After the protagonist has fallen on the floor due to being hit on the head with a shoe we wanted to make it seem as though he was blinking so that the audience had a point of view shot of the protagonist looking up at the villain. 

 

To make it seem as though the villain was blinking and looking up towards the villain from the ground I would need to layer an effect over the top of a low shot of the villain. Firstly, I had to blade the clip so that the effect could be placed at several points to show the protagonist blinking several times.

 

I then added an opening centre transition as shown below. As the effect was sideways I had to turn it around so that it was horizontal rather than vertical. I then adjusted the timing to make the effect longer to show that he was slowly opening his eyes after being hit on the back of the head.

The next step was to add in another centre transition, which was closing rather than opening in the next place the clip had been cut to show his eyes closing again. Then I had to add in a centre transition next to this which was opening. Therefore, the opening and closing would give the effect of blinking. The timing had to be made longer to slow down the transition to make sure it didn't look like he was blinking too fast.

Evaluation

Overall, I thought this effect worked well and gave a good point of view shot from the detective. It also gave the illusion that he was just waking up after being hit on the head which is what we wanted.

Deconstruction of Voice Overs in Film Noir

Within the Film Noir genre it is common to have a first person voice over. The main character is usually the voice over. It allows the audience to get a clear picture of what is happening in the film and shows the story from the detectives/villains/protagonists point of view. As well as this a voice over can give extra details in addition to what the audience can see on the screen. An example of this is in 'Double Indemnity':

  NEFF
                              (His voice is now 
                              quiet and contained)
                          It began last May. About the end of 
                         May, it was. I had to run out to 
                         Glendale to deliver a policy on some 
                         dairy trucks. On the way back I 
                         remembered this auto renewal on Los 
                         Feliz. So I decided to run over there. 
                         It was one of those Calif. Spanish 
                         houses everyone was nuts about 10 or 
                         15 years ago. This one must have 
                         cost somebody about 30,000 bucks -- 
                         that is, if he ever finished paying 
                         for it.

By having the voice over from the detectives point of view, as seen above, the audience can get to know this specific character in detail therefore evoking certain emotions such as sympathy or fear for this particular character. 

The voice over may include details of the characters back story to describe what they are about to do in the film and why they are doing it. It may also include what the character is thinking and feeling about certain situations or other characters within the film. 

Normally the voice over is male however in our opening scene we may subvert this convention and use the female, femme fatale, as the voice over as this would make more sense with our storyline.

Day 2- Filming Script

Day 2: Filming- 2nd January 2016

Location:

Xena's grandma's house and an alleyway- Staplehurst

Meeting Point:

We have arranged to meet at Xena's house at 10:00am and from there we will walk to the alleyway to get the filming done before it begins to rain. 

Props:

Xena: Xena will bring the filming camera, tripod, polaroids and picture board. 
She will also arrange to use extra props available at her grandma's house. 

Mindi: As Mindi is the actress she will bring the costumes (three different ones) along with jewellery. She is also bringing a spotlight, briefcase, documents, fake money and a typewriter.

Zayanah: Zayanah will provide the fake cigarettes, a tape recorder and a tape to play inside the recorder.

Hazel: I will bring the parcel which will be used by the detective in the opening scene and the venetian blinds prop which we can use to create the shadows.

What will be completed?
Actors will be informed of what to wear before they arrive. By the end of the day we hope to have filmed all of our scenes. We will complete the alleyway scenes first, where Xena's dad will act as the detective, a family friend will act as the kidnapper and Mindi will act as the femme fatale. All of the actors will be filmed in the alleyway where the exchange of money will take place and Mindi will be revealed as the real villain. 

Next we will film in the detective's office (Mindi's grandma's house). These scenes will only require the detective (Xena's dad). In the office he will receive a package, pack his briefcase and listen to a tape recording. 
Sounds and music will be edited in after this day therefore we do not need to worry about this.

Finish time = 3:00pm

Deconstruction of Film Noir Names

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.

Practical Task- Venetian Blind Shadows

In many film noir's venetian blinds are used and more commonly their shadows are used. I thought that buying a set of venetian blinds wouldn't work as it would be hard to hang them up and if we were filming somewhere without windows a set of venetian blinds wouldn't be of any use. Therefore, I decided to see if I could create these shadows myself, allowing us to possibly use this type of shadow in our opening scene. Also, meaning that we wouldn't have to hang any blinds up and if there were no windows we could create an effect that would make it look like there were windows.

Whilst I was researching how to create the shadows I found this image:

We don't have any special lighting equipment that would allow us to put in a small filter to create the shadows so I decided to create a larger filter that we could put in front of a light to create a similar effect.

Firstly, I found a piece of cardboard and then marked it into different sized rectangles similar to the image above.There was one large rectangle in the middle and two same sized smaller rectangles on the outside.

Then I cut out every other row of rectangles. Once I had finished I used a torch and held up the cardboard cut out in front of the light which created a shadow which looked like venetian blinds. 

The shadow could be used in front of a person's face to look as if though they are standing in front of a window. 

Evaluation

Overall, I thought that this turned out well and would look really good if we could incorporate it into our opening scene. However, this prop may be hard to hold up without seeing the shadow of a hand.

Inspiration- Detectives office layout

In our opening scene we have a detectives office so  I have decided to look at the layout and positioning of certain items within the office. This will enable us to get some ideas when creating our own detectives office.

I began by looking at images of detectives offices inspired by/in film noir movies. Below are some of the images I found.

I found that many of the offices contain small desks with many items placed on top. Items that were commonly on top of the desks included:

• A typewriter
• Alcohol
• Gun
• Lamp
• Paper
• Cigarettes and cigarette trays
• Parcels
• Letters
• Old fashioned phones

I then looked at the layout of the whole office. Some examples I found are shown below.

Both images show that the wall behind the desk has maps, photographs and pin boards placed on it. There are also some framed photos around the room. Other items include a cabinet for files, books, chairs, boxes and the detectives clothing.

I decided to create a plan of what our detectives office may look like and the position of certain items within the office.

Day 1- Filming Script

Day 1: 22nd December 2015-  Setting up the location and Taking polaroid shots for picture board prop

Location:

Xena's house and her grandma's house- Staplehurst

Meeting Point:

We have arranged to meet at Xena's house at 10:30am and from there we will walk to her grandma's house which is not far away. 

Props:

Xena: Xena will bring the filming camera and her polaroid camera. She will also help us to decide what items can be used as props within her grandma's house for example chairs, glasses, lamps and a desk.

Mindi: As Mindi is the actress she will bring the costumes (three different ones) along with jewellery. She is also bringing a spotlight, briefcase, documents and fake money.

Zayanah: Zayanah will bring the fake cigarettes with a lighter which will be used by Mindi in the polaroid shots. She was also bring a tape recorder which will be used by the detective.

Hazel: I will bring the parcel which will be used by the detective in the opening scene and the venetian blinds prop which we can use to create the shadows.

What will be completed?

By the end of the day we will have taken all of the polaroid shots of Mindi needed for the photo board prop. These pictures will be taken in various places around Xena's grandma's house and garden. Some of the locations will need to be cleared in order for the shots to be taken.For example the garage will need to have a corner cleared and a chair placed in front of a wall in the corner and we will need to clear the office so that all the modern devices, such as a laptop, are not seen in the shots. We will also prepare the detectives office with the correct mise-en-scene so it is ready for when we come back to film. In addition to this we will also agree a time to next meet to make sure our actors are ready to film.

Finish time = 1:00pm

Deconstruction of Opening Credits

To look at what we should write for our opening credits I decided to look at film noir films for examples.

The first example I looked at included:

• Director of Photography
• Casting
• Editor
• Wardrobe
• Hair and Make up
• Set Decoration
• Assistant Director
• Score
• Sound Design
• Special Art Effects
• Colourist

This specific example shows all of the opening credits on the screen at the same time. The role is in a different font compared to the name of the person who played this specific role.

                             

The next example I found showed only one credit on the screen at a time and instead of having dots between the role and the name of the person (as seen above) the word 'by' is written. This example also shows the use of different fonts for the role and the name of the person. However, the name of the person is in larger font compared to the role they played.

The most common type of transition used was the fade. As one credit faded out another credit fades in over it. This can be seen in the image below. As the credits fade into one another the credits end fairly quickly compared to some modern films where the credits are played throughout the film opening.

Practical- Parcel

In our opening scene we wanted the detective to receive a parcel. The contents of the parcel would then fall onto the floor as shown in our storyboard below.

To make the package I started off with a tissue box.

I then wrapped the box in brown greaseproof paper as I had no brown parcel paper.

The next step was to make a cut in the bottom so that the pictures could fall out. However, we wanted to be able to control when the photos fall out so I added a bit of string to the bottom with a loop to enable us to open and close the flap at the bottom of the box.

To make the parcel seem more realistic I added an address and a printed stamp from the 1950's when lots of film noir's were created. I then added some stamps so that the parcel looked like it had been sent. I created the stamps by drawing them with marker pens.

            

However, we wanted to add titles instead of the address onto the parcel so maybe we could add the titles to the side of the box instead where the sender's address would be.

Deconstruction of Lighting

The most important part of lighting in film noir’s is the shadows as the film often has a black and white filter which can enhance the shadows. The shadows can be created by using a small intense light and by emphasising the contrast between high and low key lighting. Hard lighting is the most commonly used type of lighting as it gives a sharp shadow. Whereas, soft lighting may be used to glamourise female characters.

Another common of lighting in film noir is the use of venetian blind shadows. This can create a sense of mystery as only some parts of the object or person are shown.

A foggy background can be used to create an eerie glow with silhouettes. This also creates a sense of mystery and suspense as the only two bold things we can see I the shot is the characters. However, none of their detailed features can be seen.

Shadows projected onto the walls behind are also a very common feature. This can be created by using intense lighting. The lights can be placed behind the actor to create the shadows.

Practical- Creating a 1950's Newspaper

By creating a newspaper front page we could use it as a prop in our opening scene. This could go on the pin board or we could create a newspaper and use this as the front page. 

I started with the top of the newspaper. After looking at inspiration I found a newspaper headline and adapted it a bit to form my own. The top of the article needed a border, commonly seen on newspapers, this would include the price and the newspaper volume and number which I found on previous 1950's newspapers. Beneath the headline I put a smaller headline which gave more details. 

Next I had to find the logo for my newspaper and after looking at inspiration of newspapers in my previous deconstruction I thought they looked like family shields so I found one which would work well as a logo for my newspaper. On either side of the logo I put the name of the newspaper 'Media Times' and next to this I placed small advertisements which are another common feature of 1950's newspapers.

I then created the columns and found a black and white image of an aeroplane to fit in with the headline. I choose to use three columns because most of the newspapers I deconstructed had lots of text crammed onto the front story.

As the newspaper would only be seen from far away and there would be no close up shots of it I found some random writing to place into each of the columns. This made it look like the story had lots of writing.

Next I had to edit the text I added in some gaps between the text which is often seen on newspapers and I also changed the font and size of the text to make it look like there was lots of writing.

This is what the newspaper looked like overall. I think it turned out well but in the future I would add more images.