Individual Evaluation

1) In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Our film opening is based on the classic film noirs but we added a modern/thriller twist to the theme, comparing our opening to that of other contemporary film noirs such as Brick(2005). We used various techniques in which can be split into four headings.

Editing

We used various editing techniques in our noir such as:

Fades - fades are used to show a lapse in time occured whereby one scene ended and the next scene began after that time occured. We used this in our noir for example when the hitman was walking to the rendevous point with the boss. This is used to speed up the sequence and allowed us to keep the audience interested with the use of interesting effects.

Saturation - Saturation or de-saturation can be used in add colour or discolour the scene. We used this to show the audience that the scene was a flashback.

Continuity editing - Throughout our final project we used continuity editing which means that the scenes are supposed to flow together. This is also used in Brick however both have parts linear and non-linear in the story for example both contain flashbacks which show story that happened before current events.

RAN OUT OF TIME

Final Film Opening

Group Treatment

Sound

Sound is used in film to create the tone and mood of a scene. We used various sound techniques in our film to establish to the audience the mood we were trying to achieve and set the correct atmosphere to the action on screen.

Diagetic sound is sound that is heard by the characters on screen, often called "actual sound". This is the most obvious sound technique because we normally use it without even thinking were using it. Evidence of this would be the police sirens near the end of the film.

Non-diagetic sound is sound that is coming from a source that isn't in the story. We used this technique when we did our voice-overs. We used this as classic film noirs usually use voice-overs to help narrate the film and give the story a sense of direction or to explain what the character is thinking or feeling at the time, which is why we used the technique.

Music is the main contributor to the atmosphere and tone of the scene. Classic noirs used it to build up tension which is what we tried to do when we chose our music. The aim of the music we chose was for it to be suspenseful and create tension during the slower parts of the opening, slowly building up to the action. This is also used to help create the pace of the film.

Sound FX were used in our noir to make a specific narrative point in the story, for example the police sirens, which alerted the audience that the Hitman was in trouble and allowed up to let the viewers know this without change in music or through the use of dialogue.

Ambiance - There wasn't much background noise in our film opening due to the music creating the tone instead of ambient noise. This allowed us to fully control the mood of the scene instead of relying on background noise while we were filming which adds to the building of atmosphere.

Volume - We used volume mostly in the music, voice-over and sirens. We changed the volume of the music at certain points to make it louder which quickened the pace of the scene when it was more action packed. We lowered the music when there was a voice-over so it could clearly be heard and so the audience definitely know what the character is thinking. We used sirens that were louder than the music to add the element of danger to the scene which helped to increase the urgency of the main character's getaway.

By Matt Keeble


Editing

As editor for the final project it was extremely important to concentrate on making sure that the continuity of it was very smooth, and also not to confuse the audience with the effects used. Without editing it is impossible to screen it all in one go and come out with a project that the audience will understand, editing enables break aways and cuts to other scenes and also enables more camera shots so it is a more exciting project to watch.


Before jumping on the machine and editing away, i had to ensure that as a group we all had the same ideas and aspirations for the project once we were happy with the kind of effects we were going to use i jumped on board and started the logging and capturing you need to before you can start chopping and editing on final cut pro. Having used final cut pro i have some experience others don't and therefore that enabled to teach my group new skills and also confidence with the computer.


In final cut pro there were many effects you could use, but we felt the more simpler effects worked the best with our piece, with consideration to the task we were giving. Film Noir's don't use a lot of editing and more focus on the narrative and cinematography, so in some aspects it felt i was restricted to what i could do, but on the other hand it was a challenge not to use the flashy effects. The effects we used was a fade in fade out template, we particular used it at the start and end of our project and after a few minutes perfecting the time and speed of the fades we were happy to move on.


The next effect was the jump cuts, this was more tricky aspect of editing and we did need some advice from our teacher, once the advice was given it was relatively easy, with jump cut the character jumps forward a few yards when walking down a long walk-way and we got this idea from many films like 'Snatch' and 'Run Lola, Run', after we found out how to create a jump cut, you just then need to repeat this several times. Once we fiddled around with the time line and the speeds, as a group we felt this is defiantly our best editing used. Not just because it was probably the hardest effect to create but because on screen it looked very good and professional.


Another effect we used in our final project, was the use of saturation and color corrector. The use of these effects created a more contemporary Film Noir feel, with the characters glowing in black and white or the character being hid by the darkness in other cases. We didn't get lucky with these effects because we had already planned that we were going to use it from the word go, and the effects themselves to a long time tweaking them to make the characters and the props really dark and create that shadowy effect.

By Nathan Ramsey


Mise-En-Scene

The locations we used were chosen to fulfill film noir style conventions The interior location (film studio) has curtains lining the walls, they created a really interesting visual effect when the spot-light was turned on with a stripy light and dark pattern not unlike the venetian blind effect used in classic noirs. The empty, vacant spaces of the room are filled with darkness so it’s difficult to tell how big the room is and the function of the room is unknown to the audience, the only clue is the table and chair but it still doesn’t tell the audience exactly where they are, this sets up an enigma. The exterior location of Grimwade Street was chosen because of the boarded up building and graffiti, the rough down-and-out looking street Matt walks down matches the conventional noir settings of dodgy back alleys and drab streets.

The small spot light we used was the only source of light in the interior location, this use of key light made deep long shadows contrast with bright (almost) overexposed pools of light, the overall result made average shots look moody and interesting. The exterior location had no artificial lighting, all natural, this made the outdoor shots look bland and flat compared to the indoor shots.

The props we decided to use changed a bit from our original plans, in our brainstorm sessions before shooting we wanted to use a toy gun but later agreed that it was not an appropriate prop to bring in to college and was not as realistic as a garrotte wire. The cord we used turned out to be a much better choice in the end as it gave the actor a good chance to interact with it and perform through it, like winding it around his hands and fingers to build suspense, it was more flexible and safer than a plastic gun. The blood was Burger King ketchup, we wanted to get enough on his hand to be dramatic and shock the audience but not so much that it would effect the classification, I think we achieved a good amount as it is not over the top but enough to be disgusting.

The costumes of the femme fatale and hitman are very different from each other, this was done to highlight the two extremes of film noir, the classical old-school noir and the modern neo-noir. The dead femme fatale has a fur coat and red dress, this stereotypical conventional attire puts her into an easily recognisable role so the audience understands who she is. Matt the hitman is wearing more modern normal clothes that don’t reveal much about him, he needed to be more of an enigma than the dead woman so we thought he should be more neutral and unassuming.

By Caroline Chicken



Cinematography

As director for the final project, it’s important for me to think beforehand about the different shots which are going being used in the shoot, as well as making sure the intended visual representation which as a group we planned is met. Therefore cinematography in particular is a vital element in achieving this.
Things to plan before shooting included framing and shot sizing. Using the rule of thirds to adequately frame shots so that the action is well placed on the screen for the viewer is crucial as shots where the action is in the middle of the screen looks amateurish to audiences. Another basic but important nevertheless thing which needs to be thought about when shooting is not breaking the 180 degree line rule of action was not broken.
Particularly for the first few shots of the opening framing and shot sizing where vital as the action in the dark room set which we planned needs to represented well on screen. So for these shoots the point of action or prominence needs to be in a corner of the screen or off straight using the rule of thirds whilst still making sure that all that needs to be in the shot is in the shot. Moreover using the scenery within the room in important to set the scene and this is where mise-en-scene comes in as well. The angle of the shots and sizing must be correct as in the first few shots close-ups and mid-shots in particular are used so camera placement also will be an element to carrying out the shots as planned. Furthermore using the tripod to position the camera will be helpful in shooting the shots with the hitman in the room and the female lying on the floor whereas a freehand shot will be used for the close-up shot and extreme close-ups therefore making the camera to vital for the professionalism of the shots.
The corridor shots in the sequence involve a tracking shot of the hitman approaching the dark room and close-ups of the phone call between the hitman and the person who has apparently arranged the hit on the female as well as the hitman looking at the photo. For the tracking adequate shot length is an element to think about in a short film opening the shot length must not be too long and tedious also there needs to be a point to each shot used in the opening sequence. So for the tracking shot the action needs to be picked up a the right and ended at the correct time as well as making sure that the camera remains steady as is not jumpy although using a tripod is a shot like this will help. As for the close-ups in the corridor scenes just as the close-ups used in the dark room using these shots is very much in keeping with the theme of the opening which is film noir. The close-up was a common shot used in classic noirs and it is used to display facial emotion and/or show the viewer something in more detail. These shots will are likely to be shot free hand with the camera so it is important the height and focus remain accurate along with good shot size and framing also.
Additionally for the outside shots in the park and the street shots making use of the surroundings and good framing will be particularly vital. Another thing to consider although I mentioned before that the opening in not massively long in three minutes; it is also important to ensure that when editing there is enough footage so that there is no requirement to shoot more and everything can be easily edited.

So for the park shots which like the phone call and the hitman looking at the picture are flashback shots to keep with the theme of noirs, there will be an establishing shot of the park bench and the very start of the scene, followed by long shots of the instigator and hitman as they approach the bench. There will then be a mid-shot of the two on the bench then a shot of the hitman leaving with the folder. For these shots considering shot lengths and leaving adequate handles before and after shots will be important. Camera movement should be made easier to control by using a tripod for the shots. Framing will be important in the shots where characters approach and leave the bench to make sure everything is well positioned on screen throughout the shot.

The shots along the street of the hitman walking towards the building require as being predominantly tracking shots leaving handles again before and after as well as good shot sizing and framing. Also the angle of the shot must be thought about action in all in shot. These shots again will be shot using a tripod will be crucial in ensuring the camera stay steady and must be adjusted to effectively produce the shots.
When considering the audience for the opening it is important to remember that as a group we choose teenagers to represent our target audience so the shots used must in a way cater for this being the case. So using interesting shots which hopefully will create a thriller feel to the action will be important to attract and keep the attention of the audience. As I mentioned before using long and dull with likely make more viewers uninterested and become detached for the action which is not what we want.

By Leit Henry

Group Evaluation

1) In what ways does your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?



2) How does your media represent specific social groups (By Leit Henry)



Representing social groups in the opening on Prezi

3) Who might distribute our media? (By Nathan Ramsey)

I would hope that our media would be picked up by a distributor like BBC Three, E4 or channel 4, the reason why is because those television channels have a much suited audience age than any others with them all having views from young teens to young adults, this channels would suit our project the best and would then in return hopefully give us more viewers. Also we aren't hoping this comes on in every cinema in the world for four weeks, but even with our low-budget we hope it would be relaesed in some cinemas across the uk for a couple of weeks. Also we would hope that our project would get noticed enough to be rewiewed and hopefully from this and a small website we could make this would generate more antcipation for the release and once again try to attract a large as possible audience we could recieve.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target demographic for our picture is males from aged 15 to 25 years and we did our best to promote interest to this specific demographic with actors of that age group making them more sympathetic and keeping the film fast paced.
The position in socio-economics status of our target audience would be between E and C1 as this is the class we are representing in our film.

Mainstreamers and reformers would be the type of consumers we appeal to as mainstreamers make up most of the population we want to get most of them interested in seeing our film, reformers are always looking for something new so our fresh approach to film noir would hopefully get their attention

Teenagers would get a sense of personal identification from our film as we use characters of their age group in the storyline as well as a bit of surveillance because of the extreme lifestyle of the characters make the teenage audience feel normal

Genre communities would be a good audience for our film as it would be of great interest to film noir enthusiasts who haven't seen any good new noir for a few years. Anyone who likes an intellectual puzzle would enjoy our film as the plot is based around a young man trying to get to the bottom of a mystery and proving his innocence.



5) How did you attract/address your audience?


We tried to stick to the original film noir style narrative. It was through this style that we were able to include enigma and use mysterious twists in the story such as the dead femme fetale in the beginning and the elusive and shady characters that we used to help attract the viewers attention.

We used young characters when casting the characters due to the target audience being 15- 30. Because in the storyline the characters make the wrong decisions etc, this allows the younger viewers to perhaps relate themselves to the story when watching the film, allowing us to grip them in further and infuse their feelings with the characters. We also used one of the character's ethnicity to our advantage while casting the roles due to one of our actors being mixed race, they often are stereotyped to be bad guys which worked well with his character as "Boss".

We tried to stick to the classic film noir theme when we was choosing how to present the film to the viewer, but included a more modern and darker element added to it. This helped to achieve the noir thriller we were aiming to achieve which helps build tension and suspense for the audience which was what we were hoping to create while filming and editing the final piece.

The overall ideology we wanted to convey to the audience was that making one wrong decision can make you end up in a big mess, which is what happened to the main character in our noir opening. Also another message could be read that mixing in the wrong "crowd" can land you in trouble you weren't expecting to get involved in which teenagers can also relate to.

The costumes were that of the original noirs, long dark coat for the anti-hero and a more promiscuous and revealing outfit for the femme fetale. This helped us achieve the contemporary film noir status we were looking for and the audience can relate this to the old noirs.

We used slow, suspenseful music during the slower scenes where we were establishing the scene and when the action was on screen it was more fast paced which we used to build tension and makes the viewer feel "on edge" and like somethings about to happen which we used to grab the audiences attention.

The main location was of the dark room in which the femme fetale lay dead, this stayed true to the original noirs of dark alleys and streets which help add a darker element to our opening. This allowed for us to use interesting contrasting lighting which they use in the classic noirs to create interesting lighting effects such as when the light shined of the Hitman's hair and created a silhouette on his face. This adds mystery and creates interesting images for the viewer to watch.

We used all these elements to add to the overall effect we wanted to achieve and made the viewer feel tense like a thriller should. We even used simple effects such as the use of simple titles to establish the kind of film we wanted the audience to perceive it as. All this came together to help us achieve the contemporary noir image we were looking for.

Technologies used in creating opening on Prezi

Q7 Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

As a group we feel we have developed our skills hugely since we started the course in September, we are all know confident with the college's camera's and the Apple Macs. Also we feel as a group that not only have our pratical skills improved by our team management skills from taking responsibilty to helping others. However we have come across some problems through the course, one of the major problems was the logging, we still can't quite do it all in one. Another incident was the microphones, we couldn't get a very clear voice with problems like the background noise interupting and also in parts you can hear breathing, but as a group we are still very happy with the outcome of the project.

Also looking back at the prelimanry task we noticed as a group we can't just go into it, and strike lucky. We realized that you have to time manage and sort out jobs for everyone, so that nobody is sitting their twiddling their thumbs.

After the preliminary task, we as a group were set another task, to polish up our skills, where two characters were to exchange an item without talking. An easy to understand plot and a location that was best-suited to this type of story meant we had understood the interpretations of different actions within a sequence. Quick cuts between shots maintained rhythm and pace set by the chosen music. However their were some minor issues about placement of the characters and we have learnt not to do it again.
We discussed the job roles and made it equal, as a group we shared the pre production work. And we feel we have learnt many new academic skills and are all happy with the way each person has worked and the effort we have all put in.

 

By Nathan Ramsey

Questionnaire results (by Caroline Chicken)

I noticed that people answered the first question (“what do you expect from a crime thriller?”) expected the same things from a crime thriller as a noir film; criminals (all), detectives (all) , violence/gunfights (9) and city settings (4). All these are themes used in film noirs. Blade runner was the most mentioned crime thriller in question three as 4 people put it down. Question three had the most varied responses but almost all (8) described an action sequence of some kind e.g the car chase in “the bourne identity”. Only four people ticked yes on the fourth question, 2 put down “sunset boulevard” and the others put “the big sleep” and “in a lonely place” these were filled in by older participants (aged 47 to 60) so they would be more familiar with the classic film noirs. No one ticked yes on question five, film noir is still a rarely used term. All ten participants ticked the first box (enigmas and intrigue), dark storylines were also popular as 6 people ticked that box.

Questionnaire (by Caroline Chicken)

1) What do you expect from a crime thriller?



2) Name some of your favourite crime thrillers or any crime thrillers you’ve seen recently



3) Describe your favourite scene or most memorable moments of a crime thriller you’ve seen recently



4) Have you ever see an old black and white crime thriller (1950-60s)

Yes No

If yes which one(s) have you seen and did you enjoy them



5) Are you familiar with the term “film noir”

Yes No

If yes, please explain what you think it means




6) Tick the characteristics you like to see films

enigmas and intrigue unhappy endings dangerous women

imperfect protagonists dark storyline urban setting

Group notes by Caroline Chicken

Here are some notes we made when first brainstorming our ideasCharacters:
Hero(hitman): takes a job from boss to kill his ex-girlfriend, he arrives at her location and finds her dead (or dying), he realises he has been set up and runs out. a voice over will be added on the action.

Femme fatale: unknown cause of death, signs of a struggle and a bit of blood. Not revealing her face until the end makes her identity an enigma. We will make it clear that she is a femme fatale with her costume and make up

Boss/hitman employer: we wont show his whole face, just the lower half of his head while he’s on the phone to give him a sense of mystery.

Props
- femme fatale : red dress, fur coat (maybe), shoes, lipstick, blood
- hitman : gun, black coat/jacket, phone
- boss : phone


we changed a lot of our first ideas, like the femme fatale's relationship with the hero and anonymous boss. We decided that the set up of the hero’s previous meetings and feelings for his ex-girlfriend (the femme fetal) would take a lot of time and over complicate the hero’s motives and felt a mysterious identity would be more in keeping with the conventional film noir narrative. We decided to reveal the boss as we needed to show more of the set up of the hit and more exterior shots.

Script

Business Set-up film opening

INT. DARK ROOM. DAY

A female body lays still and motionless on the floor as gradually it is revealed to be within a dark room in an unknown location. The face of the unknown female is not shown and there are no obvious pointers to what has happened to her.
FADE IN:

EXT. PARK. DAY

During a flashback an UNKNOWN male character approaches a bench in a park with a distinct yellow folder under his left arm and sits down on the bench. From afar HITMAN is seen walking towards the bench; he sits down next to the UNKNOWN character. The two are emotionless and exchange no dialogue between each other. UNKNOWN looks over at HITMAN for a short moment before getting up off of the bench leaving the folder behind on the bench. HITMAN picks up the folder, stands up and opens it briefly reading its contexts, then close it and walks away from the bench.

HITMAN (V.O.)
That was supposed to be my last job.
FADE OUT:

EXT. STREET

HITMAN is shown walking along a run down looking street at pace. Other people are seen around in the distance. HITMAN then walks up a few steps and enters a building. There is a focused and emotionless exterior to the character, his dark clothing and business like look portray a professional appearance, which gives him a shifty presence as his enters the building.
FADE IN:
INT. UNSPECIFIED LOCATION. DAY

HITMAN is shown during a flashback on the phone however there is no dialog though it appears that he is agreeing to something during the call. There is a quick cut to UNKNOWN male who is saying something which is not heard. HITMAN is then shown looking at a photo of an unknown female on the front and its revealed as he turns the photo over that the photo has "£50,000" written on back of it. HITMAN is shown putting the photo into his jacket.

HITMAN (V.O.)
The one to set me up for life.
FADE OUT:

INT. CORRIDOR. DAY

Now inside the building HITMAN enters a room with a wire of some sort wrapped around his hands.
CUT TO:

INT. DARK ROOM. DAY

In the room HITMAN immediately notices the same body as shown before on the ground and walks cautiously towards it. He then turns over the body and produces the photo of the unknown female from his jacket.

HITMAN (V.O.)
But things got complicated.
CUT TO:

INT. DARK ROOM. DAY

He compares the face of the dead body to that of the photo before putting the photo back into his jacket. There is a cut to HITMAN's hands with blood all over them.

HITMAN (V.O.)
Blood on my hands, gotta clear my name.
CUT TO:

INT. DARK ROOM. DAY

Police sirens then sound in the background and HITMAN turns his head to the direction of the sirens. He looks around the room before making a getaway.

HITMAN (V.O.)
The worst thing about going to far
is not knowing you already have.
CUT TO:

INT. DARK ROOM. DAY

CLOSE SHOT - FEMALE FACE

Female body is again shown but this time a close-ups of her face of the female is revealed and is disclosed to be the same female as in the photo. The face of the female is motionless as she lays still it can be assumed at this point that the female is dead.
FADE OUT:

Created By Leit Henry

Synopsis of Film Opening

The femme fetale is seen dead on the floor.

(Flashback)
The boss appears at a meeting place with a folder. The Hitman is then seen to join him and they both sit on the bench. They wait a little while so not to arouse suspicion. The Boss then leaves and the folder is left behind. The Hitman picks up the folder and reads what he has been assigned to do.

(Present)
The Hitman is shown walking to his hit, Bracing himself as he prepares to do the murder.


(Flashback)
A flashback of a conversation is had between the Hitman and the Boss to confirm the mission. It also shows him preparing for the hit as he takes the photo of the subject to be killed and places it in his coat clearly showing the price he is being paid.


(Present)
As he approaches we see the Hitman preparing his weapon, tightening it so that he can easily strangle his victim. Upon entering the room, he notices the already dead body laying on the floor. He rolls her over and checks her identity. In so doing this, however, he gets the blood of the victim on his hands. Sirens can be heard. The Hitman is on the run. Trying to clear his name. The victims face and identity is revealed.

First draft of Film Opening

Individual Synopsis for a Film Noir

Main character is running away from a crime scene, cops are everywhere. He heads back towards his apartment.

(Flashback)
The main character is an ex detective, he is walking towards his girlfriends house. Someone is seen murdering his girlfriend. The stranger places the murder weapon in his hands, you can't see the stranger's face, only that he has leather gloves on. The detective rushes to her house. He goes through the open door to find her body on the floor. The detective picks up his girlfriends body and then realizes what's happened. He's been framed, the blood is on his hands and his fingerprints on the weapon.


(present)
Hes packing his bags. He thinks to himself, why did i get involved?
The police invade. The ex detective is then caught and arrested with the murder


(Flashback)
He is seen meeting with an attractive girl, she says she loves him, but this is how it was meant to be.


(Present)
He is a prisoner behind bars. This is my story... his cell door is unlocked. The ones that did this to me are the ones who'll pay. I did my time, now it's time for me to end theirs.

Report on a contemporary film noir

Brick (2005) is a contemporary film noir, a modern day film that has implemented film noir style and characteristics into the films core elements. It is the classic film noir elements that are used that define contemporary film noirs or (neo-noirs) and is why Brick is a good example of this sub-genre.

The Storyline


The opening of the story begins with a man sitting, staring at a dead girl near a tunnel. There is then a flash back to two days previous. We see someone put a note in a locker and the man from the scene before opening the locker and find the note. It tells him to meet at a phone booth. The phone rings and the man answers it, a girl is on the phone and is when we find out the name of the character, Brendan. The girl on the phone's name is Emily. She calls him to explain that shes in trouble, however she uses words that Brendan doesn't understand. A black car drives passed him and Emily screams. The passenger in the car drops a cigarette with a blue arrow on it.

Brendan then meets with his friend Brain, who tells him that Emily was trying to get in with the popular group of kids. Brendan breaks into Emily's locker and takes out a red piece of paper. He talks so his ex-girlfriend but she won't help him get the information he wants so he goes looking around and finds the complete version of the red paper he found, it was an invitation to a party. Brendan calls the number and talks to Laura, she tells him where the party is. While he's there she tells him she's been hanging out at the Coffee and pie, oh my.

He goes to the Coffee and pie and meets with someone called Dode. He won't tell him where she is and so he punches him, he tells him he's with her now. Brendan follows Dode to where he meets Emily, he gives her a piece of paper, hugs her and she leaves. Brendan meets with her, they hug and he takes her notebook. Inside was the paper Dode gave her, it was a symbol. He asks Brain to see if he knew what it meant, he explains that its a symbol for a meeting place but doesn't know where.

He later figures it out, however its 3 hours after she was supposed to meet with him. He arrives at the meeting place to find her dead. This is where the flashback started the film. It the shows a mini-flashback of Brendan and Emily fighting and she slaps him, she says she can't be with him because hes jealous and she's a "a different world now".

Brendan speaks with Brain to try and figure out what the words Emily on the phone meant. Tug, Pin, poor Frisco and Brick. He tells him that the Pin is a big drug dealer and he is linked with the popular kids that Emily was trying to befriend. Brendan fights Brad, one of the Pin's dealers, to get his attention. Laura tries to talk to Brendan but he explains he can't trust her. A man comes up to Brendan and knocks him out. He is called into the Vice Principal's office. They make a deal that the Vice President will stay off Brendan's back if  he tells him what's happening.

Brendan through a car park and sees the mysterious black car from the beginning of the film. He holds a brick to it and the man that knocked him out came over and punched him again. Brendan takes enough of the fight that the man takes him to see the Pin. In the boot of the car, Brendan opens it and sees the Pin's address. He speaks with the Pin, explaining he knows the location of his hideout and to pay him to not rat him out, also providing a service for him by giving him information on the Vice President's movements. The Pin says he will know the answer by the end of the day tomorrow.

Brendan is attacked at school by a man with a knife, it is assumed to be the Pin's. Brendan knocks him out.

He is on the phone to Brain when the Pin pulls up in his van and has decided to pay him. Brain tells him that Emily has gone missing and that Frisco took heroin and is in a coma due to the dose containing traces of chloric tricomin which is found in laundry detergent.

Brendan sneaks into the Pin's house where he discovers one of the bricks. Tug finds him and punches him, Brendan explains he doesn't like the Pin not being honest with him. Tugger feels he is in the same situation. He explains to Brendan that their were 10 bricks, 8 were sold, one in the basement and another stolen. It was that brick that was cut and made bad and Frisco dosed off it.

Dode arranges to meet with the Pin, he says he knows who killed Emily, he reveals that she was pregnant with his baby. Tug shoots him. Tug confesses to Brendan that he killed Emily and that war has broke out between him and the Pin and Brendan is on his side. Brendan arranges a meeting between him and the Pin. Laura comes to speak with Brendan and they have sex. She puts a cigarette like the one from the beginning in the ash tray next to Brendan.

Brendan speaks with Brain and tells him to call the police and tell them there are drugs in the back of Tug's car. At the meeting, the Pin wants to ensure that the last brick hasn't been tampered with and that Tug has had the opportunity to cut it bad and wants him to dose off it. Tug refuses. Brendan agrees to dose it instead as the police are due to come soon. When someone goes to get the brick, it is missing. A shot is fired upstairs and the Pin and Tug begin fighting. Brendan takes the gun Tug is going to kill the Pin with, we hear the Pin calling for his help. Brendan tosses the gun back into the room and escapes while we see that Emily's body is in the back of Tug's car where the police will search for drugs, finding her.

Brendan meets Laura at school, it is there he lies to her, telling her that he never went to the meeting. She explains what happened. 6 were found dead; which includes the Pin, Tug and Emily. Brendan then explains her role in the whole story. Laura was the one that stole the 9th brick, she took half and cut the rest. After Frisco was put into a coma from dosing off it, she need to blame someone. She had Emily. she sent Tug  to talk with Emily to find out what happened, however she told Emily to tell Tug that she was carrying his baby. Anyone that knew Tug would know what would happen, he hit her and killed her. It was Laura that took the 10th brick so that a fight would start at the the Pin's. Brendan tells her that he slipped a note to the Vice President so that he would search her locker and find the brick. Laura tells Brendan that the baby was his and that Emily was going to abort it.

Messages and Values

The main message of this film is that being involved with the wrong people is a bad idea as in Emily's case it got her killed. However this also has a typical noir message which is, make one wrong move and it will send you spiraling into your own destruction. Brick is an example of this as Brendan made one wrong move, to find his ex girlfriends killer and ends up in a whole lot of trouble.

Characters

The two main types of noir characters can be found in this film: the detective/anti-hero and the femme fetale.
The detectives name is Brendan, he is the modern equivalent of the hard-nosed detectives in the classic film noirs. He is always belittling people through the use of his superior intellect and wit which he uses to his advantage while trying to gain intelligence from others. He is always alone, never trusts anyone but himself, he eats lunch by himself everyday and despises almost everyone around him.

The femme fetale is Laura, she has a different twist on the femme fetale element. She doesn't just talk promiscuously or uses her good looks to use people. Rather, she also uses her cunning and intelligence to manipulate people. For example when she manipulated Emily so that she would take the heat for the brick instead of her, or when she uses Brad to make herself appear to be trustworthy. She is an example of a classic femme fetale because she tries to lead the main character (Brendan) down then wrong path to get herself out of trouble by telling him she loves him and that she wants him.

Mise-en-scene

Similar lighting effects are used in Brick for example the contrasting light and shadow effects such as when he's searching the Pin's house, the lighting is very low key and the only light source is a window and mirrors reflecting the light around the room which is used to create mysterious shadows and silhouettes.

The same sort of acting is also used in this film. A technique often used in film noir is the way they talk, often in very short sentences, intelligent vocabulary and metaphoric speech. As if the audience is assumed to be highly educated and would confuse the viewer which is what film noir tries to do, make the viewing experience quite a disturbing and chilling one. They also uses more flirtatious speech when the femme fetale and main character are talking. This is shown when Brendan and Laura are talking, particularly at the beginning when shes trying to "hook" Brendan in.

In the classic film noirs the detective is usually wearing an overcoat, shoes and appears to be "rough" like they haven't tried to make themselves presentable. The femme fetale is usually wearing quite revealing clothes and is normally made-up. This common dress is used in also used in Brick which makes this a good example of a film noir.

The location of this film always tends to be in dark rooms, alleyways, phone booths, enclosed spaces and street corners, which sticks to the original scene of the film noir thriller. They are all very low-lit which adds to the darkening effect film noir tries to achieve. A good example of this is the dark tunnel where the murder took place and the room in the Pin's house where Brendan is beaten.

Sound

The film is mostly comprised of diegetic sounds in which the characters are also able to hear the sounds, for example the gunshot we hear when Tug pulls the trigger on Dode. This is used so that the audience are aware that the characters know what's going on as well as us. This is used in pretty much all films and not specific to film noir stylistics. A common practice for film noir however, are voice overs in which are non-diegetic. Brick on the other hand, doesn't use this technique or very little of it which could of added to its already neo-noir status. Voice overs are usually used to fill in storylines or to show the character's thoughts, however in Brick Brendan's thoughts are usually shown through visual aids or through action which could be why they weren't needed.

Film noirs normally have quite chilling, suspenseful music. Brick uses this type of music to build tension when scenes are important or to be exciting such as in the intro when we first see the dead body. This is then infused with the use of ambient sounds which lulls the viewer into a false sense of security in that everything is OK for now.

Cinematography

1950's film noirs tend to be shot mostly in close-ups to help the viewer try and merge their feelings with the main characters. Brick is also shot in this way, it makes the viewer feel as though they are also part of the drug and murder investigation and puts them on edge as though they are also the ones getting involved. They also use rule of thirds framing which is used to give the shot an aura of mystery in which anything could come into the space of the shot and also makes it easier to watch when two characters are talking to each other. A good example of this in Brick is at the end of the film when Brendan and Laura are talking with each other where the shots are very nicely framed.

Editing


Noirs usually follow continuity editing in which one event follow another but usually contain flashbacks and is told in a non-linear fashion. Brick uses this in a way as the first half of the story is non-linear, the girl is already dead and we don't know who anyone is. This creates an enigma for the viewer and makes them want to watch more.

There are sometimes shot reverse shots when the characters are talking to show speech ensuring that the eye lines match otherwise it looks strange to the viewer. A typical technique for film noir is when one character is standing or sitting behind the other and talks to them with no eye contact. This is unusual as people would never normally do that which helps add mystery and creates tension and subtle seriousness between characters. An example of this is when Brendan sits behind the Pin on the beach and they talk without looking at each other.

Transitions between shots is usually quite slow during scenes which is used so that the viewer has lots of time to focus on the character and how they feel or take in what's on screen. Then it tends to become quite fast paced and jump cuts are used to build speed and tension creating a more exciting, action-packed scene.
This is used in Brick in the whole film and gets more fast paced in scenes such as the final war scene and when he's getting beaten up by Tug.

Audience

The audience for this film i would say is probably between the ages of 15-30, however some of the dialogue younger viewers may find more difficult to understand and the plot is very complex compared with most films which may make it more difficult for them to follow.

Brick has all the key elements to be a film noir which is why i think it's a good example of a contemporary film noir.

Report on Classic Film Noir

Report on Classic Film Noir on Prezi

Group Storyboard for Film noir opening

Analysis of two film openings

Opening 1 - Sin City

• Narrative: It opens with a black/ white background with a woman walking on the balcony with a contrasting red dress. A man approaches her an offers a smoke. They talk flirtatiously and express a kiss. He tells her everything will be alright and that he loves her and that he'll save her from whatever shes running from. He then proceeds to shoot her with a silenced pistol and says "i'll never know what she was running from, i'll cash your cheque in the morning." This line itself is an enigma, who is paying him? Who is he? and why did he kill her?

• Editing: The editing is quite slow as there isn't a lot of action going on, however, it cuts to still images that appear hand drawn, like a comic as if your watching the film in still frames.

• Cinematography: This film in designed to have all the features of a film noir and as such has all the camera techniques associated with it. For example: close-ups on the characters faces to show their emotions, rule of thirds to make the shots more interesting, the characters speak without eye contact to give a serious impression.

•  Mise-En-Scene: The woman is wearing a red dress and red lipstick which sharply contrasts against the background to make her and her body stand out and seem more attractive making the audience concentrate more on her. While the man tends to blend in which may be because he intends to kill her silently and the blending in may accentuate that.

• Titles/ graphics: The titles have the same contrasting appearance as the woman in the red dress, making them stand out and appear more noticeable.

• This opening grips you in a different way to other film openings in that is less action packed and filled with enigmas gripping you, making you want to know more. 

Opening 2 - The Fast and The Furious

• Narrative: The main plot opens with a truck load of DVD players and TVs being loaded up onto the back of a lorry, which then cuts to night and the lorry is being pursued by three black, tinted cars which is the enigma in this film opening. They are defined by a green neon underglow so you know they the same through out the film. The lorry is then surround by these mysterious cars and pinned to the middle lane and no way of escaping. An unknown figure gets out of the sun-roof in one of the cars and fires a grappling hook into the lorry to attach them both together so they stay the same distance, he then jumps and attacks the driver and taking control of the lorry.

• Editing:  The editing is very fast paced as this is a very action packed first few minutes designed to make the viewer want to carry on watching. The different camera angles are cut together to perhaps make the viewer feel a bit disorientated like the driver of the lorry which adds to the effect of the film opening.

•  Cinematography: There are lots of different camera angles used in the sequence for example lots of close-ups to show the viewer what is going on and showing in detail all the action they want the viewer to see. There are many different camera angles used to disorientate the viewer to help give the viewer the same experience as whats happening to the driver, making the viewer more on-edge and excited while watching it and grabbing the audiences full attention.

•  Mise-En-Scene: The characters and cars are all dressed in black which makes the audience perceive them as mysterious and evil. The truck driver is in ordinary clothes which makes him look innocent compared with these unknown figures. The cars are also black to look more mysterious, thus adding to the enigmas effect making us want to know who they are. It's night time which means that they can't be seen and because they are in black it means they are doing something which they shouldn't and don't want to get caught.

• Sound: The sound is quiet until the cars arrive mostly focusing on the cars engines which gives the perception that they are driving really powerful, fast cars.

• Titles/graphics: The titles are perfect for the films theme, they are chrome alloy titles that relate to the cars high performance and fast look and have an engine sound as they appear on screen which adds to the high speed effect. 

• The opening grips you really well with an action packed opening with plenty of enigmas that keep the audience wanting to know more.

• This film opening helps to set-up the film by establishing one of the main plot points of the film without giving away everything and shows the audience what the rest of the film is going to be like.

The Fast and The Furious opening

Sin City opening

Evaluation of The Exchange

Brief
Our task for the exchange was to create a short sequence in the style of a film thriller which involved the exchange of an important item. The location of the film was to be decided by us. After the footage was shot we would then edit the film, choosing some music and titles that were appropriate for what we were trying to achieve.

My responsibilities included: acting, ensuring the continuity was the same from the last shot, help direct the film, editing and some filming. Acting - i was one of the main actors in this piece and so it was my responsibility that we got the shots we needed to use and that the continuity flowed throughout the film. I also helped to direct the film, giving suggestions on ways we could film etc. I did some of the editing of the film and parts which i was not taking part in, i helped film.

I think that i contributed a lot to the project, helped to make it flow and ensure that we got everything that needed to be done on time and got the shots we needed to make the finished project in the end. I could have helped more by doing more of the camera-work and improving cinematography.

I learn that working as a team really helps make the project more efficient and it takes less time when taking action and just doing everything instead of arguing how everything should be done.

I felt the production value of the overall finished video was really good and what may be improved if we had a few more shots that could have allowed for the video to be a bit longer or to get more close ups.

Our general use of ECMS was good however, our cinematography could perhaps be changed so that it seemed more film noir/ thriller.

I felt that my ideas came through in the finished project, the audience understood what was happening during the sequence and the audience feedback was mostly positive although they commented that the music was a bit over-dramatic compared to what was happening on screen.

What went wrong?
The music was considered too dramatic to what was happening on screen and we didn't have enough shots and had to re-use one of the shots again to make sure we had enough footage. I thought one of the main best points about our movie was the close up of the important object and how the actor shook his hand as he received it, gave a mysterious look about the object which i felt went well with the theme.

If i was to do this again, i would be sure to get more shots to ensure that we have enough coverage to work with and to ensure we have all the shots we need when editing. I would also try to use music that was more appropriate and try to ensure that it works well and compliments the work we are trying to achieve.    

The Exchange

2 Examples of Contemporary Film Noir

Sin City (2005)



Directors - Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino


This is a film based on Frank Miller's comics which is split up into three different stories: The Hard Goodbye, That Yellow Bastard and The Big Fat Kill. In "The Hard Goodbye" a man called Marv meets a girl called Goldie, they have sex. The next morning he finds her dead next to him. Marv gets framed for her murder and so he goes out and hunts the true killers and to find out the truth behind her death. In "That Yellow Bastard" Hartigan is 60, in the police force and nearing retirement. He is assigned his last assignment to do before retiring. Nancy Callahan who is 11, is kidnapped and going to be raped by Roark Jr, a paedophile. Hartigan gets shot and prisoned. 8 years later he goes out to find Roark Jr, now That Yellow Bastard and meets Nancy, now 19 along the way. In "The Big Fat Kill" Dwight finds out that Shellie's (his girlfriend) ex boyfriend Jackie Boy is going to start trouble in Old town. He follows Jackie Boy to Old town where the prostitutes of Old Town murder him for causing trouble. Later on they find out that Jackie Boy was a policeman. If the cops find out about Jackie Boy's murder, the truce between them and Old town with be destroyed and the town will be filled with dead prostitutes. It's Dwight's, Gail's (the head of the prostitutes) and the prostitute's job the make sure that no one finds out. 




Blade Runner (1982)





Director - Ridley Scott 


Scientists have made great scientific advances and created biologically-engineered humanoids called replicants. These sophisticated replicants were declared illegal due to a violent revolt that had taken place "off world". November 2019 - Rick Deckard is called out of retirement and taken to his boss, he informs him that Nexus-6 replicants have escaped and they are the worst yet. He is ordered to eliminate the four replicants: Roy Batty, (the leader) is a combat model, Leon Kawalski is a nuclear loader, Zhora is an assassin built for martial arts and Pris is a pleasure model. Deckard is teamed up with Gaff and are sent her to Tyrell corporation to make sure that the Voight-Kamff test works on the Nexus-6 models. Deckard finds Tyrell's young assisstant Rachael is an experiment replicant that believes that shes human. Rachael's mind has been enhanced with implanted memories from Tyrell's niece. Due to the replicants four year life span, Roy and Leon go to the eye manufacturer. Chew directs them to J.F. Sabastian who is their best chance of finding Tyrell. Rachael visits Deckard to try to show him that shes human, however leaves because he explains that her memories are merely implants. Deckard finds Zhora and "retires" her. Deckard spots Rachael in a crowd, but before he can get to her he is beaten nearly to death by leon. Rachael saves Deckard by shooting Leon. Roy kills Tyrell and Sebastian. Deckard arrives at Sebastian's apartment and is ambushed by Pris. He retired Pris after getting his gun. Roy comes back and sees Pris and rages. Deckard falls trying to leap across the building trying to escape him and lands on a beam. He loses grip and Roy saves him. Due to his life span Roy dies. Deckard goes back to the apartment and finds Rachael alive. The film ends with Deckard and Rachael leaving the apartment block.