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FILM NOIR History, Codes & Conventions

Film Noir Research

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FILMNOIR

History, Codes & Conventions

HistoryFilm noir first developed in the 1950s as classic noir. This was a particular era in Hollywood where stylish crime dramas were created. However, as time has gone on, sub genres have been created. From the 1960s onwards - genres like horror noir (Films like ‘The Nightmare on Elm Street’) and superhero noir (Films like ‘Kick Ass’) were developed.

Cinematography and Lighting

• Typical cinematography features in film noir pictures are low and high angles, extreme close ups, reflections, tilts and when faces are obscured through objects. The cinematography is also often distorted which means that the camera isn't really focused and the image isn't 100% clear.

• Film noir pictures are often shot in black and white. This helps to emphasise the shadows which creates a sense of anonymity. The shadows also help to create darkness which connotes that there is a fear of the unknown. The lighting is always quite low-key in film noir pictures - the darkest blacks are always used.

Mis En Scene, Narratives & Typical Characters

• Film noir pictures usually take place in everyday urban scenes. This helps to make the film feel even more real and ‘grittier’. This is helped by typical settings being empty streets and police stations which are all familiar to audiences.

• Film noir films usually have narratives that follow a ‘whodunnit’ plot and feature key themes of murder, sin, punishment and a downward spiral.

• Typical characters that are often included in film noir pictures are femme fatales, detectives, police and the protagonist. Femme fatales are dangerous but ‘beautiful’ women - this is a big theme in film noir films.

Editing and Sound• The editing in film noir usually tells the story in

flashbacks and day is usually shot for night so editing and filters are used to make it appear as nighttime. The films also use a lot of jump cuts.

• The music used is usually downbeat Jazz style music and heavy breathing is also usually a big convention of film noir pictures. Film noir films also generally use a lot of silence for effect and include sudden noises and voice overs.

Examples In Our Trailer• Cinematography - In one of our scenes, the view of an injured

person is obscured by a patterned window.

• Lighting - Our film is very dark and we have put it in black and white - using the darkest blacks and really clear whites.

• Mis En Scene - Our trailer takes place in real environments such as houses and schools so our trailer follows this convention.

• Narrative - The narrative for our trailer is a whodunnit and a key theme is murder.

• Editing - We have a flashback at the start of our trailer and we have started to shoot in light and then turn it into dark (nighttime effect) in the editing procedure.