Double Indemnity is a fantastic example of a classic film Noir, it contains all the ingrediants of a well known and common orientation of film Noir.
Directed by Billy Wilders
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF FILM NOIR
Cinematography
Film Noir's most obvious distinction is the low key lighting, darkness of the films, the use of shadows, dark settings and smoke. Analysing this snapshot of a film Noir, there is a strong use of the power of shadows, the shadow is used to unsettle the audience, telling you that theres an imminent threat approaching, from this shot you can see that the two characters are scared and nervous making you the audience as well on the edge, then the shadow appears and reinforces the fact that you as well should be scared or nervous.
Film Noir's most obvious distinction is the low key lighting, darkness of the films, the use of shadows, dark settings and smoke. Analysing this snapshot of a film Noir, there is a strong use of the power of shadows, the shadow is used to unsettle the audience, telling you that theres an imminent threat approaching, from this shot you can see that the two characters are scared and nervous making you the audience as well on the edge, then the shadow appears and reinforces the fact that you as well should be scared or nervous.Film noir used a range of obscure shots, such as a dutch tilt, low and high angle shots to make the feeling that something is wrong or something bad is going to happen, deep-focus or depth of field camera work, disorienting visual schemes.
Mise-En-Scene
The backgrounds of Film Noir were dark places, the low key lighting gave the affect of a miserbale, unhappy and depressed place to be. the actual settings tended to be urban areas and suburbia filmed at night. Streets and alley ways being a big area for filming with wet floors, gloomy and bleak areas in the city, using such places as deadend bars were the low lives and criminals of society are, to give the impression and reminder that your not in the most cheerful of places. Hotels and warehouses being a big chunk of filming.
The male actors wore the trench coat, suit and tie, black polished shoes, occasionally a fedora hat but mainly the typical looking middle class hat worn in the 1940's, straight trousers and buckle straps and gel back hair. The reason why this costume design was used is because when you see a man wearing this type of clothing you get the idea in ur head that this man is a detective, it was to re-inforce the conventional look of a detective. Also it was the type of fasion of the time in the 1940's.
The women actors wore the revealing dress accomodating with high heals, this point is important as at the time women did not show off their legs, if a women did show off her legs, it was a big statement. the women had silky long curly hair, lots of makeup, red lipstick and smoked. These type of women of the time looked slutty and had a name which was femme fatale.
Characters
Femme fatale was a massive part of the Noir story line. The meaning of “femme fatale” means “deadly woman.“ Film noir femme fatales are often described as predatory, mysterious, hard-hearted, treacherous, seductive, manipulative, beautiful, desperate, promiscuous, and irresponsible and they lured men in with there sexyness and un-refusable charm. In the films the women would have commited a crime in the past and used the innocent hero guy as a 'fall guy'. the male main character in film Noir wanted to forget his shady past, and had to choose what path to take . The choice would ultimatly be, to follow the dangerous but desirable wishes of these 'killer' women. The traitorous, self-destructive femme fatale who would lead the struggling, disillusioned, and doomed hero into committing murder or some other crime to prove his love to her, or to get her out of the mess she has caused her self in the past. When the major character was a detective, he would become intangled and trapped in an increasingly complex case that would lead to clear evidences of corruption, irresistible love and death. The femme fatale would eventually ultimatly bring both of them to a downfall.
Sound
Meloncholy music such as the use of Downbeat Jazz for sadness and sorrow aswell as deflaiting a situation to the buildup.
Film noir does not contain much sound but most of time holds an eary silence and a quiet background.
Ideology
The women actors wore the revealing dress accomodating with high heals, this point is important as at the time women did not show off their legs, if a women did show off her legs, it was a big statement. the women had silky long curly hair, lots of makeup, red lipstick and smoked. These type of women of the time looked slutty and had a name which was femme fatale.
Characters
Femme fatale was a massive part of the Noir story line. The meaning of “femme fatale” means “deadly woman.“ Film noir femme fatales are often described as predatory, mysterious, hard-hearted, treacherous, seductive, manipulative, beautiful, desperate, promiscuous, and irresponsible and they lured men in with there sexyness and un-refusable charm. In the films the women would have commited a crime in the past and used the innocent hero guy as a 'fall guy'. the male main character in film Noir wanted to forget his shady past, and had to choose what path to take . The choice would ultimatly be, to follow the dangerous but desirable wishes of these 'killer' women. The traitorous, self-destructive femme fatale who would lead the struggling, disillusioned, and doomed hero into committing murder or some other crime to prove his love to her, or to get her out of the mess she has caused her self in the past. When the major character was a detective, he would become intangled and trapped in an increasingly complex case that would lead to clear evidences of corruption, irresistible love and death. The femme fatale would eventually ultimatly bring both of them to a downfall.
Sound
Meloncholy music such as the use of Downbeat Jazz for sadness and sorrow aswell as deflaiting a situation to the buildup.
Film noir does not contain much sound but most of time holds an eary silence and a quiet background.
Ideology
the ideology and message trying to be portrayed by film Noir is that crime is every were, that its not just in the citys or in the sleezy bars, it can be in the house next door when Noir took its storys out of the conventional crime riddin cities and put it into suberbia it took the public by shock. , women can be devious and untrustworthy and dont be so easily lured in because she has a pretty face, that corruption is rife within the legal system due to bent cops and bribed judges which are known well in the film Noir.
Film Noir trys to portray the evils and breakdown in society that is all around us everyday.
THE HISTORY AND START UP OF FILM NOIR
The definition Noir was given to these films by a man called Nino Frank in 1946. Term 'Noir' is a French word which means 'black film' or 'dark film.
Hollywoods classic flim Noirs began in the 1940's and stretched till around 1959, this period is when film Noir was in its heydays and most popular. Film Noir hit Hollywood in 1933, this is the time in which Hitler had rose to power in Germany, film artists, directors, writers and costume designers emigrated from Germany as they would have been oppressed in Germany and many had been exiled for their type of unconventional work, they settled in California Hollywood. They had a profound effect on films in America and began to create work on their experiences in Germany and brang with them a European way of making films also the deep pessimism, anxiety, depression and pure disollusionment that had bistilled them in an ever economicall and political changing Europe with them. Stretching from the 1920's to 1940's when Germany was experiencing national disaster, crime, extreme poverty 
and political turmoil came from this film Noir's roots, from these roots was German expressionism and cinematography. The catergory of film orginally began in Europe, to an average audience it would seem it all started in America, but this type of dark filming began in Germany in the 20's.
Hollywoods classic flim Noirs began in the 1940's and stretched till around 1959, this period is when film Noir was in its heydays and most popular. Film Noir hit Hollywood in 1933, this is the time in which Hitler had rose to power in Germany, film artists, directors, writers and costume designers emigrated from Germany as they would have been oppressed in Germany and many had been exiled for their type of unconventional work, they settled in California Hollywood. They had a profound effect on films in America and began to create work on their experiences in Germany and brang with them a European way of making films also the deep pessimism, anxiety, depression and pure disollusionment that had bistilled them in an ever economicall and political changing Europe with them. Stretching from the 1920's to 1940's when Germany was experiencing national disaster, crime, extreme poverty 
and political turmoil came from this film Noir's roots, from these roots was German expressionism and cinematography. The catergory of film orginally began in Europe, to an average audience it would seem it all started in America, but this type of dark filming began in Germany in the 20's. Take this Image of Nosferatu, this is a classic image of German expressionism, heavy use of shadows,lighting and shade these factors had a great impact on film Noir. Film directors portrayed life under the Nazis in their films. The outbreak of WW2 was a major political and definatly a social drive for the birth of film
.The cold war was a great way for the film to tap into the paranoier and scare in society, society at the time were ever fearful of red communist spys and infiltration of America, with the films basing around shady, unknown characters film Noir could use this to help there films to really broadcast to society on a real level. These 2 main factors of a global war and the cold war are reason for the birth and rise of Film Noir in Hollywood making use of the post-war feel of anxiety, pessimism, and suspicion that led in post war America.
American Film Noir was made cheaply, the top films were classed as A-movies, with all the big stars in hollywood as the cast, a famous well known director and massive spending budget, Film noir had non of that, They were classed as B-movies. the cast tended to be unknown upcoming actors looking for a break into the film industry. What tended to happen was that you would buy a A-movie and be given the B-movie for free at the start. B movies budget was often at least five times less than that of an A-movie. A classic example of a B-movie wouls be Detour, made in 1945. the film was shot for $20,000, a cheap film of the 1940's, the film used re-used sets, straightforward camera work but still stuck to the traditional Noir feel, shadowy black and white cinematography. The film received good feedback for a low budget film.
Novelists Edward Gorman and Dow Mossman wrote:
"...Detour remains a masterpiece of its kind. There have been hundreds of better movies, but none with the feel for doom portrayed by ... Ulmer. The random universe Stephen Crane warned us about—the berserk cosmic impulse that causes earthquakes and famine and AIDS—is nowhere better depicted than in the scene where Tom Neal stands by the roadside, soaking in the midnight rain, feeling for the first time the noose drawing tighter and tighter around his neck."
WELCOME TO MY BLOG/ BREIF
Hi examiner, My names Jordan and welcome to my blog , this is my blog for my As media coursework.
My As coursework will be research into Film Noir to better understand and analyse what exactly is Film Noir and how it is made. For my coursework i will also make a short film on Noir thriller which will be approximatly 2 minutes long.
I will be evaluated on my use of camera and filming techniques and my skill in producing my short film.
I will use the stylistics, codes and conventions of Noir and transfer them over to my short film.
The overall aim is to produce a peice of work that will be modern and stick to the old style of film Noir
My As coursework will be research into Film Noir to better understand and analyse what exactly is Film Noir and how it is made. For my coursework i will also make a short film on Noir thriller which will be approximatly 2 minutes long.
I will be evaluated on my use of camera and filming techniques and my skill in producing my short film.
I will use the stylistics, codes and conventions of Noir and transfer them over to my short film.
The overall aim is to produce a peice of work that will be modern and stick to the old style of film Noir
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