Film Noir - Brief

For the Film Noir project I need to produce two outcomes (a movie poster and a timeline).

Movie Poster

• Poster should be made of a couple of photographs, with a picture of main characters being the biggest one, and actors' names as well as movie title written over them
• It can be either in color or black and white, however color posters are more appealing to the audience
• Poster should include some of symbols characteristic for film noir movies, like guns or specific kind of clothes
• It should also suggest subject matter of the movie, which, for film noir usually is romance and crime

Timeline

• Slow or moderate speed transitions between photographs with tweening function used to make the transitions smooth
• Black and white, high contrast photographs
• Music appropriate for film noir style movies
• Scene in cafe or restaurant (alternatively a table outside), with two characters (female and male) sitting and drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes (inside of cafe can be seen in the background)
• First person perspective shots
• Low angle portraits
• Wide angle shot of a woman (femme fatale), dressed in a pretty dress and lying on a bed
• Cigarette smoke clearly visible on photographs
• Silhouettes of characters
• Shot in a room/small office, with dim daylight coming through blind, creating characteristic pattern on character's face
• Female character blowing cigarette smoke on a male character while sitting in a cafe

Film Noir - Plan

Photoshoot plan

• Black and white photographs
• High contrast scenes
• Use of street lamps - it is best to do the shoot in late afternoon/early evening
• If the shoot will be done with bright daylight, the photos can be made darker in Photoshop
• Photos shot in front of a cafe/restaurant - two characters (a man, dressed in suit, hat and long coat, and a woman - femme fatale) sitting by a table, smoking cigarettes
• Capture smoke on shots
• Possible use of flash light on high power settings, fired straight on models in order to get high contrast and dark shadows

Poster plan

• Poster will be made as a collage of color photographs of characters and/or streets, with movie's title written over them
• Photos can be adjusted in Photoshop to give them slightly cartoon-like look
• One of the characters holding a gun in his hand and a cigarette in the other or in his mouth
• Female character can be holding a long glass pipe with a cigarette on its end and smoke coming from it
• These two characters should be standing close to each other, as it can suggest romance
• Background of the poster should be black or in an other dark, plain color
• The poster, besides a photo of two main characters, can also contain small size photos used in the timeline

Timeline plan

• Smooth, slow transitions between shots
• Close-ups of photographs (first the whole photograph is shown, then the view zooms in and moves to key elements of the shot)
• 40's style music (slow jazz or rock and roll) as background of the timeline
• Quotes from classic film noir movies or sentences in film noir style as a vocal voice-over (e.g. short conversation of female and male characters)

Film Noir - Research

For my research for the Film Noir project I have watched 2 movies; a 1944 classic film noir called "Double Indemnity" and a modern film noir approach, "Sin City" (2005), as well as a couple of animations produced by graphic students for their project.

Double Indemnity (1944)

• The movie starts with a confession of the main character, an insurance rep, who, as we find out later in the movie, has been talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme.
• The first person narration keeps going throughout the movie; the main character describes events happening and his own thoughts, giving the viewers a chance to analyze him and his thinking pattern, making us get to know him better.
• To make the viewers seem like they interact with the action of the movie, there are a few scenes when we see the action from the point of view of the main character.
• Deep shadows are caused by point lighting of streetlights. It also makes the characters appear on the screen only as silhouettes.
• Mysterious mood has been created in a couple of scenes by making the light coming through blinds the only source of light. It causes most of the screen being black, with quite sharp, but not very strong light with an interesting pattern.
• Male characters are dressed in suits, long coats and hats, while women wear pretty dresses that make them look seductive.
• A key element of the movie are cigarettes smoked by most of the characters. Cigarettes were considered very fashionable in 1940s, they are also responsible for creating specific film noir mood of rooms and bars filled with cigarette smoke.
• Soundtrack used in the movie includes deep, grim orchestral tunes, emphasizing the dark and mysterious mood of the film.

Sin City (2005)

•  The movie is based on a comic book series under the same title. The action is happening in an urban environment of a dark and miserable corrupted town, Basin City. It tells story of three different people that link together at the end of the movie.
• The first person narration is also used in the film, similarly to the Double Indemnity.
• Action is happening also in the background; a couple of scenes include characters both in foreground and background, with events happening in both planes.
• A noticeable difference between Sin City and the classic film noir movie I have watched is the use of color highlights. The movie is shot in black and white, however certain things are emphasized by colorizing them, e.g. blood is always red. One of the characters, Roark Jr, played by Nick Stahl, is also colorized as his body is yellow. He is a negative character and his color makes him stand out from other characters and expresses that he is a negative person.
• The mood of the movie is dark which is distinguished by making most of the screen black, with strong, point lighting directed on characters, key places and objects.
• Another feature characteristic for film noir that has been used in Sin City is showing certain characters just as shadow silhouettes.
• Most characters are dressed like actors from traditional film noir movies, in white shirts, suits and long coats.
• Most of the characters smoke cigarettes, what, just as in Double Indemnity, creates specific film noir mood.

Film Noir animations - graphic interpretations

• Music used in the animations made by graphics students features either slow, depressive music or 40's/50's style soundtrack, often song that were originally used in classic film noir movies.
• Transitions or graphics usually is very slow and smooth, with use of tweening.
• Main color used is black, however one animation I have seen also had red highlights.
• Mood of the animations was disturbing and dark because of use of colors, music and slow transitions. This kind of mood suggests crime or murder, which is the main subject matter of film noir movies.
• One of graphic interpretation was filled with symbols (e.g. film tape) that connect to project's title, Film Noir.

Film Noir - Definition

Film Noir is a term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Classic film noir period refers to the times from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. The main feature of film noir style movies is a low-key black and white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. The stories included in film noir, as well as much of the attitude derive from the school of crime fiction that was created in the USA during the Depression. The question of whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is still being debated. In general, many of the classic film noirs were referred to as melodramas, but in order to call a movie "film noir style" it should fulfill the criteria created by classic film noir cinematography directors.

Speaking of the visual styles, a classic film noir movies should include:

• low-key black and white visual style
• deep shadows
• most of the screen usually being black
• wide use of strong, point lighting, directed on characters and key places/objects
• action happening also in the background, where silhouettes of people can be seen

Other criteria referring to movie structure, plot and characters are:

• first person perspective voiceover narration, including flashbacks
• crime/murder theme, including crime investigations led by a police or private detective
• because of the theme of these movies, guns are widely used by characters
• action set in large cities, urban environments
• frequent scene of action include bars, cafes. nightclubs, casinos, but also factories or power plants as places where more dynamic action happens
• atmosphere of film noir is created by smoke coming from cigarettes smoked by the characters
• characteristic feature of film noir movies is a female character called "femme fatale"; she is a mysterious and seductive woman who uses her charms and good look to seduce one of the male characters and lead him into usually dangerous and deadly situations, often to a murder