Friday, 17 December 2010
Charlie...
Charlie, who isn't here, has the storyboard. I guess we'll ahve to upload this over the holidays
Friday, 10 December 2010
Props!
In terms of mise-en-scene, we have thought carefully about how exactly we can create this hybrid genre, with the 1940s detective film noir and the modern time setting:
A friend of ours has a great 1950s telephone that wouldn't look too out of place. As the detective is called on the phone,w e felt this shouldn't be a modern, wireless phone and spent a bit of time asking around
The furniture in the apartment shouldn't be too hard. Your average sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf...all speaks for itself. The papers and documents that we want strewn around the apartment to make it look like a break in can be mostly blank with a few hurriedly typed bits of rubbish, barely glimpsed in the background. We also have a couple of oldish lamps that we can use to further displace time. The last main prop that we need is the blinds for the window, the classic venetian style which are slatted, as they create a fragmented light system which we felt that we loved about old film noir; the lines of light on the detectives face is a style used in many examples of the genre.
The glass, which has importance because of the colour popping of the lipstick that we wish to create, is fairly important. The glasses also have to be of a certain quality and so we're looking for tat cut crystal type whiskey glass, which we both think we may be able to dig out at home. The bottle of brandy/whiskey can be any standard bottle, possibly without the label.
A friend of ours has a great 1950s telephone that wouldn't look too out of place. As the detective is called on the phone,w e felt this shouldn't be a modern, wireless phone and spent a bit of time asking around
The furniture in the apartment shouldn't be too hard. Your average sofa, a coffee table, a bookshelf...all speaks for itself. The papers and documents that we want strewn around the apartment to make it look like a break in can be mostly blank with a few hurriedly typed bits of rubbish, barely glimpsed in the background. We also have a couple of oldish lamps that we can use to further displace time. The last main prop that we need is the blinds for the window, the classic venetian style which are slatted, as they create a fragmented light system which we felt that we loved about old film noir; the lines of light on the detectives face is a style used in many examples of the genre.
The glass, which has importance because of the colour popping of the lipstick that we wish to create, is fairly important. The glasses also have to be of a certain quality and so we're looking for tat cut crystal type whiskey glass, which we both think we may be able to dig out at home. The bottle of brandy/whiskey can be any standard bottle, possibly without the label.
The script and storyboard
Charlie and I have thought long and hard about what the detective will say in the script that can sound like the 1940s detective he's meant to be. We wanted to give him that cliche, traditional appearance and therefore decided that what he says needs to connect with this. We have worked on the script for a while now and will hopefully upload it today. Although the film opening isn't very long, it starts with the narration from the detective, as is conventional of the genre and we decided that this then ahd to be important and sound right.
The storyboard, which Charlie has been working on a fair bit, will hopefully also be uploaded within the nesxt few days. A drawn out process, we felt that we needed to make the storyboard good enough to properly represent what we needed to film and so it has taken longer maybe than we would have liked. Our next step is in the direction of props.
The storyboard, which Charlie has been working on a fair bit, will hopefully also be uploaded within the nesxt few days. A drawn out process, we felt that we needed to make the storyboard good enough to properly represent what we needed to film and so it has taken longer maybe than we would have liked. Our next step is in the direction of props.
Tuesday, 30 November 2010
Other references to film noir
There are also a few good examples of modern film noir, sometmes coined as neo-noir. These are:
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black: 2005) - Shane Black's noir thriller in which an ex-thief teams up with a private detective to investigate a murder helped to reinvent the genre. It has a femme fatale, a MacGuffin and numerous plot twists. It shares similar themes to our film in that the detective is called to investigate a murder. The films opening credits are also quite flashy and intriguing, telling half the story in just a few minutes to a slightly 40s jazzy soundtrack. It is well worth bearing in mind when dveloping our own title sequence.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Black: 2005) - Shane Black's noir thriller in which an ex-thief teams up with a private detective to investigate a murder helped to reinvent the genre. It has a femme fatale, a MacGuffin and numerous plot twists. It shares similar themes to our film in that the detective is called to investigate a murder. The films opening credits are also quite flashy and intriguing, telling half the story in just a few minutes to a slightly 40s jazzy soundtrack. It is well worth bearing in mind when dveloping our own title sequence.
The Present
We decided to set the film int he present, after much debate, as it allows us freedom in costume and location/props etc. However, as with films such as Sin City (Rodriguez: 2005), there are elements of the film which appear out of place in time; for instance, the telephone that the detective is called on will be an old fashioned 40s/50s telephone. His clothes, whilst conventionally similar to te classic image of a 40s private detective, will be modern. The apartment itself would be the main factor for setting the film in the present, as creating a whole room in the style of a 1940s film noir would be hard, expensive and time consuming! Therefore, we can have it in a contemporary/retro style, with props from different times.
Film opening synopsis
We decided to do a noir thriller, based on 40s film noir but set in present time; it follows a private detective who is employed by a woman to find her husbands murderer. Eventually, it turns out it was her all along, hiring someone else to contract the murderer so that she can distance herself from the crime. In the opening of the film the private detective is called to the scene of the crime, where he looks around the apartment for a clue. As he arrives at the apartment, he throws his cigarette and pushes the unlocked door open and steps into a messy room. Police tape and a white body outline indicated where the murder had taken place. He sits in the victim’s sofa and eyes up the two glasses on the table, next to the bourbon. One of the glasses had red lipstick around the edges. He sparks up another cigarette and pokes a crack in the blinds looking outside. He draws back to the kitchen as the phone rings. He picks it up and answers. A woman asks for the victim and after a brief exchange she hangs up. He walks over to the table again and puts his cigarette out in the glass. The title appears as he leaves the apartment.
The story is told using narrative device by the protagonist, as is conventional of film noirs. Charlie and I are currently writing the script for the narrative, which shouldn’t take too long. We will also film/edit it in black and white, to further connote the 1940s noir feeling. Charlie has been working on the storyboard for the film, which we will upload soon. Once this is finished we’ll have an idea of what we need for filming, in terms of location and props.
The story is told using narrative device by the protagonist, as is conventional of film noirs. Charlie and I are currently writing the script for the narrative, which shouldn’t take too long. We will also film/edit it in black and white, to further connote the 1940s noir feeling. Charlie has been working on the storyboard for the film, which we will upload soon. Once this is finished we’ll have an idea of what we need for filming, in terms of location and props.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Film opening ideas and genre references
Working in a pair with Charlie, we started to produce some ideas for our opening to a film. We threw a lot of ideas around and tried to specify a couple of them, but couldn't find anything we really liked and felt comfortable with. So we did a bit more research, looking closely into film openings for westerns, musicals and crime genres. After a loose, faux idea for a Musical Western, we scrapped that in favour of a Film noir thriller. We wanted to create a mixture of 1940s noir with a present setting, but keep the essential elements of what it is about the 40s Film Noirs that make them so great. We looked at some pieces of music and also some films, such as the classic Double Indemnity(1944) and The Big Sleep(1946)
High Rankin - The Tale Of Clarence Baskerville
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity
These films are extremely helpful in understanding the genre as they are generally considered a few of the best films in the canon. Double indemnity is a defining film noir text, with all the conventions of film noir; the femme fatale, the flawed protagonist, the witty, sharp dialogue and the complicated plot twists. The Big Sleep is also a big part of film noir, with Humphrey Bogart one of the leading faces of the genre. It's use of the MacGuffin is also a convention to the genre; a MacGuffin is a plot device that has no other function than moving the plot and characters forward i.e the stolen money in Psycho (Hitchcock: 1960) or the falcon in The Maltese Falcon (Huston: 1941). A device used in many film noirs, the MacGuffin for our film would of course be the murder that occurs before the start of the film, which the detective is introduced as investigating.
Also, the inclusion of the dubstep song The Tale of Clarence Baskerville in this list is simply because it was part of our inspiration. When stuck for ideas, we were playing music and Charlie played the song. It has a narration from a film noir detective character, who meets a femme fatale and then gets a phone call from an old enemy. Then the music drops as the detective says "although I didn't know it, things were about to get very, very heavy". Although not really useful to our film, it shows the film noir genre can adapt and change to all texts, with music being present here.
High Rankin - The Tale Of Clarence Baskerville
The Big Sleep
Double Indemnity
These films are extremely helpful in understanding the genre as they are generally considered a few of the best films in the canon. Double indemnity is a defining film noir text, with all the conventions of film noir; the femme fatale, the flawed protagonist, the witty, sharp dialogue and the complicated plot twists. The Big Sleep is also a big part of film noir, with Humphrey Bogart one of the leading faces of the genre. It's use of the MacGuffin is also a convention to the genre; a MacGuffin is a plot device that has no other function than moving the plot and characters forward i.e the stolen money in Psycho (Hitchcock: 1960) or the falcon in The Maltese Falcon (Huston: 1941). A device used in many film noirs, the MacGuffin for our film would of course be the murder that occurs before the start of the film, which the detective is introduced as investigating.
Also, the inclusion of the dubstep song The Tale of Clarence Baskerville in this list is simply because it was part of our inspiration. When stuck for ideas, we were playing music and Charlie played the song. It has a narration from a film noir detective character, who meets a femme fatale and then gets a phone call from an old enemy. Then the music drops as the detective says "although I didn't know it, things were about to get very, very heavy". Although not really useful to our film, it shows the film noir genre can adapt and change to all texts, with music being present here.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Juno: Analysis of Title Credits Sequence
As part of our research into title sequences, I watched the opening to the film Juno(Reitman:2007). For our 2 minute film opening's, we need to include credits, so to get an idea of how film credits work and intergrate with the film, watching a few title sequences seemed like a bright idea. I went on a website called artofthetitle.com and watched the title sequences for a few films, including Catch Me If You Can, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Juno. For the sake of the timing of each shot, I looked closely at the Juno title sequences and made a table of the time and the credit of each shot. This way, it will be easier to develop my own titles that are part of the film opening, as opposed to credits that come at the end of a film. I produced a table to present the results of the credit sequence in;
Tuesday, 12 October 2010
Useful Links
A couple of links I find useful for reasearching films and genres:
http://www.empireonline.com/
http://io9.com/
http://www.imdb.com/
http://www.totalfilm.com/
They're good because they're all film related websites, which have lots of information on genre and the conventions of genre's. IMDB is particularly good as it's just everything about films really. io9 focuses mostly on sci-fi films and television shows, but has news on other genres too. As I want to do a sci-fi film though, this is helpful to learn about old, new and future films, read in depth articles etc. Total Film and Empire are both film magazines that I find useful in reviewing films, focusing on particular aspects of filmmaking and actors/directors.
http://www.empireonline.com/
http://io9.com/
http://www.imdb.com/
http://www.totalfilm.com/
They're good because they're all film related websites, which have lots of information on genre and the conventions of genre's. IMDB is particularly good as it's just everything about films really. io9 focuses mostly on sci-fi films and television shows, but has news on other genres too. As I want to do a sci-fi film though, this is helpful to learn about old, new and future films, read in depth articles etc. Total Film and Empire are both film magazines that I find useful in reviewing films, focusing on particular aspects of filmmaking and actors/directors.
Research
For our main project at AS, the 2 minute long opening to a film of a genre of our choice, we have to make sure we do sufficient research. Firstly, this means deciding on a genre I would feel passionate about making and looking at openings to films. I also need to research the ideologies and conventions surrounding the genre that I choose to do.
Sunday, 10 October 2010
Preliminary Task
My name is Alec Willard and I am an A Level student at Saffron Walden County High School, studying Media Studies at AS and A2. As part of our AS project, we were set a preliminary task. The meaning of this was to help us develop our practical film-making skills and improve in preparation for the main task at AS level. The preliminary task was a group focused project to produce a short clip of a person walking through a door and having a short conversation with someone. The simplicity of the narrative was to showcase three different filming techniques; Match on Action, the 180 Degree Rule and Shot Reverse Shot.
Shot Reverse Shot is a technique often used for conversation between two characters. The camera looks over the shoulder of one character, focusing on another who is at the center of the frame. It then switches the shot to the other characters shoulder, from the same angle and side, when the other character starts to speak, thus having both the 'listener' and the audience focus on the speaking character. It then switches back to the other character. This connects the audience with what the characters see and hear, helping them to interpret both the dialogue and the characters emotions themselves. At first, as the person filming the conversation, I found it difficult to get the framing exact. However, we re-shot the conversation, managing to center the characters in the frame and avoid cropping out the tops of their heads.
Match on Action was also an element of filming that we had to incorporate into the clip. This is why the clip included the opening and shutting of a door. Match on Action is a technique that uses multiple shots from different angles to present something that is happening. In our preliminary task, the opening and the shutting of the door was shown through Match on Action; Firstly, a medium long shot shows a character walking down the corridor and opening the door. It cuts to a close up shot of her hand grabbing and pushing the door handle, before cutting again to a mid shot from inside the room as she opens the door, closes it and sits down in the room. With each shot, we allowed a few seconds before and after each action took place, so that when editing the footage, we could cut the shots together when we wanted, creating a smoother, more natural flow to the actions.
Finally, the 180 Degree Rule utilises only 180 degrees of the frame, remaining on one side of the characters.We used this during the conversation between two characters, keeping the subjects on one side of the camera, thus creating the feeling that the audience is in front of them watching. This is done by pointing the camera over the right shoulder of Character A and then the left shoulder of Character B. Maintaining this whilst using Shot Reverse Shot exemplifies the 180 Degree Rule.
Shot Reverse Shot is a technique often used for conversation between two characters. The camera looks over the shoulder of one character, focusing on another who is at the center of the frame. It then switches the shot to the other characters shoulder, from the same angle and side, when the other character starts to speak, thus having both the 'listener' and the audience focus on the speaking character. It then switches back to the other character. This connects the audience with what the characters see and hear, helping them to interpret both the dialogue and the characters emotions themselves. At first, as the person filming the conversation, I found it difficult to get the framing exact. However, we re-shot the conversation, managing to center the characters in the frame and avoid cropping out the tops of their heads.
Match on Action was also an element of filming that we had to incorporate into the clip. This is why the clip included the opening and shutting of a door. Match on Action is a technique that uses multiple shots from different angles to present something that is happening. In our preliminary task, the opening and the shutting of the door was shown through Match on Action; Firstly, a medium long shot shows a character walking down the corridor and opening the door. It cuts to a close up shot of her hand grabbing and pushing the door handle, before cutting again to a mid shot from inside the room as she opens the door, closes it and sits down in the room. With each shot, we allowed a few seconds before and after each action took place, so that when editing the footage, we could cut the shots together when we wanted, creating a smoother, more natural flow to the actions.
Finally, the 180 Degree Rule utilises only 180 degrees of the frame, remaining on one side of the characters.We used this during the conversation between two characters, keeping the subjects on one side of the camera, thus creating the feeling that the audience is in front of them watching. This is done by pointing the camera over the right shoulder of Character A and then the left shoulder of Character B. Maintaining this whilst using Shot Reverse Shot exemplifies the 180 Degree Rule.
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