Setting Collage

Melissa and I have also created some collages for setting as well, and here they are:

This is the collage made by Melissa

 Melissa's collage mainly focuses on the traditional film noir settings, she find most of them in some films which was in the classic film noir period. The settings often in a dark, quiet and old place, which can make people think it is dangerous and contain mystery.

This is the collage made by me

My collage is not only find the pictures from the setting in the film which has film noir elements, I also find some other pictures which I think they have some connection with film noir. In my opinion, I think the setting in film noir is often in a dark, quite old place. And things are always happened at night. I think these places can make people feel dangerous and mystery. Therefore, when I am considering my setting for my production, I may find a place which is dark and seems to be dangerous or containing mystery.

Costume Collage

This is the collage which is made by Melissa. This is about the costume, here is the collage:

It is quite interesting that Melissa not only choose the western costume of film noir, but also choose the eastern one. She finds some pictures of Japanese women's wearing which is called kimono, and the picture of cheongsam which is a really typical Chinese style clothing. But in that picture, it is not a traditional wearing style of cheongsam, it is more likely to be the modern one. In that picture, the woman looks quite sexy, this can tell me that I can also choose eastern style clothing for femme fatale. She also find some western clothing which seems quite wealthy(in my own opinion), the wearing of men are always having a hat and a big coat, this might be a good idea of the character of detective.

The review on Headmaster's speech

Today, our school's headmaster, Brendan Wignall, came to our media class and gave a speech about Blade Runner and film noir. He had written lots of science fiction stories on magazines. He has a great passion for science fiction film, especially Blade Runner. He watched Blade Runner original version about 21 or 22, and he had watched it 5 times.

The picture of our school headmaster, Brendan Wignall

He thinks that Blade Runner is film noir look, which means it contains the elements of film noir. He mentioned that Blade Runner is the last major film which made without any computer graphics, so all of the tower, the city, the car, the spinners are all models, they are not made by computer graphics. And the reason for most of the scene in Blade Runner took place in the dark or in the rain is because they were the places in the daily life and they seemed to be perfective but actually, they were plastic. And this is because they didn't have enough money to give a good set, that means, they couldn't make the set good enough. According to this, the headmaster said that we have to always consider the money when we are producing a film as it is important.

About Blade Runner, the headmaster also says that the original one(which is the first one) was too dark and too European, which was the answer of the audiences in America which were the tested audiences for this film. And if he can make some change in the new Blade Runner, he says he will make less sexiness, since in Blade Runner, even in Blade Runner 2049, there are so many scenes which contain sexiness. Also, when one of the students in the class asked him about who did he think is the femme fatale in Blade Runner 2049, he said that it is hard as there is no a really definite answer. Since Blade Runner is just contained the elements of film noir but not all of them. It can just contain two or three elements, therefore, in my own film(which I have to make it relevant to film noir), I can just get three or more elements from film noir, but not that all. Well, in this question, the headmaster view is that we can just find the character which has more elements of femme fatale, for example, sexy and dangerous, than the others, that could be the femme fatale of this film.

At the last, the headmaster also talked about our coursework, which is that we have to create 2 minutes opening of a film which is relevant to the film noir. Our teacher asked him about what story or the topic should we use for our film in nowadays, and his answer is that we can make a film in far Eastern, such as Japan, China(Shanghai, etc), he didn't really recommend the British film noir as he thinks it is not quite suitable. He also gives a suggestion about how to make an opening of a film. He recommends us first to sketch out the whole story of the film, and then go back to the beginning since it can be easier if we do like this. I think this is a good suggestion which I may use it when I am doing my coursework.

And finally, I took a picture with him for a memory. Here is the picture:

The picture of me and the headmaster

Well...I think it is not really good so......

Make-up Collage

This is the collage of make-up, which is created by me. As we work separately - I do the make-up collage when Melissa does the costume one.
Here is the collage:

I like the red lips of the femme fatale, and actually, I have found some other colour of the lips of the femme fatale, such as dark purple. But in my opinion, red is much better and I may use this colour to my character. For the eyeshadow, I prefer the colour which is more likely to the cold colour. For example, the purple colour or the blue colour. But I also will consider the brown colour, since it looks great to the femme fatale as well.

I also find some hairstyles, for example, the hairstyle of the woman which is a single horsetail. This is the one that I like the most. As it looks really nice. Although I know most of the femme fatale will let the hair down to show more sexiness, I think this hairstyle is also really attractive and sexy. Therefore, I would like to use this hairstyle to my character.

Character Collage

Melissa and I have created some Character Collages. Here are my two Character Collage:

Character Collage for a Japanese anime 

 This is the collage of a Japanese anime call'Bungo Stray Dogs'. The story centres on individuals who are gifted with supernatural powers and use them for different purposes including holding a business, solving mysteries, and carrying out missions assigned by the mafia. The story mainly follows the members of the "Armed Detective Agency" and their everyday lives.

Most characters in the series are named after famous literary authors and/or characters in their works, including Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Atsushi Nakajima, Agatha Christie, Osamu Dazai, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Rampo Edogawa, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Kenji Miyazawa, Doppo Kunikida, and Akiko Yosano.

I choose six characters in this collage since the settings of them are really suitable for film noir style character. There is a detective which have a dark past. And he is not always positive and he will do anything to get the truth or his want. This is really similar to the character of detective in film noir. The clothing of them also can inspire me, since the clothing is quite similar to the clothing in the 1940s. I might use this anime as an example.

the character collage 

 This is another collage of film noir. In this collage, the picture of the detective can show the characteristic of this character is that although he is a good person, the hero in the film noir, he will have some bad habits. In the first picture of detective, it shows that the detective is not always positive, he might have a dark past, this can give a good inspiration for me.

Also, the pictures of femme fatale show that the femme fatale always shows her sexy but she is independent and powerful. She might attract men but she won't rely on them. I might set my character of femme fatale as a sexy and powerful woman. Her appearance will attract men, but she is an independent woman.

And this is the character collage created by Melissa:

The pictures that Melissa has chosen are mostly from the films that are in film noir style. In these pictures, it shows that the characters in the film noir style often contain some mysteries, they might be a good person, they can also be a bad person. I might set some mysteries to my character as well.

The script of my preliminary task

I am writing my script for my preliminary task. This is a plot for a film noir. And here is a part of my script:

And I also analyse it:(as shown below)

When I am writing the script, I find that it is not really easy. First, I don't really know about the format, and I write in the wrong format. Therefore, I have to rewrite it. And I have to think about the story. Every time I think, I get a new idea, that makes me change the description of the scene and the dialogue. I and Melissa are doing together, so we discuss the script a lot. I hope I can write a better one after discussing with Melissa.

The Femme Fetale

In the class, we have learnt about femme fetale, which is a character in film noir. And I want to use this blog to show what I know about femme fetale.

This is the femme fatale in Double Indemnity which is acted by Barbara Stanwyck

The introduction

The figure of the 'femme fatale' is a French term meaning deadly woman. She is an irresistibly beautiful woman and uses her sexuality to seduce men and lure them into dangerous situations to serve her own selfish interests. She is mysterious, double-crossing, gorgeous, intelligent, powerful, unreliable and desperate.

The hair, make-up, jewellery and cigarettes are symbols of femme fetales' sensuality. They are very concerned with slick clothing styles that signify what has been described as 'to-be-looked-at-ness'.

The femme fetale often wearing slick clothing

Make-up & hairstyle

The make-up of femme fetales has emphasized the brows, eyes, and lips. Eyebrows play a major role in showing facial expressions, so they usually have clear, shaped and high arc eyebrows to give a strong look. The red lips which bring out the sexiness of them.

The femme fetale always has clear, shaped and high arc eyebrows and the red lips

The femme fetales always have their hair down to make them sexier. Their hair colour is always solid black, deep dark brown, auburn, brown, or platinum blonde. The style of hair is either long, side-parted waves like Rita Hayworth or shorter pin curls like Elizabeth Taylor. The waves and curls of the hair show the softness femine of femme fetale. All of these styles have a similar point: they all show the forehead of femme fetale.

Shorter pin curls style of femme fetale(Elizabeth Taylor)

long, side-parted waves style of femme fetale(Rita Hayworth)

Demeanour of Femme Fetale

Femme fetale is independent, strong and sexy. They have been seducing men, and are already experienced in the art of seduction. The character in the movie always become powerful and independent, they control the man and decided the life of themselves.

Analyse of Femme Fetale

Here I have a picture of femme fetale and I'd like to analyse it.

She is holding a cigarette which is a symbol of femme fetale's sensuality. She is a beautiful woman which makes her be more attractive and sexy. She has a clear, shaped and high arc eyebrows which bring a strong look. Although this is a black and white visual style, we still can see that she has red lips which bring out the sexiness of her. She has a solid black hair which is long and side-parted waves which is the hairstyle of femme fetale. She looks sexy and strong. Also, she seems to be independent.

The video for film noir

Here is my video that shows about film noir:

And sorry about the watermark. Hope you enjoy it.

Analyse film posters of film noir

I found some film posters of some films during the classic era of film noir and I would like to analyse them.

Stranger on the Third Floor

Stranger on the Third Floor, which often signed as the first film noir. Here is the poster of this film:

The title

From this poster, the first thing that can grab our attention is the title: Stranger on the Third Floor. The typography (which is the font style) is sans-serif. It is modern that shows this film is new and it is an original story. The colour of the words is red which means aggressive, blood and dangerous. This can tell us that in the film, it will be really dangerous and may have somebody death. It is also the lexis of this poster. Since it has a really strong impact on the audiences.

Central image

The central image is not only the hand on the left-hand side of the poster below, it can also say that the characters are the central image. Because they clustered in the top half of the poster, nearly 50%. 

The Hand

Let's talk about the hand. The light is coming from left behind the hand, makes this hand's shadow longer and bigger. You can see that the shadow of this hand is almost touching the characters. According to Todorov's Theory, this can tell us about the disruption: someone died in the film and it may be one of the characters in the posters. Also, we cannot know whose hand is. This is a code of the film as it may be the stranger's hand. 

The Characters

Now let's focus on the characters. The facial expressions of the characters are different: some of them are feared, some of them are calm, some of them some of them are angry. They are all unhappy. This can tell us that something happens that is really bad in the film. Also, it is interesting that the characters are directed differently. On the top of the poster, there are three characters, two of them are seen directly to the right while the other one which is covered by the title is seeing to the left. Below them, there are two characters which are all seen to the left. On the top left of the poster, there is a person which is bigger than the others is seen to the right. There is only one person who seen directly to the audiences but only shows one eye. He has been coved by the title and the lighting are mostly dark. This could tell that he perhaps has a dark past and he may be the hero in this film. Also, the man who is right for the angry woman may also be the hero. The light is from the left and gives him a bright look but still, have some dark shadow on his face. This makes him show up but also tell us that he may do something out of the law to achieve his wants.

The Mis-en-scene

The background is dark but with some yellow colour. The yellow is not really bright, it is soft and just like the street light. According to this, it can tell us that the story happens in the night time. And the dark can also say as fear, dangerous, mystery. 

Mark of quality/Promise of pleasure

To the right of the bottom of this poster, we can see that there are some star billing, i.e. any famous people involved. This suggests that the film has good quality and people will enjoy it. The typography of this is also sans-serif but the colour is in black. This makes it more professional and modern. Also, it has the logo of  Warner Bros (an American entertainment company) which produced this film. This gives the film a strong promise since it is famous and the films they make have high quality.

Double Indemnity

Here is another film in classic-era film noir: Double Indemnity (1944). Here is the film poster for this film:

The title

The typography of the title is serif, which is classic and traditional. This could tell us that this film is a classic film noir. The colour is in red, which means romance, dangerous and blood. This gives the information of this film that there is a death in the film and it contains romance. I think this is the lexis of the poster since it has a strong impact on the audiences.

Central image

In this poster, the central image is the couple which almost covers 50% of the poster. They are the main characters of this film. They are hugging but the man is holding a gun behind the woman, this could tell us that this film contains action.  The woman is almost same size as the man but she seems to be dependent on the man. She is an unforgettable femme fatale. Also, there is a strange shadow behind them. It seems like a person who is looking at them. This may tell us that there is a danger coming to them. There is also a tagline (information about the film) to the man's right hand. It is written in white that makes it show up and we could see that there is a murder inside the film.

Mis-en-scene

The background is in pink. This can tell us that the film has a great amount of romance. Also, there is a small person who is watching the main characters. He may have an important relationship to the main characters.

Mark of quality/Promise of pleasure

There is a big black star billing on the top of the poster. The typography is sans-serif that shows modern and new.These two stars are the main stars so they are bigger than the other star billing in the right bottom of the poster. This can suggest that the film has a good quality and the audiences who watch this film will be satisfied because it has really famous people joining in .

The history of Film noir

Some information of Film noir

Film noir, or black film, or dark film, is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, Particularly such that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key, black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography. Many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Great Depression.

Low-resolution reproduction from trailer for the movie: The Big Combo

Classic period of Film noir

The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir. French critics assigned the term film noir in 1946, citing a trending confluence of American film elements-antiheroic characters, biting dialogue shot from the hip, and bold visual design. Although City Streets and other pre-WWⅡ crime melodramas such as Fury (1936) and You Only Live Once (1937), are categorized as full-fledged noir in Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward's film noir encyclopedia, other critics tend to describe them as "proto-noir" or in similar terms.

The film now most commonly cited as the first "true" film noir is Stranger on the Third Floor (1940), directed by Latvian-born, Soviet-trained Boris Ingster.

Stranger on the third floor

Most of the film noir of the classic period were similarly low-and modestly budgeted features without major stars-B movies either literally or in spirit.  In this production context, writers, directors, cinematographers, and other craftsmen were relatively free from typical big-picture constraints.

Thematically, films noir were most exceptional for the relative frequency with which they centred with which they centred on women of questionable virtue-a focus that had become rare in Hollywood films after the mid-1930s and the end of the pre-Code era. The signal film in this vein was Double Indemnity, directed by Billy Wilder in 1944.Though certainly not a B-movie in production and cost- both Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck were A-list celebrities, you can see a lot of the elements of film noir coming into play, as Billy Wilder brought his German Expressionism influences to Seitz’s cinematography.

 Double Indemnity

Moving in the 1950s is Joseph Lewis's The Big Combo in 1955. This film was a low budget B-picture that defied many of the taboos of the time including violence, sex, and homosexual characters.

The Big Combo

And then coming in at the tail end of the classic Film Noir period is Orson Welle's 1958 film Touch of Evil.

Touch of Evil

Some debates

The exact parameters of film noir are still up for debate-some argue that true noir films were made during a specific period, the post-World War Ⅱ 1940s to around 1958, labelling films made before and after proto-and neo-noir respectively, while others argue film noir is more of a style or mood than a genre.

Also, some scholars believe film noir never really ended but continued to transform even as the characteristic noir visual style began to seem dated and changing production conditions led Hollywood in different directions—in this view, post-1950s films in the noir tradition are seen as part of a continuity with classic noir. A majority of critics, however, regard comparable films made outside the classic era to be something other than genuine film noirs. They regard true film noir as belonging to a temporally and geographically limited cycle or period, treating subsequent films that evoke the classics as fundamentally different due to general shifts in filmmaking style and latter-day awareness of noir as a historical source for allusion.