Problems so far

First scene editing

We have finished the editing of our first scene. At first we used way too much of the footage and although it looked good the scene was around a minute and a half long, we therefore had to cut it down significantly. After much editing we have managed to cut down the scene to around twenty five seconds which suits the trailer much better. We will have to come back to this scene to do more editing when we have more scenes filmed to make sure that they flow together nicely.

First scene filming

We have now filmed our first scene. This is the interrogation scene in which our detective interrogates a mobster. When filming we made sure to film many different angles and style of shot to give us more choice during the editing process. The filming took about two hours in total with many re does as we wanted the perfect shots. There was one scene where one of the actors had to fall back on a chair but we made sure this was safe with a soft landing.

Gun prop

For our production we need a 50s style pistol. When we looked online and in the shops we could not find a realistic gun that would work for our production. I have instead bought a red plastic pistol which I will pain using a metallic paint. We only have one gun as we think this is enough and there is only ever one gun needed in any one scene and so we can use this one prop as multiple guns for different characters.

First scene

Yesterday we shot our first scene with characters which was the interrogation scene. I feel that the shoot was a success and we got a lot of very useful footage to use. As usual we took more shots than we needed so that we have more choice in editing.

Establishing shots

Recently we went out and took some establishing shots for our trailer. We wanted shots to realistically portray 1950s culture. This was an equilibrium of sorts and so these scenes are quite peaceful.

Title Logo

Here is a logo that I created for the film. 

Our Films Name?

Our film is going to be called 'The Chase', this is a simple title which many film noir titles are. Our film is about a mobster and a detective both trying to track down the same person and so the name 'The Chase' makes sense.

Midnight Studios Logos

Here are some logos we have created for midnight studios.

Midnight Studios

We have decided on a name for our production company which is 'Midnight Studios'

Black and white vs Colour film

We are currently deciding if our film should be in colour or in black and white. Obviously classic noir is in black and white but we may decide to use some more modern influence and more of a neo noir style in terms of the colour. Here are some advantages for both.

Colour advantages / Black and white disadvantages

The equipment available to us is not all of the highest quality and so we may have some problems in terms of quality. Black and white filmed on a cheaper camera often does not capture all of the different shades and can look flat and too dark. We also have limited lighting as well and this also makes it harder. If we were to film in black and white we would have to make sure that it did not end up looking flat and boring. It is easier with colour to distinguish everything in the frame.

Our film is aimed at a modern younger audience and the use of black and white film may not be as popular with this audience as colour film. This is a large problem as if our audience does not want to see the film then it can not be successful.

Some people may claim that black and white film is dead especially in terms of film noir. Why go back to black and white when it can be done in colour?

Black and white advantages / Colour disadvantages

We want to replicate a classic film noir and this cannot be properly achieved without the use of black and white film as it just would not be the same. This would result in our film being more of a neo noir than classic noir.

Shadows and lighting are a huge part of film noir and it is easier to get more powerful and striking shots with the use of shadows and lighting in black and white. These can be achieved in colour but perhaps not to the same extent.


So how are we going to resolve this problem? First of all we are going to do some tests in both black and white and in colour. We will then show both clips to a sample of our target audience and ask them which one they prefer.
We will likely film the trailer in colour and if we chose to make it black and white do this in the editing process so we could also make two different cuts of the actual trailer and test audiences with those.

Chasing Shadows (Short Noir Film)

Here is a short film which I watched a while ago when choosing a genre for our film trailer. I think that the lighting and cinematography are great, very effective and live up to other film noirs. In terms of the story I feel it is lacking and was slightly boring for the most part, in my opinion the twist is very cheesy and cliché. We definitely want to create some shots such as the ones in this short film with their amazing use of lighting. Overall I found this to be an enjoyable short film even if the story was slightly lacking the other elements made up for that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

The Rules of Film Noir

This is another very useful video this time talking about the rules of film noir in a more general sense. They make some very good and helpful points which we will keep in mind when creating our own film noir trailer. Although we may not follow all of the conventions that they talk about being in a film noir as we are creating a film for a modern audience who may want something new and different. 

Low Budget Lighting

Here is a very helpful video about cheap low budget lighting. The man used hardware or work lights which were very cheap and seemed to be quite effective. This is something that we make look into in terms of our own production as noir is all about lighting and in order to do it justice we will also need to be able to control our own lighting.

The Basics of Lighting for Film Noir

Here is a video that I found on YouTube when doing some research about film Noir. I found it very helpful and interesting. The man in the video talks a lot about the different lighting which best helps to define and exaggerate a character and their shadow. Although he does talk a lot about more professional lighting and since we have no lighting and no real budget we will have to find a cheaper alternative.

The Usual Suspects

Another noir film which I have watched is The Usual Suspects. This is perhaps my favourite noir film that I have seen so far, including both traditional and neo noir. There was not a point throughout this film where I was not completely immersed and focused on the film. The film had a great story and one of the best endings I have seen in a film of any genre.

Ascetically this film is similar to Brick with much of the film being set in day and the whole film being in black and white. This film did feel less like a noir than Brick and much less than The Third Man. It had a very mysterious story and a detective, even if the detective was used in an unusual way. The film felt like it was lacking in conventions of noir film. This said the film is still a neo noir film and has an a amazing story with a fantastic twist and it does still feel somewhat like a neo noir film.

Traditional or neo noir?

We are thinking of creating a trailer for a traditional noir film as we like the idea of the film being in a 1950s setting and in black and white. We may take inspiration from neo noir film especially in terms of the story as this trailer is aimed at a modern audience. Many neo noir film take heavy influence from traditional noir, for example Brick took inspiration from fiom such as the Maltese Falcon which show that these two types of noir can influence one another.

Brick

I have watched some more noir films, this time I have focused on some neo noir films. The first one I have watched is Brick (2005). I found the film very interesting and enjoyable, it is clear that it takes much of its influence from more traditional noir such as the use of a detective type character, a femme fatal and a murder. The film focuses around a school and the majority of the characters are pupils which is very different and makes it stand out among other noir films.

The film is in colour which is not uncommon with neo noir, the film is also set in daytime a lot which makes sense as the film is set in a school but this does go against the noir trait of the films being very dark as the word noir does mean black. The films use of known noir characters but shown in new and interesting ways was very clever. The film does have some very good use of lighting and shadows throughout it which are very powerful even if they are not too common..

Overall I very much enjoyed this film, it managed to keep me on the edge of my seat for throughout and I feel that the mystery had a very interesting and clever ending to it which was not too obvious. I enjoyed this film slightly more than The Third Man which is just a personal preference although I think ascetically The Third Man and more interesting camera shots and use of lighting. Although we are thinking of doing a Traditional noir film we will still take inspiration from some neo noir films.

The Third Man

I recently watched The Third Man for the first time. I though it was a very good film with an interesting and mysterious story which always kept me on the edge of my seat. Although what really caught my attention was the style of the film. The interesting camera shots and angles as well as its clever use of shadows and lighting was very amazing and we will aim to use similarly interesting use of lighting and camera angles in our own piece.