Production Evaluation
When producing my Film Noir opening, The Decoy, I used numerous camera angles to give the full film noir effect because in the films we watched were full of many different angles so I tried my best to included as many angles and shots at appropriate times. For example I used low angle and a close up on the feet to show this person is powerful and a mystery because we don't see his face clearly. This angle was used because mystery is a common thing in Noir. It makes the audience think who is he and why is he hiding whilst watching a drug deal. I also used a couple of establishing shots to show the setting as Noir uses establishing shots to show settings like bar, apartments, alleys, dark streets and offices so the audience can see where the scene is taking place. A pan was also used to reveal something as Noir is filled with surprises, so I used a pan at the beginning to show that someone was watching the drug deal. Close up's are used throughout the opening to show something important and someone's emotions. Medium shots are also used a lot through the opening to show everyone in the scene. I also used dutch angles as these are very popular in Noir the angle can be used to make an audience feel a host of different emotions, like fear, uneasiness, even drunkenness. It can create tension, a cinematic environment that makes it’s a thrilling, suspenseful experience. Every scene is shot from different angles so that the audience can see what is going on in the scene from different perspectives. I used low-key lighting throughout the opening as Noir is a very dull, dark and mysterious Genre and the low-key lighting creates sense of mystery and the scene becomes very dull. I used the green room to add in a car scene as car scenes are quite popular in Noir.
My group and I used 1940-50's costumes for our opening for example we used fedora hats, suits and ties for the male actors as we thought this would make it feel as if we were in the 1940's -50's. For the female actress we used two different dresses that fit the genre and fit the femme fatale character, one long dress with a slit and one short dress, this added to the popular settings we used. The settings we chose to use were a bar, a alley way, and a office, this added a Noir effect as we used common Noir settings throughout our opening. To go with our settings we used appropriate props, for example in the office we had an old desk lamp and phone, because it was a detective's office we also decided to put wanted posters and pictures up on the wall behind the desk. In the bar we ordered two wine glasses to give the full Noir bar effect. In the alley way we had a drug deal as we thought it would give a Noir effect and a bag full of drugs was used to make it more realistic.
When editing on Final Cut Pro we used popular Film noir music (Jazz music) this gave a Noir effect as it made it seem professional and like a real noir film. In editing I also used the sound of a gun reloading but not shooting right at the end so there could be an enigma code; this gave a Noir effect as Noir has a lot of suspense and mystery. In editing I also used voiceovers to give a Noir effect as voiceovers are a major key in Noir, so we recorded the voiceovers on our phones and later transferred them to Final Cut Pro. When editing we also thought about the order to see which scene built the climax as this normally happens at the beginning or the end of the trailer. This gave a noir effect as the climax is always at the beginning in Film Noir movies.
In the process of making the Film Noir opening I mastered a few skills, for example I learnt had to edit properly, joining two clips together, cropping parts of clips and replacing them with new ones. I also mastered using the camera properly I learnt all of the camera angles and different shots and how to film them.
At the beginning I put the title in the middle of the screen in big writing so that it would stand out and take the attention away from the camera moving. I made the font into a cursive font as this seemed the most suitable for a Film Noir because it’s unique. I made the colour white because the film is black and white, which seems dark therefore white looks bright compared to black so it stands out from the background and is clear to read for the audience. I placed the title in the middle because that's where it would be the biggest font and looks more professional. I also made the credits white so it would stand out from the dark background. I positioned the first set of credits behind the feet to make it seem as it was being revealed by the feet, the other two set of credits were put where there was space on the screen so the audience could see it clearly.
I tried to make a Film Noir with the lighting by using low-key lighting as dull, dark, gloomy and mystery are common conventions of Noir and the low-key lighting set this kind of tone and dark connotes mystery. The costumes I used are also common conventions of Noir as in the 1940-50's this is what was worn, so these costume made it a Noir atmosphere. For the female I dressed her as a femme fatale as a femme fatale is a common convention of Noir. They dressed as sexy, powerful women however we needed to keep it PG so had a long dress with a slit but had one short dress creeping away from a traditional Noir and added a modern dress as we felt this was femme fatale but PG at the same time. The props we used were also common conventions of Noir in a office we used an old desk lamp and old phone and wanted posters and pictures to do with a crime as it was a detective's office which is also a common convention as the Doomed hero could be the detective in Noir and that is what we done to make it more of a Noir atmosphere. The locations we used were also common conventions of noir like alleys these set a dark, mysterious atmosphere which is common in Noir so we used a alley. We also used popular locations like offices and bars as well.
The opening introduces characters all in the opening scene, the femme fatale is introduced in a drug deal holding a gun standing with the doomed hero's brother. We chose to introduce the Femme Fatale like this because it shows she is powerful and a Femme Fatale being powerful is a common convention in Noir. The Doomed hero is introduced as he is watching the drug deal happen from the tunnel. We chose to introduce the Doomed Hero like this because the Doomed hero is always betrayed in Noir so him seeing his girlfriend with his brother shows a sense of betrayal.
We tried to create interest for the audience right from the beginning because it keeps the audience hooked. For example a drug deal keeps younger audiences hooked, and then seeing someone spying on a drug deal creates suspense because the audience will want to know if he knows the people and what will he do know that he has seen the drug deal happen, will he go to the police or seek revenge. We then see the Doomed Hero and the Femme Fatale in the office together after the drug deal so the audience will be on the edge of their seats waiting for him to do something. Nothing happens so the audience are still waiting and this creates suspense will he even do anything. Then later when their in the bar having a drink, when the audience expect nothing the doomed hero spikes the drink and the audience is shocked. Then they start to worry if something will happen to him now that he has spiked her drink. Then at the end he is held at gunpoint by a mysterious person and the trailer ends.
The opening ends with a cliffhanger wanting the audience to watch the movie because they would have questions like, who is the person holding the gun? and will he get shot? The mystery is how did this guy see the drink was spiked? or was it something else he has done? The enigma code could be something like did the girl actually even die when she was spiked? Because we only see her coughing and running out.
We used Paramount Pictures as the produces of our film because it is a very popular Film Noir producer and had high quality and professional film even if they're not of the Noir genre. We didn't use Disney as that is more of a child friendly film producer and Film Noir is aimed at older age groups as Film Noir contains nudity and scenes for older audience. Although my opening doesn't contain nudity it is not aimed at little children.
The audience I am aiming my opening at are teenagers 14+ as this is appropriate for older viewers although Noir contains sexual scenes and nudity it is normally aged at 18+ but my opening is PG and doesn't contain this therefore has a lower age. I feel as if any gender could watch this just basing on what kind of genres you like. But I would preferably make the Primary target audience fans of crime films and audiences who enjoy being kept on the edge of their seats. Also fans of 1940's films as it contains all popular common conventions of Noir.
I feel as if my Film Noir opening is quite good. The story line has a smooth flow and has a sense of suspense and mystery as Noir should. The title, credits and font stand out so it's clear for the audience to read, the green screen is used well, sound effects have been put in a good places so they fit in well for example when the Femme Fatale steals something from the Doomed Hero's office there is a rattling sound effect. However I feel something that could be improved is that there is a gap of silence towards the end of the opening. Maybe we could have used a few more angle and shots like a high angle shot and dutch angle. Compared to others I feel our green screen has been used very well as we used a tripod so it doesn't look like it's floating. I have learnt that it takes a lot of components to make a opening and that your whole group has to corporate, if one person doesn't work with the group the whole group is put in a difficult situation.
My group and I used 1940-50's costumes for our opening for example we used fedora hats, suits and ties for the male actors as we thought this would make it feel as if we were in the 1940's -50's. For the female actress we used two different dresses that fit the genre and fit the femme fatale character, one long dress with a slit and one short dress, this added to the popular settings we used. The settings we chose to use were a bar, a alley way, and a office, this added a Noir effect as we used common Noir settings throughout our opening. To go with our settings we used appropriate props, for example in the office we had an old desk lamp and phone, because it was a detective's office we also decided to put wanted posters and pictures up on the wall behind the desk. In the bar we ordered two wine glasses to give the full Noir bar effect. In the alley way we had a drug deal as we thought it would give a Noir effect and a bag full of drugs was used to make it more realistic.
When editing on Final Cut Pro we used popular Film noir music (Jazz music) this gave a Noir effect as it made it seem professional and like a real noir film. In editing I also used the sound of a gun reloading but not shooting right at the end so there could be an enigma code; this gave a Noir effect as Noir has a lot of suspense and mystery. In editing I also used voiceovers to give a Noir effect as voiceovers are a major key in Noir, so we recorded the voiceovers on our phones and later transferred them to Final Cut Pro. When editing we also thought about the order to see which scene built the climax as this normally happens at the beginning or the end of the trailer. This gave a noir effect as the climax is always at the beginning in Film Noir movies.
In the process of making the Film Noir opening I mastered a few skills, for example I learnt had to edit properly, joining two clips together, cropping parts of clips and replacing them with new ones. I also mastered using the camera properly I learnt all of the camera angles and different shots and how to film them.
At the beginning I put the title in the middle of the screen in big writing so that it would stand out and take the attention away from the camera moving. I made the font into a cursive font as this seemed the most suitable for a Film Noir because it’s unique. I made the colour white because the film is black and white, which seems dark therefore white looks bright compared to black so it stands out from the background and is clear to read for the audience. I placed the title in the middle because that's where it would be the biggest font and looks more professional. I also made the credits white so it would stand out from the dark background. I positioned the first set of credits behind the feet to make it seem as it was being revealed by the feet, the other two set of credits were put where there was space on the screen so the audience could see it clearly.
I tried to make a Film Noir with the lighting by using low-key lighting as dull, dark, gloomy and mystery are common conventions of Noir and the low-key lighting set this kind of tone and dark connotes mystery. The costumes I used are also common conventions of Noir as in the 1940-50's this is what was worn, so these costume made it a Noir atmosphere. For the female I dressed her as a femme fatale as a femme fatale is a common convention of Noir. They dressed as sexy, powerful women however we needed to keep it PG so had a long dress with a slit but had one short dress creeping away from a traditional Noir and added a modern dress as we felt this was femme fatale but PG at the same time. The props we used were also common conventions of Noir in a office we used an old desk lamp and old phone and wanted posters and pictures to do with a crime as it was a detective's office which is also a common convention as the Doomed hero could be the detective in Noir and that is what we done to make it more of a Noir atmosphere. The locations we used were also common conventions of noir like alleys these set a dark, mysterious atmosphere which is common in Noir so we used a alley. We also used popular locations like offices and bars as well.
The opening introduces characters all in the opening scene, the femme fatale is introduced in a drug deal holding a gun standing with the doomed hero's brother. We chose to introduce the Femme Fatale like this because it shows she is powerful and a Femme Fatale being powerful is a common convention in Noir. The Doomed hero is introduced as he is watching the drug deal happen from the tunnel. We chose to introduce the Doomed Hero like this because the Doomed hero is always betrayed in Noir so him seeing his girlfriend with his brother shows a sense of betrayal.
We tried to create interest for the audience right from the beginning because it keeps the audience hooked. For example a drug deal keeps younger audiences hooked, and then seeing someone spying on a drug deal creates suspense because the audience will want to know if he knows the people and what will he do know that he has seen the drug deal happen, will he go to the police or seek revenge. We then see the Doomed Hero and the Femme Fatale in the office together after the drug deal so the audience will be on the edge of their seats waiting for him to do something. Nothing happens so the audience are still waiting and this creates suspense will he even do anything. Then later when their in the bar having a drink, when the audience expect nothing the doomed hero spikes the drink and the audience is shocked. Then they start to worry if something will happen to him now that he has spiked her drink. Then at the end he is held at gunpoint by a mysterious person and the trailer ends.
The opening ends with a cliffhanger wanting the audience to watch the movie because they would have questions like, who is the person holding the gun? and will he get shot? The mystery is how did this guy see the drink was spiked? or was it something else he has done? The enigma code could be something like did the girl actually even die when she was spiked? Because we only see her coughing and running out.
We used Paramount Pictures as the produces of our film because it is a very popular Film Noir producer and had high quality and professional film even if they're not of the Noir genre. We didn't use Disney as that is more of a child friendly film producer and Film Noir is aimed at older age groups as Film Noir contains nudity and scenes for older audience. Although my opening doesn't contain nudity it is not aimed at little children.
The audience I am aiming my opening at are teenagers 14+ as this is appropriate for older viewers although Noir contains sexual scenes and nudity it is normally aged at 18+ but my opening is PG and doesn't contain this therefore has a lower age. I feel as if any gender could watch this just basing on what kind of genres you like. But I would preferably make the Primary target audience fans of crime films and audiences who enjoy being kept on the edge of their seats. Also fans of 1940's films as it contains all popular common conventions of Noir.
I feel as if my Film Noir opening is quite good. The story line has a smooth flow and has a sense of suspense and mystery as Noir should. The title, credits and font stand out so it's clear for the audience to read, the green screen is used well, sound effects have been put in a good places so they fit in well for example when the Femme Fatale steals something from the Doomed Hero's office there is a rattling sound effect. However I feel something that could be improved is that there is a gap of silence towards the end of the opening. Maybe we could have used a few more angle and shots like a high angle shot and dutch angle. Compared to others I feel our green screen has been used very well as we used a tripod so it doesn't look like it's floating. I have learnt that it takes a lot of components to make a opening and that your whole group has to corporate, if one person doesn't work with the group the whole group is put in a difficult situation.