Coursewok Evaluation

1 : In What Ways Does Your Media Product Use, Develop Or Challenge Forms And Conventions Of Real Media Products?

Whilst making an opening to a contemporary film noir thriller, we made sure that the codes and conventions of a traditional film noir were still included, but instead of using the old traditions and values of a traditional film noir we had updated them so that the audience today can level with today's environment.

Our main character of the film Jason Brown (Played By Myself) was our typical male in a traditional film noir, We made sure that he was based around males in other film noirs, being the fall guy who has nothing and has an opportunity to gain something more than he has got but because he is living in a cruel world he has the worst luck in the world and he ends up having less than he had in the first place. We also used an antagonist, this is the hooded man (played by conna) who sets Jason Brown up to get him into trouble with the police. This scenario is not unheard of in typical film noirs.

From the research, it provided us with some vital information that the start to a film noir opening is crucial to keeping the audience hooked, the way you do this is to create enigmas to keep the audience wondering what is happening and to keep them guessing the unpredictable, because of this we knew that we needed to create enigmas to keep our audience guessing. After the film opening was watched by an audience we knew we had done the job because people were thinking who killed Kate Mayfair? Who was the hooded man? Who was the woman on the phone and was she the woman who was walking off in the distance? With all of these enigmas created we managed to keep the audience interested.

The reason we picked crime as one of our genres in our film was because crime is the most common genre in film noir, this is because of the characters which are old American gangsters and dark smoky areas for example rooms or dark lanes where the underground crimes are committed.

2 : How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

The age range that is represented in our film is between the ages of 18 and 25, male and females. But these characters are around danger and consequences. Our film opening contained the characters of a stereotypical film noir, the fall guy who ends up in trouble with a woman, the femme fatale who controls the man over everything, the antagonist who gets the fall guy stitched up into trouble. We managed to pull off these characters by dressing them up accordingly, props and costumes were key to help point out these characters.

I realised that the male characters in the film noir were realistic and typical males, that males think they are number one and top of the food chain, with a high confidence level and a massive ego. On the contrary the femme fatale hasn't got the same stereotypes as most people would see them, she is a blonde female who nowadays most people would portray her as a bit slow and dumb, but in this case she is actually the opposite, she is the one who controls the situation and who is the most intelligent of them all.

3 : What Kind Of Media Institution Might Distribute Your Media Product And Why?

Because our film would never become a “blockbuster film” due to the fact that we don't have the well known actors, director, producers worldwide, we aren't ever going to be able to make our film a big hit. This means our film is an independent film, I feel that our film would be most successful at film festivals that focus on independently made films, this is where people go who are mostly interested in independently made film rather than major hit blockbusters. Also because the film is a low budget film I think that if the opening was to appear on television I think that it would appear on Channel 4 because they show independently made films on off peak times, that is where I think our film would go because its not a hit not many people are going to watch it.

I feel that the type of film distribution company that would distribute our film would be one that has distributed independent film noir thrillers before for example Optimum Releasing, they are one of a many independent film distributers

4D: Treatment for the Editing & Titles of the opening

I am now about to introduce to you my ideas on what I hope to achieve / do in the editing department. As we know the final project that has been set to us is to film an opening sequence to a “Film Noir”, once this has been achieved then I have to edit the sequence so that it makes sense and seems like a real opening to a film.

As we all know, film noirs are tense, dark and ambiguous, this is what makes them a genre of their own and they create this effect by using shadows and noises. Black and white is normally used in film noirs but recently some films have got the traditional film noir effects, situations and characters, but instead of having it in black and white, they have used colour, but instead of the colour being bright and bold, they have either used dark colours or by editing, unsaturated the colour so that it is not so bright, which then gives off the darkness effect.

In our project I hope to achieve the same principle, because we are in the modern society it only seems natural if the opening sequence is in colour. I hope to be able to unsaturate the colours so that it gives off the traditional film noir effect. In our opening sequence there is an interrogation where the main character (Jason Brown) is being accused of murder, unfortunately for Jason’s case he is in fact innocent but has been framed, during the interrogation Jason is being asked questions about where he was, who he was with etc... On that night, during the questions Jason has flashbacks to that night showing where he was and what he was doing.

What I hope to achieve is a cold and gloomy effect during the flashbacks to make it uncomfortable for the audience to look at, this is because traditionally film noirs use effects to make the audience feel uncomfortable to create tension, this is one of the things you can do to get the audience glued to the film. When the flashbacks appear, in between I am going to have some sort of whoosh or space effect sound, this is because that is what is most commonly used in films/TV shows when there is a transition from a scene to a flashback, there is also a video transition where either a white flash transitions from one scene to a flashback, or the scene dissolves into the flashback, I would prefer to use the white flash because it seems more effective than a dissolve transition.

The titles that I shall be using will go in between the phone call at the start and the interrogation, this will emphasize that time has passed between the phone call and the interrogation with Jason Brown. When the titles are in show I am going to play a piece of music over the top, this is so that there is some sound to listen to, if not all you would see is titles across the screen which isn’t very interesting on its own.

Production Meeting Five

The final draft of the script was finished by Jessica (link here?) The questioning has been changed so that Jason believes he is coming into questioning to try and help discover who the murderer is. He no longer lies about where he is on the night of the crime, as this makes him look guilty. Slowly it is revealed he is the suspect due to evidence found on him. The dead girl’s credit card in his girl ties him to the murder. A new final flashback shows him passing the hooded boy, which Conna will shoot at a different angle, with him slipping the credit card into Jason’s pocket. The new beginning was introduced, featuring the femme fatale on the phone luring Jason to the scene of the crime. A few small changes will probably be made to the script before filming.

We organised a presentation for our Media lesson in which we would present our idea. We are yet to have a title for the film and have agreed to think about this over the weekend. Chris and Jess are going to watch The Following on the recommendation of Jon, as this may help with ideas. A final list of actors has been decided as well as there costumes decided by Maya.

- Jason Brown- Chris
- Detective- Possibly Conna, if no other friend available.
- Femme fatale- Jessica
- Dead girl- Charlotte Downing (friend) or Maya
- Hooded boy- Conna

Conna finished the new storyboard for the final script. We hope to make a new animatic next Wednesday. We will all work on our production tasks till then. Chris, Maya and Conna will begin writing their treatments. Jessica is going to analyse results from the questionnaires she made as well as pre production paperwork.

Production Meeting Four

The group received our updated script back from Jon. He viewed his concerns over the direction of the script. He told us we needed to make it apparent that Jason is unaware he is being questioned for the murder. Jon then gave us an excellent idea that we should include another flashback at then end showing the actual sequence of events. We decided to add a new beginning, Chris suggested featuring the femme fatale speaking on the phone.. The group decided the introduction of a hooded boy in the 2nd draft could be developed for the final script, maybe he is involved with the murder.

Conna produced his storyboard using computer software, this has given it a more realistic look.. Chris edited this into an animatic. Unfortunately this will have to change slightly inline with the script. The group have decided to use the studio to film the detectives office as this will allow us to work with lighting better and provides us with a blank canvas. Maya will consider using the Venetian blind effect for this scene now. We have an approximate location for the road scene but this needs to be visited and assessed. Jessica is going to create a questionnaire as part of her research and the group discussed possible questions she could use.

Production Meeting Three

In this meeting we talked with Jon and Jessica presented our 1st draft of the script. Jon commented that the arrest scene at the beginning maybe the wrong opening and would be difficult for Maya to create a legitimate scene. Uniforms and weapons maybe hard to recreate to a high quality. We all agreed to scrap this scene for the benefit of the film. Jon also commented that some of the questioning on the script was a little weak and this would need changing. Jessica will be producing another draft for the next production meeting.

Conna contributed ideas for cinematography. He suggested different shots to show the femme fatale that would look quite artistic. For example, a two shot of her behind Jason in the distance, with Jason unaware of her presence. Chris suggested the idea of editing the flashbacks but draining different colours. The group decided this would be a good idea as the flashbacks need to differentiate from the present time in the film.

Maya began to plan costumes for the actors and consider props. Locations were discussed, and we are aiming to find a quiet pedestrian road or alley to use. We also planned to find a suitable office in the college for the detective scene. Conna is going to work on a storyboard for the next production meeting. Maya and Chris can then begin to consider there treatment.

Based on what was discussed during the production meeting Jessica produced the 2nd draft of the script.

Production Meeting Two

In this meeting we primarily developed our narrative. We stayed with the idea of a man being convicted for a crime he did not do. Scenes such as the court case may make the narrative to long and complicated for the opening and the lecture room would be difficult to mock as a court room. Therefore we decided the opening should show the build up to the actual crime and the mans involvement. We decided upon the name “Jason Brown” for the protagonist.

Conna and Chris created the start of the opening- police kicking a house door open and arresting a surprised Jason. The next scene would feature an interview between a detective and Jason. Flashbacks could occur during this scene showing the discovery of a young ladies dead body. We agreed a femme fatale should feature to give the opening a more noir feel so it doesn’t feel too much like a thriller.

We discussed possible ideas for art direction with Maya. She is going to investigate props we may need such as fake blood and clothes for the actors. Conna is going to consider the cinematography when he receives the script from Jessica and prepare some ideas for the next production meeting. Chris discussed the narrative with Jessica to help her create the script. As a group we assigned the acting roles-

- Jason Brown- Chris
- Detective- Still to decide, possibly a friend in college or actor from drama.
- Femme fatale- Jessica
- Dead girl- Charlotte Downing (friend)

We received a pre production checklist with different paper work to be done. Chris kindly made a copy for everyone and we will now begin our assigned jobs on the sheet. Based on what was discussed during the production meeting Jessica produced the 1st draft of the script.

Production Meeting One

Our group consists of Jessica Hayward, Maya Mathias, Conna Cook and Chris Rathbone

We discussed our roles and abilities in the group and assigned the roles as the following-

- Jessica - Script and Producer
- Maya- Art Director
- Conna- Cinematographer and Director
- Chris- Editing and sound

Chris and Conna presented a synopsis they had discussed. It involved a young man being arrested and wrongfully sent to prison for a crime and then being blackmailed by the government. We all agreed to work on the synopsis to develop the narrative.

We also began to discuss possible locations. A lecture room was decided to be suitable for a court room and a front room for the arrest scene.

Editing Techniques

As The Editor, Editing Techniques need to be considered.

If I am starting an editing project from scratch, it would be a good idea to follow the basic principles for planning and shooting our videos. Which is to capture as much footage as we can, so I have plenty to work with during the editing process. Then I can delete unnecessary footage; put scenes in order; add special effects; and add narration, titles and transitions between video clips. All of this is easy with drag and drop, cut, copy and paste operations.

Cutting unnecessary footage using cropping

I can remove footage with the Cut operation. I can use it to delete the beginning and the ending of a clip, retaining only the middle portion.

Applying Transitions

A video Transition defines how a movie moves from one clip to another. It is never a good idea to move between two video clips suddenly. A transition gives the viewer a sense of continuity.

There are many types of transitions. The Cross Fade moves smoothly between two video clips, without jarring the watcher. The picture given below shows you how a Cross Fade transition works.

Adding Effects

An effect produces results that cannot be achieved by normal techniques. While special effects are traditionally very expensive, digital video editing with software like Video Edit Magic makes it simple to leave your audience stunned. One effect is the Brightness/Contrast effect. This can be used to correct images that appear too bright, dark or dull. The picture given here shows you a video before and after applying the effect.

Removing noise and adding music or narration

To make our videos stand out, I can add narration in our own voice, this type of audio replacement is communly used in film noirs. I can delete the original audio completely, or replace some parts with our narration or a music track.

Creating title slides

Title slides are great for beginnings, endings and credits. When creating titles we have to make sure that they blend in with the genre and theme of the film this way it will not seem like a "B Movie"

Initial Ideas

Once our groups had been named and our roles were posted to us we had to come up with our initial ideas for what our introduction to our film noir should be.

My Initial Synopsis:

Jason, aged 27 is a normal guy with a normal life, until he commits a crime giving him life inprisonment, unfortunatly he crosses over with the wrong person inside this causes a massive problem for him and limits him to what he can do and where he can go until he ends up getting bailed out, to his astonishment he was bailed out by the government, also known as the Institution (The Members of government behind the scenes). When Jason thinks that everything is on the up and that he is a free man he is mistaken as the government bribe him into doing some inside dirty work for them, Jason ends up doing as they say to save his own life, but when his final job is to take out a young female journalist who has been trying to bring down the Institution, he feels to guilty to do the job after meeting her, Jason's choices are limited, either take out the target and live a normal life with the death of the woman on his conscience or spend the rest of his life in prison, what does he do?

My Initial Introduction Scene:

1st Scene:

Jason is sat down at a table in his flat when someone knocks on the door, Jason shouts "Who's There" when the police bust through the door whilst shouting "You're nicked". Jason replies saying "What For" and the officers aggresively reply "You know what for jason" and drap him out to the Station. Camera fades out to black

2nd Scene:

Camera then fades in to the courtroom where jason is at the stand and a lawyer is asking him question where after every question jason gets a flashback of him killing the victim. The last question asked is "Did you kill Kate Mayfair?" then jason has a flashback of himself staing at the dead body that he just slaughtered, then the scene of the courtroom comes back and jason replies "No". The lawyer then asks jason if he pleads guilty or not guilty. Jason replies "Not Guilty". The Judge then asks the jury what they think of the defendants case. The Jury finds the defendant guilty. The judge then states "Under the circumstances I sentance Jason Brown to life inprisonment" *Jail Door Closing Sounds*

3rd Scene:

Jason is behind a closed jail door when the brother of Kate Mayfair tells him that on that night he is going to be dead. During the rest of the day jason lays down on his bed worrying when he gets a shout from one of the guards claiming that he has been bailed out.

Unfortunaly my idea seemed a bit to far fetched to be real, so we decided to change it a little, keeping the name, we changed the storyline so that jason has a normal life and ends up getting set up by a seductive femme fatal who kills another female and puts jason at the scene of the crime.

Film Noir Final Project Intro

We are now onto our last project of the "Film Noir" theme. We have been put into groups of four and this is the group we will be working with during the rest of the term. Fortunatly i am with people who are reliable and have a good ability in the role they have been posted to. I am the editor and the actor of the group, Conna is the Producer and Cameraman, Maya is the Art Director (Mise-En-Scene), and Jess is our Cinematographer.

Our objective is to create a three minute opening to a film noir thriller that has the same characteristics and conventions as a film noir yet it has to be modernised to the modern world.