Final Pitch

1.       Title sequence with exterior and interior shots of a Church, with a religious undertone, to create tension and a montage

2.       Film noir conventional first-person narrative creating a biased point of view towards the events and the characters

3.       Aerial shot of the city of Leicester to establish the setting and to also increase the variety, to show off

4.       A discussion between the Boss and the Detective, describing the Vampire’s power and the urgency of this case, to allow the audience to recognise the intense task the antagonist creates. This will emphasise the power and help to create a typical Propp ‘Villain’

5.       Appropriate mise-en-scene, for example: a Detective’s office and the props required for his desk, following the research into Film Noir’s and our use of google to explore the conventional props from images

6.       An interrogation scene between the Detective and the suspect after his wife has been murdered. This will be one of the climatic events within the trailer, used to raise the tension and to create an enigma because the audience will not be completely aware of the background and context

7.       Different close ups of the Detective and the Vampire-the main characters to build audience suspense, to allow them to divert from their everyday problems as they try to discover who the characters are. The closeness within the shots will also create verisimilitude, as the realism from the detail and the shot type will enable the audience to connect to the shots and actually feel like they are really witnessing them

8.       Random shots of dead body parts, for dismemberment, creating the violence and macabre style-linking to the Director’s intentions and style, as well as offering a taste for a wider audience particular males, because they stereotypically prefer violence

9.       A two-shot of Gangsters to again offer variety, and more character types

10.   Pathetic fallacy-non-diegetic sounds and flashing of lightning and thunder to create a darker and intense atmosphere, whilst being conventional to the retro Noir. This will effectively foreshadow the deaths, leading to the binary opposites of life vs death and good vs evil to occur, for a professional plot

11.   We will explore how we can use the weather in the shots, for example a shot of a Mini in mist or a Vampire standing in fog

12.   A crime scene will take place. We are planning to film it in a Forest to create the clichéd and conventional horror, that is recognisable and somewhat iconic for many audiences

13.   The song we are planning to use is: ‘Night of the Vampire.’ This is dramatic and intense, and appropriately connects to the antagonist and his joy he is gaining from achieving his desires

Online tutorial on Film Noir cinematography

This video discussed lighting, focusing upon challenges you may face when filming. For example, reflections, wanted to show the filler lights naturalistically, in this case a lamp and how the light needs to be placed in the right position for a hard-edge on the actors face. Therefore, he placed the main light directly opposite his nose.

This tutorial also explores costume. The typical protagonist in a classic Film Noir would never be denoted with a flowery shirt, because it is essential that he is represented as hard-boiled and a stereotypical working man. This pairs with the hard shadows for a clichéd, connoting mystery and moral ambiguity.

Using reference photos a suitable desk for a Detective would include: typewriter, a magnifying glass, a notepad/diary, folders and maybe photo albums. All of these would signify a busy, hard working and committed Detective.

Our production:
Overall, all of these details create a simple and effective Film Noir look for a conventional mise-en-scene. In regards to our production, I think that it is necessary that we consider the props on the characters desk because we want it to look professional and conventional. Therefore, we will try to borrow or use these props in order to make our trailer more relatable and firm in the genre we have chosen to mainly focus upon. Obviously we are producing a hybrid, but the horror genre will only be an added detail for innovation and a different exploration, hopefully intriguing the audience further.

Cohesive Marketing: Deadpool

Audience feedback about a professional trailer

Will: I like how they keep the music suspenseful even in basic dialogue scenes and that there is only a small glimpse of the werewolf.

Phil: The action never stops. It is also informative about the plot but lacks excitement, which gives the impression that the film might be dull.

Maddy: It was a pretty cool trailer, that definitely shows and captures the time period it's set in and tells you the storyline without ruining too much of the actual film. However, some of the sound effects seemed a little out of place, such as the scream near the end, but I did like the font and the soundtrack that was used, they were rather conventional for that type of film genre.

Caitlin: I like the bold, white letters and the build up of music for a crescendo, reaching a climatic edge.

Tommy: He finds this trailer informative and successful in getting messages across, like a narrator would usually do.

Nick: I liked the music - fitted the scenes well and built tension. I liked the use of silhouettes at the end so you couldn't tell what was happening (but you heard the scream).

Tom: I like the mystery behind the villain and that they don't show much until the end. Also, I like the slow dramatic zooms and the music building up tension and adding to the 'jump scares'.

From this, what may we apply to our trailer?
1. Suspenseful music throughout.
2. Small glimpses of the antagonist to keep the audience guessing, likely to be achieved through close ups.
3. Continuation of action. So we will probably use fast paced editing to keep the trailer flowing and exciting.
4. Having a plot twist or a technique that provides pleasure for the audience, specifically the target audience will prevent boredom and dullness. For example, having a main hook.
5. We should consider telling the story in as brief but informative detail as possible, likely through the conventional first person narrative and the camera shots denoted.
6. Stick to the conventions (we have planned to already).
7. The music we have planned to use: Roky Erickson - Night of the Vampire does slightly build up for a crescendo, but the song itself is quite upbeat and loud throughout. We can obviously develop the song if necessary.
8. Using silhouettes during a tragic and tense scene would work well in engaging the audience, because they would not be fully aware of what is happening, keeping them on the edge.
9. We are planning to use slow dramatic zooms for an eerie atmosphere and a steadier dynamic contrast.
10. Lastly, the music will be one of the main focus' in our trailer because it will definitely build the tension for audience engagement, and help to create the 'jump scares' for the horror genre.

Online tutorial on the basic lighting of Film Noir

What I have learnt?

• Low key lighting is a commonly used to emphasise shadows and harsh lighting in order to create a sense of depth and deception.

Traditional three point lighting set up (in terms of lighting a face):

•  The most important light on a set is the key light. This is often the brightest and most dominate. Complimenting the key light is the filler. This is often placed opposite to the key light, in order to fill in the shadows. The final light is the back light. The function of this is to add an outline that separates the main focus or subject from the background.
• For an effective Film Noir look, a strong key and back light is essential, whilst the fill lights are not as dominant because an exaggerated contrast is vital for the low key look.
• Film Noir generally uses hard lights for a sharp edged shadow, created by a single point of light.
• However, soft lights are used subtlety. For example, for glamorising female characters.
• Another light that is used often is the eye light. This is used by illuminating the eyes and the brow for a dramatic look. In order to do this, we can use flags which are like solid cookies that do not let any light through apart from the intentional sections. Or we could use barndoors. These are leaf-like and they attach to the light fixtures, acting like mini flags.  

Since shadows are so effective, here is a list of the equipment necessary:

• Cucoloris (cookies). These are cut outs of wood, metal, plastic etc. for casting a pattern shadow, including a venetian blind pattern.
• Gobos: made of metal or glass to cast a crisp shadow, but they require a light with a projection lens.

How has this affected our ideas?
We are obviously using the convention of low-key lighting because this is an essential element for Film Noir as well as the horror genre. Also, we will focus on the key light and were it is placed in order to create emphasis and attention upon a certain character, object or setting, whilst complimenting this with a filler light (perhaps in the form of a lamp or a chandelier.) We are not planning to use glamorous females because of the struggle for actresses, so hard lights for a sharp edged shadow will be used highly within our trailer and ancillary forms. Moreover, Venetian blinds are conventions of Film Noir, but unfortunately we are planning to subvert this because of issues and the inability to source again or find an appropriate location. Although, since we are producing a hybrid, the conventions we could include have dramatically widened. As a result, we are able to subvert more conventions if we believe they are a challenge. Lastly, we would like to use eye lights to highlight the eyes and the brow for dramatic facial expressions, mainly on the Detective. However, we are aware that the equipment may cost and will require organisation, so this will be under consideration when completing the storyboard.

Different Audience Sub-Groups

I sourced this information from http://www.uktribes.com/tribe/mainstream. It has been useful because it has allowed be to understand personalities and desires characterised by these different audience sub-groups. Additionally, this research enabled me to class our formal target audience into a particular mainstream audience.

Permission email to a local church to film.

 

Me and my colleague have visited the local church and we've identified some very eye-catching religious artefacts which would be ideal in helping us deliver a religious vibe in the film trailer. The owners of the church have given us their contact details so we could discuss the contents of the trailer and a time for us to film.

Pilot Survey Analysis

Film Noir/Horror: Sound Conventions

Slide Set created by Hubert Osinski with GoConqr

Linking the ancillary to the cohesive marketing research (Hayden Woodcock)

Technical Research: Directing

Touch of Evil certificate

'Touch of Evil' 1958, is a fine example of a Film Noir: a stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in a Mexican border town. By the MPAA it was rated as a PG-13 for some violence and drug content. In further detail, it includes:

Sex & Nudity  

A woman is implied to be nude in bed, but fully covered

Violence & Gore

A car is destroyed by a bomb. You see the driver and passenger engulfed by flames. While this is not particularly graphic, this second part is a little disturbing.

A man is strangled

A man is shot off screen and blood is seen dripping from his body.

Another man is shot off screen with no blood.

Throughout the film there are numerous fist fights in which people are thrown into walls and such.

Profanity

Mild use of profanity.

Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking

A large amount of the plot is about drug smugglers.

A woman is framed (falsely) as a heroin and marijuana addict.

Men smoke marijuana briefly.

A man is an alcoholic and is shown very drunk

Characters smoke in a manner accurate to the period.

Frightening/Intense Scenes

There is a sudden close-up to the face of a strangled man (with popping eyes and his tongue sticking out) that is likely to startle viewers.

Even though, our Film Trailer will not include as many of these aspects, we have set our target audience as a 15 because of the use of the Vampire, and as we will also incorporate Horror conventions.

'Touch of Evil' trailer does not obviously include as much intensity as the overall film would, but the beginning scene and the medium shot of the female character dancing on a table in tights creates a representation of a stripper and sexual incorporation.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052311/videoplayer/vi33489177?ref_=tt_ov_vi

Influential Figures

Peter Jackson

Even though we've moved on genre-wise to Film Noir compared to the typical Drama, Thriller or Horror, Peter Jackson still remains to be one of the greatest influence to my film making. This is not only because of the popularity he gained through his two notorious trilogies The "Lord of The Rings" and the more recent "The Hobbit", the way he works as a director is something I've taken into consideration, and we also share some similar directorial traits. He pays great attention to detail and shoots extra footage, trying out different angles so he can get the perfect shot. Peter Jackson also don't fail to capture the landscapes of his sets in order to create this adventurous cinematic experience for the audience. My goal is to re-create this experience in my own way, to give the audience something new, something they haven't seen before.

Ben Stiller

Any film that Ben Stiller has directed or co-directed, he always had to act in it. It is only one of his more recent works that have influenced me, but his comedies don't fail to make me chuckle. The film I'm talking about is "The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty", Ben Stiller is a director which approaches films on a personal level, he enjoys making films which are different from the typical mainstream films that are typically released. I too want to make content which makes the audience explore emotions which they rarely experience on a personal level. When I approach a film I want to follow my gut feeling for what the film should be rather than following specific genre conventions, therefore through our production process we might draw ourselves back from some of the Film Noir/Horror conventions and use influence from other genres/films.




Hans Zimmer

Every film deserves a good soundtrack otherwise they'd be very plain and boring, Hans Zimmer is one of the composers which influence my approach towards the soundtrack in the production stages. In my opinion Hans Zimmer's scores are flawless, his capability to create high quality hybrid scores make him suitable to score any genre of film.

Horror: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BI-Df7jl-A

Drama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWm8-jlddaw

Sci-Fi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxIaRmLLF9o

Thriller: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=572CmMA6-Rk

Action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1B3Mgklfd0

Adventure: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cScVoZWVDLQ

Technical Research: Editing

We are not fully dividing roles because we are keen on exploring each of the areas in order to get a better practical understanding. Therefore, we are all responsible for everything: filming, directing, editing, acting and producing. However, Hubert has asked to be involved with the filming and directing more this year because he took on the role of the actor last year, so it is clearly fair that we edge towards this. In light of this, I have decided to focus my research upon photography, editing and acting. Following this, here is my research into editing techniques and considerations:

• At this level, it is preferable to edit on Final Cut Pro because it provides a clean finish and provides the editors with more software and techniques to use compared to IMovie. As well as this, this editing software is quite easy to use once you have a basic understanding. Within Final Cut, it is essential that I always consider: transitions, colour, sound and continuity.
• Transitions: These can be used during the cuts between shots to make the film to look more professional and to enable a continuation or lack of continuation (depending on genre requirements or conventions.) It is vital that the transitions relate to the genre conventions in the way that old fashioned films, in this case Film Noir used wipes and iris' because of the technology and consistence dominance during this period.
• Colour: The colour of the film can accessibly and easily be altered to suit our ideas and Film Noir/Horror look: black and white. This will enable the overall trailer to appear recognisable and stereotypical for this particular film.
• Sound: Due to piracy and downloading, I can access sound from iTunes or other uses sound on Final Cut. Although, it is necessary that the sound within a trailer is balanced between diegetic and non-diegetic and in particular, contrapuntal and parallel for tension, juxtaposition and to anchor the footage.
• Continuity: This can be achieved via the colour matching tool in Final Cut Pro, ensuring that it is the same throughout. Additionally, continuity is essential in editing techniques, depending whether it is linear or non-linear narrative and in typography (since the font should be the same size and the same font unless a reason against this is clear.)

Film Noir

•       Strictly speaking, Film Noir should not be clarified as a genre. Instead it is rather the mood, style or tone of various American films that evolved in the 1940s, and lasted in a classic period until about 1960. However, it has not been exclusively confined to this era, and has re-occurred in the form of Neo Noirs.
• Noirs are usually black and white films with primary moods of melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, guilt and paranoia.

Sub-genres of Film Noir:

1. Detective and Mystery-focus' on the unsolved crime (usually the murder or disappearance of one or more of the characters, or a theft). The central character is often a hard-boiled and serious Detective in the form of a protagonist. He/she will complete various adventures and challenges in the cold and methodical pursuit of the criminal to a crime.
2. Thriller/suspense=Thriller and suspense films are virtually synonymous and interchangeable categorisations. They are promote excitement, suspense, a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, anxiety and tension. The acclaimed Master of Suspense is Alfred Hitchcock (previously considered as my Influential Director.)

Genre Research: Horror (Hayden Woodcock)

A horror depicts the audience emotions, worst fears, disgust and nightmares. This genre often includes scenes that scare the viewer, through macabre and the supernatural, as a result of intense imagery and sound. Most horror plots involve an antagonist trying to cause havoc or mayhem, often succeeding at the end of the plot, allowing the style and conventions within this genre to be clear. Elements that feature in this genre include: gore, weapons, dilemmas, enigmas, ghost, supernatural forces, serial killer and a lot of darkness.

 

Famous horrors include: The Exorcist, The Shining, The Babadook, It Follows, 31, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Psycho, Halloween, The Conjuring. The Descent, Saw and Evil Dead.

Progress Report

Following our initial research, here are our current idea possibilities for our Film Noir trailer, poster and web page.

Main production ideas:
Character types-

• Stereotypical Film Noir horror
• A traditional horror monster, e.g. werewolf, vampire or lunatic as the antagonist
• A conventional Detective who wears a fedora hat, a suit, uses a walking stick, a jacket, a Detective watch/magnifying glass, a pipe and leather gloves.
• A dead body
• And possibly a Damsel-in-Distress
• Stereotypical 1950's gangster

Plot ideas-

• The title sequence=shots of the decorative ornaments and church objects.
• A Detective is called up for a crime scene, which shows a dead body on the outskirts of a forest.
• We will have a shot of the antagonist biting his arm.
• Shots of detective body parts-but we do not see his face until the final shot.
• Narrative voice-over describing what's going on during the action and he will set the scene.
• Gangsters in a pub discussing the monster.
• We will have a shot of the victims hands crawling away from the murderer.
• The detective drives to the murder scene in his mini.
• An interrogation against the Detective from the Gangsters.
• Detective in a pub with a female character screaming, he rescues her.

Who is our target audience?

http://www.slideshare.net/SFDobson94/film-noir-target-audience-6762653

In consideration of the BBFC website, we have acknowledge that our age certificate would be a 15, because of the violence, interrogations and the crime scene setting.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/education-resources/student-guide/bbfc-history/history-age-ratings-symbols

This link shows that a 1951 film would have had a restricted category of 'X,' meaning that the audience would be limited to those over 16. X-rated films issued between 1951 and 1982 by the British Board of Film Censors in the United Kingdom as a result of the Wheare Report on film censorship. This was later risen to 18+ because of the violence, language and other forms of strong behaviour being include in films. However, some 'X' rated films in the past were transferred to a PG in modern day, suggesting that audiences and rating classifications have clearly altered throughout the years. Within an 'X' rated film, adulterous relationships, hooliganism, violence and poor morals could be denoted. We are planning on using violence and aspects of hooliganism, so we think that it is necessary that we rate our film as an 'X' in old-fashioned Film Noir terms. Nowadays, our primary audience would be between the 15-20 age range because the actors are fresh and upcoming, and the narrative and the application of the conventions are appropriately modern.

To continue, our audience attraction will likely cover a wide range due to Film Noir being aimed at the older demographics because this is the type of film that was recognisable during their generation, Despite this, some critics believe that Film Noir can also be targeted to young audiences since they will desire to develop their information and understanding of this genre and how this lifestyle influenced culture. Thus, our informal audience would consist of the older demographic in their 50's or above. Therefore, this shows the wide attraction hybrids often reach because they attract varying people.

The target gender would be male, simply due to the fact that we stereotypically prefer violence and gore, in particularly action and horror genres. However, the female characters and sexualised gangsters will hopefully attract this specific gender, through Mulvey's male gaze. This is because they often gain gratification from attractive and muscular characters.

Chat conversation end

Social Networking Research on FB

Film Noir Pilot Survey / Questionaire

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3Y29CTW

This is our first Pilot Survey Monkey. We have released it to as many school friends and teachers as possible, for a range in feedback from different audience perspective. Ultimately, we were aiming to release it to our primary target audience.

Narrative Theory

Genre Theory

Audience theories

Representation Theory

Auteur Theory

Tarantino’s love of music often plays an essential role in his films: Reservoir Dogs without “Stuck in the Middle with You” or a Pulp Fiction without “Misirlou” as not Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction at all. In the booklet that comes with The Tarantino Connection, a collection of soundtrack songs from Tarantino’s movies, Tarantino describes his perhaps unsurprisingly musically-inspired method of film conception as follows: “One of the things I do when I am starting a movie, when I’m writing a movie or when I have an idea for a film is, I go through my record collection and just start playing songs, trying to find the personality of the movie, find the spirit of the movie. Then, ‘boom,’ eventually I’ll hit one, two or three songs, or one song in particular, ‘Oh, this will be a great opening credit song.'” Hence his use of Dick Dale, the “King of Surf Guitar,” for the opening credits of Pulp Fiction. (From http://www.openculture.com/2014/09/quentin-tarantino-the-art-of-the-music-in-his-films.html)

Tarantino is also known for his stylised violence. All of his films include death and gory detail.

Additionally, strong female leads are also predominately used throughout Tarantino’s career, thus he does not follow stereotypical 'Damsel in Distress' Propp character types. For example, Jungle Julia (In Death Proof), Bridget Von Hammersmark (Inglorious Basterds), Alabama Whitman (True Romance), Mia Wallace (Pulp Fiction), Zoe Bell (Death Proof), Santanico Pandemonium (From Dusk Till Dawn), O-Ren Ishii (Kill Bill), Jackie Brown (Jackie Brown) and The Bride (Kill Bill). All of these characters require aid from other characters at some point in their films, representing that they are not all typical protagonists. However, The Bride is the strongest and the most represented 'hero' within his movies because she has an ability to portray an assassin when necessary. This is unique for many films because we find that the protagonist is often male, however it is positive for post-feminism and the modern day that female characters are playing the main hero roles.

Narrative: Quentin Tarantino follows a non-linear structure, due to flashback's. In this case, 'Kill Bill' is presented with a series of flashbacks explain Beatrice's circumstances and how she became jilted and desperate for revenge. Whilst, in 'The Hateful Eight' the ending is altered to connote that the whole plot was a plan, on behalf of Jody (played by Channing Tatum.) This provides variance and a twisted format, to tell the plot uniquely and with tension, to enhance the audience.

Trademark shots:
1. Trunk shots and point of view cinematography. These provide the characters with power, and cause the audience to believe that we are in the trunk looking at them.

2. Close ups of human features or objects for verisimilitude and fine detail, creating audience information and a sensual mood. Furthermore, the extreme close ups connote emotions and create intimacy between the audience and the action. 

Link: https://vimeo.com/124258143

Film Noir/Horror: Character and narrative theory research.

Conventions we are planning to follow or subvert

Conventions to Follow:

• Dark, isolated location - This will appeal to our target audience because this is a conventional location for Film Noir, thus the audience will expect this. Additionally, this will connote the themes of corruption and mayhem, and allow the exploration of low-key lighting.
• Use of colour red - This will appeal to our audience because it is a modern way of denoting the conventional themes of blood and to represent a stereotypical Propp antagonist.
• Low key lighting, shadows - These will attract our audience because they connote mystery, relating to the genre narrative and style, whilst engaging the audience through suspense.
• Eerie atmosphere - This would attract our target audience because it will put them on the edge and encourage them to watch the film, wanting to be informed. Again, it creates suspense, thus the target audience.
• Dutch and inverted angles - These shot types and angles are common in Film Noir, as well as the horror genre because they provide distortion, making the connotations and audience experience more complex and awkward. As a result, tension is formed, relating to the plots of both genres. Moreover, the angles provide variation for audience pleasure.  
• Reflections/blinds-This will appeal to the Film Noir primary target audience because this prop type is essential within this genre. So, this is an audience expectation and will soothe them through recognition.
• Betrayal-This theme is conventional for our hybrid genres, being commonly used for plot twists, especially in relation to love or affairs. Therefore, this theme provides variation to widen the audience interest to various demographics and further psychographics in the way that females in particular stereotypically prefer aspects of love.
• Smoke/fog (perhaps, depending on location etc)-This will be exciting to explore and incorporate because it will clearly create mystery and as a convention we want to use this, especially when it will work well with the horror genre. However, this convention will be hard to use because of the lack of profit and our inability to get and use a smoke machine.

Conventions to not follow:

• Teenage victims (horror)-This convention is only use in horror films, so it will not relate to the Noir style. Thus, in order to prevent confusion we are not planning to use this convention.
• Last man standing (horror)-Again this is a particular horror convention that would likely not suit the Film Noir genre because we do not intend on killing of a lot of the characters, especially when we are approaching a tongue-and-cheek style.
• Typical horror weapons such as chainsaws-Another subjective convention, that we will not use because of lack of realism and relatability to Noir.
• Eroticism-We are struggling to find and think of an appropriate actress to play a Femme Fatale, so this will instantly prevent the use of profound eroticism.
• Deep Focus-Due to technical limitations this will be hard to incorporate, however we will experiment with our camera work to get more footage that might actually work.
  

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