Evaluation

We were given a specific set of evaluative questions to answer. They are as follows:

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?
3. What have you learned from your audience feedback?
4. How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

1. After watching a variety of classic Film Noir and Neo Noir movies as part of our research we decided that we wanted to recreate the feel of the classic 1940s black and white film noir movies like, for example,  Double Indemnity. We felt that if we did it in colour it would be more difficult to establish the film noir atmosphere and authenticity, therefore we quickly made a unanimous decision to make the film in classic, conventional black and white (or at least convert the film from colour to black and white at the editing stage).
Whilst wanting to achieve the visual feeling of the original film noir period, we didn't want the plot to be like those of the originals as it would've felt dated. To solve this problem we took inspiration from another film we watched called Brick which is a Neo Noir about drug dealings. After much deliberation we decided that a drugs theme would bring a fresh, modern-day twist to what we hoped would feel like a classic film noir short movie, therefore developing upon the conventions of both film noir and neo noir movies.

2. As far as ancillary texts go I was rather pleased with my movie posters which I have shown and analysed in a previous blog post entitled 'Film Noir movie posters'. My favourite poster that I created had a landscape layout with an image of each of the three main characters (Detective John Carter, Bobby and Bonnie) and the title of our film, Lustful Injustice, in red and white in the bottom right corner. We decided to use the same colouring in the title on the actual film as we felt it held really strong, clear symbolism of the themes of our movie. This link helps to tie the film to it's advertisement poster. We knew we were going to do the film in black and white so we decided that it would make sense to also do the posters in black and white is this would get a stronger positive reaction from audiences (if the poster was in colour it wouldn't represent the film properly and audiences may be disappointed if they had seen a colour poster and were expecting a colour movie).

3. The feedback we received from our audiences was very useful in picking out the key problems with our film and determining what we would do if we had the opportunity to do the project again. I have listed some of the main problems in a previous post which included difficulties with audio and visual quality, a lack of creative camera angles, and a slightly rushed ending to the film. Having uploaded the video to Youtube we have been able to receive more than 100 views and some people have left feedback in the comments section which is really useful as it allows us to see what people who haven't studied media think of the film. What we've learnt from the feedback is that we should have perhaps spent more time editing as we may have been able to fix some of the audio and visual problems. However, this would have been a near-impossible task because after working through the difficulties and overcoming the obstacles, we simply didn't have enough time. Therefore if I could do the project again I would defintely put in more effort in the planning and research stage in order to quickly establish what exactly we wanted to achieve in the end, because I think we wasted far too much time on planning and brainstorming this time around. I would also try to get access to better quality equipment as this would allow us to explore a wider variety of angles, settings and environments without sacrificing audio and visual quality.

4. We watched a variety of classic and neo film noir movies in our media studies class as a form of research but I also watched a couple more at home on TV/DVD (like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, for example, which is a neo noir with a comedy edge to it) and viewed clips and trailers for film noir movies on Youtube. Youtube is an excellent tool to use for research because when you're watching a video it makes suggestions that you might like to watch that are similar/related to the video you're watching, this was very useful because it helped me find other film noir movies that I hadn't seen and I was able to incorporate styles of those films into my own ideas and draw on them for inspiration.
Another form of media technology that we used was of course, this: Blogger. I have suffered many technical difficulties whilst trying to create this blog, the main problem being that for about 2/3 weeks after upgrading to the new updated version of Blogger I was unable to upload or edit any posts. This naturally caused a lot of problems. Other difficulties were things like the organisation of the posts which was frustratingly tricky especially when dealing with multiple images and texts.
Perhaps my most extensive use of a single media technology would be the use of the photo editing software, Photoshop. As I am a photography student I already had plenty of experience working on photoshop, therefore when it came to the designing of the production company logo, the film title and still images and movie posters I was confident that I would be able to produce good quality work, which I believe I did. However, that is not to say I didn't encounter any problems. The main struggle I had was that, being a photography student, I don't tend to do any work that involves applying text to an image so I was relatively inexperienced in this area of expertise, although I was able to draw on experience from last years media project in which I used photoshop to create the front cover and contents page of a music magazine - that experience did help a lot.

Our Film

After many weeks of hard work, our film is finally finished. Below is a link to view it on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZh-Fug8c2o

Feedback

The first showing of our film was done at school where it was shown to the other media studies students. At this premiere event all of the films from the other groups were shown as well which was useful because it allowed us to make a comparison between our work, ideas and technical abilities and those of the other groups. We also received feedback from the other students. Some of the main points that were raised were: the male cast members were louder than the female cast members (this is very noticeable, particularly in the doorstep scene), the ending seemed rushed, there was a lack of creative camera angles and the camera quality was not quite up to standard. The audio and visual quality is simply due to a lack of decent equipment, it could be improved by the use of a dedicated microphone (rather than the built in microphone on the camera) and a better quality camera. The ending may have appeared rushed because unfortunately we did have to skip a chunk of the filming (which would've involved a final short scene showing Bonnie escaping in a car with the money) in order to finish the project in time, although admittedly we probably could have extended the fighting in the final scene to make the scene feel more robust. We encountered many problems with the camera and possibly the biggest problem was the mobility of it: we wanted to do the shots on a tripod to maintain a quality look but in order to do this we had to sacrifice some creativity because it simply wasn't possible to get some of the shots we wanted whilst still keeping up a professional standard of image quality.

Filming Schedule

Scene No.                     Location                          Date of filming                 Props/Requirements

Scene One	School office	Tuesday 6th march	Phone. Lamp.
Scene Two	School office/corridor	Tuesday 6th march	Phone. Lamp.
Scene Three	Restaurant	Monday 5th march	Extras.
Scene Four	Outside the restaurant	Monday 5th march	Extra light.
Scene Five	Front door/Office	Weds 2nd/Thurs 8th	Office equipment. Porchlight.
Scene Six	Office/road in Bygrave	Thurs 8th/Thurs 3rd	Office equipment. Suitcase. Envelope.

Film Noir movie posters

I used Photoshop to create these three movie posters by merging together multiple single images (this was done using the photos we took at the start of the project for the character profiles). The bottom poster is my least favourite of the three because it seems slightly unorganised and the main character (Detective John Carter, top right of this image) occupies a much smaller space than Bobby (on the left side of this image) who is a less important character.

I like the top two posters more because the three main characters nicely occupy the available space in equal amounts. The detective's close-up in these two posters shows that he is the main character and the positioning of Bobby and our femme fatale, Bonnie, creates a trailing perspective which refelcts the apparant significance of the charcaters within the film itself. It could be said that Bonnie looks too innocent for a femme fatale in the top and middle posters, however, this simply reflects the deceitful nature of her character.

I much prefer the middle poster to the top poster, though, because of the title: the title of the middle poster is more professionally advanced and outstanding, the blood-red colouring of the word "Lustful" represents the meaning of the word itself as well as symbolising love and danger too. The contrast between this and the white colouring of the word "Injustice" makes the title appear bolder and this combined with a subtle shadow makes the title stand out far greater than the bland, simple title in the other two posters.

The one thing I do not like about all three posters is that the only text on them is the title; they should have writing on them about the cast, release date, director, producer etc and the production company logo should also be on them. Nonetheless I am pleased with the results.

The top two posters bare resemblance to the movie posters of L.A. Confidential and the spanish version of The Black Dahlia (both of which are examples of Film Noir movies that we watched in class and took inspiration from). By displaying the characters in this perspective (most important character at the front, decreasing in importance towards the back) the level of significance of the characters is instantly clear. I think the similarities with real movie posters show that the movie posters I created have an element of professionalism to them which has been created by the use of conventional methods stated above.

Script: Scene 6

Scene 6:

(Setting: Bobby’s house. Bobby just been shot. Confession that it was femme fatale who devised the drug deal)

Bobby: [In agony on the floor] It wasn’t me!

Detective Carter: Cut the bullshit, Bobby

Bobby: I’m telling ya, detective, it wasn’t me. I swear to god

Detective Carter: Swear to me! [Punches bobby]. If it wasn’t you who was it, huh?

[Detective punches him again. No response/confession from Bobby. Detective turns to leave, about to walk out the door]

Bobby: Wait… [Detective pauses then turns. Paces slowly, menacingly towards him. Bobby gets up, hunched over desk, struggling for breath]

Carter: Who was it? [No reply] Bobby, who was it?!

Bobby: [Reluctantly] Bonnie. [Detective pauses in shock] I couldn’t tell you before but-

Carter: What? What do you mean?

Bobby: She’s been playing you like a fool and me as well apparently! Right now your so called beloved is dealing 100 grands worth of smack, she got us both right where she wanted. Out of the way!

Carter: No no wait, that can’t be right!

Bobby: sorry detective but little miss bonnie is probably out with hundred grand right now, and you won’t ever see her again. Trust is a powerful thing isn’t it.

Carter: Chester get him to hospital, I’ve gotta get after that bitch!

(runs out)

Script: Scene 5

Scene: Detective Carter arrives at Bobby the mob Boss’s house.

-Knock knock-

(Scarlett, one of Bobby’s comrades, comes to the door, she opens it a crack. Obviously trying to protect her boss. She is trying to make detective Carter leave. He Refuses. )

-Door opens.-

Scarlett: And who might you be?

Carter: I’ve come to speak to your boss, now move aside sweet cheeks I haven’t got all night.

Scarlett: I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about, ya know its past eleven, I could call the cops on you for making such a nuisance of yourself on my doorstep.

Carter: Good luck with the cops, now I’m here to see mister Dents, Bobby Dents. I’m sure he is here, now either you be a good girl and let me in, or things could get pretty nasty around here (opens jacket, a revolver on show)

Scarlett: Shit okay, hold on just a second mister.

(Door closes, Carter is left outside, and He sparks up a cigarette while he waits)

Scarlett: Okay sir, he will see you now

(She holds the door opens as he steps through)

-Bobby is sitting at a desk writing, he hardly acknowledges the detectives arrival. Scarlett walks over and perches herself on the side of the desk.-

Bobby: Step outside darling

Scarlett: But sir he…

Bobby: Leave us! (Slightly shocked at his outburst Scarlett slips out the room) Now detective, what was so urgent that you had to almost knock down my door at this time of night?

Carter: Maybe I just wanted a chat, its come to my attention that you might come into some money soon, (pause) ya know try about 10 K. This drug heist you’ve got going on, don’t insult me by saying you don’t know what I’m talking about, that amount of smack could make L.A. drop back into the oblivion that it was just crawling its way back out of! Now Bobby, if you would be so kind id like you to tell me where the deal is happening, then come with me to the station. Now this is gunna happen, you either tell me then walk there, or ill beat it out of you and drag you there, and I wouldn’t wanna rip that tailored suit of yours, would I?….So?….What’ll it be?

Bobby: Well sir seems you’ve floated out into some rather deep water; you don’t wanna mess with the sharks out here, so I suggest you run along and keep your nose outta my business.

Carter: I don’t want things to get messy, just tell me what you know!

Bobby: You have no idea what you are talking about, obviously whoever opened their trap to you, and I have a good idea who it is, isn’t telling you everything…

Carter: Cut the crap Dents.

Bobby: Uh uh uh, I wasn’t finished. (Pause) Now you should go and find out what is really going on, because Miss Kensington isn’t as she seems.

Carter: Leave her outta this!!

Bobby: Ahh I see, she already has you round her little finger, just be careful you don’t get scratched. Now I’m gunna give you 5 seconds to get the hell outta my house, or the next time you see your beloved Bonnie is at your funeral! (Puts a gun on the desk)

Carter: (pulls out gun) I said leave her outta this! Tell me where the deal is taking place!

Bobby: 5…4…

Carter: Don’t make me kill you; I wouldn’t want that information splattered over the wall behind you.

Bobby: 3…2…last chance detective.

Carter: Spill it Dents! (Raising his gun)

Bobby: 1...well I am sorry it came to this, shame you let your heart rule your head (picks up gun) rookie mistake kid.

-Starts firing at each other, Bobby behind his desk, carter behind the door-

-Bobby gets a hit in the stomach; he falls to the ground with a cry of pain, the gunfire ceases-

Script: Scene 4

SCENE 4

Bonnie: I’ve had a wonderful time

Carter: I shall sort this thing out for you baby.

Bonnie: Oh you are so kind Detective. I wish I could repay you!Carter: No repayment needed. It’s for you and me both.

Bonnie: Thankyou.

Carter: Anything for you! (they kiss, long shot)

Carter calls chester:

Carter: Meet outside the station. We’ve got to sort this thing out now.

Script: Scene 3

SCENE 3

(out for dinner)

Detective John Carter: (VOICEOVER) I couldn’t work out for the life of me what it was about Miss Bonnie Kensington that made me fall so fast. Knowing she had the control and was almost in charge of me made me weaker than I’d ever imagine.

(Giggles, leg rub under the table, laughing, drinking)

Fade in sound of them conversing but also the hustle of the restaurant. No focused dialogue.

Script: Scene 2

SCENE 2

Detective John Carter: Chester! Get in here. We’ve got a case to unravel.

Chester and Carter look through the people bobby has supposedly murdered, and Carter’s father’s photograph appears. Music comes in and shows his face as he looks at it determinedly.

Script: Scene 1

SCENE 1

(In office)

Detective John Carter: “I was told that these photographs of the towns latest criminals contained some of those we have before seen on many occasions. They were not wrong. 'Bobby' as he had been known had been in these photographs of the most wanted since he shot my father. He had also been drug dealing since I began my job back in '34. This lady was supposedly known to have a connection with him. I knew it was my job to try and find the two so that I could finally be at peace with the death of my father. Had I known what wool was to be pulled over my eyes, things could have ended very differently."

Date put on the bottom to show change of time.

SCENE 2

(In office)

(knock at door)

Detective John Carter: Come in

Bonnie Kensington: hello, sir. (waits by door)

Detective John Carter: What may I help you with, madam?

Bonnie Kensington: well, I’ve been thinking for some time that I should perhaps tell you policemen something, but I keep changing my mind. I don’t know if I should, oh

Detective John Carter: Maam you know we’ll help you and have your best interests at heart.

Bonnie Kensington: yes I know. Okay well I came over here 5 years ago from England, and my family, well, they weren’t to well off you see. I met this man called ‘Bobby’ one day after class and he promised me he’d make things better for us. So I believed him.

Detective John Carter: Bobby? Bobby Dents?

Bonnie Kensington: oh have you heard of him?

Detective John Carter: the name is a little familiar.

Bonnie Kensington: I’m not supposed to tell anyone what he’s doing with all his business but he does bad things to me sir, and I can’t take it no more.

Detective John Carter: what business?

Bonnie Kensington: Oh I couldn’t

Detective John Carter: Look doll, you gotta tell me what you know if you want this man to have the justice he deserves.

Bonnie Kensington: Well, okay sir. I know for a fact that if I was to be perhaps taken out for dinner by you I’d be more persuaded to tip the scales in your favour. You see, I can’t just give in to you immediately. He’ll have me shot!

Detective John Carter: Is there actually a problem here? Or do you just want some appreciation?

Bonnie Kensington: Oh sir there is a problem. A big problem. But there’s something about you and I don’t want to let you get away. So take me somewhere I’ll like and we can sort this thing out.

Character Profiles

After deciding on characters we agreed that it would be a good idea to do a photo shoot of all the characters in order to better understand and visualise them. Doing this shoot helped us to get a good grasp of who the characters actually are and their attitudes, this in turn helps us to create a better script as we'll now be able to bring in more of the characters personality into the dialogue we script for them. We used the photography studio to do the shoot because it is well-equipped with good lighting facilities. As I am a photography student, I set up the lights because I had a better understanding of how to use them to the most benefit. We used costumes (from the drama department) to see exactly how the characters were going to look. The lesson after the shoot we edited the best of the photos on photoshop (we conerted them to black and white as it would be most appropriate since we're going to do the actual film in black and white) :

• I'm really pleased with he way this photo (left) turned out: the slightly tilted angle of his head and the wide-eyed expression gives him a slightly psychopathic look which is great for showing the more estranged, twisted side of his mob boss character.

• This shot on the right presents a more complex, thoughtful side to the mob boss character whilst still remaining sinister.

• The above images show the protagonist of our Film Noir movie, Detective John Carter. The face-on shots combined with the direct eye contact and  emotionless facial expression show the no-nonsense attitude of the detective. The shadow across the right side of his face represents the slightly more rogue side to his character and which shows that he's not afraid to stray a little from the word of the law in order to catch a criminal. I edited the angle of perspective on the right-hand image in a way that makes it appear as though he's taller, bolder and stronger in order to create a looming sense and a menacing atmosphere surrounding his character.

The following lesson we set about deciding on characters. We already had the detective and the mob boss, who's drug deal the detective would be investigating. We then agreed upon the involvement of a femme fatale, a couple of assistant detectives and the love interest of the mob boss. We created brief character profiles with information about their appearance, age, back stories and characteristics.
Then we loosely storyboarded the layout of the film, this included the key moments/scenes and some basic information about the dialogue that would be spoken during those scenes. Next we began to construct the first scene on paper: this would include a voice over from the detective providing the back story of the characters and events that occur in the film which is vital for understanding the film in it's entirety.

On the 10th of january 2012 we (Antonia, Ellen and I) began work on creating our own Film Noir film. We first brainstormed ideas, concepts, visual styles and plots that we wanted to include, and quickly came to an agreement that we wanted the plot to be about a detective investigating a drug deal. The inspiration for this idea came from the Neo-Noir film 'Brick' - a detective film set in an american high school in which a young man investigates a drug deal gone wrong that ends up killing one of the students at the school.

After agreeing on the basic storyline, we decided that we wanted to do the movie in black and white in order to achieve a more authentic atmosphere for the film as the original film noir movies were all shot in black and white. We felt that the conventional high-contrast lighting used in film noir movies would be more visually appealing if shot in black and white.

Codes and Conventions of Film Noir

Characters: Film Noir movies tend to have a specific set of character types. Typically characters include:

• A male protagonist who is disillusioned and cynical (stereotypically he is a detective)
• A femme fatale. The detective falls for her seductive charms but she will usually double cross him/have sinister and dishonest intentions. She maipuates the protagonist into becoming the fall guy. The women were often shown to be this way because of their new found independence due to the war - during the war, women had to do the jobs that the men used to do, this highlighted to the world that women were just as able as men and was a large step towards women's independence.
• The main villain character will more often than not be the boss of less important bad guys. His charcater is usually a drug dealer/mob boss/ bank robber/murderer type of character, however, his 'minions' will do the dirty work for him.

Lighting: One of the things that makes Film Noir films so easily recognisable is the lighting used in them. Lighting is typically high contrast and is used to create silhouettes and shadows. Silhouettes and shadows are used to highlight the juxtaposition of good and evil in the film. Often when shooting, for example, an office scene strong strong light would be blasted through venecian blinds, this projects shadows and streams of light across the characters face which can often be used to draw attention to the eyes to show emotions and thoughts.

Voiceovers: Film Noir films often include a voice over usually from the protagonist. This helps to explain the, often complex, plot and reveals to the viewers what he is thinking and feeling.

Common prop usage: Smoking was a very common occurrence in Film Noir movies. Characters would often light up a cigarette in most scenes, the smoke acts as fantastic visual effect as it can create a mysterious atmosphere and allows for some very smooth transitions between cuts. Mirrors were also very common as part of Film Noir sets as were venecian blinds. The usage of venecian blinds shows the period in which the films were made as they were popular around the 1940s. This type of blinds allow for some rather creative lighting as they are great for creating strong shadows and harsh streams of light.

What is Film Noir?

The term 'Film Noir' refers to a period of film history, rather than an actual genre, which developed in the early 1940's post-war era. Originally the films were made in black and white, but the evolution of film quality has lead to more modern takes on film noir being made in colour. Newer film noir films are referred to as neo-noir