Year 11 Film, Television and New Media Film Noir Style Production
Self-Reflection and Evaluation:
Please answer each question using complete sentences, including as much detail as possible.
1. Discuss your feelings about the production task: Please justify your responses:
Are you satisfied with the result? (i.e. did it turn out as well as you had hoped?
I am mostly satisfied with the final result, however, some elements of the film could have been improved to better convey the film noir style. I believe that the different aspects of the film, such as the cinematography, mise-en-scene and the sound effects portray the story quite well, but some of the editing could be improved.
Did the project require more/less time that you originally thought?
The project required quite a bit more time than I originally thought, especially getting the filming done. We didn’t really manage our time well, particularly in the first couple of times that we were filming due to the fact that we weren’t as organised as we could have been and we wasted time through setting up at the beginning and also from messing around a little bit. To help us with managing the amount of time we had in class and in the afternoons to film, we created a schedule at the beginning of the task, however we still found that it was difficult due to everyone’s prior commitments. Finding the background music to add to the finished product also took a bit more time than expected due to the fact that we had a picture in our minds of what type of music we wanted, however, couldn’t find it on a copyright free website.
Would you like to change or improve any aspects of your final film (storyline, shots, editing, etc.)?
I would have liked to reshoot some shots as a tripod wasn’t used in a few in the beginning which caused them to turn out shaky. It would have looked a lot better if we reshot them with a tripod, however we didn’t have time to do this. Additionally, I would have liked to take more control in the creation of the plot as it was all just one person’s idea, rather than different ideas merged into one. This could have been improved if we all worked together a bit better in the planning stage and created more similar stories, and also worked more efficiently time-wise.
If you could start the project again, what would you do differently?
If I could start the project again, I would have made sure that we were a lot more organised when filming so that we could have filmed a lot earlier, and therefore got the project finished sooner instead of rushing at the end and not being able to hand in a rough edit. I also would have taken more control of the filming as it was mostly just one person taking control. This would have made me more satisfied with the final result as more of the film would have been ‘mine’. Additionally, planning more closely as a group and creating a story that was nearly identical would have been better as Rose and I wouldn’t have had to create this film that neither of us had properly visioned in our minds as it was so different from our storylines. Overall, I would do quite a bit differently if I could start the project again due to lack of organisation and time management.
2. As this task focused on the Film Noir Style, describe:
How you used specific elements of the Noir aesthetic and mise-en-scene to depict this visual style and enhance the narrative?
We used a number of specific elements, regarding mise-en-scene, the noir aesthetic to effectively depict the style of film noir and to enhance the narrative. Firstly, the props used in the film, including guns, poker chips and playing cards, convey the style of film noir as it is extremely common amongst this style of film to contain these props due to the aspects of crime and gangs. Additionally, lighting was a very important factor in our film and it depicted the visual style quite effectively due to the fact that the lighting was emphasised and created a lot of harsh shadows throughout the film, as well as the fact that the shots were very underexposed. The lighting also portrayed which characters were bad and which characters were not, as there were more shadows and darker lighting with the bad characters. The fact that the film was in black and white also enhances the film noir style, as this is a common aspect of most films of this style. The majority of the film was set in the casino, at the crime scene and in the detective’s office which enhances both the narrative and the film noir style as it emphasises the dark themes of film noir and the mood of the storyline.
How you used specific shot types to convey the story using visual language?
There are a number of different shot types that have been used throughout the film to convey different meanings and to portray the storyline. Firstly, characters with power have been filmed from a low angle to portray this control they have, whereas characters that are weaker have been shot from a high angle. Additionally, the more powerful characters take up more of the space in the frame to show their dominance. Also, the characters who are weaker tend to look out of the frame on the same side that they are placed to highlight the fact that they feel trapped and weak. Close ups of different characters have been used to convey the emotions they are feeling, and long shots were used to reveal the setting and the bigger picture to the viewer.
Whether the intended genre is depicted clearly or if this could be improved?
The intended genre was depicted quite clearly through the use of lighting and shadows, black and white editing and underexposed shots as it emphasises the dark mood and aids in creating suspense.
3. Personal reflection and evaluation:
After your previous task, you were asked to reflect upon the project and identify aspects of planning, production and reflection, which could be improved. Please explain which aspect you chose to focus on for this task and how you have made improvements.
I chose to focus on my use of lighting after my last project and I think that I really made an improvement on this during this assignment. We focused a lot on lighting as it is an important aspect of film noir, and used this lighting effectively to create harsh shadows and help to create suspense and convey a dark mood. For my next project, I aim to improve on my blog and regularly post as this is something that I did not keep up this term.
4. Reflecting upon your completed task, respond to the following points:
How did other people respond to your rough edit? Did you use their feedback to make changes to the film?
Due to our poor time management, we were not able to produce a rough edit, however, the feedback we received after it was due and we had time during test block to make it better was:
- Confusing
- Shots are too short for the film noir style, need to be longer
- Too many overlays
In order to improve our film, we changed the editing a bit to ensure that there were no unnecessary overlays and that the duration of the shots were a lot longer to suit the film noir style. We also adjusted the voiceover to portray the story a bit more clearly than it was previously.
Did you use planning templates effectively?
Yes, we used the planning templates, especially the shot list, effectively when filming. We did this so we were organised and we knew what we had to do each time we filmed and exactly what shots we had to do. We always followed the shot list and we never filmed without it which was definitely helpful and saved us time.
Were there any problems or difficulties during filming and how did this affect your project? (Difficulties may include; shooting, technical, time management, team work, absences, editing, etc.)
There were a number of problems during this assignment. Firstly, I found it really challenging that the story we were basic our film on was Eliza’s and not something that I really had input in as it made me confused and unorganised as I didn’t really know what was happening at times. Also, our poor time management and organisation led to filming taking way longer than it should have and spending too long on certain things, such as setting up. The fact that we had different times we were available to film also showed some difficulties as it meant that during some filming sessions, the entire group could not make it. Overall, I think that our main problem was just organisation and time management, which is something that I aim to improve on with my next assignment.
Discuss whether you undertook adequate and detailed reflection to support your work?
I don’t think that I really did an adequate amount of reflections this term. I did a few blog posts with a certain level of detail, however it’s something that could really be improved on and I aim to complete a blog post at least twice a week, every week, next year.
