Evaluation Question One

1. QUESTION 1
GENRE/BARTHES CODES

2. GENERIC CONVENTIONS
OF YOUR FILM
Our film belongs to the crime genre, it could also be heavily linked to the neo-noir genre with many
references throughout.
Our film followed the narrative conventions of a crime thriller with a classic ‘who done it?’ structure.
As previously mentioned above the film also links to the neo-noir genre. To ensure the crime/thriller
audience enjoyed the film we filled it with action and a storyline that leaves the viewer trying to work
out who committed the murder. Black and white shots with piano over the top also help link the film to
the noir genre.
However, unlike conventional detective films which depend on a degree of realism or ‘verisimilitude’
our film requires the audience to suspend disbelief because we have used black and white for parts of
our film. We used black and white to establish flashbacks to try and alert our audience of when we
were looking into the past.
Many crime/thriller films may include large budget action scenes, due to working without a budget we
were unable to include this element. We tried to include action and suspense in other ways which
could be done with no money.
Our film could definitely be described as a hybrid, fitting into the crime/thriller and neo-noir
categories.

3. COMPARE AND
CONTRAST YOUR FILM
3 Films that helped influence our film
Prisoners
Narrative structure
Prisoners keeps the audience on the edge of their seat as they try to guess what the outcome of the storyline
will be. The darker tones of the film and role of the detective are elements of the production which we took
inspiration from. As well as this, the detectives costume (mise en scene) and certain settings such as the
interview room also gave us ideas for our film.
Out of the Past
This film noir production gave us plenty of ideas on how to give the film a vintage feel. The music, camera
work and costumes used all provided inspiration for our film. Looking at films from a range of decades gave us
an opportunity to take in a wide range of material. This then allowed for us to pick out of favourite elements
from each film as we constructed our own production.
The Usual Suspects
The usual suspects has a large twist at the end of the film. After watching the film we decided that our short
should contain a shock for audiences right at the last. Therefore, this provided inspiration in the form of
structure and storyline, giving us great ideas of how to input a major twist into our storyline.

4. BARTHES CODES
Apply Barthes Codes to your film
To create expectation we used the enigma code. We did this through the film’s narrative as the plot
builds up to a penultimate moment, leaving the audience excited throughout the film as they wait o
see what happens.
Action and enigma codes are used in the form of music and editing. The music we used was
specifically piano , it is played in a way similar to that of the original film noir films. It begins softly but
becomes faster and sharper as the storyline builds. The editing of the camera shots is also laid out in
a fast manner, keeping the viewer’s eye’s glued o the screen and helping to build the suspense.
Symbolism can be found within our film at many stages. The dark lighting, shadowing and black and
white scenes represent the darkness within the storyline. Scenes filmed through car mirrors and
windows represent the entrapment felt by one of the main characters. Also, the over the shoulder
shots of the guilty detective whilst searching for evidence help represent his viewpoint for the
audience.
We referenced the film noir genre with black and white scenes and music that is typical of that genre.
The costumes worn by the detectives is taken from modern day detective characters in films such as
‘Prisoners’.

5. GENRE AS A CONCEPT
Genre is definitely a useful concept to apply to our film, it helps give us an idea of
which conventions should be included to allow the film to appeal to a particular
audience. This then provides you with ideas for storyline and structure when first
deciding upon he plot.
Despite roughly following the guidelines of the genre, it was important that our film
was still able to have the freedom to pursue its storyline in the most effective way.
It is therefore not overly rigid and could be described as a hybrid as it mixes
conventions of crime/thriller and film noir.
Short films are not created with the intention of achieving the same commercial
success as major Hollywood releases. However, appealing to the correct audience
by including typical conventions of the genre is still very important. This provides
audience members with an idea of what they can expect to see in the film,
meaning fans of a particular genre can sill identify the pictures they’d like to see.