1. In what way does your media
product use, develop or
challenge forms and
conventions of real media
products?

2. Conventionally, in film
noir, there is extreme
weather, often dramatic mist
or heavy rain. Although I
could not get a rain machine
or dry ice, I created the
illusion of heavy rain.

3. Firstly I gave the character of Mrs. Thorwald an
umbrella, to suggest the presence of rain.
Furthermore I added a rain sound effect.
Although you cannot see any rain, as it is
fairly dark this does not matter & the illusion
of rain is created effectively.

4. Lighting & Contrast
Another convention of film noir is
the use of lighting, creating strong
contrast and dramatic shadows.
I used an external light, and
held it low one the ground to
create these conventional
shadows.

5. Due to the period that film noir first came into
existence, they were originally made in black
and white. I therefore made my film black and
white, for authenticity .
I also dressed my actors in period clothing, and
used props which appeared to be of the era.

6. Often in film noir, there is a femme fatal, a
mysterious and seductive woman, which I did
not have as such in my film. I challenged this
convention by using an elderly lady, who was
revealed to be dangerous but was not
seductive, using her sexuality for power, but her
harmless and sweet façade instead.

7. However, I was also incorporating
conventions of dark comedy and sci-
fi, meaning things had to be more surreal
than they usually are in film noir.
Therefore I used the disturbing image of Mrs.
Thorwald removing her head and replacing it
with another.

8. Dark humour was created at the sight of
the comical heads on the shelf.