1. Film Noir
Key Elements
Film Noir Is…
Film noir means ‘black film’ in French.
It is inspired by paperbacks called SeriesNoir, which translated American crimeauthors
and found an audience inFrance.
Props
Cigars/cigarettes to create smoke
Alcohol
Guns
Suits, trench coats and fedora hats for men
Tight (usually red) dresses, lipstick, fur coats, bags for women
Visual Style
Low key lighting
Shadows cast on main actors
Mirrored shots
Frosted glass
Small parts of light coming through blindsetc.
Faces often obscured
Story
Police/private detective involved
Sometimes the authority is corrupt
Jealousy and greed usual motives
An adulterous affair often occurs
Flashbacks/fractured timeline alsocommon
Voiceover used as a structuring device
Characters
The Protagonist
Usually a private eye or detective,sometimes a concerned bystander withno police