Film Noir Media Conventions

1. Characters<br /> Alienated Protagonist, A character (Cop) who’s aim is to abide by the rules, whilst his peers abuse the system for their own benefit. Typically the lower or lowest ranking official.<br /> <br />Misogynistic Men, Men who hate and abuse women, this can be domestic violence, rape or sexual harassment.<br /> <br />Femme Fetale, A woman who are considered to be dangerously seductive, usually having her own motives for seducing the powerful men she does.<br />Visual Style<br /> Low Key Lighting, Streets are always dark some times wet and water pouring down from drainpipes. Works well In black and white and emphasizes the atmosphere of going nowhere.<br /> <br />Shadows cast by Venetian blinds, Iconic in still shots with lines of light across a characters face. Usually they’re hiding or watching out for incoming danger.<br /> Dutch Angles, A cinematic tactic achieved by tilting the camera off to the side. The shot is composed with the horizon not parallel with the bottom of the frame. The technique is often used to portray the psychological uneasiness of the subject being filmed.<br /> Low Angle Shots, Used to portray emotions of Intimidation, trepidation and being in the presence of danger.<br /> Mirror Shots, Characters reflection In mirrors, gives an eerie sense of loneliness.<br /> <br />Night for Night Filming, Instead of being filmed during daytime and edited to look like night, they’re always filmed during the night to portray the night.<br /> <br />Set during 1930’s to 1940’s, this is generally when film noir originated and gained the category as film noir later in the 1950’s<br />Iconography<br /> Dark Side walks<br /> <br />Rain drenched streets, sets the atmosphere to create a feeling of hopelessness in what is usually the labyrinth world of the characters.<br /> <br />Flashing Neon Signs, The type of bill boarding or labeling of bars during that period of time.<br /> <br />Alcohol & Cigarettes, sets the base for a de-ranged misogynistic character, usually calm but un-easy at times<br /> <br /> Guns, associated with the criminal underworld that film noir surrounds. Police using extreme measure and killing in cold blood.<br /> <br />Trench coats, Worn by anyone of authority in the story lines, sometimes by the Blonde woman with the Femme Fetale qualities.<br />Themes<br /> Transgression of social Norms, this Is Femme Fetale in another form. Women will not play the stereotypical damsel in distress (rarely) but the woman with the man wrapped around his little finger. She feels a sense of power over the un-tamable beast that is classically the main character. (Distracting him from his main goals.<br /> <br /> Villainous character fighting for justice, A character who is first introduced as having negative characteristics eventually becomes the only doorway to completing the hard task ahead.<br /> <br />Taboo, Usually the action of opposing or questioning a higher senior ranking official who’s orders can be seen as odd or out of place or snitching on a colleague. Crossing the boundaries of the Taboos is what usually makes the “Villain” the un likely hero of the narrative.<br />Corruption, a character with a lack of integrity or honesty. Susceptible to bribes, typically a police chief using their position of trust for personal gain. <br />Settings<br />Urban setting – LA, New York, San Francisco & Chicago, It’s a big city, but a very small world. Feels Maze like due to the same characters crossing the path of main character multiple times. As if we’re watching the daily events of some small board game.<br /> Nightclubs, Bars & Lounges, The strip clubs, the Alcoholics and the women are based here. The beautiful Female of the film uses this setting to seduce her prey and shows her femme Fetale qualities usually with ulterior motives.<br /> Gambling Den, Money and greed being the driving force of the criminal underworld gambling is shown to be the hobby on the side for the criminals of the Labyrinth world.<br /> Industrial settings – Refineries, Factories, Train yards and Power Plants, This is where the main driving events of the narrative. Where the detective picks up his clues through threats and bribes and all the dirty deals go on.<br />Narrative Devices<br /> Convoluted Storylines<br /> Flashbacks, The images tell a much more vivid story than the audio can. The visual effects add to the dark and atmosphere of<br /> Voice over Narration<br />First person Narrative, Stereo typically the voice of a cool calm collect and hard male, driven by a motive from his child hood he tells the history of his chilling story that tells the audience how he got where he is. Parts of the narrative may be missed out to create mystery as the story is told quite briefly leaving the audience to do the imagining.<br />