21 Jump Street Sweded

Our sweded film is on Vimeo. 

We could improve by adding non diegetic sound and finishing

Film Noir Style Images - Edited and Annotated

Our version.

original

I edited our version on this photo by increasing the contrast, making it black and white and also changing the size to a typical movie screen ratio. I could improve the edit of this photo to make it look more greyscale as it would look more like the original, however I like how the colours used are mainly just black and white as it makes the shadows more dramatic and follows the genre of Film Noir better when the contrast is higher.

 Our version 

original

I edited this photo by removing the colour and making it a black and white image, and by increasing the contrast. I could improve the photo by using a spotlight (as used int he original image) to make the light more obvious, as Cal's face is in darkness and the whole image uses more shadows than the original. I'll also need to flip the image.

Our version

original

I edited this photo by making it black and white, increasing the contrast and changing the size to a typical movie screen ratio. I could improve the image by using a spotlight on Emily, as it would look more like the original as our version is a lot darker. Also we could get the ashtray and glass in the shot as shown in the original. I also need to flip the image.

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Before the shoot, individually we organised which clothes/props we would need. These clothes/props included: fedora, suit jacket, red lipstick, and a tie. Other props we borrowed within school.

In our group, we mainly just organised where we going to take the pictures. We used a Drama room, as the lights were more professional and were good to take photos, however, the flash light was a little dim, but the room could be completely dark, which was good for the use of shadows.

We didn't really organise who would be in the picture until the photo was about to be taken, whoever wanted to be int he picture and looked best for the role was chosen. This was good as there were no disagreements within the group.

The only real challenge we had was the flash light, as mentioned before, it was too dim. If we were to take these photos again we could use a stronger flash light or borrow a lamp. 

Film Noir Style Images - Unedited

Here are our groups photos from our shoot. The objective of the shoot was to recreate or create film noir images. We chose to recreate what was on the hand out, the images we used to recreate will be shown on a different post with some edited images, however this post just includes our original unedited photos.

This photo is of an inspector/anti hero (me) looking at the femme fetal's dead body. The use of light and shadows worked well in this picture, as the foreground is light and the background is dark. However, this picture is not one of my favourites as you can see Cal's leg, who is taking the photo.

I love this picture as the use of light and shadows is exactly what we wanted. We used the Drama room, with no lights on, and the outside room with natural light and doors with windows to create this. The edited photo, as shown in my next post, looks even better as the silouettes are more outlined.

This picture is a little confusing, what should be shown is an inspector/ anti hero, looking through a door or window to a woman and man. The female is doing her lipstick and the male adjusting his tie. This photo isn't very film noir as the angle is rather boring and the lighting is normal, however the anti hero / inspector is in a shadow, and his face is in the light, which is good.

This picture is of the anti hero smoking a cigarette. I like this picture, however, the cigarette isn't real which is clear to see, and makes the photo look childish. Also, his face isn't in the light, as it is in the original image. After editing this photo, it does look better, however no problems were really solved.

This picture is of the anti hero and femme fetal. This photo looks very similar to the original, however the only problem is that the ash tray, isn't really an ash tray. Other than this, the lighting and characters look like the original.

This photo is supposed to be of the femme fetal with the shadow of Venetian blinds across her. As we didn't have Venetian blinds we had to improvise with fingers over the light source, this didn't work out too well.

This is me as the anti hero. We took this photo outside and so the lighting isn't very film noir and also the fake cigarette is obvious, however, I am in the foreground, the angle is like depth of field, which is conventional of film noir, and I am wearing the fedora and suit jacket. If I edited this photo, I would darken the back ground. Also, to make this photo more film  noir, we should have taken the photo when it was raining and in an urban area, rather than a field.

This picture is good as the anti hero is shown in the foreground and I, the inspector is in a good area for the mid ground. However, the location isn't very film noir because of the weather.

This photo is of the anti hero, which is supposed to be over some stairs. Because of our location we couldn't have stairs in the picture, but we made use of the stage in our school. Also, as we took the photo from a higher angle, it is a different angle from other photos.

This photo is of the anti hero smoking a cigarette with someone in the background. This photo is ok, as the over the shoulder angle hasn't been used before, however I am not in focus, the stage is, and really it should be the other way round. If I edited this, I would make the whole image darker, and increase contrast, so the cigarette was more defined in the light as it is in the picture.

Understanding Film Noir

Film Noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywoodcrime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Film Noir was created in America and hit it's high point in the 1940's and 50's, but was created in the 1930's. The first Film Noir film was Morocco (1930). Although they were generally made between the era of 1940's - 50's, Film Noir movies are still being made, for example, Sin City (2005). Film Noir is "Black Film" in French which links to their convention cinematography as the films were originally all in black and white. Recent Film Noirs are still in  black and white, but Sin City for example had hints of red too. Film Noirs usually fit genres such as thriller, crime, melodrama, romance, and mystery. 

Examples of original film noirs.

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So what are the typical conventions of a film noir?

I used my own knowledge and the slide share below to include the conventions of a film noir.

Film noir codes & conventions from jonsaward

I like this slide share as it includes images that link correctly with the different conventions, which makes it easier to understand. Also, the slide shares theme is black, white and red, which are typical conventional colours for a film noir, which is clever.