Matt Curtis Evaluation

Evaluation of Ternary form

Our film is a neo-noir tragedy focussed on the life of one character. We chose to do the opening sequence as our extract as it allowed to us to best capture noir elements in a short sequence. I took the role of cinematographer and used influence from other noir films to Create shots that would portray the noir style well. I was particularly influenced by the neo noir film Brick (2005 Rian Johnson). For example the location we filmed the first scene in shows the mix of urban landscape and large open spaces that is typical of Brick as well as other noir films such as Double indemnity. Looking at audience feedback I would have changed the location to a city center as it would give the extract a more claustrophobic atmosphere appropriate for the noir style.

Our opening scene shows the introduction of the main character of our film (Tommy). It shows him walking to a picnic bench and sitting down. I planned this first shot carefully as it is the first thing the audience would see. I filmed the shot of Tommy walking to the bench from directly behind bench, I did this to intentionally give the audience a unclear view of his face. I also filmed a low angle close up of Tommy sitting down on the bench and cut it with the first shot to create a sense of continuity. This helped make his introduction visually interesting without giving many of his features away. I was influenced in this shot by Brick which often introduces the characters presence in a scene by a low angled close up of his shoes. We decided as a group to use over the top narration in this scene as it is a common feature in the noir style. The influence for this was mainly from the noir film Double indemnity (1944 Billy Wilder) where the plot is progressed through this style of narration. I then made the decision to use a mix of medium close ups and close ups that were carefully timed to coincide with the narration. I also filmed a point of view shot to go with the narration. In the point of view shot I tried to capture examples of the urban landscape associated with the noir style. In this scene we added diagetic sound such as a dog barking and the sound of traffic to help show the characters location in the urban environment. From the feedback I have been given on this scene I would add Some long shots as some of the audience said it difficult to get a real sense of the location without seeing it from a distance.

Our second scene takes place in a cafe and shows the introduction of our second character as well as progressing the narrative and creating the foundation for the plot for the rest of our film. The first shot shows Tommy sitting at a table with a chair pulled up opposite him. The second character (Sarah) then enters from the right of the frame and takes a seat opposite Tommy. I chose to have Sarah enter part way through the shot as it gives the audience a couple of seconds to take in the location before Sarah enters. For this scene I followed the180 rule by filming the entire conversation twice from the views of both characters. For the view of Sarah we had a medium close up shot of Tommy with the wall behind him. For the view of Tommy we had a Slightly further out shot of Sarah with her back to the lockers. This when cut together later gave the scene a good sense of continuity. To keep this scene in the noir style we decided to use no non-diagetic sound and focused on the dialogue. This idea was influenced from the dialogue scenes in the neo noir film The Big Lebowski (1998 Coen brothers). From the feedback we got from the audience it was clear that there was a problem with the sound in this scene. Due to our location for filming the camera picked up to much background noise and the dialogue is difficukt to hear. If I were to shoot this scene again I would use a much emptier location and use diagetic sound added afterwards to keep it realistic.

Our final scene shows the body of Sarah being discovered by Tommy. We chose our location carefully as we wanted to use a woodland enviroment but while still keeping urban elements. We did this by using a small wooded are next to a train line. To introduce the body I decided to use a medium shot with the body just off center in the frame. I did this to add dramatic effect to the scene by highlighting the body in the otherwise peaceful enviroment. I then took a high angle shot of the body using a step ladder next to a tree. This shot allows the audience to see the face of the body and to identify it as the girl from the previous scene aswell. For the introduction of Tommy into this scene I wanted his face to be seen as little as possible and when seen to show little or no expression . This was to leave the audience uncertain about his intentions and role in the film. This uncertainty is a key idea in the noir style and is used in all of the films mentioned above. Our final shot is of a train going past Sarahs body. I chose to use this shot at the end of our piece as i felt that combined with the music at the end of our extract it created an almost melancholic effect, similar to the opening sequence of Brick. Looking at the feedback I was given on this final scene if I were to change anything I would add some long shots of Tommy entering the area before he finds the body.