Film Noir planning  How Film Noir has evolved  Typical conventions and how I plan to challenge them  How I intend to incorporate my research into my own film  Target audience (before audience feedback)

How Film Noir has evolved  The common term to describe the modern Film Noir is “Neo-Noir.” This literally means “New Black”. A film set in contemporary modern times, but showing characteristics of a film noir, in plot or style [1].  In more modern films including neo-noirs it is noticeable that film makers are beginning to give women a higher status than they used to have. This could be done through giving them a role within the film which gives them more power and perhaps authority over the men, which was rarely seen in classic noir. Moreover, in most classic noir films it is a male who is the main protagonist or the detective and recently some neo-noir film have been challenging this. This could be due to the rise in the amount of women as directors and women having a larger influence to the film industry, also more people are aware of equality and it is a sensitive issue, therefore film makers have to be careful not to offend anyone.  More modern neo-noir films are usually better at creating tension and making the action more exciting to watch. This could be through the use of short edits, graphics, more unusual camera angles and effects such as slow motion all of which is due to the film makers having access to more professional equipment which allows them to achieve a high quality outcome.  In neo-noirs a lot of them seem to be less stylised, for example, we are more likely to be shown the violence on the screen, voiceovers are less common in recent films. This could be because in todays society more people are wanting to see a more naturalistic film and voiceovers take the realism away.  Many neo-noir films are not filmed in black and white, which although the black and white, dark lighting and shadows automatically make us think of film noir, the most recent film makers seem to be influenced by other aspects, perhaps more subtle elements involving plot.  It was very typical of classic noir films to be based in an urban city with themes of gang violence and murder. Recent neo-noir films show film makers being more adventurous with their locations, this could be due to them having a larger budget as the film industry has grown increasingly popular, it could also be because they are all aiming to get a unique twist on film noir so they become more imaginative with the typical conventions. The recent neo-noir film ‘Black Swan’ which contains a few conventions of film noir however, it is not filmed in black and white and doesn’t seem to use the low-key lighting along with many others. They focus mainly on the elements involving the characters, the protagonist Nina, has a constant internal struggle between the typical noir characters of the innocent loving woman and the femme fatale, which is very similar to the torn personalities found in the Noir Hero of the 40’s. [1]

Typical conventions and how I plan to challenge them  From my research I have learnt all of the key elements of classic film noir, I intend to use a verity of these, however, I hope to use them in a modernised/unique way. For example, crime involving a gang or a large organisation is an element commonly seen in film noir, it is also mostly a male who has the most authority within the organisation (seen in the film ‘Kiss Me Deadly’). I will be using a female character for this role, I believe this will empower women and show they have a higher status despite her being an antagonist, which could go against the stereotype of women being innocent and weak.  After watching a verity of film noir films I have discovered that the femme fatale is in almost all of them in one way or another. In my film I intend on making my femme fatal a woman in her 40’s who is a mother and a wife, she will also be the character in charge of the antagonistic organisation. I have decided this because although modern films are beginning to empower women more, the women they tend to empower are young adults aging I want to challenge the stereotype of the typical house wife who cares for the children, does the house work and part time employment. Although this is what the character will appear to be, like most femme fatale characters she has a secret which makes her more scandalous and unexpected.  I have also researched lighting effects commonly used in film noir and I intend on using these for effect throughout my film. Such as, Rembrandt style side lighting which I believe to be extremely effective and symbolic when used on a character with two sides to them (innocent and evil). I Have also noticed more stylised lighting to be common in classic film noir films such as the shadow of blinds or bars cast upon a characters profile, which I believe is extremely effective and I hope to incorporate similar lighting effects in my film.  Like all of the film noir films I researched, my film will be from a males point of view but, he will be an antagonist. I have also decided to use the commonly seen convention of a voice over, this will be narrated by the lead male antagonist, who I hope to have an American accent because I noticed in some classic film noir films they had other nationalities.  I have noticed that in classic film noir the most powerful characters are of a higher class who have a decent amount of money, I plan on keeping this element in my film because the main characters will be the antagonists and the schemes they are involved with will be earning them money so I believe this is necessary.

How I intend to incorporate my research into my own film  Dream scene: (‘ The Lady from Shanghai ’) Flashback: (‘ Double indemnity ’) - When planning my first idea I considered involving a flashback into my film opening, however, I decided against this because I believe it is so common in film noir films and I wanted to make my film more stylised and modern. Also as it is only the opening I believe flashbacks reveal too much of the story and for my opening I aim to make it enigmatic.  Femme fatale: (‘ The Lady from Shanghai ’ and ‘ Double Indemnity ’) - These two films had the most effective femme fatales as they both fooled the main male character to fall in love with them and then manipulate them into murder. I plan on challenging the typical image of the femme fatale, instead of making her a beautiful, young woman who the men fall in love with, she will be have two sides to her, the typical housewife and then the dangerous leader of a large criminal organisation.  Storyline, plot twists : (‘ The Lady from Shanghai ’) - My story line will also have plot twists, the femme fatale being revealed is usually the twist. However, I intend on challenging this by having the twist effect the whole organisation and reveal the true femme fatale from the very beginning.  Black and white : - I plan to follow this convention, I believe it creates a more stylised look and when creating my film I want to explore the typical lighting effects to be able to foreshadow and connote certain things about the characters.  Modernising the elements : (‘ Black Swan ’) - In the neo-noir ‘Black Swan’ instead of the main character having dreams or flashbacks she has hallucinations which are used to show signs of mental illness and confuses the audience. This is something I may incorporate in my film as I believe it is an exciting way of blurring reality for the audience and makes the film more intriguing and exciting.

Target audience: (before audience feedback) My target audience will be from the age of 18 to 65. I have decided to aim my film a wide verity of ages because not only will it appeal to some young adults for its active story line with exciting plot twists. I believe it will also attract the older generation because it is a more stylised and modern version of an old fashioned film, which is unusual to see in todays film industry and that may appeal to them. I have chosen the age 18 due to the themes of violence and also I don’t believe many younger people would be interested in watching a more stylised film and perhaps wouldn’t appreciate the genre as much as older years would. I also estimated the age 65 because people over that age may not be keen on violence or the other themes within the film. Furthermore, ages 15 to 45 are the most regular cinema customers therefore if I was to estimate the age any older that would be an unrealistic goal. I don’t believe my film would be distributed by a large company like ‘Sony’ and more likely an independent company, this is because I don’t believe this genre or style of film would appeal to everyone, and perhaps requires a certain taste and although it has a unique selling point it might be too big of a risk for a large company to invest in.