Film Noir - Practical Research

You can view the complete set of photos we took here.

Recently, we participated in some research within school to experiment with the effectiveness of the filmic technique Film Noir.

What is Film Noir?
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s.

Many people would argue that Film Noir is a genre of film, however others would state it is in fact a style of film-making rather than a genre of its own. The reasoning behind this is simple, you can have a Film-Noir Thriller, or a romantic film in film-noir but the style of film-noir has no narrative related features of its own.

What we did?
In the course of the lesson, we observed some classic Film Noir sequences (Double Indemnity) and then set about recreating our own shots in a photographic sense. Included are some of the best, note the clever use of:

• High-Key Lighting
• Sinister Character Shots
• Black-White Setting
• Props (Hats)
• Framing of the Shots

- Rory Jee

Brief - Our Task

Here at Just In Time Productions we've been tasked with creating an opening to a thriller that will be no more than 5 minutes in length. We'll include the following processes in order to fulfil this objective.

• Teaching - Thriller Genre, Codes and Conventions, Approaches to Filming etc.


• Preliminary Task Storyboarding, Filming & Editing.


• Main Task - Includes Pitch, Research and Concept Boarding, Scouting, Script & Storyboarding


• Main Task - Filming & Editing


• Post Production - Audience Screening And Interviews


• Final Date For Submission: 24th April 2009.

Our Preliminary Task allows us to test the water, so to speak, and gain greater depth of understanding with regard to practical experience and technical direction. Using our preliminary task as a base will be able to better master the editing and filming techniques needed to achieve the grade we desire. It will also allow us to experiment with plot ideas and the effectiveness of dialogue. It does not necessarily have to be related to our main task; however can be continued from or used as a foundation, if, we as a group feel it appropriate.

More information on the other elements of our project and how we will approach them will be posted nearer the time.

- Rory Jee