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Film Noir?

A classic genre in movie history. Film noir, the literal translation as 'Black film', is what it expresses in it's title - film noir is a cinematic genre of a low key black and white visual style. Usually Hollywood themed crime dramas, which impose cynical attitudes and possible sexual motivations. This genre began and peaked from early 1940s to 1950s, yet has roots previously from German Expressionist cinematography.

There are a range of factors that build the conventions to make a film noir. When discussing the characters, there a few types which are directly typical to be featured. A detective or private investigator are likely to be include to abide with it's theme of crime drama. The other main film noir character convention is of course the femme fatale (translated to 'deadly woman'), the sexy, mysterious and seductive woman in the piece - it's this character whom charm to ensnare her lovers to follow her despite nothing, leading to possible compromising or dangerous situations. Further other possible characters types could be: henchmen, corrupt cops, alienated protagonists, and perhaps misogynistic men.

Detective Character

Femme Fatale

The conventions in visual style defiantly include low key lighting to empathize the monochromatic style that is film noir. Below are a list of more visual style conventions:

          ›   Shadows cast by venetian blinds

          ›   Dutch angles (such as the Dutch tilt)

          ›   Low angle shots

          ›   Wide angle lenses

          ›   Mirror work, (such as a character's reflection in one or many mirrors)

          ›   Night for night filming

The icongraphy is particular too in the genre, below are conventions that could feature suitably in a film noir production.

          ›   Dark pavements

          ›   Rain drenched streets

          ›   Flashing neon signs

          ›   City location is villainous or hostile

          ›   Alcohol and alcoholics

          ›   Cigarettes

          ›   Guns

          ›   Trench coats

Neon Sign In The City

The underlying themes are those of predicted from discussing the previous conventions. Such as the transgression of social norms; an evil type character going against normal expectations; and finally, taboo.

Conventional settings are mainly those of an urban feel. Usually film noir films are set in a large well known city, predominantly LA, New York, San Francisco or Chicago - all american due to the genre. More localised sets under the convention would be Bars, Lounges, Nightclubs, Gambling Dens or maybe more industrial settings, such as refineries, factories, train-yards or power plants.

Talking about the narrative devices, a classic film in the genre would usually feature from a first person narrative, using voice overs. Other conventions would be convoluted storylines, and flashbacks.

In film noir cinematography there is a high use of low and high angles, to make it look distorted, skewed and uncomfortable to view. This effect makes the audience feel uneasy. Another common effect in the genre is extreme close up, most likely of the eye or of an lone object. Deep focus, the depth of field is also conventional. Reflections, commonly in mirrors are definitely craved for in a film noir movie, as with reflections, views and faces can be obscured. Popular camera effects such as dutch tilts, or just the irregular framing of shots poses uncertainty or the feeling of something's wrong in a scene, which bodes nicely with the genre.

Dutch Tilt

Mise-en-scene conventions include as mentioned before, a high usage of chiaroscuro (low key lighting) and high contrast images - mainly dark blacks and white, few greys. Another convention is the use of Venetian blinds in front of a light source to give a special lit effect.

Venetian Blind Effect

The sound in film noir was used to complement the feeling of pessimism and foreboding. The list below feature a selection of common conventional sound:

          ›   Melancholy downbeat music

          ›   Jazz

          ›   Use of quiet and silence

          ›   Heavy breathing

          ›   Sudden noises

          ›   Voice over of the protagonist

          ›   Ambience and other sound effects of the city and suburbia

Finally, the editing in film noir followed many of the traditional crime characteristics, however they are generally told non linearly. Perhaps maybe starting at the end, to tell tell a story in many flashbacks.