AS Film noir reflective analysis

Reflective analysis

For our creative task we were asked to produce a five shot film sequence based on the film noir genre.We were asked to include different camera angles and the key conventions of the film noir genre. Our whole sequence was in black and white to follow the theme of film noir. We did not have the right circumstances to shoot in low key lighting and to create the shadows that we wanted. Me and Emma directed, filmed and edited the piece and James did the acting and voice over. Our sequence ran in a circular narrative. Our opening shot was a closeup zooming out to a mid shot of James dying so that the audience understood what was going on. Our second shot was of James was the start of James' flashback which was a long shot and tracking of James walking down the street before a camera tilt to focus on a creepy tree.We did this to set the location of the sequence. Our third shot was a shot of a "strictly no admittance" sign which was also zoomed in on. This was done to indicate the crime within the sequence. Our fourth shot was a mid shot of James looking through venetian blinds as venetian blinds are a key part of the film noir genre. Our final shot was back to the same shot from the start but this time it zoomed in from a mid shot to a closeup. We used a voice over throughout our piece as this explained the story to the audience and is another key convention of film noir. Our story line was that James was investigating a murder before realising he had a split personality and was actually the murderer so he killed himself because of the guilt. In future I would work with Emma again as we work really well together but I would not work with James as he does not commit himself to the work and walks off and chats to his friends instead of filming which meant we had to leave our film to the last minute.