Film Opening Analysis Part 3: Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Analyzing the Opening Fight Scene in Blade Runner 2049 (2017):

BLADE RUNNER 2049 Ryan Gosling vs Batista fight scene:

https://youtu.be/ynriSQ319Io

Analysis:

  The fight scene at the beginning portion of Blade Runner 2049 (2017) can be analyzed in multiple ways. First of all, to look at the mise-en-scene aspects of the scene, the lighting is incredibly dark and at times the only tangible object the audience can make out is each actor's face. This has the effect of placing emphasis on Gosling's and Batista's performances and draws the focus away from the setting and towards the characters. It places emphasis on their conflict which serves as the focal point of fight scene that occurs shortly afterwards. Despite being devoid of optimal lighting, the mise-en-scene aspects of the scene still build out the world with the futuristic devices each character holds. Moving to discuss the cinematography of the scene, there's an abundance of close-up and mid-shots of the actors during and before the fight, with a longer duration of shots during the dialogue, and a shorter duration of shots to match the intensity of the actual fighting actions. These close-range shots emphasize the claustrophobic nature of the setting that they're fighting in, and with various cuts on action, it keeps the continuous motion of the fight going, maintaining a consistent intensity throughout. The balance of power is constantly upset, and the cinematography reflects this with a varying collection of low- and high-angle shots. 

  Moving to discuss the editing techniques used in the scene, most of the cuts are done with deliberate intentions of keeping each choreographed fighting action connected. The act of cutting-on-action is present in nearly every movement, and this allows the audience to get a mental image of the on- and off-screen space the two characters are fighting in. The editing of this scene keeps the fight consistent, and lends less to creating a sense of chaos, and more towards creating that intensity through the use of sound techniques. Moving to discuss the use of sound, each impact and each motion that the characters go through in the fight are visceral and loud. The sense of loudness in the scene is what's used to create the chaos of an intense fight, rather than the editing that I mentioned previously. This use of diegetic sound makes every movement feel impactful to the audience, and lends itself to reinforcing that balance of power that the cinematography techniques used establish. The sounds of their futuristic devices also allow the viewer to take in more information about the world, characterizing the sci-fi dystopia of 2049 L.A.

How Does This Scene Compare to My Film Opening Project?:

  Now it's an important distinction to make that there will be no fight scenes or significant action in my film opening, however the main aspect that drew me to this scene was its use of lighting. I've had concerns about filming in the dark and how achievable those shots would be, and this scene was reassuring in my choice to keep that idea of high-contrast lighting alive. The way the lighting is used to draw focus from the setting and on to the actors is something that can be appreciated and I think that in combination with a The Batman (2022) approach to narration will do wonders in world-building on a non-existent budget. 

Film Opening Analysis Part 2: The Batman (2022)

 Analyzing the Opening Narration of The Batman (2022):

*My analysis specifically concerns the narration from the 5:19 mark and onwards. 

Opening Scene | The Batman | Max:

https://youtu.be/761uRaAoW00?t=320

Analysis:

  Starting by looking at the use of "mise-en-scene" in the opening narration of The Batman (2022), there are multiple things to consider when the film builds its themes and distinct tones. First of all, the most notable aspect of this scene is the dark tone it builds using a mixture of highly contrasting lighting, and the setting of Gotham during Halloween. We have The Batman's enemies established, with criminals wearing extremely unique and unsettling costumes, able to blend into the crowd on Halloween. The aspects of mise-en-scene that this sequence utilizes creates a dark and gritty tone that reflects the crime-ridden and depraved state of Gotham. Moving more towards the cinematography techniques used in the scene, we see an abundance of wide shots of the cityscape and mid- to close-up shots of the various criminals and Batman himself. The effect these techniques create are unique in their ability to bring such a large-scale and lively setting down to the small-scale, focusing on the hive-mind of criminals that terrorize Gotham. There's a significant amount of movement in the camera as well, mostly during the wide-shots where we see the camera pan across the cityscape in order to display the city's scale and intimidating nature. This is coupled with shots that have a hand-held level of movement when on the ground-level, allowing the viewer to feel more engrossed in the scene's reality. 

  In terms of editing, the scene cuts often and the shots whilst elaborate, are often short leading to the audience being able to characterize Gotham as busy, a lot of events are happening throughout the scene and this shorter shot duration reflects that well. The editing of the scene lends itself to the use of more motion blur and a greater abundance of the shot-reaction-shots used during the fight scene between Batman and the painted-face criminals in the subway station. There's a significant lack of more subtle transitions like fade-in/out's and each cut lends itself more towards cutting-on-action which reflects the violence displayed in both Gotham and the scene itself. As for how the scene utilizes sound, the most prominent feature of the opening sequence is the cold and tension-building narration that the Batman himself gives over the scene prior to his fight with the subway criminals. The narration serves multiple purposes for the audience, it both builds out the world of Gotham, and quickly establishes Batman as an intimidating force that criminals fear. This creates a distinct theme of blind justice that both this film and the entire Batman franchise thrive off of to create their iconic style. Finally, the diegetic sounds of the rain also serve as moody background noise that establishes a gloomy and intense tone to the fight and narration scenes. 

How Does This Scene Compare to My Film Opening Project?:

  As for how this scene relates to the opening of the film I'm creating, I intend to create a similar moody and gritty tone in my narrations of the events on screen. I admire the ability of this opening scene to build out the world of Gotham, and characterize it so well, and want to create that similar depraved and downtrodden tone in my film opening. As I'm making a film-noir, establishing that crime-ridden and flawed-society is integral to the subject matter I'm trying to confront. Whilst I obviously don't have access to the resources to film those kind of wide-shots of a bustling city to build out my world, I intend to use what I have at hand to do the same, creating a fake missing persons poster that will characterize the world and provide context for the events that happen on screen. 

Film Opening Analysis Part 1: Drive (2011)

 Analyzing the Opening Car Chase in Drive (2011):

*Note, this is a longer clip, I suggest starting at the 7:10 mark.

Drive (2011) - Opening Credits Scene - Car Chase:

https://youtu.be/ZHYaj6EHfJg?t=430

Analysis:

  When looking at the use of "mise-en-scene" in the opening car chase of Drive (2011), there are multiple aspects of note. First of all, the lighting is a dark teal due to it being set at night in the city of Los Angeles, with most of the lighting serving to create sharp, contrasting shadows. This creates a darker tone reminiscent of genres like film noir, adding a sense of realism and grittiness to what is a very subtle take on the crime genre. The setting we see established is also used to the scene's advantage later, having Driver, our main protagonist, use a crowded Los Angeles basketball game to dodge the police. Moving on to discuss cinematography in this scene, we see something extremely important that subverts usual expectations for a car chase in a crime movie. The entire sequence is shot exclusively within the car Driver and his crew are using to flee authorities. This subverts the usually more theatric interpretations of car chases, with wide sweeping shots of the car racing through the streets and aerial shots from the perspective of a police helicopter. It's also of note that for the majority of the shots, we see a low-angle perspective of Driver that allows us to focus in on his reaction to the action before him.

  If we look into how the scene is edited, we see a longer shot duration that serves to create tension throughout the scene's duration, lending itself to running the camera for longer periods of time to allow an uninterrupted interpretation of the events on screen, keeping the audience engaged and invested in Driver and his crew's escape. The very few cuts we see in the scene's duration are between perspectives in the car, switching between the Driver's face, his crew's faces, and the different areas of the car. Looking at how sound emphasizes the scene's other cinematic elements we see various different methods used. The most prominent is the slow non-diegetic synth track that plays behind the entire scene, focusing on a light, non-intrusive musical score that generates tension whilst not being over-bearing and undermining what's occurring on screen. There's an incredibly clever and unique sound technique used towards the end of the scene, where Driver turns up the basketball game playing on the radio, perfectly synchronizing his escape with the game's conclusion, using it to his advantage to evade the police by perfectly blending in with a busy crowd. This creates a distinctive sense of awe for the audience to enjoy, and characterizes Driver as a calculated and cunning man. 

How Does This Scene Compare to My Film Opening Project?:

  Considering that the film opening I'm deciding to make is centered around dark lighting, I can draw a lot of my scene's inspiration from the lighting in Drive (2011). Another distinctive element I want to embody is the use of tension-building, but subtle music. Whilst I definitely wish to include some overbearing audio stings in order to generate a sense of horror, I admire the way tension is built throughout this scene, and wish to incorporate some of those techniques into my opening sequence. With my film fitting into the film-noir genre, the crime centered film we see echoes the themes I wish to confront as well.

Production Update #1 on "Blank Shell"

 Production Update #1 on "Blank Shell":

    At this point in the production process, I have a few key items prepared, and am close to filming all of the shots I'll need to finish the opening sequence. I've recorded the narrative pieces I need to go behind the visuals on screen, and I've gathered any special sound effects and background music and converted them into MP3 file format for easy importing into CapCut. This week, I'll be recording the visual shots I need and move into the editing phase of my project. Overall, the production process has been slow, but fairly smooth. The biggest contributions to this fluidity being the fact that I've prepped all of the resources I need, and am operating on my own schedule and am filming at a setting that's easily accessed 24/7. I'm still working out some of the finer details on how low-light shooting will operate using my iPhone's camera, but am confident in its ability to convey and show the lighting I want it to. Shooting in the dark also gives me the opportunity to edit some subtle horror elements into the final cut, and I'll be looking into how to do this once post-production begins. I fully expect to have a rough cut assembled by the end of the weekend, likely by next Monday on the 26th. 

Researching the Art of Film Titles

Researching the Art of Film Titles:

Example Used: The Last of Us (2023) 

Main Title Card of The Last of Us (2023)

Brief Analysis on How Titles are Used in The Last of Us (2023):

    There are multiple key details in the title cards used in The Last of Us (2023) that aid to clue the viewer in on the context of the show's content. The opening sequence utilizes various close-ups of fungi to suggest to the viewer the origin of the cordyceps virus that the show centers its world around. 3 This has the effect of world-building, and with some of the title shots, it's effective in showing that this fungi is capable of overwhelming organic lifeforms. This is an effective way to convey the dangers of the virus, and implies how its brought the world the film's set in to its knees. It also serves to demonstrate the body horror that The Last of Us (2023) often employs through the costume designs of the infected we see Joel and Ellie fight throughout the show. This idea of the virus being able to overwhelm everything is reinforced through the main title card's design as well, we see the fungi growing around, in, and seemingly out of the title itself, portraying its ability to take over anything in its path. Throughout The Last of Us (2023)'s title sequence, we even get some establishment of character relationships. We're given a cryptic silhouette-like representation of Joel and Ellie's father and daughter dynamic, as the scene is surrounded by the cordyceps fungus like every other. 

Additional Opening Shot in The Last of Us (2023)

Pre-Production Planning for "Blank Shell"

 Pre-Production Planning for "Blank Shell":

    As for the materials I'll be needing for the production of my film opening, I'll be using my phone camera for all shots taken. I've made this choice due to my camera's ability to shoot in 4K and 60FPS. Another appealing aspect of my phone's camera is its ability for easy editing of footage, and high performance in the low-light conditions I'll be shooting in. In terms of costuming, there will be minimal need for anything special, I'll be wearing what I wear on a typical school-day, only slightly tweaked to be more formal. That formality is supposed to convey the prowess of the private investigator character I'll be acting as. Props are also minimal, the two main props I'll be using to do most of the heavy-lifting in terms of storytelling is my car and computer. I will be drafting a fake missing persons poster as well as writing emails to myself in order to fulfill the illusion that I'm being updated on valuable case information. Overall, the materials I will need are designed to be efficient for the scale at which I am making this film opening. These materials needed to be things that are easily accessible and have a low-bar of entry as to how to use them effectively in a film setting. My phone camera, car, and everyday clothes perfectly fulfill these requirements. The ease of access these resources possess aid greatly due to the fact that I am shooting this film opening by myself. One additional piece of camera equipment I will be using is a budget tripod. 

My 2014 Ford Focus SE

    As for the locations I'm planning to shoot at, I will be almost exclusively shooting this film opening at home. Aside from my room with the lights turned off, I will also be filming very brief outside night shots of me driving and getting in my car. I'm deliberately choosing exclusively dark and nightfall settings in order to take advantage of the moody tone that this lighting can set. These are all easily-accessible settings to film at, and it goes without saying that I have full legal access to them. There are some strange intricacies that comes with filming myself driving however. Using my tripod makes these shots possible, but also makes it so that I'll have to trim a lot of the footage I record. The part of the film opening where I'm recording myself driving will be severely limited in its ability to be reshot, which for such an easy scene to act, will hopefully be no issue. I'm taking advantage of my car's resources for the close-up shot of the navigation system. The resourcefulness that this project takes advantage of is something that I highly enjoy, and find to be an intriguing limitation. 

    When looking at the manpower this project will require, it's limited to just me. I find this to be less of a limitation and more of a convenience. Whilst I'm limited in the complexity of the scenes I can create, I'm also at the liberty of being completely in control of the project's creative direction. Additionally, I'm looking forward to doing a voiceover for the narrative parts of the film's opening. I will need to be responsible for all parts of the production and as such am functioning as the director, cinematographer, and scriptwriter. This factor of the project also means that I'm extremely open in my schedule. I can shoot purely when I want, and am not dependent on another's schedule. This idea is very appealing to me and I believe it will make the process go much smoother.

Cast/Crew List, and Scheduling for "Blank Shell"

 Cast/Crew List, and Scheduling for "Blank Shell"

*All Acting, Narration, and Filming Roles will be done by me.

Cinematographer, Director, and Scriptwriter = Leland Barger

Background Music = Mike Klubnika

Scheduling:

2/10/24: Shots 1-7 all taken at home.

2/11/24: Shots 8-11 all taken outside at night, in combination with the interior of my car. 

Primitive Storyboard for The Opening of "Blank Shell"

Primitive Storyboard for The Opening of "Blank Shell:

I apologize for the art quality. 

Drafted Script for The Film Opening of "Blank Shell"

Drafted Script for The Film Opening of "Blank Shell"

*Disclaimer: Contents of this script are not final, and are subject to change.

Opening Shot: Dark room, the camera pans over a computer screen with a missing persons poster on it, sent through an email detailing the circumstances of their disappearance.

Music track 1 begins playing: "Blank Shell" by Mike Klubnika

Second Shot: Camera pans to a close-up side view of our protagonist scrolling and clicking around on the computer, assumedly doing research and looking for details on the case, whilst a narrative begins to recite in the background.

Protagonist: Missing persons cases are difficult, less because of the process of tracking them down, and more because of the potential to unearth some truly disturbing conflicts. Gang violence, crime syndicates, I've seen it all, and the depravity on display by this side of humanity, it sticks with you.

Third Shot: Camera provides another close-up, low-angle shot of the computer, another email containing information, and more details about the case. Our protagonist opens a link sent to him with a google maps location. 

Protagonist: And usually if the family is coming to me, it's because the police haven't done anything, or god forbid aren't equipped to handle it. This has some pretty bad implications, and I've learned the hard way, that you can't save everyone.

Music track fades out to generate tension

SFX: Ears ringing

Fourth Shot: At the end of the tinnitus SFX, the audio goes completely silent, and the camera abruptly cuts to a wide shot of the dark room, with an uncanny, deeply unsettling figure faintly visible in the corner of the room.

Fifth Shot: A very brief side close-up of our protagonist jolting to look at the figure.

Sixth Shot: Another very brief side close-up of our protagonist looking back, realizing who the figure was (perhaps a person he couldn't save) and looking back at his computer in complete shock. He reaches into a pill bottle and quickly retrieves and takes two pills. This is followed by a long exhale and body gestures that show emotional distress. 

Protagonist (Before taking the pills, in a soft whisper): You aren't real, you aren't real.

Sixth shot lingers for a few seconds, before the protagonist's narrative lines continue

Protagonist: This time would be different, it had to be. And I think the lead I've been given is going to do just that. 

Seventh Shot: Camera provides another close-up low-angle shot of the computer screen, this time with the google maps pinpointed to one location, a cemetery.

Music track 2 begins playing: "You are an Angel" - Mike Klubnika

Eighth Shot: Camera provides a low-angle, mid-shot of the protagonist's car, as they walk to the drivers side door and get in, starting the car. 

Ninth Shot: Brief close-up shows the keys entering the ignition, and the car starting.

Tenth Shot: Camera shows a close-up of the car's navigation system, with it routed to the cemetery from before.

Protagonist: It was time to change fates. 

Eleventh Shot: Camera shows a low-angle mid-shot from the backseat, as the protagonist begins driving.

Credits roll

*Writer's note: It's extremely likely that more intermediary shots will be added in order to meet duration requirements if need-be. 

Who's The Target Audience for A Noir Film?

 Who's The Target Audience for A Noir Film?:

   

Average Ages of Noir Film Viewers

    The typical audience of a noir film usually encompasses adult and elderly men. The historical significance of film noir, and its black-and-white stylization often attracts the older gentlemen in the population as the classics are likely films they saw as a child. However, once we get into more specific sub-genres like neo-noir our target demographic widens to include younger men. In terms of the genres wider appeal, aspects of the character roles we see in noir films also appeal to audiences that enjoy romance, mystery, and crime movies as well. There's a considerable overlap between the crime and noir genre's audience demographic due to the similarity in their tone choice and subject matter. I believe that the audience of more traditional noir films being more geared towards the elderly is an obvious setback when we begin to look at how we can future-proof the noir genre. This older, more established audience also implies the need to adhere to tradition. That audience is notoriously reluctant to changes in the narrative structure of their films and pleasing them would be a test of how stringently you're able to adhere to the typical genre conventions of a noir film. However, there exists a great deal of opportunity when it comes to the audiences that enjoy more contemporary neo-noir films. These younger audiences allow filmmakers to be more experimental in how they build their narratives, using the conventions as a guide rather than a strict formula. The younger audience is typically more full of the more artistic and visionary viewers, which means they'll be more receptive to subversions of the genre's conventions and expansions upon its fundamentals. Noir films likely appeal to the more introspective and generally more pessimistic audience as well, mostly due to the subject matter. Viewers may come to the noir genre seeking the token flaws of noir characters as a matter of relatability. Viewers may also enjoy the more realistic, gritty exploration of the film's world through the subject matters of crime, murder, and generally the more macabre. The noir genre is niche on paper, but in terms of the stories it creates and the subject matters it confronts, the genre's influence can easily be widened. However, because of its initial niche appearance, it's often been looked at as a novelty, with only more experimental takes on it through the neo-noir genre finding significant success in the modern day. The genre can appeal not just to males either, women can find the typical femme fatale role of film noir actresses enthralling as well.  These characters can feel incredibly relatable and liberating, given that the role heavily subverted society's view of women at the time noir films began being produced.

Bladerunner 2049 (2017)

    In terms of marketing a film noir movie, many a method has been tried to varying degrees of success. The majority of modern noir films find their success in marketing through the use of film festivals, for example neo-noir films overseas like Only The River Flows (2023), and Summer of Changsha (2019). In order to appeal to as wide of an audience as possible, it's likely that I'll have to market my film in a way that adheres to tradition but also offers something new for contemporary viewers. The most common marketing technique of modern noir films seems to be through the release of posters. For example, Bladerunner 2049 (2017) released theatric posters that generated a solid amount of traction due to the major acting roles and overall aesthetic quality of the film. This method isn't limited to newer films, classic films that I've discussed in my previous blog post like The Blue Dahlia (1946) released theatric posters that, when displayed at the front of theaters at the time, served as effective marketing tools comparable to billboards. The best way to reach my target audience would be to not only create elaborate and eye-pleasing posters to tease the film's release, but a trailer as well. 8 Many trailers employ a cryptic and vague method of storytelling in order to generate "hype" surrounding the film as the audience becomes intrigued about the story and plot. Making the trailer reflect exactly what's going to be in the film is integral to this plan as we would need to deliver on any expectations that the audience build from it. Marketing methods like merchandising wouldn't necessarily be viable here as there's not an established brand or series to build off of. When considering how my audience is going to react to marketing efforts, we must first realize a few things. First of all, being in a considerable niche means that our audience needs to be built up. We have no existing audience to rely on to propagate proper advertising and marketing. This means that a lot of our strongest points in marketing is going to be based on the viewer's word-of-mouth. Ideally, our audience would grow and snowball gradually as this word is spread, and if the audience determines that my film is worth their attention, we may be able to establish a foothold then. It's important to note that with a budget of effectively zero, marketing techniques like the theatrical posters may not hit that top quality that's considered industry standard. Whilst this isn't a practical issue to overcome, we can still mitigate it by focusing on what the typical noir audience wants, and what we can accomplish. Overall, the effective marketing of such a small-scale neo-noir film would be extremely difficult, but through the use of careful planning and production of promotional material I'm confident I could at least establish a minimal foothold in our target audience. 

Batman (2022)

Researching The Genre Conventions of Film- and Neo-Noir:

Out of the Past (1947)

 Researching The Genre Conventions of Film- and Neo-Noir:

Film Noir's Extensive Cinematic History:

    Film-noir and its more contemporary sub-genres have an extensive history dating back all the way to the 1930s. Throughout film-noir's development as a genre, dozens of films released in its golden age between the 30s and 40s stand as the most referenced. We can start looking at keystone films in this genre with the release of Double Indemnity in 1944. Double Indemnity  marked one of the first forays into developing the film-noir, being released at a time where the film-noir genre wasn't even a coined term. The film was characterized by a method of lighting the black and white color scheme in a way that created intense contrast. This created scenes that had such dark highlighted shadows that they were reminiscent, and likely inspired by early horror films like 1922's Nosferatu

Double Indemnity (1944)

    This method of lighting stood out as moody, and ominous at the time, and to this day still functions as an integral part in establishing the pessimistic and gritty theme that the majority of noir films establish. Double Indemnity is among many other films that establish key conventions in the noir genre. Films like The Blue Dahlia (1946), Strangers on a Train (1951), and even more recent films like The Godfather (1972) have all made contributions to how we define the noir genre and how we adhere to its conventions. When looking at directors in the noir genre, a prominent name is Billy Wilder, the director of  the previously mentioned Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard (1950), another prominent film in the genre. Now it's important to note other directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray, and Robert Siodmak. Themes of crime and downtrodden civilization entrench themselves so deeply in the noir genre because of things like director backgrounds. For example, Billy Wilder began writing scripts for his most successful noir films after working as a writer for a newspaper covering local crime. Moving on to look at who some of the most influential actors in this genre are, names like Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Alan Ladd come to mind.

Humphrey Bogart (1899-1957)

    The performances of actors in noir films often sees the roles of femme fatale characters and quiet, inquisitive detectives played in a manner that reflects the slower mood and stories of these films. The performances required of actors are often comparable to gangster films and crime thrillers. The actor performances must embody and reflect the overall darker tone that noir films carry. Overall, the history of noir films goes far back to the primitive days of film, where its directors dismissed the lack of color as not a limitation, but a tool for even greater storytelling. 

Film Noir's Conventions:

    Now, it's the history of the genre that's defined its conventions, which we can now discuss here. First of all, as I've previously mentioned most noir films are going to establish themselves as darker in tone and more pessimistic than other films. Noir films often look into exploring themes of the macabre and the depravity of the human condition. The films explore this through plots about heinous crimes being solved and committed. 

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

    For example, the noir film The Blue Dahlia follows the story of Johnny Morrison played by Alan Ladd, after his wife Helen is murdered. After her unfaithfulness to Johnny, everyone seems to blame Johnny for the murder, and the duration of the film sees Johnny attempting to subvert these accusations. It's in this example that we see a crime as the main focus of the film's plot, a common convention among nearly all noir films. Noir films center around crime as to establish the darker and grittier tone that they need to make full use of their unique lighting style. It's also extremely common for noir films to feature narration in the form of the main characters inner monologue. The nature of these monologues are often witty and introspective, meaning to establish the character as quick-thinking but also flawed. 

    This brings me to the next convention, flawed character. Once again, in an effort to emphasize the pessimism common-place in noir films, characters must be deeply flawed. This is often a very appealing part of the noir genre as the audience will find the main characters to be more relatable and grounded in reality if they're showcased as deeply imperfect and troubled people. Last but not least, it's important to mention the most punctual convention, the high-contrast black-and-white lighting. This lighting is often used to symbolize light and dark moral alignments in noir films, and call back to the ominous and mysterious tones of genres like horror. These conventions are going to have interesting implications on my final project's production. First of all, I must make the important decision of whether or not I will use colored lighting, or black-and-white. I'll also need to prepare myself to narrate over the opening sequence, with the intent of describing a situation, most likely some sort of crime.

Relevant Examples of Opening Sequences in Noir Films:

    The Godfather (1972): https://youtu.be/eZHsmb4ezEk

    The opening sequence from The Godfather, one of the most influential noir and crime films of all time, displays the conventions of the noir genre in multiple ways. The most immediately noticeable convention we see is the extremely dark lighting. The lighting is used to place emphasis on our characters in the scene, which actually subvert the typical roles we see in a noir film. Whilst many noir films typically have characters investigating a crime, our characters in this scene are actively part of the crime syndicate. The lighting and the roles these characters play immediately set this darker, grittier tone that's commonplace in the noir genre. Overall, this relatively recent rendition of a noir film fulfills the typical noir film's presentation style.

    Out of the Past (1947): https://youtu.be/Qz8vqYawzVA

    Looking at an opening sequence from a much older noir film now, we can immediately see some significant conventions of the noir genre. First of all, the costuming of our main character immediately gives off the detective-aesthetic that many of these films follow to a tee. The shadows that are cast by all of the surrounding windows on the set create that high-contrast use of black-and-white lighting that's commonplace in the genre. The conversation the two men have is off-putting and has this unsettling artificial tone, that creates an ominous tone that builds tension. It also establishes a potential femme fatale archetype character that may serve as a love interest later in the film. These roles are common for noir films to establish, because it gives the story leverage to work with and determine where they can go with the narrative.

    Double Indemnity (1944): https://youtu.be/W0qea2gLq_I

    Looking at the opening scene of noir icon Double Indemnity directed by the previously mentioned Billy Wilder, it immediate establishes some interesting conventions in the noir genre. First of all, the down-trodden urbanized setting of Los Angeles is immediately established with the dark lighting giving the scene an immediately moody tone. The speeding car that begins blazing through the city streets immediately establishes reckless demeanor of our main character. It's important to note that like many of the other clips we've analyzed, the detective character role is fulfilled. We also immediately see that he is deeply troubled and flawed, as he stumbles into his office in a very careless and exhausted manner. Overall, the dark lighting and immediate inquisitive and investigative tone established fits the bill for your typical noir film.

How Will I Conform (Or Subvert) To These Conventions?:

    Now, when looking at how I wish to convey the noir genre in my final project, I wish to make the opening to a more contemporary, and even abstract neo-noir film. I've decided on using full-color for my production, but in order to preserve those high-contrast lighting characteristics, I'll be using more intense colors for light sources. For example, I wish to have a scene in which a lamp turns a bright blood red, whilst reminiscent of horror, it still creates that ominous high-contrast look that I wish to convey through a neo-noir film opening. I wish to provide a more moody narrative, with themes of an investigation on a crime, although I may vary the crime less into things like murder, and more of a theme of being stalked. I think this would do wonders in building an air of tension, and make the main character's investigation feel more significant and impactful. 

    In order to take advantage of natural lighting cues and build that pessimistic tone, I plan to film all of the outside segments at night, using that darkness to further obscure and portray things as mysterious. A more subtle creative choice I will be making is my manner of dress while filming, wearing a white collared shirt and that khaki-colored jacket we see in so many noir films. One subversion I will be making is switching the typical detective main character we see in noir films for a journalist, or perhaps a private investigator.