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.