FILM NOIR. . .

Film Noir -a.K.a- French for Black Film

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. Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the Hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression.

The term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most American film industry professionals of the era. Cinema historians and critics defined the canon of film noir in retrospect; many of those involved in the making of the classic noirs later professed to be unaware of having created a distinctive type of film.

Some Facts. . .

• Low Key Black And White Visual Style

• Linked With Low Key Lighting And Shades Of Black And White

• Contrasts Of High Key And Low Key Lighting

• Noir Is Both A Genre And A Style

• In The 50's Noir Moved To Television

• Film Noir Has Sources Not Only In Cinema But Other Artistic Media As Well.

• Film Noir Is Also Known For Its Use Of Dutch Angles, Low Angle Shots And Wide Angle Lenses

• Film Noir Is Often Described As Essentially Pessimistic

• The Tone Of Film Noir Is Generally Regarded As Downbeat

Poster Comparison. . .

Comparison Of The Mise-En-Scene …

Costumes -
Costumes used in these movies are all different in actual fact only in the film “Mean Girls” are the actors actually wearing costumes. “Madagascar” has no use of costumes since they are animated animals and “Mirrors” no costumes are visible. Their for costumes of the characters in each film differs from one another. The costumes of the characters in “Mean Girls” are shown to be very casual, but girly connoting a ‘chic-flick’. Film “Mirrors” has not shown any costumes since the main image is focused upon a face which is what you would expect to see on a Horror Film’s advertisement.

Light -
Lighting, lighting used throughout all three movies is very different. “Mirrors” however differs from both since it has used very low-key lighting. This is a very typical convention to have a dark back ground this conveys the horror genre completely. Similarly to convey the other two genres low key lighting has also been use but it is more natural, “Mean Girls” may have use this type of lighting to creat a realistic approach to the movie. “Madagascar” has used artificial high/low-key lighting as it is an animation.

Actors -
“Mirrors”, the main actor had been shown on the poster for mirrors, this is a typical conventions used throughout horror movies. Using a main extreme close up shot of a face showing particular facial expressions. However in “Madagascar” and “Mean Girls” the main actors are shown in groups this may have been done to convey the genre of the movie. Although in “Mean Girls” Linzy Lohan is shown to bee standing on her own this may have been done on purpose to show the audience what the film may be about. “Madagascar” differs from both of the two films since the actors are animated not real.
Make Up -
Madagascar has not used any make-up and nether has mirror although mean girls make up is used to reinforce the girly attitude the film is based upon. it is quite natural this may have been done to create a realistic approach and a reality to be put back into the movie.

Props -
There are no props being shown in the three of the extracts.

Setting -
”Mirrors” poster has no setting since it just shows a extreme close up of face, “Mean Girls” is similar to this also does not have a setting only the four girls are show to be standing. The only movie out of the three movies that actually has a setting is “Madagascar” it is set in an African back ground, this may have been done since it is a children’s movie and an animation.

Poster Analysis :)

'One Missed Call' Poster Analysis!

Target Audience- would be of an older age since it is a horror movie and it would appal to 18-35 yr olds.

Genre- Horror, you can see this since the main conventions of a horror movie have been used. Further more the simplicity of the poster and also the colours used and lighting all show this.

Type of Shot/Image- Medium-Close-Up shot has been used to create a dramatic effect and to leave an image in the viewers mind to make them what to watch the movie. The image is also very simplistic and basic what's more this is a common convention of a horror movie.

Lighting- low key lighting has been used to create the tension and show suspense.

Typography- is very basic and only two could use have been used, Black and Red this is a very well used convention of a horror movie, and the text is very to the point no waffling. The tag line is small but in red to help it stand out although it is not the focal point of the poster.

What Can The Film Be About- The film is obviously a horror move so it could be about the death of some sort or it may be a thriller of some sort since it is called one missed call, their for implying it may have the use of a phone. It may connote some sore of harassment. The story line may be a liner line with a series of evens occurring throughout.

Props- A phone is held the focal characters hand implying it has a major symbolic reference also the name of the movie ‘One Missed Call’ may connote that it will have a major part to play in this movie.

Mise-en–scene

Costumes- the costumes are not very vivid in this poster since it is a medium close-up focused on the facial expressions of the character. Although the out fit is most likely to be dark symbolising death and danger.

Lighting- Low key lighting has been used, since it is portraying a suspense and a question is been asked of who the character is. The dark lighting may also connote danger and show the seriousness of the situation.

Actors- Not may characters are show in the mese-en-scene of this poster but the actor that is show seems to bee the villain this is shown in the image the close up and expression on the actors face connotes evil and vileness behaviour.

Make-up- Natural make up is used. This may have been done to create a reality to the film and while watching make the viewer feel part of the action creating the trill in the movie to a higher expectation.

Props- The focal prop used in this movie is the phone- this ties in with the name of the movie ‘One Missed Call’ defining the phone has a vital part in this thriller.

Setting- The setting seems dark and gloomy, not much can be told about the setting at this point in the movie since everything is dark and the only thing visible is the text and the actual image of the actor.

My 1st Case Study. . .

3,500 hours of Video. . .

. . .12 million still images

75 years of . . .

A History of The Institution…

British Pathe is one of the oldest media companies in the world. Their roots lie in 1890s Paris where their founder, Charles Pathe, pioneered the development of the moving image. They were established in London in 1902, and by 1910 were producing their famous bi-weekly newsreel the Pathe Gazette. By the time Pathe finally stopped producing the cinema newsreel in 1970 they had accumulated 3500 hours of filmed history amounting to over 90,000 individual items. In 1896, Mitchell Mark of Buffalo, New York, may have been the first American to import Pathé films to the United States, where they were shown in the Vitascope Theatre.

Who Owns It?

*Charles Pathe

British Pathe is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust Group.

Other Organisations Involved?

British Pathe footage sales are now managed by ITN Source.

Has It Developed Or Changed?

Pathe has now developed through the generosity of the Lottery Funded New Opportunities Fund it was possible to build a web site, and to encode the library for digital distribution. Also it has developed on to web publishing.

Text It Produced. . .

Movies-

Easy Virtue

Hunger

Linha de Passé

The Duchess

The Fox and the Child

Newspapers- Pathe Gazette. . .News Magazine.

Cinemagazines-

The Pathetone Weekly

The Pathe Pictorial

Eve's Film Review.

Television programmes-

TMC (Télé Monte Carlo)

Comédie!

Cuisine.tv

Voyage.

Advertisements-http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA7642

Pathé Records- Record Label active from the 1890s through the 1930s. . .

Some of the record labels produced:

1M1 Records

1st & 15th Entertainment,

12 Apostles

12 Inch Records.

Links I Used :). . .

http://www.britishpathe.com/aboutpathe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Path%C3%A9

My 2nd Case Study. . .

It Has Had 15 Theatrical Releases. . .

And Over 50 Entertainment Titles . . .

It Is. . .

”Our Films Have Led To OSCAR And BAFTA Nominations”

http://www.revolvergroup.com/index.html

My second case study is on Revolver Entertainment. It is one of the UK’s ‘All Rights’ distribution companies, managing the industry with a unique approach of releasing films and DVD’s first introduced in the year, 1907. Recently, Revolver Entertainment has been stated to be the14th Largest film distributor companies, and the 20th largest home entertainment publisher in the UK.

The Revolver Entertainment team continues to win awards for their creativity. ”Distribution, Production, Broadcast, PR, Journalism, Marketing, Creative And Advertising Backgrounds.” Earlier this year, they won an award for their first ever live Action Digital 3D Movie. . .

Revolver Entertainment supports a variety of different charities. Through this, the compony has seen their film premiers available as fundraisers in 2005, The Revolver Entertainment created the best comedy DVD in the world, therefore all the sales raised from the film, went to the UNICEF. As a result, they had raised around £1 Million in less than 12months for the children who were affected by the Tsunami disaster.

Films Revolver has Launched:

– Kidulthood

– Tell No One

– My Brother Is An Only Child

– Taxi to The Dark Side And More. . .

They are continuously releasing more & more films. Revolver Entertainment will be releasing their new movie ‘Mum And Dad’ all together in the cinemas, on DVD & on Video. Image entertainment has around 3000 Elite DVD Titles, 250 Exclusive CD Titles and 450 Programme’s on internationally. Revolver Entertainment will create a partnership with Image Entertainment since this will then increase their retail success in stores.

Peer Assessment of Trailer Analyses

Trailer 1 Evaluation Jaspal

W. . . Good Spelling & Punctuation

W . . . Used Media Terminology

W . . . Has Gone In to Depth

E . . . Try to link the points together

B. . . Analyse it with more detail

I. . . Try not to retell the story (we’ve all seen them now =] )

Trailer 2 Evaluation Rohin

W . . . Good Spelling & Punctuation

W. . . Uses of Media Terminology

W. . . You Explained Your Point Well

E . . . Was A Little Bit Longer

B . . . More Description, You Need to Expand

I . . . More Analysing

Trailer 3 Evaluation Ahmed

W . . . Good Spelling & Punctuation

W . . . Uses of Media Terminology

W . . . Good Detail Used

E . . . More Analysing

B . . . Connotations

I . . . Try Link It All Together Using Media Language

Jaspal

http://da-jassi.blogspot.com/

The length of the trailer for ‘Face of Fear’ is two minutes and 34 seconds. Face of Fear is a horror movie trailer produced by a group of 6th form students who went on to win the runners up position for the best horror movie at media awards 2008.The plot of the trailer is about a group of normal teenagers trying to survive the night from a deemed psychopath who is trying to get rid of each person one by one, and pick them off when there by themselves. Within the trailer there are a lot of media connotations which create a dynamic effect, relating back to the genre of the movie and really brining it out for the audience to enjoy.There are also a lot of questions which the audience are left with after viewing the trailer due to the enigma creating a lot of suspense, so they are left wanting to watch the rest of the movie to find answers to those questions.

The length of the trailer for ‘Face of Fear’ is two minutes and 34 seconds, horror movie trailer produced by a group of 6th form students. 2.34second is a good length for a movie trailer as the audience will be focused for a short period of time and the will stay interested and may also go on to watching the actually movie after seeing snippets of the film itself. Within the trailer there are a lot of media connotations which create a dynamic effect, relating back to the genre of the movie and really brining it out for the audience to enjoy. There are also a lot of questions which the audience are left with after viewing the trailer due to the enigma creating a lot of suspense, so they are left wanting to watch the rest of the movie to find answers to those questions. Many of the media aspects have been covered and been completed up to a very high standard.

Rohin

http://rohinthind.blogspot.com/

In Fear Of Fear, there is one primary edit that is used constantly, which is the cut. This is when a series of shots are put together, to create build up and pace. However, there are some scenes which fade into others, but the editing is fairly fast and discreet.

In Fear of Fear, there is one primary edit that is constantly used, it is the cut. This is when a series of shots are put together, to create build up and pace can be altered. This creates a dramatic effect on the audience as they are viewing many shots in a short time this may make the audience want to go on to seeing the full movie. This was done by the directors in order to create an enigma in order to gage the focus of their audience. Furthermore since it is a horror movie quick shots will add to the suspense and thrill of the movie since a lot will jump out at the audience making them want to view the whole production. However, there are some scenes which fade into others; this may have been done to vary in order to not make the cut edits seem boring. Overall the editing is fairly fast and discreet.

Ahmed

http://ahmeddahir.blogspot.com/

Most of this production the cuts are fast and frequent showing different faces close-up, which promotes the different society Greenford High has and again emphasises the multi-culturalness of the school. However at the beginning this isnt the case as the production begins their alot of fades in slow motion to emphasise the old school and the great significance of it now that it is gone. On 1:36 in their dining hall their is a high angled shot of regular people enjoying themselves this angled shot gives an insight of what the school is really like and again emphasises its multi-cultiralism.

On the whole in this production the cuts are fast and frequent showing different faces and many close-up, which promotes the different society Greenford High, has to share this may have also been done to engage with the audience since Southall is a multi-cultured society. It creates an enigma were the audience can relate to the production and may pay more attention to the media production. However at the beginning this isn’t the case as the production begins their a lot of fades in slow motion to highlight the old school and the great significance of it now that it is gone. This is to get the audiences sympathy and also bringing back memories creates an attachment with the film. On 1:36 in their dining hall their is a high angled shot of regular people enjoying themselves this angled shot gives an insight of what the school is really like and again underlines the multi-culture Greenford High School has on offer.

Trailer Essay. . .

Special Guest Film - Apologize

I have chosen ‘Apologize’ as the trailer I want to analyze given that it has cleverly used and covered a lot of the media studies skills and key concepts although it is a music video. The title of this music video ‘Apologize’ creates a question in the audience mind as they are looking forwards to video to find out what the situation for this apology may be.

Throughout this music video the director has carefully used camerawork in a variety of different ways. At 2.44 of this music video a BCU has been used to show the actress playing with her ring this connotes that there is something wrong with her relationship, also it ties in with the music video it self and the lyrics being used throughout. Further more when the actor is looking at the message on the phone, at 0.44… a high angle has been used to engage with the audience so they can see what is actually going on and feels how the actor is feeling. Medium shots are used most within this video, they are used mainly show facial expressions and body language.

Sound, is a key concept in this media production since it is a music video. Unlike most productions that use both diegetic and non-diegetic sound this one had only used the one, diegetic. Although the song is not sung by the actor himself since it is a music video this would count as a dialogue. Soundtrack used in the actual song uses instruments that make a very deep and low sound; they may have used this to create an affect as it connotes sorrow and despair. A gloomy atmosphere is created using this technique.

This music video is very clever with editing techniques used right through the production. They have used a variety of different edits to create an effect and to keep the audience focused. Cuts are often used even though fades are also used. At 0.14 a fade has very cleverly been used showing the actor swinging on the swing thinking and then it fades out into an empty swinging swing! This effect may have been used to flow the song and to show that her apology had not been accepted. So the editing in this production helps the viewer understand the story. Furthermore towards the end beginning from 2.40 the editing is very crucial to tell the story in this video the actress is fiddling with her ring and then it cuts off onto the actor playing with his ring and quick cuts are used as flash backs letting him think upon his decision then finally he drops his ring connoting an end to his relationship. Last edit used was the fade out into the sky this may connote a final goodbye a no turning back. The speed of the edits are not very fast since the music in the video is at a constant pace so the edits resemble to this.

Apologize has a very characteristic meis-en-scene since the story can be told with out the sound to accompany it. Costumes worn by both actors are normal cloths they are not fancy costumes. This may have been done to create a narrative enigma were the audience feel they can relate to the people used in this video and hey can compare themselves to the actors. The make-up is also very basic it is an everyday look to show the reality of the situation. Moreover this is the case for the setting too as it is shot in a home and a park, this may have also been done to create a realistic feel to the video and to show his feeling and not have the storyline overshadowed by a grand setting. It all ties in together to add a feel to the song. Lighting is natural low key lighting to connote the seriousness of this issue and to show the feelings in the song. Natural day light has been used no harsh high key lighting has been used. The rings were the only prop that seemed to stand out at me as the connoted the relationship and what the situation and resolution to the problem was. The rings showed emotion although they were only used as a ‘prop’.

Lastly the genre of this music video would be R‘n’B, and the genre of the video would be a romance love song. There are many connotations of this like the rings and the shot of the couple in bed and the table set for two, this all connotes a romantic feel. Although it is a broken romance since the relationship is breaking apart. The directors have conveyed all the conventions of this genre very well and completed their production to a very high flawless standard.

Broadcast Fiction Texts =)

Film: Herbie Fully Loaded. . .


T.V Series: Top Gear. . .


Radio Drama: RadioStation ->Formular One. . .

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00f86mt/5_live_Formula_One_02112008/

Alysing The Texts...

The three texts We have chosen are Herbie, Top Gear, and Formula 1. The genre that links these texts are sport; as the film and tv series both link to racing and motoring, and the radio drama, hosted by [David Croft, Morice Hamilton & Holly Samos]brings the latest news and action on motorsport. This is one similarity between the 3 texts. Also, the fact that the texts all relate to racing and cars etc, means that the information within the 3 texts are more or less the same, and also the targeted audience is most likely to be very niche, because even though it is to do with sport, it is narrowed down to a specific type of sport which is racing, and therefore means that they would have to be interested in this to be able to watch and listen to the whole thing. The texts do not just cover sport in general.

However, a more obvious difference between the texts are that the targeted audience are narrowed down even more, as this time it's not just to do with with being interested in this particuar genre of sport, but the texts are aimed at different ages of viewers/audience. For example, the film Herbie, is aimed at a niche audience of teens, perhaps a mix of boys and girls as the leading star is Linsay Lohan, whereas, the t.v series Top Gear, and the radio drama Formula 1, have significantly older audiences ranging from late teens to mid 40's, and mainly males. This could be a result of the depth and detail these two shows go into, whereas Herbie is a Disney film, so obviously targeted at much younger audiences. Also the type of humour in Top Gear is presented as quite a quirky style, as oppose to Herbie, which is more typical innocent type, so all in all, containing certain features suitable for their audience.

More on, the distributor for Herbie is Buena Vista Pictures, for Top Gear the distributor is BBC Worldwide, and for the radio drama, the distributor is Radio 5.

[ P r o m o t i o n ]

Herbie was mainly promoted by Walt Disney Pictures, adverts in cinema's and posters. The reason why it would be promoted in cinema's especially, is because its trailer would usually be shown before another disney/animated film, and therfore the viewers would probably be the same range as Herbie. The film was also promoted by the consumers itself as the film was successful and popular at the time with its audience, resulting in people buying Herbie related products such as the Herbie game.

Top Gear however is mainly promoted through the BBC, especially advertising on BBC 2 which is its main channel. Its also advertised later in the evening as that is the time when its targeted audeince are most likely to be watching tv etc.

'A Rappers Ambition'

Language- Ghetto Slang Has Been Used Much Through Out The Coarse Of This Production, This May Have Been Done Because Of The Location It Has Been Set In (West London) Furthermore It Is Complementary To The Trailer.

Sound- A Classical/Techno Beat Has Been Used In This Trailer It Reflects The Struggling MC Find Wile They Are Getting Familiar Industry it Also Keeps The Audience Interested.

Camera Shots- A lot Of Close Ups Have Been Used In ‘A Rappers Ambition’…The Director May Have Choose to Use Close Ups to Emphasize Facial Expressions. Other Shots Have Been Used In A Very Cleaver Way As It Shows The MCs Progress Throughout The Trailer.

Lighting- Good Lighting Has Been Used Throughout Most Of This Trailer It Makes Body Language And Facial Expressions Very Clear. Surroundings Also Influence The Lighting, E.g. Outdoors Lighting Is Quite Dim & Natural This Also Connoted The Dullness Growing Up In West London.

Timing- The Length Of The Trailer Is Only 2:06 I Think They Have Done This To Create a Dramatic Effect So The Viewer Wants To Go Out And Watch The Whole Thing.

Institutional Values- The Story of 'A Rapper's Ambition' Holds a Message That Tells Its Audience To Never Let Your Dreams Just Go… Always Try Hard To Fulfil Them No Matter What Comes In Your Way. Everything Is Possible!