Location Research

It was now time for us to allocate roles for each other in terms of research. One of my roles was to look at the typical locations that Film Noir's were produced in, and try to match these locations with actual ones local to us for our filming.
First, I looked online to find some pictures of where a Film Noir would usually be filmed, and the typical image I found is the one you can see below. As you can see from this picture, it is dark which matches a convention that Film Noir's are almost always filmed during the night. The location itself is very urban, as Noir's always are. You can see the tall buildings that could possibly be flats, along with the long dark alley ways which are only lit up by street lamps, which makes the alley look misty. The street lamps also create shadows, which is another convention used frequently in Noir's. From a quick research into location, I got a full understanding of the type of place to search for locally to film our Noir. I will attempt to keep the locations urban, and incorporate other conventions by finding street lamps that give off shadows in the night with long dark alley ways.

After having a clear understanding on the locations that Film Noir's are typically filmed at, I decided to look around my local are to attempt to find certain places that could be an option for us when it comes to deciding on a location to film. The pictures you can see below are taken from each end of the same road. Out of all the places that I looked locally to me, this road stood out to me, and matches the conventions I've identified in the picture above. The road features street lamps which create a type of mist, along with some tall houses that gives the area an urban feel. There is also an alley way along this road that I was unable to get a picture of because it was too dark to physically see down it, however this could be used for a possible photo shoot during the day. When thinking about filming, this road would work with it because the main elements of filming could be done under the street lamps so the characters are visible, and the mystery can be created when they walk away and fade into the darkness. This is why the street lamps are vital, to help give our piece a sense of mystery. These locations that I found are only possible locations, and may or may not turn out to be what we actually decide to go for. I simply wanted to do some research into locations, and try and find a few myself so as a group we had some options as well as an understanding on the conventions.

Reflection:
As a whole, I think I performed this task well, and gave our group an understanding of Film Noir locations. Allocating roles to each other for research was a very good move because it meant we all had things to be getting on with, and could feedback to each other what we'd found. From this task we learnt the Film Noir locations, and now have some ideas about where we'd like to film. We also learnt the importance of communication between as a group, to ensure we were all aware of exactly what our task was when it came to research. To do this particular task better, I would of liked to have found even more possible locations to give us an even wider option when it came to picking a place to film. Having said this, I think that the research I did do will be very useful in the upcoming plan to film.