Our Filming Location

I previously did some research into locations, and took some pictures of possible locations for our filming. As it turned out, we ended up using a completely different location for our filming, which I've taken some pictures off, they can be seen below.
The post I did previously can be seen here.

In the end, we decided that this location was better as a whole for our Film Noir recreation. After discussions and previous research carried out, we knew that our location needed to follow certain conventions. After analysing the possible locations I'd looked at, and looking at the pictures taken, we came to see that it came across as being far too modern. There were a lot of houses around the area, not to mention the fact that it could get quite busy, which would have been an issue for us when it came to filming. The location we actually filmed at wasn't far from the ones I'd previously researched, but this one gave our production much more of a Film Noir feel. The long dark alley way that the third picture shows was a big factor for us when it came to matching the conventions because the lamp post allowed us to create shadows down the alley way, as well as enhancing the cigarette smoke.

Reflection:
Overall, we are very happy with the location was chose, and we all think it works very well with our production. From this, I learnt that the easy option isn't always the best one, because we could of quite easily have used some of the locations that we'd already got in mind, but we took a risk to try something new, and it worked really well. The production has been given an extreme Film Noir feel thanks to this location. It made the lighting very easy to for us to work with, and naturally enhanced the cigarette smoke for us.

Production Log

This production log covers the last week of our media work. Last Thursday was the 21st January, and me Matthew and Heather all met up to get as much filming done as we possibly could. We waited until around 7 o'clock that night so it was dark, which meant we could create shadows using lights to give our piece a film noir feel. We spent around 2 hours filming, using a street and an alley way that was fairly local to us all. After our filming process, the next day was Friday the 22nd, and we uploaded all of the footage we'd filmed the day before onto a Mac in our media classroom. Once it was all on there, we put it onto iMovie and edited the clips so they were in order. We added a black and white filter over it and added the soundtrack that Matthew had previously found. However, after putting our clips in order, we soon realised that there were scenes we were missing, and certain aspects of the film that didn't quite make sense. To fix this, we plan to meet up once more to film again to fill these gaps, and we've set a date for Wednesday 3rd February. We also saw that there was another aspect of the film we wanted to include, so we have filmed it and added it to our unfinished film on iMovie. The filming today (27th January) was done in a drama room. We pulled a thin curtain across the room and turned all of the lights out; then we used an iPhone for a torch light on one side of the curtain with me and Heather, and then a camera on the other side that was operated by Matthew. This made mine and Heather figures look like silhouettes, we we felt looked really good and added a further film noir type of convention to our production.
Overall, we felt that our filming process went fairly well, considering how low the temperature was that night. Despite the cold, Heather kept her character as the femme fatal by wearing her red dress, and I kept the character of the everyman wearing a suit. The actual filming was good, and we did a lot of takes of each scene to give us different camera angles to consider when editing. To improve our filming, we would of liked to have gotten it all completely done, because despite the fact that on the night we thought we'd done it all, when we actually went back through the clips there was stuff missing, which means we have to set a date to film again.

Research into Mise-En-Scene - Credit to Heather

Whilst I was carrying out research on location and Matthew was adapting the narrative, Heather did some research on mise-en-scene, and talked about the costume and props typical for a Film Noir. Her post can be seen in the screenshot below.

Reflection:
Splitting our group up to work on different aspects of research was very useful and proved effective for us because we were all able to come into lesson and work independently on different aspects of research. This also meant that if any of us had any free time, we knew exactly what we needed to be doing. We all learnt how much easier it is if we trust each other to do different parts of our planning and research, and how much quicker it can prove to be. To improve this post, Heather could add some links about the websites she visited, but the research she carried out is good.

Photo Shoot

With research carried out about our location, and the synopsis of our narrative having been written, be decided it was time to do a photo shoot using one of our possible locations. The post I previously did about possible locations can be accessed by clicking the link below:
Location Research
This location features in the post above, but we are unsure about wether or not this will be the final place we pick for our actual filming. The purpose of this photo shoot was just to say what scenes will go where. We haven't sorted out costumes or props yet, so we are just wearing our normal clothes for this. Also, this shoot is during the day, but we will film our actual final piece at night to create the 'Noir' effect and match another convention. Matthew took the pictures of me and Heather on his iPhone 6 using a range of camera angels. He then sent them to me via Gmail, and I put them into a power point before uploading them to slide share:

Media photoshoot from Coey1611

Reflection:
In terms of planning, this was a big step up for us and helped us move forward in the right direction. From creating this photo shoot, as a group we now have a firm understanding of what scenes will go where when it comes to filming. We also now all have a feel for the location, because we all went there together to perform this photo shoot. We will now discuss further wether or not we think that this photo shoot could work for our production. From this task, I learnt about the importance of doing a photo shoot, and experimenting with different places throughout our chosen location. We could've done this task better by doing it in the dark or in costume, however we just wanted to draft each scene briefly to give us all an idea and I think we did that very well.

Narrative Synopsis - Credit to Matthew

Whilst one of my roles was to research locations, one of Matthew's was to take all of the ideas we had discussed and put them into practise by creating a synopsis for our production. His post in relation to this is below:

Reflection:
This is an example of how dividing up the tasks was good for us because it meant that whilst I was carrying out research on possible locations, Matthew was working on our narrative which meant our planning time was moving forward quicker. Matthew did a good job here, and the synopsis he has created outlines exactly what happens in our film so that we are all aware of the plot. To improve, there could have been more detail used and perhaps a name for our character other than the 'femme fatal'. Having said this, I think that the synopsis created is very good and will help us move forward as a group and into the next stages of planning.

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.

Research of Opening Title Sequence

Now that we have looked at different variations of narrative structures as well as knowing our genre, it was time to do some research about Film Noir's. To do this, we each picked a classic Film Noir and analysed the opening title sequence, noting down the conventions. The website I used to do this, is called Art of the Title. Here, I found a large variety of different opening title sequences, and by looking up Film Noir's, I was able to find 'Fallen Angel' from 1945, which is a classic Noir.
The website to Art of the Title with the Fallen Angel opening title sequence can be accessed by clicking the link below:
Fallen Angel Opening Title Sequence

After watching the opening title sequence of the Film Noir 'Fallen Angel', there are some clear conventions that are unique to a Noir.
In terms of camera, and the way each shot is composed, its very basic. Noir's are different in the way that the opening titles last for one or two minutes, and whilst they are being shown very little is happening in and around the scene. For Fallen Angel, it follows exactly this because for the whole duration of the opening sequence the camera doesn't actually move, and instead editing is used to display each title. The camera is placed at the front of what appears to be a bus, which is travelling along a main road. The road signs that it goes past are enhanced and edited in a way that titles are visible on them. An example of this can be seen in the screenshot below:
As you can see here, the shot is composed very simply because the camera doesn't move. The titles are edited onto the road signs, and made easy to read for an audience. This carries out throughout the whole opening title sequence, so in terms of camera, the shot used is very simple, and the editing around it allows us to read the titles on the upcoming road signs.


The sound used throughout the titles of Fallen Angel is very typical Noir style. Just by listening to the soundtrack, it gives us an old classic feel, which we will have to try and recreate to match the soundtrack convention for our production. The music in Noir's is generally composed using saxophones, pianos, and trumpets. This soundtrack is played throughout all of the opening title sequence, and fits well with the titles. The soundtrack also helps to create an atmosphere so early in the film.
Very little can be analysed in terms of mise-en-scene, because there is so little happening in the titles. As mentioned before, the camera is placed still at the front of a bus, so all we can see is the road in front. The whole clip and film is in black and white, which is obviously edited in. Film Noir's are always traditionally in black and white, so we will ensure that our production follows this convention.

Reflection:
We each analysed an opening title sequence of a Film Noir, and all did a blog post on it. This was a big step for us in terms of our research, because we were able to analyse each others posts and talk as a group about the conventions we found, and how we plan to match them. The conventions that I've talked about above, were similar to what Matthew and Heather found. This was good because it showed that we all had a good understanding on how identify the conventions of a Film Noir, as well as knowing exactly what they are. We all learnt from this that splitting the tasks between us is good and can be very useful in terms of research, especially in this case because we got triple the amount of research and three different classic Film Noir's analysed. Our next steps are to look out the ways to recreate sounds, and possibly start further planning with out production and look at locations we could possibly film at.

Narrative Starting Ideas

Our task for Media is to recreate an opening title sequence of a particular chosen genre. For my final piece, I am working with Matthew and Heather, and we have started to plan a narrative for our production and discussed different ideas for a story. We started by talking about a genre, and landed on the idea of recreating a Film Noir as much as we can. To do this, we will need to have a full understanding of the conventions that a Film Noir has, and attempt to recreate these into our production. Soon, we will allocate roles to each of us to ensure that we have that full understanding of this particular genre of film. Research will have to be done on things such as sound, so that we know what the soundtracks generally are, not to mention the way the dialogue is embedded. We will also need to research typical camera angles used, and the way that these films were edited, and how, not to mention the mise-en-scene, such as costumes and location. Another aspect of research will be the audience of a Film Noir; with an understanding of who these films were generally aimed at, we will have a good idea on the way we need to adapt our production to suit this particular type of audience. As a starting point, we talked as a group about possible ideas for our film and also about how many characters we would plan to have and what the general idea would be. From this, we were then able to write out a general synopsis of the narrative that we want our story to follow. Obviously this is just a starting idea so we will undoubtedly build on this idea and develop it in different ways.

'Micky is staring in the mirror with a gun... Flashback:

He was a successful person, but he had a big secret.

He employs an assistant (femme-fatal) who finds out his secret but agrees to keep quiet by blackmailing Micky.

Leaves him broke.

In his anger he kills her.'

Reflection:

In terms of planning, this was a good starting point for us. We were able to pitch all of our possible ideas across to each other, and adapt each one as a group. This was also good because now that we have picked our genre (Film Noir), and created a general synopsis, we can move on to research and future planning for filming our production.

This task also had some negative aspects, which allowed each of us to learn what we need to do to improve as a group. The discussion we had about out genre and narrative took a long time, and we were quite indecisive at times about deciding exactly what direction we wanted our production to go in. With future discussions, we plan to try and be more decisive about the decisions we make, which will allow us to work faster and develop ideas quicker. If we had landed on a genre and narrative quicker, we could have adapted our piece further and perhaps starting thinking about other things such as a location for our filming, or what equipment we would use. Having said this, the synopsis above is a good starting point, and we are all happy with the ideas we have.