The opening of 'Essex Boys'

116459433 Opening of Essex Boys

Treatment

Blackout. As a jewellery box’s tune begins, the shot of her blood red lipstick fades in as her hand

reaches over and gracefully picks it up. The corner of her lips, with her glamorous hair comes intoshot, she’s applying the lipstick slowly. This is followed by a behind shot of her, placing her lipstick onthe counter and in turn collecting some diamanté earrings from her jewellery box. The shot lingerson the photograph of a happy couple before returning to a side close up of her ear and cheek, as sheplaces her earring in her ear. Her wedding ring is removed and placed under a necklace in her jewellery box,her fingertip lingers across the man in the photo’s face, hesitation…the jewellery boxis slammed shut, and the music abruptly stops. She leaves in silence. Next is a shot of the femme fatale swiftly leading the building, rushing down the steps. She walksinto a darkly lit, enigmatic alleyway. As she glances over her shoulder, her face is largely covered by her stylistic hat’s netting. Yet her eyes glancing behind her, whilst swiftly walking, is clear. Due to a long shot of this character rushing, a second character is revealed by their dark mysterious shoulder and neck wandering into the frame. A man, and he’s watching her.
The sub-genre of thriller that we have decided upon is Film Noir, due to the especially creative aspects of filming, editing and music. The Film Noir's theatricality and glamour would make an exciting opening to create, we expect. Inspiration taken from many classic Film Noir's such as the dark mysterious alleyways used in The Third Man, though not a Film Noir the stylistic opening of Casino Royal, we aim to use similar unique camera angles and shots to create an on-edge impression. Our Femme Fatale has many qualities similar to Phyllis from Double Indemnity, the confidence, glamour, and seductiveness are traits that we inivsion being in the character of Scarlett. Not only this, the plot took some inspiration from the theme of adultery that runs through Double Indemnity since it brings such a motive for violence and passion. Also Chinatown's J.J. "Jake" Gittes (the male protgragonist) loosely inspired our protragonist, mainly his flair of character and love of money.

What do directors seek to establish in the openings of thrillers?

The opening of a thriller is undeniably the most important few minutes of footage throughout the entire film. This is because the beginning of the film has to carefully set up and establish characters, plot, genre, location and mood of the film to the audience and summarise the feel of the rest of the film as well as hold their attention and interest so that they feel the desire to pursue it.

Individual directors have personal priorities as to which of these aspects they believe are the most important when establishing the opening of a particular thriller. For example, David Fincher, the director of Fight Club, Panic Room, and Se7en chooses to switch the priority depending on the kind of film he is aiming to make. This just highlights the relevance and importance that each of these key aspects contribute to the opening of a thriller, and that no specific element is deemed always the most important.

In Se7en, Fincher focus's on establishing the main character in the opening of this thriller, so that the audience feel connected and begin to understand the character, meaning that they can later feel a deeper sense of empathy towards him and therefore feel more strongly about what happens to him and the story line itself.

He achieves this by carefully structuring the first few shots that we see of the protagonist, to connote a sense of independence, experience, and order within himself and his life.

For example, the first shot we see of Detective Sommerset is a shot from behind in his perfectly ordered minimalist kitchen where he is wearing a white shirt and are unable to see his facial expression. This first establishing shot says a lot about the character already such as it appears to be early morning as it is still slightly dark, and he is already up, begun to have gotten ready, as well as washing his dish up from breakfast. This gives the audience the idea that the character likes to keep on top of things, remain in control, and likes to get things done. The white shirt also indicates his profession as something of importance, but it is not yet clear to the audience as to what that is. His impeccable white shirt also connotes the impression that he is a good character, who is innocent, and essentially has a 'clean' conscious due to the pure whiteness of his shirt. 

The idea that he is washing up in his clean white shirt also says a lot about the character as he does not appear to have any concerns over ruining the shirt, as he as a certain self belief that he does not need to worry as he will not spill things down his shirt, showing his confidence in himself, as well as his level of control over situations.

 As it is an obscured shot, it also makes the audience feel as if they are prying into this mans life, as it appears that he is unaware of anyone watching him and does not expect to have onlookers as he goes about his business, but it also makes the audience feel as if they are seeing the 'true' character as he is when he is by himself. The audience establish that he is a seemingly quiet and preserved man, who goes about his life without any apparent help or assistance from others and does not expect it, highlighting again his level of independence.

This idea of order from the character of Detective Sommerset is portrayed in this screen shot of a birds eye view shot of his hallway table. We can see that he has ordered the items he needs to collect depending on his need for them, and has laid them all out perfectly in a line. This is an immediate indication of just how structured his life is, but it also makes the audience feel as if he is trying his best to take care of himself, again showing his level of independence, but also that he has far too much time on his hands, possibly indicating that he is lonely, creating a sense of sympathy towards this character which again strengthens and establishes a relationship between the audience and the main character. This shot also is a way in which we understand more about the character through the actual objects that we see that are being used to represent him. We see his detective badge and it immediately becomes clear to the audience of his profession, and his sense of order and careful deliberation over every thought process is because of this profession as well as also giving the audience an idea as to what the story line is going to be based on.

This shot is an example of how the main character thinks and differs from others. For example, the other background characters are blurred and slightly disorientating for the audience to view whilst the main character is largely in focus in the foreground. This literal focus of the protagonist shows how he appears to be the only one who is dedicated and resolute when it comes to his job, and the only one with apparently any sense who is genuinely engaged in the case and it's cause rather than looking for the obvious easy clear cut case the other detectives wish to seek. This shows how he again does not need to rely on others, nor become deterred by what they say as he relies on himself and his own instincts more than he does other people which again shows his own self belief and levels of experience when it comes to certain situations.

Establishing characters in thrillers is mainly crucial in leaving the audience in a state of confusion and questioning their own beliefs, as the beginning of a thriller often tries to make an audience emotionally connect to a character, before their role type is clear, and then show them perhaps performing immoral deeds which makes them appear morally ambiguous which is an important factor in creating a thriller and leaves the audience in a state of confusion of what to make of each character.

Establishing character is hugely important in the opening of a thriller, not only for the emotional connection between the audience and the character, but also so the audience begin to understand the reaction from characters which they may not have previously understood due to the complex and questioning characters typically involved in thriller films, and consequently begin to theorise the possible plot from these reactions, which as we know from thrillers, usually shocks and surprises the audience. 

  

However, Fincher choses to focus on establishing the location in another successful thriller which he directed named 'Panic Room.' Here he decided that location was the most important factor to focus on, and so uses the title opening sequence, like so many other directors, as an opportunity to show various well known landmarks that immediately set the scene for the rest of the film so that the audience are aware where the story is taking place.

Here, he uses a series of aeroplane sky shots of various sky scraper buildings which are famous landmarks that have come to represent New York and America, and therefore immediately sells itself to the audience as this iconic landscape.

Establishing the landscape is also the easiest way to show the time period in which the film is set, which is crucial so that the audience can gain an understanding of what other events were occurring at this time which could be vital to the story line. Here by including real props such as billboards in the shot of well known shops that the audience are very likely to have heard of, it immediately informs the audience that the film is set in modern day New York, and can therefore personally identify and familiarise themselves with the setting. By having an easy identifiable setting, it also means that the audience are going to be able to relate easier to the characters as they make associations between their own experience in that setting, or one similar, and the experience of the characters in that particular setting. It also adds a sense of realism to the story which is important here as the story wants the audience to be able to relate and feel more concerned and vulnerable because of the events.

By establishing the setting in a well known place, it is also going to have associated connotations of the place itself which again could be important to the story line. For example, again here, a shot of New York is used in the opening sequence, and in this more intimate shot of a slightly more grounded shot, the audience can see the traffic and general 'hustle and bustle' of New York. It creates the feeling of busyness as well as a sense of claustrophobia as there seems like there is no escape from the crowd in this manic city, surrounded by the skyscrapers we were just introduced to which already makes the audience feel trapped and secluded like the characters will be later in the story.

Fight Club is another excellent thriller that Fincher has directed, but he has again chosen to establish a different essential aspect that he thought was most important to the set up of the story.

In 'Fight Club' the main aspect that is established in the opening sequence is the plot, the audience are suddenly thrown into a whirl wind of panic and action, immediately gripping the audiences attention with this opening shot of a man clearly in some kind of distress, shown by the sweat presumably built from panic and  the intimacy of the camera to the man, in which he makes urgent direct eye contact with the audience as if a plea for help by his wide and shining eyes which makes the audience feel immediately as if this man is fearful and therefore innocent making us already sympathise with a character.

 A mid shot is then used which shows the apparent villain who is keeping the seeming protagonist hostage in the typical night time setting which we expect to see which immediately sets the scene for the audience of the general set up of the plot.

In the beginning of 'Fight Club' the first few sequences of shots contain a man in distressed being held hostage with a gun, and a bomb. By including these important shots in the opening sequence, it immediately makes the audience gather from the genre that it is going to be a suspense filled action thriller.
 By establishing the genre it uses the audiences familiarity to create an expectation for the rest of the film. Film directors then take advantage of the audiences expectations  and subvert or twist from the expected norm of the genre to add a sense of originality which throws the audience off to creates a sense of awe by the film.

Directors usually establish plot because it is a good way to grip the audiences attention by introducing them to a fast paced plot and immediately involving them in the story. However a certain sense of enigma is also usually created so the audience still feel the need to watch the film. In the opening sequence in 'Fight Club' aspects such as lighting is limited and restricts what the audience can gather from the setting and therefore does not expose too much other than a sense of what the general plot is about. 
It is also important to remember to not reveal why the events set up in the opening sequence occurred. If the plot is established, usually the main enigma used is why, and the rest of the film shows what events built up and created the opening sequence which usually isn't as straight forward as the audience initially thought. The use of this initial 'present shot' as the opening sequence and flashbacks of past events are commonly used in thriller films to contrast the characters situation before, and during or after the events. 

Another thriller which adopts this use of hurling the audience into a thick set plot is 'Sin City' directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tatantino which shows a seemingly slow paced romance story, and it is suddenly revealed that the male character has in fact seduced and assassinated the woman who we just staked his love for, performing the task well of engaging the audience for the rest of the film. 
This opening sequence also establishes the themes of the entirety of the film such as betrayal, violence, corruption and deceit, all of which can be extracted from the opening two minute clip.

Themes are often established in thrillers because they are key aspects that are often crucial to the plot and are a highly important elements within a film. By establishing themes, it means the audience gain a certain expectation again from what to expect from the film and a general overview of what the film will be about.

Some directors believe that establishing the tone and mood of the film is essential when opening a thriller as it immediately introduces the audience into the current atmosphere that the characters may be involved in and ergo the current mood states of characters as well as an overall impression of what has occurred  or what is going to happen. For an example, in 'Essex Boys' the introduction is immediately solemn with pathetic fallacy references which implies that the character is not optimistic but is already sensing the doom that lays ahead of him.

In this screen shot taken from the opening scene of 'Essex Boys' it immediately grounds the audience to the tone of the film. This is done by simply showing a facial expression of a key character, which exposes a serious and meaningful look to the  protagonist, which instantaneously informs the audience of the severity of the situation as well as tension between characters and generally the overall ambience of the film. The low mildly chiaroscuro lighting also reflects the dark and bleak tones of the film, which is again reflected in the setting of an old cobwebbed filled garage, which can be interpreted as a metaphor to mean unfinished business, which is going to be brought to the surface with the help of Billy.

However, if a character appeared cheerfully optimistic usually the director will include subtle signifiers such as bleak weather, limited lighting, or even obscured camera shots that imply to the audience that their glee will abruptly fade and something darker will unveil.

Below is a diagram showing a list of thriller films, and the extent to which each film prioritises and includes genre, character, themes, plot, location, and mood.

 The diagram demonstrates how although not one alone aspect seems key when establishing the opening of a thriller, but that Character, themes, and genre seem to be something which many directors choose to focus on establishing in the opening of a thriller.
 From looking at what a range of thrillers focus on in the opening sequence, it seems clear that plot is the least common focal point, because I presume often the first few minutes is not enough to establish a complex and versatile plot that so many thrillers contain, or simply that few thrillers themselves rely on the on edge plot to entice the audience in the opening sequence, often opting to rely on the relationship between the characters and the audience and suspense building in the initial sequence. 
Although I could rebel and suggest that would be a valid and good reason to deliberately choose to focus on plot because it is deemed least common to establish a plot first, I think that it would make my thriller much too crowded, complex and complicated, possibly meaning that the audience may not understand it, or do not have time to additionally build a relationships with the characters which I think is the key element in an opening of a thriller. In addition, I think that thrillers have a higher impact on the audience when they slowly introduce the characters to the audience and build up tension to unravel the complex or bleak plot. For this reason, I think that for my thriller I will choose to establish the character first as the character is the focus point of our thriller and it is important to put across this to the audience immediately and think it could be composed in a creative enigmatic way to also engage the audience as well as establishing the plot first.

Mood board for thriller on Prezi

Submarine Trailer

Submarine is an independent film directed by Richard Ayoade based on the story of a young 15 year old boy Oliver Tate who is struggling to fit in with his unusual outlook on life. The story is essentially a coming of age romance and comedy aimed at older teens and possibly adults through the comedy value of what it is to be a confused teenager who attempts to handle situations in an adult fashion.

A key theme to this story is love, in this case, the romance between a young and innocent 15 year old boy and a slightly more deviant and forward 15 year old girl. This screen shot taken from the trailer captures the idea of a first kiss and first love which is an endearing and light hearted topic which will make older members of the audience reminisce over, and younger audience relate to, and therefore suggests that the film will be based around Olivers version of his first love. The shot perfectly captures the genuine feel of a first love and therefore has an uplifting feel good vibe which it is trying to sell to its audience.

Comedy is another key part that is sold to the audience through the use of the two very bold and unique characters who seem to have juxtaposed views on life. For example, in the trailer, the voice over of the character Oliver says "I asked her if she was my girlfriend now, she replied 'I'll think about it' but what she meant was 'Yes, we are now as one' has a comical view as the audience can clearly de fragment her words into a totally different meaning than Olivers, who has a different, dramatic, and naive outlook on the situation, highlighting his youth and vulnerability creating an emotional attachment from the audience to the central protagonist.
This screen shot is also an example of the obvious humour which is sold to the audience, by Olivers failed attempt at an 'adult way' of spending the evening with his girlfriend, which he has taken over board and created an extremely cheesy and awkward situation for the audience to observe and extract humour from.
                                                                       

Realism and past times are brought in to the film through the use of the characters chatty informal dialogue voice over which is used along with the use of a type writer to make it seem as if he is writing a story or a diary post, but at the same time divulging the information to the audience which makes it seem as if the audience are almost inside Olivers head whilst he thinks of what to write, or alternatively just hearing this personal information first hand which makes the film seem more realistic, personal and honest, all of which are common factors of independent films.
The fact that he is a 15 year old boy and using a type writer also puts his characters personality forward to suggest that he likes to be creative to dramatise a situation, implying that the film is going to be creative, unique and dramatic.
A sense of history and past is also brought into the equation through the use of old fashioned props (e.g the typewriter) to suggest that the film is based on a traditional story or ideas which will again appeal to its older adult audience.

If thrillers were a tube map

This is an image of a number of Thriller films linked by their similar qualities in the style of a London tube map. The linking themes include moral ambiguity, Deceit, Venetian blinds, Violence, The use of Voice Overs, undesirable locations, and the Femme Fatale character.

Females within Film Noir

The women in film Noir movies are very different to the roles women usually play in films, especially before the 1940's before Noir films became popular, where they were usually portrayed as the damsel in distress.  In Noir films, they rebel and subvert from these stereotypical roles and introduce the Femme-Fatale character. 
The term Femme-Fatale is a French term meaning simply 'fatal woman' who often has a great seductive charm and lures men into dangerous or compromising situations.
The Femme Fatal was a significant change in the portrayal of women in Films as it was the first example of the film industry portraying strong female characters, although it was not necessarily originally a positive representation of women, it was the first to show them as independent thinkers rather than merely passive wives of men as so commonly shown before. 
Below is a trailer for the film 'Double Indemnity' which shows the typical Femme Fatale in early Noir films, who are represented as beautiful, alluring, and troublesome who leads the male character into a state of misery and despair.
Despite the more dominating female role, the femme-fatale often meets a dramatic end, usually death, to punish them for their deviant and troublesome interference. The Femme-Fatale could therefore be viewed as a misogynistic interpretation of women as (certainly during the early introduction of this new character role) exercises the view that women who attempt to take a dominating stance in society will in fact meet a fatal end.

Example of traditional female roles in 'China Town.'

However, having said that, female characters besides the lead Femme-fatal are also very often in Noir films given stereo-typical roles such as receptionists, waitresses, or housewives, because this was the reality of the limited serving role the female had in the 1940's and 50's. An example of this is from the Noir Film 'China town' which as we can see presents women to appear very feminine looking and subservient, merely performing basic tasks and taking a role in the background working for the male lead in the film.

Many of the roles that women were given to play in Noir films were very demeaning, such as the female given role of prostitutes in these dark and bleak style films. An example of this is from the Film 'LA Confidential' where women are seen as beautiful promiscuous and essentially a sexual object for the viewing pleasure of men.

Having said that, the role of the femme fatal has developed throughout time and many contemporary representations have come from it. The more modern view focusing on the strong and independent woman rather than the deviant women subdued by marriage. An example of this is the character Lisbeth Salander who performs the lead female role in 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' who is a strong female character and rebels against the iconic stereo-typical beautiful that we envisage with lead female characters in  films.

How does LA Noire use features from film Noir?

LA Noire is a video game published by RockStar games and is set in Los Angeles in 1947 where a series of crime cases require the player to attempt to solve them. It is heavily based on the genre Noir, the first obvious indication being the title of the Video game itself 'Noire' but it also draws upon the other more subtle aspects of the genre to create a noire feel.

 

 The opening titles from the game are very Noir as they use a simple use of two colours, like  the use of two colours of black and white in early Noir Films.The black here has obvious connotations such as death, the unknown, mystery, and misery, which are key Noir themes, whilst the titles are in a bright and contrastingly 'happy' colour yellow, which connotes ideas such as joy, hope and happiness.. This juxtaposed impression is a feature used in other Noirs, such as in The Third Man where the upbeat optimistic music contrasts the misery and panic within the scene, leaving the audience with a sense of confusion and apprehensiveness.However, because of the fact the titles flicker at the beginning  it leaves the audience with the impression that their is little hope left, which creates the solemn and bleak atmospheric mood of the game as used in Noir films. 

The titles also reflect the late 1940's early 50's Hollywood broken glamour that was around at the time of the Noir genre by using strobe lit letters that were often used in glamorous circumstances such as Broadway shows and movie premiers, fitting in with the time period of Noir.

L.A Noire also uses typical characters expected of the Noir genre, such as the detective character, as well as the powerful American gangsters and victims of crime. 
The investigators or detectives are also smartly dressed in black suits and hats, to show their wealth, status, and consequently power within society, making them appear more potentially dangerous to the player. The clothing however could also represent the moral ambiguity of the seemingly 'good' character within the game, which is supported by the mildly chiaroscuro lighting, as he is dressed in black which connotes a dark side of the character, as well as ideas such as death and mourning, with the traces of white representing his innocence and goodness, with a red tie which could signify blood and violence which the character may be potentially be responsible for.
 This moral ambiguity and unclear character roles are a common feature of the Noir genre, and is introduced into the game at the very beginning, using lines such as "Who do you trust?" to keep the players speculating about the intentions of the seemingly good or bad characters and to keep the player on edge. By doing this it also makes the player feel isolated as they do not know that they can rely on or trust anybody else within the game, and as the player is controlling the characters, it makes them feel first hand the isolation and desperation that they feel, which is how many of the lead roles in Noir films generally feel.
The use of lighting is also important in this screen shot, as extremely artificial lighting is used to create strong shadows in the background behind the man, something which is very common in Noir films, and is a technique used in films such as Double Indemnity where the shadow of the man himself is lurking behind the character. This could be interpreted as a meaning for how the characters darker and more unpredictable dangerous side is lurking not far behind and will soon be exposed to the player. It also puts the player on edge as they do not know for certain that it is in fact that characters shadow, although it appears so, and therefore makes the player feel as if they are being watched.

L.A Noire also uses the common Urban setting of the busy and thriving American city of Los Angeles which creates the sense of excitement and drama as well as an interesting exploration of what is hiding underneath this surface of excitement. By using an urban well known setting it makes the scene feel more realistic and therefore allows the players to emotionally involve themselves in the game and become lost in the video game world of despair and chaos. By using a busy urban setting, it also makes the scene more eerie and atmospheric when there appears to be no one else around to witness the horrors taking place. This is another technique which it has borrowed from the Noir style for the same effects.
Much of the game play also takes place during night time, as shown by the example, which is again typical of the Noir genre, as it is usually much more typical to expect a crime during the darkness than in the daylight bringing a sense of realism to the game. It also then allows the user to see the literal 'dark side' to the city, bringing symbolism into it and with it, its bleak connotations of the dark, creating a sense of foreboding misery, a key Noir theme, for the player.
The use of rain is also used to create a sense of misery in this shot, as we associate rain with feelings such as sadness, coldness, and loneliness and is usually used in films to represent and reflect a characters mood and by doing so, it projects this feeling onto the player.

The way in which LA Noire is created is done in a way that allows the audience to view certain clips and footage of scenes to enhance the game play. These clips are also shot in a Noir like way, as shown by this example, where it uses an extreme long tilt shot which creates the feeling of disorientation and distance between the players perspective and the character. By using a tilt shot it makes the characters walking appear unsteady and it throws off the balance of the audience creating the feeling of confusion, which when used in tense clips, dramatically builds suspense as it makes the audience feel more vulnerable and therefore expects the game to take advantage of this. By using an extreme long shot, it establishes the grimy and deserted setting, and by distancing the character away from the audience makes the audience feel more intense as they aren't fully involved, but are concerned for the character they have previously been playing and therefore want to know what is happening, putting the player in a position of powerlessness. All of these techniques and camera angles used are typical Noir features to manipulate the audiences emotions to create a further dramatic effect.

This clip taken from the game, at 06:20 makes an intertextual reference to The Third Man Sewer chase scene, where by one man is being hunted by a group of authoritative figures , in the dark and dingy location of a city sewer. The lighting is limited, such as in The Third Man  along with the narrow locations, and seemingly endless tunnels, which build the sense of claustrophobia and cold eeriness, again all conforming to the Noir convention.

How is the feeling of Claustrophobia and disorientation created in 'The Third Man'?

The third man is a British Noir Film, created and released in the late 1940's and is set in a post war Vienna, which supports the bleak and dampened tone and mood of Noir films. The chase scene within The Third man manipulates and uses many specific techniques such as the camera angle, use of lighting, setting, sound and composition to create the feeling of disorientation and confusion as well as claustrophobia to the audience. 

The use of lighting was majorly important in the composing of the feeling of claustrophobia and disorientation. Like in nearly all Noir films, the lighting used is artificial and of high intensity to create the chiaroscuro feel that all Noir films contain. Here is an example of the extreme lighting in the chase scene.

The light source here is a harsh, high intensity back light which illuminates the figures in the distance from behind. This light is also the only light within the shot, and comes from a seeming vanishing point, which draws the audiences attention towards the end of the tunnel to the figures of the people. It is clever in its technique that a small proportion of the lighting reflects off the figures to bounce onto the walls so the audience can establish the setting, so the audience are aware of the  restricted space that the scene is taking place in, helping to build the sense of claustrophobia. The use of limited lighting in the small proportionally lit area compared to the rather large shot makes the audience feel furthermore confined as the lighting is controlling what the audience are exposed to, making them feel powerless and imprisoned.
It also makes the audience feel confused as the light at the end of the tunnel is ironically one which exposes the danger for Harry Limes safety, and therefore rebels against the lights usual connotations of safety and security.

The composition of the shots also is used to create the feeling of claustrophobia, as they use tight shots and pack out the frame with the characters taking up the entirety or almost the entirety of the shot. This is an example of a tight and constricted shot within the Third man chase scene where the camera is placed almost touching the characters, and as the camera is still, it makes the audience feel uncomfortably close to the characters, and makes the audience feel as if they are squeezing past, adding to the sense of claustrophobia they may be feeling.

The characters body language and facial expression can also put across to the audience the feeling of discomfort and feeling of entrapment which is created by the use of a close up, as it makes the audience connect with the character and empathise with their emotions and can understand what they are feeling and feel them too.
 The characters rigid and tense body language implies to the audience that he is scared and desperate, whilst his facial expression (what we can see from the 
chiaroscuro lighting) appears as if he is already admitting defeat, and through the open mouth that we can assume is him panting through lack of breath from running, the audience begin to feel that the chase is almost over. This creates the impression that he does not want to be in this situation, but he himself is trapped, and the audience then begin to sympathise with this morally ambiguous character and feel restricted as they have to watch him slowly admit defeat to himself and the audience feel once again powerless and unable to help as well as feeling confused as to why the director has chosen to attempt to make the audience feel empathy for a seemingly bad character.


The setting in which this scene is taking place in also helps create the feeling of claustrophobia by using confined spaces such as spiral stair cases,and tunnels, some of which are partially submerged in water.
 The actual setting is underground in a sewage works in Vienna, which in itself is rather unnerving to the audience and already makes them feel uneasy about the setting, which added to the mass of staircases and low ceiling tunnels creates a deep rooted sense of claustrophobia. The way in which Harry Lime is constantly running through passages and along staircases gives the impression that it is never ending, and that their is no escape or way out, building the sense of panic and restriction that the audience are feeling.
 With the setting being underground, and the fact that their is a large quantity of water underground with limited exits, makes the audience grow concerned, incase the tunnels become submerged, resulting in the character becoming trapped. Because they are following Harry on his journey to escape, it makes the audience feel more emotionally trapped and fearful for his life.

 The camera angles used play a significant part in the building up and creating of these effects.
 Obscured shots are commonly used in this sequence to make the audience feel further restricted and limited in what they are able to see, and as they cannot control what they themselves have in view, it creates a sense of panic, as well as the idea of repression as they are being held back by an object that is limiting their ability to escape.
Point of view shots are also used (as shown in this example) so that the audience witness things from Harry's eyes, making the scene become more realistic, and so that they are put in the characters position and therefore makes the situation more dramatic and terrifying for the audience to experience. The audience then begin to feel the urgency building up, with the characters desire to escape, and so at each attempt when he believes to be close to escaping, and we are then shown that the exits are infact blocked and more people are closing in on him (or with a point of view shot being used, us) it creates the feeling of imprisonment and claustrophobia.

As well as point of view shots, tilt shots are also used but to mainly disorientate the viewer as it drastically changes the view of everything within the shot, which especially when changed from a jump cut, confuse and disorientate the viewer. By using tilt shots, it also means that part of the frame is cut off, which as it is used when the character is running crouched through narrow spaces, further creates the sense of a lack of space and claustrophobia.

Sound in the chace sequence from The Third Man is hugely significant when considering how the sense of Claustrophobia and disorientation was created. During this scene, there is a large amount of diagetic sound within a short space of time, which along with not knowing the source of the sound, or from where it is coming from, it makes the audience feel confused and disorientated. 
The constant noise of soldiers footsteps running also makes sure that the audience cannot forget that Harry is running from people, and the evidently increasingly loud footsteps creates the feeling of the character, and through the character also the audience, becoming cornered.
Echoing is also used extremely effectively to create a sense of disorientation. In the chase scene, as shown in the picture, the character comes to an opening, surrounded by tunnels, which are his only means of escape, and echoing shouts are heard from the tunnel entrances.
The audience do not see the source of the noise, but already know that the noise is coming from the soldiers who are hunting him down, and because of the echoing shouts being reflected off the walls in the tunnels, it is unclear where they are coming from, and resulting in Harry having no true idea of which way is clear or safe and the audience feeling disorientated at the numerous faceless echos being called.
As well as the echos themselves being disorientating, the echos being called change between English and another language, which adds to the confusion of the audience as they are able to understand some of what is being said, but not all, making the audience feel confused and questioning what else they are not able to understand.

How does Casino Royale use conventions of Film Noir?

Casino Royale, although classified as an action movie rather than a Film Noir, uses distinct conventions of the genre Noir in it's opening title sequence, as Noir is well renounced for it's dramatic, eventful and on edge openings, and therefore was used as a basis style for the opening of this film.

Below are some example screen shots of the James Bond Film Casino Royale.
                                                             Here is one of the first shots from the opening scene, and it is clear immediately that it has a film Noir genre feel to it. This idea is portrayed not only through the monochromatic colour , which because of the large number of  releases of black and white Noir films, has become associated with the genre, but it immediately feels like a noir film simply because of the deserted night time urban location which adds to the eerie and tense atmosphere created within the shot. The urban setting is used as it is a modern contemporary setting, and therefore makes the scene feel more realistic, and is the basis for the setting in many Noir Films such as 'The Third Man' and 'Double Indemnity.'
 The one alone standing street light and car are used here to create a sense of enigma, as we are unaware of who is alone at night, what they may be doing, or indeed why. Although floodlighting is used to light the scene from below, a street lamp is placed by the building so that the audience can clearly gather enough about the setting and the surroundings to know that it is in a modern deserted location. The use of lighting on the ground and darkness around the edge of the frame, as well as towards the top of the building subtly implies to the audience that whoever has left the car, has left the safety of the light which connotes safety, and goodness, and has unknowingly ascended to his own doom in the darkness, which could represent the fear of the unknown, and the danger the character has putting himself in.

The portrayal of characters in Noir are often misleading and leave the audience speculating about the role of the character within the film. This is shown here by the facial expression of a character in  the opening sequence, where the male appears to have a calm and collective facial expression, which because of the deviant situation he is in, makes the audience feel as if he has grown used to, and is untroubled by the prospect of being in an building alone where he appears he shouldn't be, at night by himself. This feeling of power is also enhanced by the other symbolic codes within the shot such as what the character is wearing. The character is dressed and presented in a smart suit which would imply the character is wealthy and has a high status in society, making him again seem more powerful. 
However, the director has chosen to make the audience question his power, as they have used a high angle shot which makes him appear weak and superior to the audience, along with his eyes which are looking up above him, which could have an interpreted meaning that he subconsciously is looking for guidance and advice, consequently meaning that he is not as in control of the situation as we first assume.

It is a frequent Film Noir feature to use obscured shots to make the audience feel more involved and to feel the moods and tones of the genre, such as the mystery, spying, deceit, lying, and betrayal that are so commonly the key themes in Film Noir films. This Film Noir quality is borrowed and used here, with the obscured shot with the chair placed in the foreground of the camera lens to make the audience feel as if their vision is partially blocked, and the fact that they cannot change the position they view the scene from along with the partially blocked view, makes the audience feel vulnerable, and therefore builds suspense as they are not fully aware of what is going on. This also as previously mentioned, makes the audience feel more involved as it makes them feel as if they are spying on the character. 
Low key lighting is also used here to add to the suspense that the audience may be feeling, as not much is made visible, and so the audience are effectively thrown into a dark room with seemingly ambiguous characters, adding to the terror the audience may already be feeling.
                                                                 

 Composition within Film Noir is usually very carefully selected to show a vibe or feeling to the audience, as well as from characters. This shot has used the rule of thirds to make the effect more dramatic upon the audience, by drawing their attention to the two characters at seemingly opposite ends of the frame. The audiences eyes are then drawn to the centre of the frame where they realise the vastness of the space that is between them, which highlights the level of distrust and suspicion that both characters have towards each other. Also, because of the way this shot is composed, the audience are unable to read the characters facial expressions, and are therefore unaware as to how they are reacting to one another, but have to use the composition of the shot to assess the situation and speculate about how they are feeling towards each other. This is again very Film Noir as the audience are left in the unknown about actions and feelings of the characters, and therefore are put on edge waiting for their response.


This shot is an example of how Casino Royale uses extreme lighting within it's shots to create an atmospheric Film Noir feel. The chiaroscuro lighting is used here to reflect the characters moral ambiguity, with half of his face exposed to the light, and the other half cast in extreme shadows. The side cast in shadows is left hidden and kept away from the audience to suggest that he has a dark, evil and corrupt side to him that he doesn't want to display to the audience, giving them the impression  that he is dangerous and potentially lethal as we do not know what he is hiding.
However, the side exposed to the lighting leaves the audience able to clearly see one half of him which is lit by strong artificial lighting, connoting that he has a good side to him, and that he is genuine and pure and has good intentions. The fact that he has more light than dark exposed on him would suggest that he is more good than he is bad, but it still reflects that he is not entirely innocent and pure and therefore is a morally ambiguous hero in this film. This is again supported by his hand, which is exposed by the light, and therefore supposedly his good side, holding a gun, which is not something we would think of as being morally right, but this could be interpreted that he has to use necessary evil to aid the good, and that is why he has his 'dark side.'


Guns are a common important prop used in Noir Films, and is one that is again used in the James Bond film- Casino Royale. The gun is used as an important symbol of power, and as we can not see as to whom the gun belongs to, the audience are not sure of who has the power within the scene, and therefore this shot is quite enigmatic as it keeps the audience guessing. This enigma is further carried on by the use of shot, as it is a close up so even if somebody were to take the gun, the audience would be left unaware of who it belonged to. Also, the way that it is positioned in the drawer suggests that no great care is taken with it as it is just left amongst other items, which means that the owner of the gun itself is used to using the gun and does not see it as a potential danger to themselves, which implies that they feel more powerful than the gun, which heightens the power that this unknown character has.
The use of the office draw in which the gun is placed in could also represent the double life that many of the characters in Casino Royale and Noir Films lead, as they all seem to have a dark side, which appears seemingly innocent (i.e the desk draw) but the other characters are unaware of what is lurking beneath their act.

How has working title adapted to changes in the film industry?

Working title began as an independent British film Production Company, founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983. During the time of their independence, working title produced two films; these were ‘My beautiful Laundrette’ which was a romance which made a small gross profit of £2,451,545, and ‘Barton Fink’ which was a mystery thriller which made a profit in the USA of $6,153,939.

However, in 1992, Working Title were bought by the Dutch firm PolyGram and since produced the hugely successful Romantic Comedy Four Weddings And A Funeral in 1994 which achieved the highest grossing British film in cinema history for its time with worldwide box office profits of an estimated $245.7 million. Given the huge success of this film, Universal purchased Polygram and therefore Working Title in 1999 as they wanted Working Title to continue to produce small budget British films which would appeal to both the British and American market.

Working Title during when they were first taken over by universal were focused on producing fairly low budget block buster British films that would appeal to American and British cinema audiences. To do this they focused on popular genres such as Romantic comedies, family films and comedies, selling the traditional British culture abroad to aim it to a multi cultural audience. Notting Hill was another hugely successful Working Title film $363,889,678 which used traditionally British representative actor Hugh Grant, as well as the well known American Actor Julia Roberts to star as the lead roles in a romantic trans Atlantic entanglement which again appealed to it’s key demographic of American and British audiences.

Another enormously successful film was the feel good romantic comedy ‘Love Actually’ which was packaged again to appeal to the American and British market by using Iconic British locations and using Well known British actors such as Collin Firth, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson, and Keira knightly as well as again including trans Atlantic American romance to target it towards an American audience. Its genre and easy viewing nature as well as wide range of A list actors meant that It’s target audience was going to be wide and varied.

However, changes within technology resulted in changes in the film industry and therefore Working Titles approach to film production. With the increase in Downloading and streaming, as well as the reduced time between theatrical release and DVD many people now wait for the DVD release rather than watching it in the cinema admissions drastically fell, and with more competition from other high budget block buster focused production company’s, working title decided to try to reduce their budget for films even further to mean that there was  less pressure on box office admissions, and to target their films straight to DVD releases.

However these films still made huge profits with Working Title producing successful international targeted films such as the family targeted audience ‘Mr beans Holiday’ which used the already well known and established popular British character Mr bean, played by the Iconic British Actor Rowan Atkinson, which with the lack of dialogue and simple humour appealed to the international audience, especially when including other international characters, meant that it had a huge worldwide audience and managed to make a profit of $229,736,344 with a budget of only $25 million.

Although Working Title mainly stick to the niche low risk, low budget market, they have since released films such as ‘Paul’ which was seemingly aimed for a box office release rather than a DVD release with a significantly higher budget and using more modern technology available in the film industry such as CGI to compete with other competitors. The budget for Paul was $40,000,000 which mainly was due to the extensive use of CGI used throughout the film, as well as for the fairly well known British actors Nick Frost and Simon Pegg. Working Title did however still try to appeal to an American market by setting it in America so it would be culturally relevant to an American audience. The film only made a Gross worldwide profit of $37,984,015 which was arguably down to the limited market the film was targeted towards, as it would’ve been a teen hit, but because of the age 15 certificate it meant that it had lost a large proportion of its audience. It also was a sci-fi comedy which meant that it was mainly aimed at boys which further limited its target audience and meant that it was not set out to produce good box office takings like the film was supposed to be produced for.

With the lack of success from such higher budget and therefore higher risk films, Working Title decided to avoid trying to compete with blockbuster cinema films and focus on producing a continuous stream of low budget successful genre orientated films instead of using the new available technologies such as creating 3-D films or heavily using CGI which would increase the production costs.

One of Working Titles most recent films Anna Karenina which was produced within a budget of £31 million and was based on a well known best selling novel, included well known British actors such as Keira Knightly, and Jude law which appeal very much to the international adult market, and Aaron Johnson who appeals very much to young teenagers, which along with the choice of the international locations, meant that the film, although unique in genre, had a fairly wide and certain audience. As it was a historical period theatrically executed romance, it appealed to the older market which have shown to be one of the largest growing cinema audiences which meant that the film was constructed carefully to ensure a wide and broad audience was there waiting to receive the film.

Working Title have changed the type of films they produce to changes which have occurred within the film industry, such as the decreasing sales of box office admissions, and high numbers of competitors with cinema aimed 3-D hit films. As well as this, Working Title have seemed to grasp the importance of aiming films at an international audience in improving profits, and that low budget television and DVD focused films are the way forward for their company within the film industry.

Preliminary task-continuity editing

The aesthetic style of Film Noir

Film Noir is a detective, spy thriller genre of film which was especially popular in between the 1930's and 50's and is well known for both its particular and select styles of lighting, strong characters, and dark ominous tones and themes.
'Noir' is literally a translation of the French word meaning 'black' to reflect the consistent bleak moods present within Noir Films.

Lighting in Film Noir is a key aspect of the genre, as they focus on hard and severe lighting, which as many were created in the 40's and 50's were created in black and white, helps create a further extreme and dramatic effect. 
This black and white  element is also used to outwardly portray a characters qualities to the audience. This can be done because of the two juxtaposed
  connotations of the colours black and white. The colour black creates ideas such as death, misery, danger, mystery, and the unknown, whereas white connotes ideas such as innocence, purity, and goodness.
 For example, the image on the bottom right of the collage shows how the mans face is split into black and white through the use of lighting. This represents the characters two seemingly contrasting personalities, his seemingly innocent side and his darker more dangerous side. The darker side of his face creates a mysterious enigmatic impression to the audience as we are unaware of what other aspects of themselves the characters may be hiding. Also the way in which the shadowing falls on the face is as often done in a way that stops the other characters within the shot from being able to see the dark side that is exposed and therefore the possible dangers that the characters may bring.
This dramatic effect is created by the (very often) single strong harsh light source which creates strong bold shadows which can help to build tension, by playing on dramatic irony so that the audience can speculate about what is going to happen, and are more aware than the characters within a scene, resulting in the audience feeling more engaged and therefore more connected with the characters within a scene. 

The camera angles used within Film Noir are usually quite obscure, often using many low or high angled shots, to create a skewed effect, reflecting the tone and mood of the film.
It is quite conventional within film noir to frequently use extreme long shots (as shown in the 2nd image on the left on the first row of the collage) to establish the setting which may also be used to show the isolation of characters and therefore the vulnerable position they may be in. As well as possibly being used to show the remoteness of their surroundings, Extreme long shots can be used to show the space between characters which can therefore be used to non verbally communicate ideas such as suspicion tension  between the two characters.
As well as this, the use of extreme long shots can be used to hide a characters identity, creating a more mysterious, enigmatic and thrilling scene as only the distinct outline is visible to the audience and the audience are therefore unaware of that specific characters emotions or again indeed their identity which makes them appear more threatening and builds anticipation within a scene.
 Tight shots are also commonly used in this sense (an example of these can be seen below under the Film Noir Examples) with the characters obtaining the majority of the shot resulting in the audience being unaware of the surroundings, further building the suspense, tension and sense of unease as the audience feel restricted and almost cornered by their limited sight, which makes the audience feel the panic that usually the characters themselves within a scene are too experiencing.
Contrastingly, extreme close ups although are not as commonly used, are still present in Film Noir as they are used to focus on often certain important props or a characters emotional response, which the audience may have before missed.
  Obscured shots are often used within Film Noir to 
make the audience feel more involved with both the film and the genre. This is a shot which creates the feeling of hiding as if the audience themselves are onlooking the situation and almost spying on them. This can be created by using a tilt shot shown in the example which is perhaps how somebody in that position may look at the characters, or often objects are placed infront of the camera to directly block or "Obscure" the audiences view, in this case, the stairs are put infront of the audiences view which created the impression that they are crouched hiding on the stairs. This shot is frequently used to put the audience on edge and build suspense and tension.

Extreme angles are used to create a more dramatic effect and again are used to build tension within a scene.
Extreme high angles are used to either establish a scene and a setting in often to relation to characters, or commonly to make a character appear powerful to another. 

Extreme low Angle shots are used therefore to make a character appear weak and vulnerable in contrast to another character, as shown here.




The body language and composition within the shots in Film Noir are over exaggerated as well as carefully composed to portray the characters in the exact, often stereo-type, character role given.

This is an example from the Noir film 'Double Indemnity' by which the use of exaggerated body language is used to establish character roles, as well as lighting to effectively portray and connote things such as innocence or mysteriousness to reiterate character roles and help set the dark and bleak mood of the film.






The other elements of Mis-En-Scene such as Props in Film Noir are very limited. As you can see from the example collage below, the consistent theme of props used are limited, but the frequent appearance of cigarettes is not unnoticed. This is probably because smoking was regarded as glamorous and sophisticated at the time of many of these films were produced in. Also because of the nature of the genre, guns are also a frequent occurring prop used.

Costumes are also very similar within Film Noir as they usually require a glamerous and attractive woman, therefore wearing distinctively feminine and seductively suggestive clothing such as dresses, a detective or inspector who dress to their stereo type and therefore wear trench coats and hats which therefore are also used to hide their identity, as well as businessmen who will appear smartly dressed to conform to their 1950's gangster role in suits,hats and ties, to represent their state of wealth.

The locations used in Film Noir are usually busy urban settings in major cities in America such as New York so the audience feel like they are aware of where the story is taking place. However, the sets and locations within the cities are often quite small such as alley ways, bridges and staircases to give the impression of claustrophobic and trapped people in big places, which could link back to the idea that they are trapped in a situation and although it may appear they have everywhere else to run to, they are actually far more limited in choice than it would at first appear.

Example images of Film Noir
The above images show the repetitive conventions within Film Noir, such as the strong chiaroscuro lighting to cast strong shadows for a more dramatic affect, the glamorous role that women portrayed, shown through their flawless appearance and suggestive clothing, as well as the idea of deceit, betrayal, and the clashes between the two genders as a key theme.