Film Noir
The term film noir, French for "black film", first applied to Hollywood films by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unrecognised by most American film industry professionals of that era. Cinema historians and critics defined the category retrospectively. Before the notion was widely adopted in the 1970s, many of the classic films noirs were referred to as melodramas. Whether film noir qualifies as a distinct genre is a matter of ongoing debate among scholars. In film noir it is the conventions which build up the genre, for example;
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Characters:
- Detective (hard boiled flawed hero) - Femme Fatal - Corrupt Police - Gangsters - Protagonist - Heros - Criminal (Petty and extreme) |
Setting:
- Rural locations e.g. warehouses, factories, refineries, abandoned buildings - Bars, lounges, clubs - Urban locations e.g. L.A, New York, San Francisco - Police station - Alleyways, empty streets |
Props:
- Guns - Hats - Cigars/Cigarette - Suits - Watch |
Themes:
- Greed - Love - Betrayal - Jealousy - Revenge - Corruption - Murder - Justice |
alan weissman
Weismann Inspired
This is my first attempt at film noir photography. In this photograph I tried to achieve creating the film noir atmosphere swell as work in the style of Weissman. I had done this by using props like, the trench coat and hat. Moreover, I had told my model to pose in a way where he looks quite serious and demanding. Once I had put the raw image into photoshop, I had cropped then model out of the photograph and inserted the model into a separate canvas where I had created the background. I had then change the colour of the main subject into black and white, also using the 'dodge' tool in order to emphasise the shadows around the model. In my next photoshoot I aim to be able to create the film noir atmosphere successfully. I will do this by using more props to add to the mood, also finding a female model to play the 'femme fatale'. Using a femme fatale and a protagonist in one frame can also be very effective to show the contrast between the two types of characters that you find in film noir. |
Dimitrios K. Stephanis
This is a piece by a random artist that I had found. This piece really inspires me as I could tell this was noir photography without having to really analyse the photograph. There are many factors in the photograph which all adds up and creates the right atmosphere. The use of the Venetian blinds, it is really effective as it creates shadowing throughout the image. It also helps to keep the detectives identity very less. Therefore, we cannot see much of this character, and the photograph does not reveal too much. Moreover, the props used are very effective. For example we can see that the model is wearing a hat which is covering his eyes, which again is hiding his identity. The use of the hat had helped to add more shadowing to the photograph. Another convention to the film noir style of photography, the cigarette, which pretty much every protagonist/detective had a habit of. I am hoping to use a cigarette as a prop in my next shoot, I believe this will add to helping me achieve my aims of my next shoot which is to; be able to produce a very effective film noir piece using many different conventions to create a film noir atmosphere.
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Dimitrios Inspired
This piece is inspired by Dimitrios. I have tried to work in the style of him, as you can see the lighting is much more darker than my first inspiration. I had used quite dark lighting in order to achieve Dimitrios' style and more of the film noir atmosphere. By making the lighting darker it had helped a lot to build upon the film noir style. I had inserted my own venetian blinds, I created the effect in photoshop. The attempt to creating my own blinds was a success as you can't really tell that I had created the shadow of the blinds mon my models face. I had asked peers if anything looked artificial in the picture, they had noticed anything that had looked obviously edited. The use of the blinds are really effective as it creates some sort of mystery and suspense within the frame as the shadows are almost hiding the models identity. I had added an extra effect to build upon the suspense and mystery by adding in clouds. I had then created a gradient background where the black fades in to the clouds. I have tried to achieve the film noir atmosphere through the inspiration of Dimitrios, however I could build upon this by adding more of the conventions of film noir, for example I could use a cigarette possibly in my next shoot. |
Venetian Blinds Experimentation
I had created the venetian blinds my self using photoshop. Firstly I had created a simple rectangle shape and then duplicated multiple times. Next, I had gone to 'Filter' and then 'Blur' then selected 'Gaussian Blur'. I had set the blur to about 4.2 pixels; It had made the edges and corners of the duplicated rectangles a lot more softer and blurred giving them more of the blind looks to them. I had then turned down the opacity down to around 80% which had given the blinds a shady/shadow alike effect to it making it more realistic. Once I had done this it was a success as the blinds did come out to look quite natural, and I had asked peers if they could notice whether the blinds looked realistic or not, they majority said it looked really natural.
I am hoping to use this effect in my final piece, as it was a success and really does add to the film noir style and look. Moreover, the venetian blinds is a common convention when it comes to film noir photography. The blinds create the effect of suspicion as it leaves 50% shadow 50% light, this way the viewer would be in the middle on deciding their thought on the character.
Out of the three experimentations I had decided that the one below is has used the blinds the most effective. It had more of the natural and realistic look it, as the other two I had slanted the blinds to make it much realistic, however it did not look as natural as the one below. I will try to use different lighting techniques in the next shoot.
I am hoping to use this effect in my final piece, as it was a success and really does add to the film noir style and look. Moreover, the venetian blinds is a common convention when it comes to film noir photography. The blinds create the effect of suspicion as it leaves 50% shadow 50% light, this way the viewer would be in the middle on deciding their thought on the character.
Out of the three experimentations I had decided that the one below is has used the blinds the most effective. It had more of the natural and realistic look it, as the other two I had slanted the blinds to make it much realistic, however it did not look as natural as the one below. I will try to use different lighting techniques in the next shoot.
Photoshoots
Photoshoot One:
In photoshoot one I had used conventions of film noir, for example; I had used the telephone which was used in the 40s. This had helped to achieve the film noir atmosphere. I had also used a bottle of alcohol; back in the 40s film noir, the majority of male characters were alcoholics and drank quite a lot. From this photoshoot I am beginning to achieve the look of film noir. It was not only the conventions but the costume and character which had also assisted in my shoot. I had positioned my character in ways that he is identifiable as a film noir character. Most male protagonists in film noir have serious and quite moody personalities. Which is the reason to why I had presented my model in this way. |
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In the pieces below I have expanded on the venetian blinds, I have managed to achieve more of a realistic look. What I had done was; transform the venetian blinds by its perspective in photoshop. From my first experimentation I have been experimenting further on the blinds and have had a great outcome. From the pieces below I had succeeded in my objective for my first photoshoot, the atmosphere seems much more alike to film noir. However, in my next shoot I need to possibly change the location of the shoot, possibly in an office where we would normally see a film noir character. Also I am going to add more conventions; for example, I am going to have my model holding a cigarette and acting in a way where he is smoking just like a film noir protagonist.
By researching more into film noir I am discovering more and more ideas and gaining knowledge on this genre. Small things such as accessories could add more to the atmosphere, I had noticed this from my first experimentation compared to the outcome pieces of this shoot. For instance, the difference in location, props and objects had made more of an affect on the shoot. I had included the telephone and alcohol bottle and I can see it had a large affect on the thoughts and mood given off.
By researching more into film noir I am discovering more and more ideas and gaining knowledge on this genre. Small things such as accessories could add more to the atmosphere, I had noticed this from my first experimentation compared to the outcome pieces of this shoot. For instance, the difference in location, props and objects had made more of an affect on the shoot. I had included the telephone and alcohol bottle and I can see it had a large affect on the thoughts and mood given off.
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Photoshoot Two:
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My second photoshoot was not what I had expected it to be. I don't beleive I had met the standard I wanted it to be, as the location is the same as the previous shoot, there are not many props and conventions used either. I found difficulty finding another location as the lighting is an important factor when it comes to this style of photography, as difficult to create the lighting I want outside of the green room. I had used a one-source lighting where the light was positioned on one side of the models face, creating a shadow on one side of his face. I had done this as it creates suspicion about this character and makes the viewer of the photograph question the personality of the main subject.
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