Evaluation- Part One

Evaluation Question 1
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
For our film opening to belong to the chosen genre, film noir, it had to recognisably follow some of the conventions of that genre. Researching film noir, we find recognisable characters appearing in many films of the 1940s and 50s, such as:

• A flawed or morally questionable hero.
• A "femme fatale" to seduce the lead.
• A charismatic villain.

The opening to "The Case" introduces two characters, an antagonist and the protagonist. The antagonist follows the familiar character path: a highly skilled assassin, suave and well dressed, quick and careful in his work. We made our protagonist a private eye, familiar to film noir fans as the typical job of many of the genre's heroes in the 1940s. Strong visual suggestions are made throughout about this character's possible flaws; his obsessive working on the case, his half- consciously sipping at tea, his possession of a gun.

The lighting and Mise-en-Scene of the film was also deliberately reminiscent of film noir, with the low- key lighting serving to invoke tension as well as being another familiar convention of film noir. The dark, with the threat of some danger lurking in the shadows, also brings an element of the Thriller genre to the film.

Film noir has a very familiar and specific style to mark it out from other films, but we did challenge some aspects to introduce a new approach for our film. Films noir are generally set in large American cities, with the classic Mise-en- Scene usually involving rainy street corners. "The Case" opens to our hero being attacked in his own home, a normal, suburban house. This challenges film noir and introduces an element of being attacked in supposed safety, heightening the tension.

The opening starts the whole film with a disruption of the calm and safety of the private eye's normal life. The sequence then shifts from following the protagonist to following his assailant, until he is in turn attacked, presumably by the protagonist. This is resolution of a kind, but the equilibrium of the situation has in no way been restored; the hero is not safe, he can be struck at by mysterious serial killers, and he takes the law into his own hands. This begins enigmas that the audience wish to see answered, beginning their interest in the rest of the film.

Narratve techniques used in the opening sequence include:

• Real time: as evidenced by the almost constant linear movement of the characters, e.g. the killer's journey though the garden. We originally planned to use fades to give the scene in the protagonist's office a montage feel, but decided to use cuts instead, to give the sequence faster pace, as a result, the sequence appears to take place in real time, apart from the:
• Flashback: Used to show that the assailant is the serial killer the private eye is investigating, highlighting the danger of the situation, linking a shot of a rose with a note saying that the rose is a calling card used by the killer.
• We also used a point of view shot of the killer as he approaches the hero, creating an immediate sense of danger and tension as the audience knows that the protagonist is in danger, but he does not. This shows that the audience is meant to support the protagonist, as he becomes a victim of a violent attack from a villain.

Some of the typical features of any opening sequence are:

1. Introducing the characters.
2. Establishing the setting.
3. Introducing/ Suggesting at the key themes of the movie.
4. Inclusion of the credits/ titles.
5. Displaying the Mise-en-Scene used throughout the rest of the film.

Our opening worked to introduce the characters, setting and genre of the entire film. The sequence was planned to begin with an establishing shot of the house, but this was then dropped, the final opening shot being of the inside of the house, which still serves to establish the suburban setting. The opening of "Touch of Evil," (Welles, 1958) is from film noir's classic era, and establishes the setting through sweeping views of the streets, following various characters as they travel to their destination. "The Case" uses something similar, with the assassin escaping through the suburban garden and alleyway.

The opening sets the style for the rest of the film, with its low key blue lighting setting a sombre tone, while the fast pace promises much action later in the film. The soundtrack, downloaded from freeplaymusic.com, was chosen for its energetic pace while still being haunting and tense, similar to Thriller films which use music to create tension, drawing the audience in. The lack of dialogue means that the audience has to focus on the visuals to follow the story, which emphasises the visual film noir style. The music also changes as the focus shifts from the protagonist to the antagonist. The matches on action, e.g. when the killer opens the gate, and the shot- reverse- shot when he is escaping down the alleyway all contribute to the sense of pace and urgency in his actions, as do other visual things such as the glancing at his watch.

Establishing shots such as the killer's slow march toward the doorway, and the crane shotof the private eye's desk serve to show their characters and introduce what kind of people they are. Conflict is created between the two by the messy chaos of the protagonist's life and the neat, clinical order of the killer's work. This highlights the difference between them, making them binary opposites.

The use of credits is unobtrusive, as they appear at the side of the image, allowing the main focus to be on the imagery of the film rather than the titles. The titles were originally in a more exciting font, reminiscent of horror films, but this was changed to something that wouldn't detract from what was going on in the sequence. The main title is saved for the end, coming in with a gunshot, for maximum effect. Many films save their main title for either at a dramatic point in the film or when their theme music reaches a crescendo, e.g. "Back to the Future" (Zemeckis, 1985).

The opening sequence serves to introduce the characters, setting, themes, and most importantly, as a lure for the audience into watching the rest of the film, which has to live up the expectations set by the opening.