A2 Film Studies FM3 Reflective Analysis
Aims and Context:
For my FM3 creative
project I’m going to produce a short film, called ‘Obsessed’. The genre is Film
Noir with elements of Thriller and I intend to use the codes and conventions.
This is to appeal to my target audience of males and females aged around 15 to
25 who will be categorised as a mainstream audience.
My aim will be to
introduce the learning about the creation of meaning by the five micro-features
(Mise-en-scene, cinematography, sound, editing and narrative) developed in FM1
to explore the codes and conventions of Film Noir. I will be using these codes
and conventions of both the thriller and the film noir genre in order to
achieve creating a tense and enjoyable cinematic experience for the audience.
By creating an anti-hero as a protagonist there are elements of an enigma
throughout the film, as the audience will be wondering, almost in fear, what
the protagonist will do next. Similarly to David Fincher’s ‘Fight Club’ 1999
the protagonist will be causing conflict and disruption in the equilibrium so
that the audience can see how much damage he causes and they see how much he
needs to be stopped.
In order to assist
with this project I have been studying films which have used experimental
narrative methods, such as ‘Buffalo 66’ 1998 directed by Vincent Gallo and
‘Fight Club’ 1999 directed by David Fincher, and Film Noir films, such as ‘The
lady from Shanghai’ 1947 Orson Welles and ‘Psycho’ 1960 directed by Alfred
Hitchcock.
I intend to direct,
edit, write and manage sound on this piece and I have used the directing styles
of Alfred Hitchcock as an influence for my directing style.
Reflective Analysis:
My aims and context for my FM3
creative project were the first step in creating my short film, they allowed me
to address particular subjects in film and have a clear goal in what I needed
to achieve. My aims and context explain what my target audience is, the story
type of my film, genre, influences, and how I will address them. I have
achieved what I set out to when I created my aims and context as the short film
I have created – ‘Obsessed’ has been shown through my audience feedback to be
popular with audiences between the ages of 15 – 25 averaging at around 18 years
old, and the film has a conventional storyline of a mainstream film despite it
being film noir, which is typical of a film catering to a niche audience. The
use of suspense and enigma in my film allowed the audience to be gripped to the
story whilst still enjoying and understanding the narrative.
In my aims and context I have
mentioned a few director’s which have influenced my project, even before the
filming took place, Alfred Hitchcock, David Fincher, and Vincent Gallo have all
been used in my planning and filming as influences of the film noir and
thriller genre so that I have a point of reference in how to address these
genres. Alfred Hitchcock is famous for his films which were revolutionary in
his day such as; ‘Psycho’ 1960, and ‘Rear window’ 1954 which both use the
enigma and suspense devices in film to cater to their target audience. My film
uses devices that can be seen in ‘Psycho’ such as the use of black and white
which makes the film have a darker and dramatic tone as colour could be used in
both mine and Hitchcock’s films but it was a direct choice to have the film be
produced in black and white. ‘Rear Window’ uses suspense as a device which
makes the audience get onto the edge of their seat which is a device used by
Hitchcock to excite, scare and thrill the audience so that he follows the
thriller genre, I too have used suspense in my creative film ‘Obsessed’ for
example in the first sequence when the character Rose in walking alone in the
dark under the harsh artificial street lights the audience see’s the character
Mickey walk behind her, without her noticing, before he grabs her. This use of
thrilling the audience to the point where they want to shoot at the screen and
warn the character is popular within the thriller genre as it is a mixture of
fear and excitement.
David Fincher’s ‘Fight Club’ also
follows the thriller genre and was also a large influence in my creative
project as the use of the protagonist causing the disruption to the diegesis
rather than trying to resolve it, which I also tried to represent. This is used
for the thriller genre as it goes against convention which causes tension and
suspense for the audience, who don’t know what will happen to the protagonist
or the people he tries to hurt. Although Fincher doesn’t use film noir in
‘Fight Club’ his influence is shown clearly in my creative project through his
use of the anti-hero protagonist and, similarly to Hitchcock’s films, the use
of tending to the target audience which would be mainstream.
The final influence which is
mentioned in my aims and context is Vincent Gallo’s ‘Buffalo 66’ 1998which was
used to influence my work through Gallo’s use of the anti-hero protagonist and
abstract narrative. Gallo aligns the audience with the protagonist, who is an
anti-hero, and although they are following his narrative his crimes committed
on screen make the audience resent his actions to a degree and want him
stopped. The influence is shown in my work as I have tried to resemble this
theme through my theme as my protagonist, Mickey, is shown to kidnap a girl,
similarly to Gallo’s Billy Brown, but I took it a step further as Mickey
threatens to kill Rose and needs to be stopped, this is done to thrill and
scare the audience who are not sure how the protagonist will act and want the
antagonist, Rory, to stop him.
Elements of film noir are used
within my film as the main genre I wanted to address in my aims and context was
film noir, this is done through the use of the stylistics which I used such as;
the use of black and white, the use of an anti-hero protagonist, the ‘damsel in
distress’ theory, and the use of thriller as a secondary genre. These elements
are used in film noir as it is conventionally used for dramatic effect which
not only stimulates the audience in a desired thrilling sensation but also
helps the continuity of the narrative by adding meaning and depth to
characters, and giving an artistic quality to the film.
Thriller is used as a secondary
genre in this film as it is a convention used mainly in film noir, which is my
main genre, but it also it helps the story type – ‘the fatal flaw’ – bring
meaning to the film by making the narrative more gripping and interesting for
the audience. Thriller conventions are used in my film such as; a rivalry between
my antagonist and protagonist who are seen to be complete opposites through the
use of mise-en-scene (with Rory’s white top and Mickey’s black top), Rose being
a ‘damsel in distress’ who comes into a lot of danger who Rory needs to save,
and the use of suspense throughout the film leading up to a life and death
situation at the climax of the film.
I could not have achieved what I
set out to in my aims and context without the use of micro-features in my
creative film, these micro-features include: mise-en-scene, editing, sound, and
cinematography. Mise-en-scene entails everything seen within the film, from the
set to the costume. I have used mise-en-scene through my use of; costume (with
Rory being the hero and wearing white. Mickey being the villain and wearing
black), the use of location (Rory is first seen in a comfortable couch writing
were as Mickey’s room is shown to be white and white and empty with
uncomfortable chairs and stools.) and also the use of lighting which is all
harsh artificial light and the source of the lighting is only shown when
outside through the use of street lights. All of these elements in
mise-en-scene allow me to address the film noir and thriller genre.
Sound is used within my film as a
stimulant to drive emotion from the audience and represent the character’s
emotions and hidden meanings. The film begins with a soft and slightly
melancholy non-diegetic song as the opening sequence moves onto photographs of
Mickey and Rose in their relationship together, which has since been terminated
to set the equilibrium of the film, this signifies the feelings shared in their
relationship and shows how it wasn’t a happy one. The non-diegetic sound used
after the opening sequence is a harsher and more dramatic orchestrated piece
which is used to represent the feelings Mickey has, as he is the protagonist
and the audience follow his narrative, this has been used throughout the rest
of the film as it gets louder and more harsh and then quieter and softer in the
appropriate parts of the film to represent his emotions. The other sound used
is the diegetic dialogue between characters which allows the audience to learn
what is happening in the diegesis and the events leading up to the narrative,
also non-diegetic dialogue is used through the medium of an inner-monologue
with the character Rory to show the audience how he truly feels and what he
believes what must be done. The other sound used is the diegetic over dubbing
of effects mainly used with the knife dropping and being picked up in the last
scene of the film.
Editing is used in this film as a
vital micro-feature as the use of linear chronology between shots was vital in
creating a continuous film that followed the narrative of the characters
without the use of flashbacks and dream sequences, the only time that a
non-linear chronology is used within the film is within the opening sequence
which could be seen as a montage sequence as it doesn’t particularly show a
linear chronology and rather jumps from un-connected shots which show photographs
and then gives examples of time passing through the use of clouds and wind in
the trees. The editing process was done on the computer programme ‘Adobe
Premiere pro’ which allowed me not only to structure the film accordingly but
also put the non-diegetic sound and the over dubbing of the diegetic sound into
the film, and then mainly add the black and white effect, crucial to addressing
film noir, whilst also allowing me to add abstract techniques into the opening
sequence by speeding up the shots of the trees and the clouds.
Finally, the last micro feature I
used to address film noir and thriller in my creative film was cinematography;
this entailed everything from the camera angles, the shots, and length of the
shots. Being the main cinematographer as well as director for my creative film
I was able to address my aims and context by capturing steady shots with the
camera by using a tripod which ensured the camera did not shake whilst filming
and creating an unsatisfactory shot. I encountered difficulties whilst filming
such as shaking the camera whilst filming as well as using camera angles that
did not look good, this meant I had to re-shoot the scenes in order to get the
perfect angles and shots. The uses of two-shots are used within my creative
project to show the connection between characters and to highlight the
isolation of others when two-shots are not used. I have also used; long shots,
close up, low and high camera angles, and over the shoulder shots allowed me to
emphasise feelings and emotions created by the narrative as I allowed the
camera to manipulate the audiences perception of a situation as, for example, a
close up of Mickey as he gives orders for Rory to meet him allow the audience
to get close to his face and see his emotions, whilst a high angle shot of
Rose, for example, would signify how small she may seem as she is trapped in
the situation she is in.
In conclusion I believe that I
have addressed my aims and context successfully and have created a film which
caters to a mainstream audience between the ages of 15-25 whilst also
fulfilling conventions found within film noir and the thriller genre. The micro
features I planned to use within my aims and context have all been used to the
desired effect and the influences which I researched before I began filming
have been used to influence almost every aspect of my film; from the directing
style, the presentation of the film, and even the narrative and the characters
within it.
