FM3 Reflective Analysis

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.