An evaluation
DOG EAT DOG
Question 1: Challenging and developing conventions
In what ways does your media product use, develop and challenge forms and conventions of real media products.
Even from the start our group were very sure that we wanted to challenge some key conventions of film noir opening title sequences but we wanted to implement key elements to givie it the same atmophere as a noir film. By combining convetnional and untypical features it allowed us to exsperiment with ideas and concepts providing us with some very interesting shots to be used in the final.
Producted by Aidan Rawlinson
Location and setting
As the setting of a live action opening title sequence is so critical at setting the mood and establishing the genre it took us a while to brainstorm potenial locations in which we could film. After dicussing the pros and cons of our options we dicided on Aidan's mother's workplace. As she works within a office environment it complements the concept of urban life within a big city and as we planned to not film the surroundings of the office in conjunction with the main sequence it would give the illusion that the man featured would be working within a busy capital city. Even though this is quite conventional for a noir film the fact that we set the piece within modern times challenges the basic concept of noir.
Through reseach I have discovered that the majority of noir films have a considerable amount of exterior shots, commonly at night. Our opening title sequence directly challenges this as the entire film we created is filmed within an interioir environment.
Compared to the other elements of film noir this character architype was the one we most depended on to set the genre of our opening title sequence. One of the most iconic traites of the typical anti-hero is the weakness in which they have. This is commonly substance abuse. Within are own film we hint throughout the film that the anti-hero is alcoholic dependant and drinks to get him through his time at work. This idea of weakness allows the audience to relate to the character much more effiently. We decided on using the antihero as it is critical within noir as it allows other conventions to be used in conjunction such as the femme fatal. We did however exclude some typical traites of the anti-hero. Since the narative of the sequence does not include a femme fetale the generic lust which happens in noir films is not present.
Anti-hero
Femme Fetale
Despite the extensive research I undertook before we began filming our opening title sequence we didnt end up featuring a femme fatale explicitly within the film. It is suggested however. One shot in the final edit reveals a female vitim who has died. This could be said to be very conventional as often in film noir there are two women, one which is disposable and another who the anti-hero ends up with. Evidence of this can be seen within James Bond films.
Iconography and structure
Even though our film strays away from some classic conventions of film noir it does stay true to many aesthetic elements, in particular the use of props. As I was responsible for sourcing the props I decided early on that our film would benifit from classic pieces of iconograghy which would not look out of place in a modern setting. Furthermore we ensured that the lighting used within the opening title sequence intergrated well with the genre, generating mystery and enigma. The structure of our sequence is also very stertypical of the average opening title sequence.
Shown in the pictures to the side we as a group wanted to keep the mise-en-scene as close to the typical convetnions of noir as possible. This meant that we would need a few signiture pieces of prop. Cigerettes and a empty glass bottle were chosen to symbolise the weakness in which the anti-hero has. We decided on using modern iconography to show how our opening title seqeunce.
In addition to props I also surplied the costume. As we were trying to stick to noir conventions as best we could I made sure I provided costume which wouldn't necessary look out of place in a 1940-50s production. Furthermore it was important that, as we planned to film in colour, that the shade of shirt was suitable and would be complimented by the lighting. I chose a white shirt as it is a signiture icon within noir. The shoulder holister I also selected, with the help of my group, directly contrasted with the shirt making it stand out. This reinforces the idea that the antihero is reckless and isnt a conventional 'good guy'.
Other than noir our film also compliments many conventions of opening title sequences, explicity the structure. Like many other sequences ours starts with the production company's being shown. These are shown reletivily slowly to try and get the audience to focus on the video. If we flooded the first few seconds with titles it would have looked messy and unorganiced and it would have diverted the attention away from the video. Addionaly we put the title of the film at the end of the titles. After analysing a series of major films it was common for the title to be towards the end or at the very end of the seuqence therefore we decided to place it after all of the othe titles. Not only does this stick to conventions but also creates enigma early on and may attract audiences.
Lastly as we kept our opening title sequence around the three minute mark it stays loyal to the typical length of a title sequence. We prioritised this as we found that from our own exeperience that after a few minutes audiences get bored and want the film to start. Even though there are exceptions to this, for example when a ots is full of action, we found that the nature of ours meant that we had to keep its length down to satisfy our auidiences
