Over the Christmas Holidays

This blog post is about what we're going to do over the Christmas Holidays.

First of all, our group, me, Fabian and Wil, are Word Up Studios. That is the production name we have decided on.

Now the Christmas Holidays are about to begin and we are planning to a do quite a bit of work over the holidays. We're hoping to get some locations done, possibly looking into casting and maybe even getting some of the soundtrack done. Below I am listing each members goals and stretch goals over the holidays.

Jack

• Start writing the script and get over half finished
• Scout Locations with Fabian
• Experiment with Foley

My stretch goal is going to be to completely finish the script.

Wil

• Finish the first song, for the dream/nightmare sequence.
• Look into different props, for all characters.
• Also look into Character Costumes

Wil's stretch goal is to finish another song over the holidays.

Fabian

• Scout Locations with Jack
• Research and Acquire equipment (Mics and Lighting)
• Produce some test shots, experimenting with different angels

Fabian's stretch goal is to start the studio ident.

Reflective comment: I think producing a plan for over the holidays helps our group as a whole prepare for our OTS as after the Christmas holidays we'll be down to our last month of preparation and filming, so organization is key to stop us from wasting time and meeting the deadline. 

Media update Vlog

Here is a update on everything going on with our media OTS! Sorry for the terrible cropping.

Reflective comment: I think keeping track of everything I do is a good way to handle our production and to make sure we meet the deadline and don't forget anything along the way, however to improve I could talk more about time management, as with our OTS that is crucial.

Title Card

Recently I have been experimenting with photoshop to get an idea of what type of title card we want for our film. I've created several different versions and I've decided to upload them to the blogs for evidence.

These are in no way our final title cards, however they have been helpful in deciding what type of title card we will decide on using in our final piece.

Lesson work on different narrative structures

Our lesson from the 25th to the 26th focused on narrative structures. We decided on our main narrative and then we applied all the different types of narrative structures to our story, changing whatever needed to be changed. Here are the sheets that we used.

This lesson was extremely helpful for our group as we realised what type of narrative structure that we were are going to use. We have decided that story will follow the Enigma structure.

What I've done over the past week (November 24)

Over the past week I've finished the task set by Ms.H in our last lesson and I've started the script for my groups final piece.

Ms.H set us the task of presenting a noir story in anyway we wished. However the noir story was pieced together by random bits of information that individual classmates decided on. Our story is called Biggest Shadow and makes close to no sense. It's great. Me and Freya plan to show it off in our next lesson.

Also, regarding my group work with Fabian and Wil I've started bullet pointing the script to get a vague idea together. I've bullet pointed the first minute, and here is what I have so far.

• Starts in a forest in black and white, gradually breathing appears in the background and appears until noted
• Lumberjack walking through the forest
• He stops, and readies a cigarette
• Behind him we can see Red Riding Hood, who isn't it black and white.
• Lumberjack smokes his cigarette, and the breathing stops once he turns around and sees Red.
•  Turning back to the tree in front of him, he readies a log to be cut
• As he throws the axe down, just before the wood the camera cuts to the next scene.
• Hear the axe hit a person. (We're thinking hitting a watermelon with an axe and adding post production, as watermelon are frequently used to recreate the sounds a human head would create.) Low angle of the Lumberjack with the axe centralised in front of the camera, blood covers the lumberjack with and colour has returned. The breathing has returned and is much faster and heavier. 
• Cuts to the Lumberjack laying in his bed, the heavy breathing continuing. 
• Cut to title. 

I don't feel like I am completely doing justice to the idea in my head with the bullet points above, so I will be making a storyboard and going to actually write the script. Once these are done I will upload them to this blog for proof.

And that is pretty much all I have done this week.

Rumpelstiltskin Final Cut and Final Evaluation

The video above is our final cut for Rumpelstiltskin. I believe that this version is certainly our best as it improves on several aspects of editing and sounds that needed improving in the original cut. Overall I believe our group as a whole can be proud of what we've produced as overall it is a good production.

Jack Cullum: Screenplay
Fabian Harrison: Director of Cinematography
Greg Babstock: Editing and Sound
Max Shephard: Editing and Props

What we done well:

• I believe that the strongest part of the film is our cinematography. This is thanks to Fabian and his camera. We have a variation of shots and angles, but what stands out most of all is the pull-focus near the end.
• We also had good props. We had two different prop guns, one which used smoke like pop capsules which disperse smoke when shot, which was extremely helpful during filming. However we also had a much more realistic gun that was shown more on screen due to the fact it fit the theme and setting we were going for.
• Also our costumes as a whole are suitable. We all wear suits, (Except from Liam, who is part of the lower class, therefore he does not wear a suit.) to fit in with the typical conventions of Noir films. This also helps us fit in with our time frame.
• Another thing we did well is translating the story from fairy-tale to noir. Instead of having the string being woven into gold, we changed it to drugs being produced to not only make it fit in with noir conventions but also to give a more serious tone.
• The music used is well placed and fits well. In the original cut there was only one piece of music so in the final cut Greg made sure to include a variation of music. This helped set the mood and build suspense when needed. The sound effects were also very fitting and well edited.
• Finally I do believe that we used smoke very creatively in our film. It really builds up the atmosphere and fits the noir conventions very well.

What we can improve on:

• I do think that we could of improved on how we introduced Rumpelstiltskin into the film. While his lack of explanation means he has a bit of mystery to him it also means the viewers are left a little bit lost.
• We certainly can improve on our acting. I personally don't like the idea of hiring actors to perform in our media productions but if we cannot improve on our acting skills it may be the safest option, as our acting does take away from the seriousness of the movie.
• Variation of location also needs to be improved. We shot the entire thing in Max's house, in three different rooms. Max's room, Max's kitchen and Max's living room. While I do believe it is better than filming in school, we certainly could of improved our filming locations.
• Some of our transitions are a bit off due to the fact that some of the footage wasn't shot correctly. In future we should probably due scenes in several takes.
• We also need to improve our Mise En Scene. In the living room you can see an Xbox, glasses and cans everywhere. In Max's bedroom you can see figures and a massive flat screen TV. Things like this take away from the atmosphere but we simply did not realize this when we were filming.

Planning:

We went through several stages of planning our continuity task. We made storyboards, we discussed several different fairy tales to adapt and how we were going to adapt them. In the end we decided on Rumpelstiltskin, and as a group we decided on how we would change it to a more noir like atmosphere/story. Planning wise we could of done more, we could scouted more locations, possibly of prepared Max's house before filming and certainly could of how we were going to shoot the film and in what order, as this caused a bit of confusion for us later on.

What I have done over the holidays

Over the past week we've been on holiday. Despite this me and my groups have still continued working on our coursework.

Rumpelstiltskin

Above you can find my groups (Me, Fabian, Max and Gregory!) rough cut of our continuity task. I wrote the screenplay, Greg and Max both edited, Greg also produced the music. Finally Fabian was in charge of cinematography and lighting. I'm very happy with our rough cut and all that needs to be adjusted is some transitions and the addition of my narration. Overall I am very pleased with how it's all come out.

However there were a few mistakes we made. For a start we didn't make sure to make that the scenery fit it in completely with our decided on setting. For example at one point you can see that Greg, who plays our mafia boss, is wearing socks. Also at one point you can see an Xbox controller in the background, which doesn't really fit in.

Also, at about halfway through our short film you can the tap dripping for about a minute. While at first we thought this wouldn't be a problem but after watching, several people had said that this ruins the atmosphere of the scene.

Finally, we also shot a lot of our film in one location, which became very repetitive. So when we produce our OTS we need to make sure we have a variation of locations instead of setting it all in Max's house.

So when we produce our OTS we need to make that we have a variation of shooting locations, make sure we focus more on both Mise En Scene and sound.

The task was very helpful as it helped us understand that our OTS will not be as simple and will require a lot of preparation. Speaking of which...

Little Red Riding Hood

My group has decided on what we are going to do for our final production. Our group has changed a slight bit, so for my OTS my group will be me, Fabian and Wil. We are going to produce a OTS for Little Red Riding Hood, retold in the noir form. For this we've even assigned some roles and started planning.

The roles we've decided on are as followed. I am the script writer, director and editor. Fabian is going to be director of Cinematography, location manager and in charge of lighting. Wil, is in charge of music, props and foley. I believe these roles have been assigned well, as we're all working our strong points. There are still several roles that need to be decided on, but the majority not already mentioned will be shared.

I have started writing the script already, I have some ideas when it comes to editing and with that I have a good idea on how I want to direct it. I know Fabian is skilled with his camera and has been looking into what different types of camera shots and angles he wants to use, as well testing out lighting. Finally we've all been brainstorming ideas when it comes to Foley, but Wil has already started producing some music for us to play around.

On the whole, it looks like our group is well prepared to begin the OTS.

Noir Photoshoot : Rumpelstiltskin

                           
Above is the photo shoot storyboard my group produced for our photo shoot task. The purpose of this task was for our group to practice different uses of light, camera angles and shots and to find which worked best. We'll use what we've found to produce our continuity task, which will be uploaded to this blog sometime in the following two weeks.

Making Of: Rumpelstiltskin Noir Photoshoot

Our group was tasked to create a storyboard of neo noir themed fairytale. We chose to retell the tale of Rumpelstiltskin. 

At first we decided on Red Riding Hood, but we changed our minds to do Rumpelstilskin. Mainly because the typical noir character types were easier to assign to the characters of Rumpelstilskin and the story also fit in very well with typical conventions. 

We changed the characters into the following.

• Daughter who is asked to spin gold / Everyman who is asked to make drugs.
• The king who demands the gold / A Mafia boss who is demanding drugs.
• Rumpelstilskin, a man who can spin gold / Rumpelstilskin a man who can make drugs. (Femme Fatale)
• Father of the daughter, who brags about her gold spinning skills / Everyman's friend, who boasts about his skills when it comes to producing drugs.

The original tale of Rumpelstilskin goes like this : The father goes to the king and tells him that his daughter can spin straw into gold. The king therefore buys the daughter off the father and demands she starts making him gold. If she fails to do so, she will die. Distressed, the daughter begins to cry. Rumpelstilskin hears her cries and offer to help, if she gives him some of her jewellery. She agrees and he spins straw into gold. The king is pleased and asks the daughter to do it once again. Rumpelstilskin agrees to help again, if she gives him the rest of his jewellery. Once again the daughter agrees and the king is extremely pleased. He asks the daughter to do it once more. She begs Rumpelstilskin to help her once more. He agrees to, but only if he is given her first born child. Thinking that she'll never have a child or that Rumpelstilskin will forget, she agrees. The king is pleased once more and decides to marry the daughter. Many years later they have a child. To the daughters horror, Rumpelstilskin demands the child. The daughter refuses. Rumpelstilskin gives her no choice, but tells her if she guesses his name in three days he will go away. After three days, the daughter is distraught but has no choice. Rumpelstilskin starts to celebrate by cheering out his name. The daughter shouts out his name and Rumpelstilskin dies on the spot. The daughter, the king and their child live happily ever after.

We decided to change the plot several ways to give it a more noir feel to it. Instead of gold we replaced the desired product to drugs. Instead of a royal family we changed it to a Mafia ring. There are also no female characters in our plot.

Our story is also much more gritty. Instead of taking jewellery, Rumpelstilskin demands that the Everyman kills a man for him. He does so, and Rumpelstilskin makes the drugs. Instead of a royal marriage, the Mafia boss rewards the everyman with a large sum of cash. Angered that he would not be receiving any money, Rumpelstilskin demands he is given the money. Instead of a happy ending, we decided to go down the typical noir conventional road, and have a sad ending. Accepting that he wasn't going to get to keep the money, Rumpelstilskin would no longer help him, and that he had killed a man himself, our Everyman decides to kill himself. Rumpelstilskin then leaves with the money.

The actual storyboard will be put on this blog soon. We did this task to get a better understanding of what it is like to set up a noir themed film. Also we could experiment with camera angles and mise en scene before our continuity task, which we will be doing in the following week. All of this is in preparation for our final coursework piece, the opening to a noir film.

Foley sound effects

Foley effects are sound effects that are recorded and added post production. Foley effects go extremely unappreciated in the media industry, and most people don't even know what they are.

Foley sound effects can range from anything from voice-overs, footsteps or doors opening and slamming. Foley effects are used because recording sounds when also recording footage can be difficult, especially so if your camera picks up too much background sound or not enough. Dialogue is often filmed on sight, but most other sounds would be muted.

A prime example of Foley effects is the smashing of a watermelon, which simulates the sound of smashing of a skull. (Often used in zombie horror films!)  Many people find it strange that people add sound after recording footage, but doing so means you can control the quality and timing of the sounds features in your film. Because of this Foley artists normally have a specially designed studios and equipment for recording sounds.

The name Foley comes from the creator of the effect, Jack Foley. His basic technique that he created in the early 1900s is still used today, and you'd be surprised how many sounds you hear in films are added post production.

Kick Ass: Analysing one frame

The Freeze Frame I will be analysing. I have seen the film but I will only be going off the information shown in this freeze frame.

In this frozen image you can see the main protagonist of the film, Dave Lizewski AKA Kick Ass. He's inspecting his new suit in the middle of his bedroom.

Kick Ass is centered in frame so that you focus on him, but they've made sure to keep the bedroom in sight in the background just to remind you that Dave isn't even an adult yet, and while the scene may seem cool, he really is just a teenager dressing up and dancing around. 

The lighting shows that it's daytime, as the room is well lit up without any artificial light and in the top right you can see out of the window that it is daytime. With the daylight nothing in Dave's room is hidden.

The camera is also very close up to Dave, making it very clear that he is the focal point of the scene. The camera isn't canted or anything but you could argue that this shot is POV from the mirror, as Dave is standing directly in front of it.

The framing clearly shows Dave dressing up and the fact he's still in his room, and it implies that "Kick-Ass" isn't really that much of a superhero, as he's currently just standing in his room in front of a mirror, but you could argue the shot makes him look very heroic.

If the shot was set up differently, say from the behind him, the shot would lose all it's effect. Dave wouldn't look heroic, it wouldn't be clear he's showing off in-front of the mirror and you couldn't even be sure it's Dave in the costume.

From this shot I can tell the scene is taking place during the daytime and more than likely in Dave's own room. Apart from that, there isn't much else being suggested from the background.

Attention is clearly drawn to Dave as he's not only standing directly in front of the camera, but also he's standing in a way that makes it looks like he's ready to fight at a moments notice. There is nothing in the background to pull your attention away so all attention is given to David.

From the way Dave is dressed, I can tell the Dave is a superhero or some kind of vigilante, or possibly that he's a bit mentally unstable. It really is up to interpretation, but I do believe most people would see this and think of him as a superhero.

I don't believe you can answer the question "How is the frame pivotal to the Narrative?" without using knowledge from the film already, so I am just going to explain why the following shot is crucial to the film.

This shot above shows the moment where Dave truly becomes Kick-Ass. The shot primarily focuses on Dave because it's all about the start of  Dave growing into the character he becomes by the end of the film. The fact it takes place in his bedroom is intentional as it still shows while he may be changing into a hero, at heart he's still a teenager.

I know I went over the 200 word count, I cut down some of my work but I couldn't cut it down anymore! 

Kick Ass: Genre & Narrative

Kick Ass is a film about a comic book fanatic who decides in his boredom that he's capable of becoming the worlds first superhero. However in doing so he finds out he's not the only one giving the superhero idea a go and finds himself in trouble with a mafia like crime ring. A incredibly funny comedy with dark scenes while managing to keep an upbeat theme, Kick Ass is one of the must see superhero films to ever come out. (Spoilers if you haven't seen Kick-Ass!)

Kick ass is without a doubt my favourite film. The narrative is funny yet thought provoking and the film truly does have some really dark scenes. However it's well balanced with comedy and upbeat scenes, so the film never gets a dark and gritty feeling like Batman or Daredevil. From one of the opening scenes it parodies Batman.

The acting in this film is also superb. This was Aaron Taylor-Johnson's first big film and he did an incredible job of portraying a nerd turned hero, and he does a really good job showing how the character grows up throughout the film. The film really could be seen as a coming of age film in some respects.

Hit-Girl, played by Chloe Mortez is always very well portrayed. Chloe does a great job of showing Hit-Girl's cold look on the world while balancing it out with the fact she still is a little girl. Chloe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson also have great screen chemistry, and really makes the interactions they both have feel real. Also, fun fact, Chloe was too young to see the film when it came out. Therefor she could not attend the premier showing.

Hit-Girl is raised by Big Daddy. Played by Nicholas Cage, Big Daddy is a key character in the movie. The character's struggles with wanting to seek vengeance for the unjust death of his wife while also raising a child, and it's easy to say he's doing it right. I believe while most writers would of made it so Big Daddy changed his mind about raising a vigilante for a daughter near the climax of the film, the writers of Kick Ass made it so even seconds away from dying, after being tortured and burnt alive, that his daughter continues his legacy through crime fighting. He stands out as a character for not only his willingness to clean up the streets, but his determination to do so also. Not to mention this film is one of the only films Nicolas Cage has done an amazing job on portraying his character in.

Finally, we have the character of Red-Mist. The antagonist of the film, Red-Mist is the son of the mafia boss that is hunting Kick-Ass down. Big Daddy and Hit-Girl are also hunting down Red-Mist's father, tying in the all plots together. Red-Mist is a complicated character as at first it really does seem like he wants to be a hero with Kick Ass and has a good intention at heart, but he also seems desperate to prove himself to his father at the same time, which leads him to follow in his fathers foot steps.

The soundtrack in Kick-Ass in amazing as well. It really taps into the feeling of the old superhero films while putting a modern twist on it, giving it a unique edge. It has mostly upbeat music tracks, but also has several fast electronic dance tracks, and remixes of already famous tracks such as Sunshine (Adagio in D Minor).

Overall, I just think Kick-Ass is the perfect film. It makes fun of typical superhero movie conventions while standing on it's own as a incredible film that really makes you wonder why no one has decided to dress up as a superhero and give it a go. The acting is awesome, the soundtrack in phenomenal and it will make you both laugh and cry for hours. If you haven't seen it you truly are missing out on a masterpiece. Also, the graphic novels are pretty great too.

I did this task to get a better understanding of a film synopsis. I also do believe the film can relate to the noir genre in several ways. For the most part it's greatly involved in crime, it's an urban setting and it does have some dark themes throughout.

Noir Narrative Task

Above this paragraph of text you can find my Noir Narrative Task. We were set this to complete this task to get a better understanding of the conventional narrative types of noir films. We also used several different shots and camera angles that are used often in noir films, such as other the shoulder shots and close ups. I would say after doing this task I do have a better understanding of conventional camera shots and angles used in noir films.

Futhermore doing this task has helped me decide on what type of noir that I want to produce for my coursework, and showed me how I can mix typical conventions and untypical conventions together while still making it clear that is has noir routes. 

Media Audience Types (Voice Thread)

I hope you enjoy my voice thread presentation. Not only have I learnt more about the media audience types but I now also know how to use Voice thread very well.

Job Roles in the media.

Above I have embedded my Emaze presentation on media job roles. I made this slideshow not only as a way to familiarise myself with Emaze, but also to learn more about potential job roles in the media that may suit me.

It's probably worth nothing I don't really like Emaze as a software and I found it extremely difficult to work with.

Neo Noir

In a previous blog post I described what film noir is and some of the typical conventions of a film noir. In this blog post I will be describing what a neo noir is.

Neo noir is when a film uses elements of story and characters from a typical noir themes,  but with different themes and styles. Some film neo noirs simply use modern technolgies to give the films an edge, while some neo noirs take place in the not so distant future. There are several sub genres of Neo noir, such as cyberpunk or steampunk.

For example, the British TV show Misfits done a noir themed episode in which one of the main characters, Curtis, falls for a femme fatale. In several ways this episode is very conventional. There's a femme fatale, an every man, he's a bit of an anti-hero and it certainly isn't a happy ending.

However, it is always very unconventional in several ways. For a start, it's set in Britain instead of America. Also it's not all shot in black and white, only certain scenes. Our main character is black, which you would of never seen in a noir film in the 50s. But most importantly, the presence of zombies truly makes this neo noir unique in it's own right.

Next up, red riding. A neo noir set in 1950s Britian for a start, this neo noir is slightly more conventional than Misfits in it's own right. It's got the dark and gloomy feel, it starts at the end and has your typical characters. It uses shadows and smoke the same way typical noirs do.

However it certainly has it's own twists. For a start the every man is a lot younger than your usual main character. Instead of being pulled into trouble by a femme fatale however, our main character finds himself getting involved in a child abduction case. The music is also used in a different style. Instead of being used for tension building, it is much calmer and subtle, especially with the use of acoustic guitar.

Another famous neo noir is the film Blade Runner. Arguably the most unconventional so far, Blade Runner redefined the neo noir film industry. The only true ties it has to original noir films is the urban night time setting and the use of smoke to establish atmosphere.

For a start the film is set in 2019. There are flying cars and killer robots running around. Our hero certainly isn't your everyman, as he what they call a "blade runner." The use of colour is also different, as the city is filled with neon lights to catch the eye of any passer by, however it still does hold a depressing atmosphere together. 

Next up we have the movie titled Bound. Typical in the sense that is uses several noir tricks to set up atmosphere, such as the use of shadows and smoke. You have all your key characters for a typical noir film and it even features regular settings, such as cities and pubs. 

However there is a reason Bound is considered a neo noir. For a start, the everyman is not a man. She is a woman. While she acts like the everyman, has the same average job and same motives, she is a women which is very unconventional for noir and I don't believe it had been seen until this film. Secondly, it does actually have a happy ending, something most noir film characters are not too lucky to get. Bound is a difficult film to say if it's more typical or un-typical.

It has several subtle similarities and for the most part it certainly fits the noir genre. However a few extreme changes really distinguish it as neo noir.

Finally, we have Sin City. I mistook this for a modern noir at first, not realising it actually isn't 100% conventional to the noir genre, therefore making it a neo noir. It's black and white for the most part, it features heavy narration from start to finish and even has a few of the staple characters.  It even features the music most typical noir's feature. However in the first scene the what we believe to be the every man kills what we believe the femme fatale, completely throwing the noir genre upside down.

The film is adapted from the Sin City graphic novel series, and because of this it actually has about four main characters instead of your typical one. It also fuses classic music and new music that can only be described as funk. Since there are four main characters, the film simply cannot follow the usual neo noir film narrative structure  .

However it is set in a urban setting, it's got a gloomy atmosphere which it establishes with the usual smoke and shadows, and it doesn't have too happy of an ending at that.

While all neo noir films borrow different concepts and ideas from the traditional noir film style, they change the narrative or style in some shape or form to keep it all fresh. The neo noir genre has evolved from the typical noir genre to keep the films new and exciting for viewers. The noir genre didn't have a choice in evolving into a sub genre, as it's the best way to keep the audience interested.

My top ten favourite movies!

Below you can find a link to my prezi presentation which shows off my top ten favourite films.


I not only made this presentation to let my teacher get a better of understanding me and media, but also so I can familiarize myself with Prezi.

Media and Me

Media Coursework (Media and Me) from Jack Cullum on Vimeo.

This is my media and me video! I made this video so my teachers could get a better understanding of me and for me to get a better understanding of using Vimeo.

What actually is film noir?

Film Noir is a type of film that originated in the 1930s and while being most popular from the 40s-50s is still considered a strong distinct genre of film. Film Noir originated in America, and is a stylish form of film where the main themes seem to be mystery, suspense and seduction. Several popular noir films have been made. Here are a few examples for some popular well known film noirs. Double indemnity, The Maltese Falcon, Kiss me deadly and The Black Dahlia. Film Noir was extremely popular after the events of the second World War, as the general population was very much use to the idea of violence and in all it was a rather depressing period of time. Another thing that film noir played a big part in was gender roles. After World War Two women had more power and men felt very intimated. Film Noir tried to influence people into falling back into the old roles that genders filled before the war. The films often portrayed the women as being the main reason everything would go wrong. Surprisingly, it would seem that this actually worked in some sense, as gender roles did slump back into their original ways after the 1940s.

Characters

Film Noir has several staple character types that frequently appear in film noir titles. Firstly, the main character would often be the 'everyman'. The average American man. White, normally around his mid 30s and with a stable but boring job. He often becomes an anti-hero during the course of the movie. It was easy for the everyday man to relate to this character and for this reason film noirs were primary focused at the middle aged white man.

The second most important character is without a doubt the femme fatale. Also white and in her 30s, the femme fatale is the normally cause of all the problems of the everyman. Seductive, demanding and dangerous, the femme fatale will often lure the everyman into a situation he can't get out of and which usually leads to his death. But it worth noting that it is also rare that the femme fatale will survive the film.

While the everyman and the femme fatale are without a doubt the most important characters, there are several other standard characters. You have the nemesis of the everyman, normally also white and in his 30s, this man is sometimes also after the femme fatale, or sometimes just trying to catch the everyman for causing trouble. (Normally for the femme fatale.) You also get the henchman, also in their 30s and white, these men normally track down the everyman or the femme fatale and are more than often responsible for the deaths of any characters in the story. Finally, you have the girl next door. Similar to the femme fatale, she may be attractive but she isn't as attractive to the everyman as the femme fatale, and doesn't often try to seduce him either. If the everyman survives the story, it's normally the girl next door who picks up the pieces and looks after the everyman.

As you can see from above, there is a clear link between all the staple characters in film noir. They're all white and in their 30s. This is because at the time of the height of film noir popularity, the African american population still didn't truly have their civil rights.

The narrative of film noirs are pretty simple and often don't stray to far. The everyman is a bit fed up with his day to day life. He'll meet the femme fatale and fall head over heels for her. The femme fatale will then seduce the everyman and convince him to do something irrational to (More than often!) get money so they can run away together. The everyman will do this and the femme fatale will often run off with the money, leaving the everyman to take all the blame, and more often than not, get murdered by someone he's upset for her. The films often start at the end of the story, and the everyman will narrate over the films, until it all comes full circle.

Editing and Camera

Editing and camera wise, the uses of both are very simple. There are never any fancy transitions, often instead being fast cuts and possibly a fade away. Camera angles are held for a long time during conversation or moments where suspense is being built, while chase scenes or fight scenes (Which their aren't many of!) use quick cuts and no camera angle is held for long.

Lighting also plays a large part in film noirs. The use of shadows and smoke is also heavily empathized and used to set the atmosphere. I believe that the use of shadows are normally used during scenes of suspense and mystery while the use of smoke normally sets the atmosphere for confrontation or general conversation.

Mise En Scene

The setting of most noir films also take place in the middle of cities, and the main segments seems to take place at night. It's dark and it's gritty, even in the day time the black and white that most film noirs use makes it look very depressing. Most film noir films wont end happily either.

I hope this has helped your understanding of the film noir genre, the context for this work is that film noir is what our coursework is entirety based on, so I need to make it clear that I understand what the film noir is.

Home Alone Sweded trailer!

Home Alone from Jack Cullum on Vimeo.

This is mine, Fabian and Jude's sweded trailer of Home Alone. We were tasked with doing this over the summer. Enjoy! We had to make this to get a better understanding of what it is like to film and direct a small piece, like we will have to later in the year for our coursework.

What is a Sweded Film?

For our media summer media project we were tasked with creating a Sweded movie trailer. My group and me have created ours, we just need to edit it. But for those who do not what a sweded film is, let me explain. A 'sweded' film is a film that is usually filmed with a camcorder and is made with a extremely low budget. You can't use special effects and all music had to be made by you, you cant download anything or borrow from anywhere. They also don't normally last more than four minutes.

The idea came from a film called Be kind rewind. In this film the main character Jerry accidentally erases all the video tapes in the store he works in so he and his friend remake all the movies themselves. These films become so popular they explain the delays by telling people they come from Sweden, hence the title sweded films. For some reason, the idea really took off online and you can find most movies sweded online.

My group, which consisted of Me, Fabian and Jude decided to swede the trailer to Home Alone. We shot at Jude's house in several different locations around his house, it took us about four hours to get two minutes footage. We also had help from several friends who acted for us. These were Greg, Max, Mitchell and Thomas.

Expect the Sweded Home Alone trailer to be uploaded onto both Youtube and this blog soon!

Jack!