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!