In our short film we were trying to create the idea of Neo-Noir, using the opening scene of the modern neo-noir film “Brick” (Johnson 2006) as an inspiration to start. The focus for our film was to connect the two characters together who are anonymous by using a flashback after finding the dead girl. Flashbacks are a useful way of connecting events together, so that audiences can understand why or how something happened. However it still gives the audience a sense of uncertainty, or unanswered questions. This is what we were trying to portray as we were not sure ourselves whilst doing the storyboards, why the main character would find the dead girl as opposed to any other person. So we decided to show a time before the incident where the characters had met.
For the sound we decided to use a voiceover to explain to the audience what was happening at certain points of the main girls journey. This was used to emphasize, rather than using non-diegetic sound which would draw the audience away more. Using diegetic sound is common in a neo-noir film, therefore connecting the genre to our film more. We had the idea of using a voiceover from the film “Double Indemnity” (Wilder 1994). We also used the sound of the rain coming down on the pavement as like using a voiceover it draws the audience into what’s happening in front of them. However our voiceover does not explain everything that is being shown, so it still keeps the audience thinking. We stopped the voiceover when the girl is found making dramatic pause. We made the pace slow, and confusing as we didn’t want to give too much away. We also used some sound that the camera had picked out, such as we wanted the emphasise on the weather, so we had the rain naturally falling onto the pavement. Weather is important to a Neo-noir film as many want to show the idea of darkness and gloom. We also had the sound of footsteps, this creates a build up and also leaves the audience waiting for something to happen.
When we went out to shoot our film we obviously had not planned the weather, however the rain was perfect for the feeling of uncertainty and again this type of gloomy, dark atmosphere is typical in this genre. The Mis-en-scene is usually the first thing that draws the audience in, our film we shot in several dark alleyways around Cambridge. In the flashback we wanted the dead girl to be wearing something symbolic, so that the audience could connect the dead girl to the flashback previous. Our characters symbolic clothing was her purple coat. In “brick” this idea is used as the bracelet the girl wears is zoomed in on, in both reality and flashback. Between the images of the girls journey are several shots of the surrounding area before the dead body is discovered. We decided to use these shots to show how enclosed the body was, and giving the idea of the both girls journeys to and from school. This idea of being enclosed is seen in the opening scene of “Brick” where the boy is kneeling outside what appears to be a large tunnel with the dead girls body floating in the water.
Being confused is typical for an audience to feel when watching a neo-noir film until slowly the plot is unravelled and the characters connection to each other and what is actually going on is revealed. One example of a Neo-noir film that uses this is “The Big Sleep”. Aswell as having the flashbacks and the voiceover to reveal the plot, we also lengthened the shots, therefore giving the audience more time to take in what is happening.
To conclude, I feel happiest with the voiceover used as I feel that without it, the story would not fit together as well but also gives the effect of the girl’s journey from her perspective. I also liked the sound of the rain picked up from filming, as it brought the atmosphere to life more. I think that we could have improved how long we took to plan as it slowed down the amount of time we had to film. Overall, feedback was good and I am happy with the final editing.
