Production Evaluation - Part 1

The main product we created ‘The Lover Who Lied’ was successful in using and challenging the conventions of real media texts through many different aspects. We wanted to emulate the style of film noir, but due to certain realities it was obvious that we could not recreate an exact replica of some of the film noirs we analysed such as ‘The Third Man’ due to limited time, budget and resources. However the main difference that set it apart was the fact that it was a short film, to fit with the brief given as part of an A2 production.

The mise-en-scene used was similar to other conventional media from the film noir genre, the most obvious of these similarities was the film being in classic black and white, which is one of the most instantly recognizable and iconic features of film noir. We also wanted to create the dramatic and conventional low-key lighting with clear shadows, which was achieved in filming through the use of two portable bright lights. We also used street lights to create a softer shadow in certain scenes such as in the end sequence, which created a different more spooky look as seen in film noir, especially in outside alleyway scenes. 

In the editing process in Final Cut Pro the amount of red used was enhanced before transforming it into black and white. This was to intensify the red tones such as the red lipstick our leading female was wearing to further extend the connotations of drama, mystery and ambiguity. This also ties in with the use of red in the poster and magazine article. We also heightened the contrast and lighten to exaggerate what we had filmed already and achieve the classic look of film noir that we are emulating.       

Regarding the actors used it was imperative for us to find professional actors as we had so many difficult requirements for them. They had to put across a convincing portrayal of our characters through our reasonably complex script in an American accent. The American accent was a factor that made our film adhere to another convention of film noir, as they are often American. The actors we used were slightly younger that their conventional film noir counterparts and this therefore challenges the convention and makes our media product slightly different and unique. It gives a more modern and young look to our film, which would appeal to our target audience and it a twist on the genre.

The costumes we used were paramount in showing their status and character as well as capturing the film noir conventions. It was not very easy finding 1940s style costume in 2010, but we found ours in charity shops and also used items from the actor’s own wardrobe such as the classic and simple black suit that our male protagonist Jim wore.

When we were researching and identifying the male costume conventions for 1940s film noir we found that the males costume is often a smart suit in a dark colour (usually black), black or brown smart shoes, plain tie and a white shirt. However we found the most important aspect of a males costume to be a fedora hat, which was seen in every film noir we analysed. The fedora hat is so synonymous with film noir and it connotes crime, moral corruption, mystery, criminality and the shrewd detective aspect to our male character, Jim. 

Regarding his looks, his handsome slightly boyish good looks (often found in the leading male in classic film noir) along with his acting abilities were what the role required to make the film as authentic as possible as well as visually appealing and believable. The costume of Rita’s husband, Frank, needed to be very separate and distinct from that of Jims. This was to convey his role as father and husband in stark contrast to the role of Jim. Due to this reason we gave him a more homely appearance with a jumper, trousers, shirt and tie coupled with his short appearance in the domesticated setting of a home. Often in conventional film noirs many of the males look and dress the same but due to the differences in our characters roles and time constraints made it a little more ambiguous to Franks part in the narrative, we choose to accentuate the differences in the two males with the choice of actors and costume. The male actor Henry was cast to play Frank due to his age, at 34 and his longer hair and beard that show him to be more mature and look more like a husband and father.

The male waiter was wearing a simple, timeless and conventional white shirt, plain tie, black trousers and apron which connotes his professional and lowly status suitable for a waiter.

The femme fatale character is another aspect that we wanted to include, as it is synonymous with the film noir genre. In all the films we analysed there was always a beautiful, seductive yet crafty female character that often has the male protagonist under her spell. Our actress at 24 was slightly younger than our role model counterparts from existing films but we aged her a little with make up. The age is also a slight difference from film noir that makes our film slightly more modern and accessible to our current target audience. We used curlers, rollers and a veiled headpiece to emulate the look of classic femme fatales. The veiled headpiece over her face connotes a dark deceptive nature, secrets and mystery. Her make up used is almost an exact copy of the femme fatales from the 1940s film noir we watched. We used matt foundation, dark smoky eyes and bold red lips to inform the audience of her seductive personality. The red lips especially are iconic from the 40s genre and they connate her power and sex appeal. Her costume was also a very classic look from the 40s, we choose a more business-like skirt and white shirt, rather than copying a 40s style dress. From our research we found that women in the film noir genre wore both but we choose the prior to signify her ambitious and independent nature, as well as creating the hourglass shape seen in film noir. The props we used were chosen carefully to ensure our film retained the authenticity. Cigarettes were always featured in film noir as they have strong connotations of vice, addiction and mystery. This is why we choose to include Rita smoking as she walks to meet Jim.

The narrative was very similar to that of 1940s film noir, a male protagonist encounters an obstacle (sometimes in the form of a evil femme fatale) and then attempts to overcome it, following the three act structure. This classic film noir storyline often has an unhappy ending, which our media product has as well, conforming to another convention. The slight difference is the time constraint of fitting the complex narrative into a short film with a 5-minute limit, something which we failed to achieve as our final film is longer.

The use of the male protagonists voiceover is also very conventional in the film noir genre and can also be employed in many short films, where the director breaks the suspension of disbelief. With this attitude it makes the producers and directors feel more free to experiment with different techniques which can give a more surreal edge to a film, rather than naturalistic. The effect of the voiceover makes the audience feel for the protagonist and know his back story. This gives some context to the story, as with all short films there is not a huge amount of time to go into detail and explain everything. My first subsidiary task, which is a poster, uses the conventions of film noir posters to deliver a striking and appealing product, which will successfully advertise my media to the target audience. The layout uses the conventional format of film noir posters by having a main image of a character with two smaller images of headshots of other characters either side. Overall, our film ‘The Lover Who Lied’ conforms to many film noir conventions, only changing some things to communicate with a our modern target audience more effectively.