Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon – film noir

Film Noir is a style of filmmaking characterized by elements such as cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, and frequent use of flashbacks, intricate plots.

The Maltese Falcon is a typical film noir set in the 1940s. It crosses all of the typical codes and conventions of film noir, as there is a femme fatale who needs the detectives help, and at the start of the opening sequence the detectives are leering at her and this is a reoccurring theme in a film noir. In all films at this time the mise en scene in this film noir the detectives are typically dressed as they are wearing a trilby hat and an overcoat and in most film noir’s this is what they wore. This is because in a film noir the women are represented as weak and that the men always fall for them and this is shown in the first scene where the detective falls for her and as she is leaving Miles asserts his salivating interest in the striking, rich, and helpless woman who hires them to rescue her sister. Also at the start there is an establishing shot of San Francisco and this is used to show where the film is set in. 

The hard-boiled detective films of the 1940s supplied a surprisingly diverse set of heroes, each offering a variation on the common theme of crime and detection in the dark urban scene and this was shown in The Maltese Falcon where it transforms the traditional detective film where they are finding out who killed the man. Also in the film it introduces the alienated and amoral hero, the femme fatale and the dark disturbed environment. This is shown when the camera editing dissolves to a street corner where the other detective has been shot. The half-smile of recognition on Archer's face as he approaches the camera quickly turns to a look of disbelieving horror as an unseen assailant pulls a gun and shoots him dead at close range. Miles is blown backwards through a fence barrier and he tumbles down a steep hill. In this scene there is a non-diegetic sound of the gunshot and this portrays what happens and in this scene there is restricted narration because as the audience we don’t know who shot the detective and neither does the main detective because he is now being questioned about who killed him. In this film this is a reoccuring concept for the enigma as no one knows who killed the detective.

In this opening sequence there wasn’t a lot of editing as it is an old film noir. The only editing in the scene that was noticeable was at the start and this was when the titles was going up the screen and this helped the audience understand the story line. Another editing technique they used was in between shots as they used a faded editing technique to switch between shots.

Camera shots are important in every film and in this film they used a medium/close up shots when focusing on the woman in the office. They have done this because then the audience can see all of the emotion in the face. Also when they focus on the paper at the end of the opening sequence, they pan up onto the paper and then zoom in to emphasise the news headline. Also they used an over the shoulder shot in the office scene allows the audience an insight into what the character sees from his point in view and by doing this it adds realism to the shot as they see the same view and in this case when the woman is speaking to the detective.  They also included a low angle shot where the detective is looking over at the crime scene where his partner had been killed. This was used as then they could focus on the emotions of the character and also they can see what they are looking at.

Story Board - Diamanté

• First shot in the opening sequence is an establishing shot of Birmingham.

•  Femme Fatale in detective’s office explaining about what has happened to her jewel 
•  Over the shoulder shot of the characters speaking.

• Femme fatale hiding her jewels trying to frame her former husband of stealing them
•  Close up on her hand stashing the jewels in his apartment.

• The 2 detectives go to the former husbands house to look for the jewels that the femme fatale has stashed in his apartment.

 

Machine Studios Penny Black-Title sequence and Studio logo

This is our first attempt at creating our title sequence. This allowed us to learn about how to make a title screen and this meant i could learn about the type of fonts and how to imbed music. This also allowed me to learn the order

Script – Diamanté

Script – Diamanté

FADE IN:

EXT: BIRMINGHAM CITY CENTRE – NIGHT

(An Establishing Shot of the city)

INT: OFFICE –WAITING ROOM – NIGHT

(Detective is about to close up and go home when he sees a woman walking in.)

WOMAN – I’m so glad I’ve caught you! I’m in need of some help.

DETECTIVE – So what can I do for you my dear?

WOMAN – Is there somewhere abit more private where we can speak?

DETECTIVE – Sure, come on in to my office… Want a drink?

WOMAN – Sorry I don’t drink.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

INT: OFFICE – DETECTIVES ROOM – NIGHT

(Both Detective and Woman walk into the office, and then Detective reaches out and grabs his finest bottle of whiskey and pours himself a glass.)

WOMAN – Right so this is where it all started, yesterday after coming back from my trip to France it appeared to me that some of my most precious jewels have gone missing. These are not any ordinary jewels these are the rarest, finest diamonds that someone can get their hands on! I do have a little idea of who could be behind this.

(Detective whips out his notepad and writes down what the woman is saying to him.)

DETECTIVE – So tell me more about the man that you may think stole the jewels.

WOMAN – His name is Hubert and lets say we have abit of history, this man is my ex husband and well we didn’t split up on good terms.

DETECTIVE – Okay I’ll try my best to get a case together sweetheart.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

EXT: HUBERTS HOUSE – BACK GARDEN – MORNING

(POV Shot: Woman hiding her jewels that she claims had been stolen by her ex husband in his back garden.)

(Detectives go into the mans house to search for the jewels that are believed to be stolen from the woman.)

Mind Map

Mr Judge Feedback

You are still missing key components of your planning and research evidence including the following, most recent tasks. This is becoming a cause for concern.

Mission: Is seems that significant components of textual analysis are missing in the form of the following; What we now need to see is your evidence for designing and creating studio logo's and your understanding of the correct conventional title orders as studied in class. Some images are also required to enhance the look and design your blog. 'Se7en' textual analysis/Blue Velvet textual analysis etc.

Diamant Opening Sequence Plan

       Diamant Synopsis

• Director- Jordan Cunningham 
• Femme Fatale-
• Detective- Thomas Hendry  
• Victim- Jordan Twiggs

Plot

A woman wants revenge on her former husband, and so she claims that he stole her jewellery from her apartment, which is worth millions of pounds. The femme fatale then goes to the detective explaining her story blaming it on her former husband. The detective claims that he will try and put a case together for her. The plot then is left on a cliff hanger  to whether the woman gets found out for blaming it on the man or whether the man gets punished and arrested for his actions and the woman wins.

Location

Birmingham - with establishing shots at the start to set the scene and let the audience know where the film is taking place. We can do this by showing some iconic buildings in the city centre of Birmingham for example the Bull Ring. We have chosen this location for the film as there are many unique features for the film to take place.

Characters

In the film we have three main characters that are in it, like any other normal film noir we will have three main characters and they are: Femme Fatale, Detective, Victim. We are using these sorts of characters to create a hook for the people watching the film. When using these characters it shows the audience that it is a traditional film noir as most of the film noirs that were made used these types of characters.

 

Mr Judge Feedback

7. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE OPENING OF SE7EN WITH IMAGES AND VIDEO EMBED FOR SE7EN

9. FILM NOIR & HISTORY OF GENRE (HSR) + IMAGES/VIDEO EMBEDS

10. STEREORTYPICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THRILLER/HORROR GENRES/CHARACTERS

11. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF OPENING OF A HORROR FILM – WOMEN IN BLACK/SCREAM etc.

this shall be all done between the end of this week and next mondays lesson

MR JUDGE FEEDBACK

Good work on Christian Metz, but where is the rest of the work?

7. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF THE OPENING OF SE7EN WITH IMAGES AND VIDEO EMBED FOR SE7EN

9. FILM NOIR & HISTORY OF GENRE (HSR) + IMAGES/VIDEO EMBEDS

10. STEREORTYPICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF THRILLER/HORROR GENRES/CHARACTERS

11. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF OPENING OF A HORROR FILM – WOMEN IN BLACK/SCREAM etc.

Christian Metz model of genre development

The experimental – means the phase of early films that explored and experimented with horror films in its narratives and these were shown in films such as:

• The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919)
• Nosferatu (1922)

These early horrors were good because they helped formalise the narrative conventions of the horror films in its earliest phase and this was during the aftermath of the war when soldiers came back with gruesome stories.

The classic – means the phase of films which established the narrative conventions of the horror genre in its most successful & defining period and these were presented in Hollywood films such as:

• ·       Dracula (1931)
• ·       Frankenstein (1931) made by universal

In the late 70’s and early 80’s the experimental stage began to employ psychological origins to the thriller genre.

The parody – films that have mimicked the horror genre in some comical way. Parodies have been made such as:

• ·       Carry on screaming (1968)
• ·       Scary movie (1998)

In the 90's the development stage reached a phrase where thriller scenes and movies incorporated comedic effects watering down expectations of the film.

The deconstruction – films that have taken the generic elements of the horror genre and amalgamated them into varying sub genres. Films include:

• ·       Se7en (1995)
• ·       The sixth sense (1999)

The thriller genre has now evolved into a stage where hybrids are evident. The thriller has now fused with several other genre creating sub-categories the most established being sci-fi/thriller or horror/thriller hybrids.

MR JUDGE FEEDBACK

Complete the following tasks ASAP 6. NO SE7EN TEXTUAL ANALYSIS IN EVIDENCE 7. NO SCREEN GRABS FROM SE7EN TO ILLUSTRATE POINTS 8. NO work on GENRE from Mr Rutherford

Preliminary task evaluation

The 180° rule is a cinematography guideline that states that two characters in a scene should maintain the same left/right relationship to one another. When the camera passes over the invisible axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line and the shot becomes what is called a reverse angle. Match on action is an editing technique for continuity editing in which one shot cuts to another shot portraying the action of the subject in the first shot and this creates the impression of a sense of continuity. A shot reverse shot is a continuity editing technique used in conversations or simply characters looking at each other or objects and this means that when a shot is showing supposedly what they are looking at it is then followed by a reverse angle shot of the character themselves looking at it or another character looking back at them. An eye line match is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. The eye line match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, followed by a cut to the object or person at which he is looking. For example, a shot showing a man looking off-screen to the left is followed by a shot of the television that he is watching.

We incorporated the 180° rule into our final film when we was filming in the canteen because we made sure that the camera didn’t cross over the line because if the camera swaps over to the other side for one of the shots, the pictures won’t work together and by doing this it made the characters looking directly at each other. This scene links in with the eye line match because we had to make sure that the one shot has to line up with the person or thing they’re looking at in the next shot and this was in the canteen when the two characters was talking to each other. We used the match on action during the locker scene. We edited this scene to make it look like that the camera cuts from outside of the locker and just as he is going to open up the locker the camera cuts to the inside making the movement of the camera one fluid shot. Lastly we used a shot reverse shot in the canteen. We did this by cutting the shots in the scene and by doing this we could focus on the one person during the shot and this assumes that the characters are looking at each other.

The filming process went well as we had a clear plan of how we wanted to film the shots and also where we wanted to film around the school. When filming around the school we had to take a few shots until we got it correct. Also on the plan that we made we made it clear what shots we was filming and when we was filming it. The storyboard was clear as we could understand what we had to do during the film making process. On our story board we found some issues because we had to change how many camera shots we were going to use whilst filming it and this meant that as s group we had to decide on the shots that we were going to use instead of using the same camera shots over and over again. As a group we found it quite easy to film around the sixth form because none of our shots was near a classroom so we didn’t get distracted but a disadvantage was background noise such as the hand dryer in the toilets, and this was because people was using it when we were filming scenes such as the locker shot. We also got to use the tripod and this contributed towards our final film because it meant that we could get still shots and it was easier to pan for shots, such as when we was walking into the canteen. We all had to input in the task so no one would be left out and we could all share ideas and if I was to do it again I would edit the storyboard so we could put more ideas on it which meant we will be able to plan in detail.

On adobe premiere I learnt how to edit the clips and how to make them shorter. At first the software seemed to be confusing but when we started to get a hand of it we knew how to work it easier. By importing the music from then internet it meant that we could choose the music based on the genre, such as thriller. We also learnt how to put in a title screen which meant we could use many fonts and this also helped as then we could choose the correct fonts in the film and this meant we could edit how long the title was on the screen for.

We did this task to the best possible standard and we used all of the tools that was available to us and we even asked the teacher to help us with the final scene so it linked in with our film, and that scene was just improvised so this also recognised our strengths. 

Preliminary Task

Blue Velvet Opening Scene

Blue Velvet opening scene

At the start of the scene in Blue Velvet the opening credits pan out of view with a backdrop of a blue velvet curtain. The shot from this slowly pans down to show a blue sky and this pans down to show a bed of red roses in front of a white picket fence whilst the song ‘blue velvet’ starts to play in the background. The use of them playing this in the background is to show the non-diegetic sound and this is played all throughout of the opening scene of the film. The use of the camera in this shot is important as it shows the patriotic side as it pans down on to the picket fence as this conveys an American flag and this scene also shows a typical American suburban lifestyle.

It also links to a typical suburban American lifestyle as it shows a friendly fireman driving by with his dog on the fire truck shows how natural this is and also these scenes are all establishing shots by the use of the camera to show the audience a friendly neighbourhood. This is conveyed by children innocently crossing the road and the camera pans to show a classic home with the picket fence again making an appearance linking this back to the American flag. All of these shots are all lit brightly but also the camera seems to be a bit unfocused as this could portray to the audience that these shots are like memories of the place and shows us that it is showing only the good of what happens and this could hide the mystery behind it.

The camera then pans to focus onto the house and cuts then to the man watering his lawn innocently and his wife who is watching the TV inside. But reading between the lines the wife is watching a program with a gun on and this could show that something is going to happen in the future and shows that the wife isn’t sweet and innocent as they make her out to be. As the camera shots keep changing the camera gets keeps getting closer, e.g. the first shot of the man was a long shot and then when there is more focus on him the shot changed to a medium shot to convey the impact that the man has.

After this they used the camera to do a series of quick cuts between the man tugging the hose and the tap to where it is attached. They have also included a diegetic sound for when the water pressure is building up on the tap and the frequency is getting louder and they have done this to add tension the this part of the clip and also they have done close ups on the tap to build more and more tension as the viewers are waiting to see what is going to happen.

After the tension on the hose pipe that was built up and as the camera was panning over the neighbourhood to show how peaceful it is, the man suddenly starts to clutch his neck and drops to the floor after suffering with a stroke. As the audience we hear the man making choking noises as he goes on to the floor and this is used for diegetic sound as we can hear what is going on as well as the characters in the film. The camera then cuts to the man rolling on the floor holding on to the hose which is spraying in the air. They have edited this scene to show a slow motion of the water spraying everywhere and then cuts to a wide shot of the man lying on the floor again with the dog licking the water and also this shot shows a little child in the background and this shows how innocent but significant this shot is as viewers think about who is going to look after the little kid or who is going to save the man.

After this shot the camera cuts to a close up of the dog drinking the water with a slow motion edit and then it cuts to an extreme close up tracking of the grass. As this close up progresses the non-diegetic music in the background gradually starts to fade out as they go deeper into the grass and then the audience hears a high pitched droning sound, with their being a low light on it this adds to the unease of what is in the grass.

In this opening sequence it sets the message that everything seems perfect but no one knows what is hid beneath the surface and as they show the man having the stroke it adds to shock after seeing the scenes of an innocent suburban life. The contrast in the lighting throughout the clip between the sunny neighbourhood and the dark contrast of the grass at the end of the scene shows that there are two contrasting worlds in the film.