Research into Casino Royale

What do directors seek to establish in the opening of thrillers? (unfinished)

With every opening of a film it has to be able to make the viewers interested and into the movie straight away, so then the rest of the movie gets good expectation from the audience. A 'interesting' opening comes from make the audience intrigued to see the rest of the movie, directors use certain techniques to do this such as introducing some of the characters and maybe even show key parts of what the story is about. Another great way is to make the opening have a voice-over which can then talk about about the characters story which works well because if the shots aren't that interesting the voice-over does keep you on track. With some openings all it takes is to thrill the audience, to do this directors use maybe chase scenes or actions scenes etc.

An example of an interesting and thrilling opening would be from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels. The film starts off with Bacon (Jason Statham) illegally sell products on the side of a street, which leads to the police noticing and chasing him which has already created a sense of excitement to the audience. The chase is also well shot as it uses a handheld shaky cam affect as he runs towards and past the camera.

The next shot is very creative and unique as it parts of the shot are in slow-motion, for example the second man Eddy (Nick Moran), comes into shot fast from around the corner and hits the wall in slow-motion. These kinds of edit are very well done and give the shot a lot more variety which makes it more exciting. Another part of the scene that uses slow-motion is the part as Bacon throws the suitcase of items towards Eddy which leads to the suitcase opening and the items go flying. Again the use of slow-motion in this scene is great as if it wasn't in slow motion it would of looked a bit chaotic, where as now it looks cool. The slow-motion also works amazing with the music in the background (Ocean Colour Scene - Hundred Mile High City) because of how fast and exciting it is.

L.A Noire: How does it use features of film noir?

L.A Noire is a neo-noir crime video game made and published by the very popular and well known Rockstar Games, the game is focused around a man name Cole Phelps who begins working for the patrol desk in Los Angeles, and the idea of the game is that he gets promoted through the five departments. The game is heavily focused around the themes and aspects of film noir which are shown throughout various cut-scenes and gameplay.

Specifically in the opening, the game uses various features that can be seen in popular noir films such as LA Confidential, where the opening of the film pans over Los Angeles with a voice-over and talks about the people and city etc. The game takes a very similar approach and is almost identical. The music in the background is also a good feature as its quite suitable for the time that the game is based in with its simple piano and saxophone parts. Again the music is similar to the LA Confidential opening music and its the same era.

Even before you get into the game, it shows off even more aspects of film noir with the menu screen. To begin, the menu is all black and white and uses this to bring out and amplify the shadows and lighting, the options that are available are laid out as  if they are a shadow on the wall. This is perfect for the theme of noir as a lot of the time people are displayed as a shadow by the minimal use of lighting when filming and is a great way to show different sides to a character. Its also good to show them as mystery. The menu can also be compared to The Third Man, as it resembles various scenes from the movie, such as the beginning of the chase scene towards the end of the film. The shots are almost identical in the way that the camera is slightly tilted, there's one light source coming from a lamppost, and the use of the vanishing point down the long alleyways. The use of the figure coming from the light and smoke is also implemented into the menu of L.A Noire which uses the car lights to do so.

The costume is a great feature of L.A Noire as they do a great job to get it just right with the era and style. The most common costume in the game is the suits as most of the characters you come to meet are police officers and detectives and in that time and today people working with the law or people with good jobs tend to wear suits to look professional and smart. The other piece of clothing is the hats, which are also worn by nearly all the people you meet in the story. From police hats to bowler hats the variety is key to the specific time period.

If Thrillers Were A Tube Map…

The Jollie Metro ( Julian and Ollies Tube Map)

Key:

Red / Voice over
Orange / Gangster heavy
Grey / Claustrophobia
Blue / Gangster light

The tube map is a way of presenting the different themes and things found in films in the genre of thriller. The idea is that the four lines are different themes and the stations are the films that have these themes. Its a very great and unique way of present something because its a lot more interesting to look at. 

The Third Man - Sewer Scene

The final scene at the end of The Third Man is a very memorable scene for the history of film noir as it's such a creative and imaginative scene, with the maze like sewers and the intense chase really make it a great scene. The sewer scene has everything to do with film noir as it has all the key themes and techniques all together such as the shadows of people running and the minimal light around each tunnel.

This shot is one of my favourites as it is such an claustrophobic and tight shot which really shows how small the staircase is and the feeling of being trap in this place like the maze it is. Also with the shadows of the bars could also give the idea that he is trapped in this place and that he's not leaving alive. 

In this next shot it shows the police chasing down the man into the further part of the sewers, and what's clever about this shot  is how they have made it so that the police are chasing a shadow, which makes it more interesting to watch as they could be trying to make this guy seem as a dark and shady man which he is. Also the way that the shadow gets bigger against the wall adds variety into the shot.

This is an interesting shot as uses different camera shots to make the scene much more enjoyable than it is, for one it uses the rule of third to to make the the top right of the shot the key part, the shot is also on a tilt which gives it more variety and makes it more of a tight and disorientating shot to watch.

This shot again, uses the rule of third to make the shot feeling like your there, hiding and watching what goes on with the chase. The shot is makes for good story telling as it shows the fear and exhaustion on the man face. Also the lighting makes it so that most of his face is hidden away from the light showing that he is a dark and shady character.

This last shot is one of the best shots in the film as it concludes the film and shows the fact the he is trapped and there's now way out from what he has done. The way the light amplifies his body in the shot also is affective and the way that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't even an option for the man really ends the film well.

Conventions of Film Noir

Although film noir technically isn't classed as an genre, the range of styles, feelings and themes that film noir produce make an amazing film type to watch. Film noir usually focuses on bring out dark and mysterious moods and tell a story very enigmatically. Not only are the stories told with a lot of thought, film noir brings out a lot of unique styles when shooting with the use of one light source, the big and strong shadows and the claustrophobic tight areas.

The biggest part of any film noir would be the obscure and ambiguous story lines that leave you amazed and stunned at the end of any film. The stories are usually about a couples betrayal, or a deceit of a friend which lead to unthinkable endings to the stories. Generally the story revolve around mobs of gangsters as well because of the era the films are created or based on, which lead to crime and investigation stories. When it comes to the police officer, he usually isn't the kind of guy you would expect him to be and would have sides of evil and shame in them.

As the stories in film noir are quite dark and mysterious its fitting to have deep shadows and minimal light to bring out darkness in some characters and to put people in the shadows who might of done wrong. A typical scene that focuses a lot on the lighting would be in some alleyway with only light coming from a lamppost, these scenes are a perfect example of how lighting is used because you are focused to what is happening in the light, and with the shadows they get amplified on to a wall or the floor which give the scene more depth and ideas about the characters. The idea with the light also means that you can hide part of a persons face, doing this can give people an idea that there's two sides to this person and that one side might be dark and evil person compared to the light and honest man.

In this particular scene from the film 'The Third Man' it has a range of interesting things in it that link to the conventions of film noir. Firstly in the shot nothing is centred and uses the Rule of Thirds to give the scene more variety. In the shot, it has the shadow of the man running on the far left side of the shot and to the right of the shot it has the one light source coming out from the archway. Secondly, the shot is very low to the ground and is pointing up to the shadow on the wall, the shot is also on a tilt which brings a variety in the shot and a sense of disorientation with the man running.

To conclude, the themes and moods that film noir creates are very tense and exciting but at the same time creates an enigma and leaves you feeling disorientated and surprised. All this is done by the use of the imaginative story lines, and the unique use of the light and shadows.

Setting and Costume in Film Noir

As film Noir started in the early 1950's, the settings and costumes used in the films tend to be quite old fashioned smart suits and hats, and old glowing lampposts and smart cars. With the costumes it helps to bring out the year, with the women wearing quite long silky dresses and having curly big hair, it fits in with the old fashion. And with the setting it tends to set the scene as a dark film, and show a sense of mystery which fits as most noir films tend to be about crime and investigation.

In this picture it shows the common clothes that a typical women would were in that time and in a noir film, the smart, white, silk dress with the women's long curly hairs represent that she could be quite an innocent character towards the story and would probably play the part of the victim in the story. the dress works well as it also shows the character as a wealthy person and could maybe play the part as an actress or movie star. in typical men wear, they would wear smart respectable suits and ties, and maybe even bowler hats for people with more power and money. the suits and hats are more for the working men in the films usually who play investigators or police as they have to look smart for the job.

The typical setting in a noir film would be like this road in the night, with maybe a few people talking anonymously under a glowing old fashioned lamppost  this setting or parts of it a commonly used in films to create a very dark shady scene which could be where the crime took place or is part of the mystery. the lamppost is a great part of the scenery as it can be used as the only light source in the shot so that you can easily manipulate the lighting so that you can make someone seem quite shady by not giving the much light, or can give someone a glow of light from behind them to amplify them and show that they have more power.

Film Noir Collage

I chose all these specific pictures as i think they represent film noir the most with for example, the costumes people wear such as the suits and long dresses, and the big curly hair and the hats. the pictures also represent the use of shadows in film noir with just the one light source making the big dark shadows against the walls and floor.

Casino Royale - Film Noir

Unlike other very popular and highly famous James Bond films, Casino Royale brings a bit of variety into the opening scene of the film as it portrays it in a film noir style. As Daniel Craig's first bond movie its like they're trying to bring out a darker side with him and the important parts of film noir such as deep shadows and tight shots really do set the scene. Film noir is such a unique style of film and can make a film  become very deep and real, but film noir as been fading away and Casino Royale bring it back very well.

The shot i would like to talk about is the very opening scene, the shot has particular things about it that are perfect and very popular in other noir films to have in a scene, such as the mist coming from the drain, and the lamppost giving of the only light in the shot. having these features makes the shot almost cliché as these are the sorts of things you see in old noir films and very early films, but having them together with modern architecture fits nicely.

The second shot focuses on this mysterious man, keeping with the theme the shot has not a lot of light and is very dark on one side of his face to show that there could be two sides to this guy or just to hide the guy to tell you he could be trying to hide in the shadows. The shot also is quite low and views the guy with power and maybe leadership as he could own the building in the background. And finally the shot is slightly tilted which be trying to show that the is being quite shady and sly.

Although this is quite a short shot it has a lot of noir features init which, again build on the dark opening to the film. The shot at first is a bit disorientating as there are several things in the way of the focus of the shot, the shot almost looks like it is taken under a table and after that the is a lamp taking up part of the shot. not only that, the shadows take up a lot of the shot which makes it very dark and makes the man walking in still shady.

Again with this shot it is taken up with mostly a lamp which even though is clearly on, doesn't give of much light in the scene and still puts a shadow on the mans face. The use of this much of the shot taken up by the lamp seems a bit to much in my opinion but the shot does well to show that maybe the man is in a dangerous position at this moment in time due to James Bond being in the room.

With this final shot it focuses on the gun about to be pull out of the draw. with this shot it combines all of the techniques I've talked about previously to make a perfect noir shot, for example it uses the dark shadows to only show half of the contents of the draw and has the table and the other surroundings to block out the full view of the draw to bring in some suspension, with it also being a classic noir shot it adds in its own little things such as a electronic gadget to show that its a new film but still has the noir theme.

Introduction

Hi, im Ollie Towler-Jones and this is my media blog