Film Noir; Maltese Falcon Opening Sequence Analyses

In the opening sequence of Maltese Falcon we are presented with many different stereotypes of an original Film Noir. This is because the film was released in the 1940's which was when this genre was at its peak, mainly because the roles and ideas with in this genre was what was socially accepted by audiences in HollyWood and other areas of America. It was this way due to how they saw these areas in America - dangerous, mysterious etc.

The opening shot of the clip is an establishing shot of the Golden Gate bridge which allows us to see where the film is located even if we weren't shown a title that stated the location. This establishing shot is typical for a film such as this one as it is a good way to show the audience the setting, time of day and weather. As a result, in this film, we can see that the setting is in San Francisco, America and the weather is a typical boggy, miserable, grey day. This can supply the audience with the idea of pathetic fallacy meaning the weather reflects the next actions of the film. For example here we could say that because the weather is miserable, the films plot isn't going to be pleasant but perhaps upsetting or                                                                                       of a low mood.

Other shots used in the opening scene include an over the shoulder shot of the detective as the 'fem fatal' enters the room which in this case is the woman asking for help. This shot is effective as it allows us to see that when the woman enters the room the man stands up. This shows a simple sign of respect which may have a reflection on how men treated women in this era and not just all men having the stereotypical lack of respect for them. This also gives the audience the idea of the detectives character and therefore also giving an idea on how the films plot will be. This could be that the detective will be helpful and successful in finding the woman's sister.

Mise en scene is used in Maltese Falcone, for example to show the stereotypical Film Noir characters one being the 'femme-fetal'. This character is one that first came about in this genre, a woman that is used for the 'spider and fly' ideology. The idea being that the female character is the spider and is luring the detective in as if he was a fly. Mise en scene allows us to detect the signs of this character through the use of costuming, for example the femme fatal is usually a young female with pretty features and presented as innocent and some what desirable to the opposite sex. The character in this film shows all these signs: young as she is fresh faced, pretty features shown through the way the camera picks up her sparkly eyes and innocent through how                                                                                        she has come to the detective in need of help.


 Props are also used as part of mise en scene which allows us to see the status of characters. For example when first presented with the detective we could see he was rolling a cigarette. This allows us to understand he is a man of money as cigarettes were expensive in that era and therefore only a luxury. This can be paired with his costuming of a suit and tie, as well as his position of a detective and his own office. Therefore we can have a good idea that this character is of high status and wealth. This goes the same for the female role, she is wearing costuming such as fur (a luxury) and also dressed in a suit (formal). This could also be a way of luring the detective in as part of the 'spider and fly' convention as she presents herself as the same class as the detective meaning they have something in common and he may then be more likely to help her.

Sound is used in the film again to show the stereotypical codes and conventions of the film, for example through dialogue. A key line in the opening scene is from the female character, she says
"i'm from New York. I'm trying to find my sister". This line first suggests that she is from out of town which is a stereotypical way of creating mystery about a character within film, however this line also relates to the 'spider and fly' idea. Due to the female being from out of town it means neither the audience nor the detective know anything about her which allows the character to have some sort of danger about her. This line also allows the audience to see that she is asking for help and therefore the idea (again) of her luring the detective in. Non diegetic sound is also used in the opening of Maltese Falcon through music, in the opening scene the style of this is Jazz. This is played when the femme-fetal first walks in the room which is stereotypical for emphasising desirability for a character. This music unusually appears 'sexy' or suggestive of the character, however the music also  plays with minor notes at some points expressing elements of danger.

Editing is used in Maltese Falcons opening scene through things such as transitions. These start with slow fades from one establishing shot to another at the beginning of the opening scene which suggest the town is a peaceful, laid back area which contrasts with the idea of a stereotypical American city. This is usually dangerous. However these transitions change once the scene is in the detectives office, going from peaceful fades to jump cuts from one shot to another. This can emphasise the idea of a flow in conversation as these transitions allow the scene to have continuity. This also suggestiong that the femme fatal is building a rapport with the detective as a way of gaining his trust - 'spider and fly' ideology.

Genre

Where did genre come from and how did the golden age of hollywood reinforce it?

Film became very popular in Hollywood as it was something that entertained and something people had never seen before. As a result of this Film Makers began to create new ideas that would make people want to keep watching and as a result would make them more money.

Which genres became popular in Hollywood and why did audiences like them? 

Musicals were very popular during the early 1930's as this was when sound first appeared in movie theatres. These were also popular due to the idea of 'love at first site' being presented in most, an example of one is 42nd street. Gangster films were also popular due to the idea of typical NewYork being presented, with guns and fight scenes that would shock and bring a rush of adrenaline to the audience. This is also a reason why Horror became popular but also because it created the idea of  'the fear of the unknown' and the creation of new character the public had never imagined before. 

Alex, Please add the following elements asap:

2.    NO PRELIMINARY TASK EVALUATION EVIDENT

3.    NO BLUE VELVET TEXTUAL ANALYSIS (COULD USE BOND: SPECTRE INSTEAD)

4.    NO BLUE VELVET SCREEN GRABS IN PLACE

5.    NO BLUE VELVET VIDEO EMBEDDING IN PLACE

Blue Velvet Opening Scene

Blue Velvet Analysis

At the beginning of the clip we can see an image of a blue sky, red flower and white fence which can symbolise the American flag. This gives the audience the idea of an ideal America or, in contrast with the later scene, the myth of America.

 This continues throughout the clip with the red, white and blue fire truck which again gives us a false sense of security due to a fire engine usually symbolising danger. As we can see that the sirens aren't on and the fireman is giving what looks to be a fixed smile, we can understand that there's something odd about this situation. Another way in which Mise en scene is used in the opening of Blue Velvet is the shot of the TV at the end of the consistent ideal situations. For example we have the clear blue skies, open clean streets and innocent children walking home from school, however in a jump cut we can see something that largely contrasts. The next scene is a TV show featuring a man with a gun, this in a way confirms our preconceived ideas of the situation in hand being dangerous. This scene also acts as a trigger for the following scenes to all be negative, such as the pipe bursting and the man being attacked. This allows the audience to understand that all the events after this will be negative and therefore understanding that the innocent name 'Blue Velvet' doesn't reflect on the movies genre but is infant totally opposite.

The editing in the opening scene is also used in order to create effect in Blue Velvet, for example through the use of transitions which change throughout the clip. For example before the the plot twist of the mans attack, the scenes dissolve into one another creating a peaceful fluency as it allows each calming situation to sink in to the audience meaning they have opportunity to keep up. This matches with the idea of consistent ideal situations. However this changes once we see the man watering the garden; from here the transitions become jump cuts from one to another making it harder for the audience to keep up especially once the man has been attacked. This helps Blue Velvet create mystery and therefore make the audience curious as to what has happened to the man and watch further.

Sound is used in the Blue Velvet opening scene, for example, through the music used. The piece of music 'Blue Velvet' is used over all the scenes adding to the mood and helping it seem harmless and a completely different genre to what is it. Unlike the transitions, the music doesn't change when the mood of the scene changes which creates contrast. For example once the man gets attacked, even though the whole mood of the scene changes, the music still continues.





Camera angles are also used in Blue Velvet for effect on the audience. For example at the start of the clip, the director uses multiple establishing shots of different parts of the town. We can see a fire truck driving past in one shot, children walking home from school in another up to the man watering the garden. This is done to give the audience the idea of the friendly town and again introduce the idea of the myth of America. However the main establishing shot is the house of the characters which allows the audience to realise something is about to happen here. Camera angles are also used in the clip to allow the audience to have understanding of what is happening. For example the use of close ups when the scenes turn negative, like the hose pipe tangles around the branch. This helps the audience to follow along rather than having to guess or assume what is happening. 

Prelim Task Evaluation

180 degree rule-

This is when the camera must only film within 180 degrees from where it is. This enable the orientation of the scene to be understandable for the audience. This is demonstrated in my film through the way the camera only stays within 180 degrees of the two characters and we are therefore able to stay in orientation. 

Match on action-

This is an editing technique that allows all clips to flow continuously. It shows different shots from the same point of a scene allowing the audience to be distracted from the slight cutting of shots and therefore makes the film stay realistic. This is shown in my film, for example, when the folders first hit the floor. A shot is taken of the characters bumping into each other, on the floor with the folders and then standing up with them- this all in one continuous shot.

Eye line match-

This is when the camera is positioned at the same level as the characters eye. This creates the illusion that you are seeing this character as the other person is. We are able to see this in my film when the dialogue first begins, first from the female characters point of view and then swapping to the male.

Shot Reverse Shot-

This is when we see one character looking at the other (eye line match) and straight after we can see the other character looking back from another viewpoint. This is demonstrated through the first few eye line matches. 

Story Board too Filming it 

We created a story board describing the different characters, what they did, the shots and dialogue with detailed pictures to show what the final shot should look like. This was an easy process apart from creating the dialogue as it was difficult to make it so the film didn't feel unrealistic. However an advantage of the story board was that it could be used as a guide to refer to when actually filming. 

This was completely different to how the filming actually played out as we didn't consider the factors we couldn't control, for example people wanting to walk past as we were filming in a haul accessible to all pupils. As a result we had to keep stopping the camera to either let someone go past or because a scene was interrupted which also took up more of our time as we had to re-film scenes. 

Editing

I loved the editing process as its my favourite part of media. I learnt, firstly, how to use Adobe Premiere as it was a programme I had never used before. I first learnt how to cut clips through double clicking the selected clip and then clicking the 'open' and 'closed' brackets at the point of the clip I wanted it to begin and end. I also created title such as the 'So Cliche' that appeared down the bannister. I was able to do this through taking the timeline to the point i wanted the title to appear, adding a title and then drawing a text box and rotating it to fit the bannister. Transitions were also simple to do once I learnt you had to choose which one i wanted and then drag it over to the gap i wanted it to go in. 

So Cliche- Preliminary Task