Evalutation

Reflective Analysis of badge film sequence
In my group’s film sequence we aimed to create an opening to a Detective Crime Drama, influenced by Film Noir, Neo-Noir and French New Wave cinema. The clip we have created is the opening 5 minute sequence of the film in which we have the narrative equilibrium and disruption is set out for our audience.
I researched Film Noir genre movies and other films of the Detective genre whilst writing the script, and feel that the plot would sit perfectly with many other Detective dramas, being based around the ‘good cop, bad cop’, which dominated the genre in around the 1940-50s. However, as this was aimed at a modern audience, we decided to alter the conventions of these films, and swapped the conventional male detective, for a female character. Whilst adding a different depth to the film, it also reflects the changing times which we live in. However this also meant that through character choice we could portray Harry as an outsider, as the other police detectives who would be portrayed in the film, are all male. This is also a key fact in many Detective genre movies such as Dirty Harry (Siegel, 1971), the hero is an outsider, and although Harry doesn’t show any of the same vigilante-style, maverick cop qualities as Dirty Harry they can both be seen as two sides of the same coin.
We decided to place an effect over the sequence which, while conforming to the conventions of the Noir genre, brought the technique more up to date through the harsh difference between black and white. The technique felt much more modern due to the graphic novel style of the technique, and this was an interesting motif to have as these styles of comics are known for being highly dark. As a result this was something which the audience would have picked up on subconsciously, automatically taking the film in that darker direction. This meant that we could show the extremes of light and dark, reflecting how while she is safe at the moment, her investigation will be highly dangerous. We also showed the colour beginning to fade back in which is a way of representing how Harry has escaped, and the oppressive black and white of the police force is beginning to fade away. Kate thought that this would be an interesting technique, and if we were to film the end of the movie would be a technique which we could use, showing the world out of this highly contrasting world.
The directing role which I took in the film meant I had many duties, one of which was casting. I worked closely with my actors, describing each scene in depth, letting them familiarise themselves with their lines, while I ran through the emotion their character were feeling at this period of the scene. This close connection with my actors was key as none of them had any drama training and, due to this their reactions felt more real and less calculated, creating a more organic feeling to the story. This realism through the acting was an important to me, as due to my research into the techniques of directors, such as Christopher Nolan, realism plays a key part in his Neo-Noir works, and was something I wished to emulate. To help my actors I decided to keep shots short, with as many takes as possible taken in a short period of time. This decision was down to the fact that I could give my actors quick advice on their emotional portrayals before takes and meant they had little time to process these thoughts, meaning more fluid performances.
I also was in charge of finding locations. I tried to relate these locations to reflect the different emotions which were happening in Harry’s mind at the time. This included choosing days to film on which were grey and overcast, reflecting the inner turmoil which Harry is going through after the death of Nigel. This while not showing up on the sequence, due to the effect placed over the shot, was an aid to my actors especially Saba who played Harry, as after discussion with her about what kind of things she would like me to do to aid her performance she mentioned that visual aids would help. As a result I saw the opportunity to use these days as a way of helping with her performance. Although this brought about complications in scheduling, it enhanced the film, as it’s Saba’s performance which really enhances the film opening. The scene by the river was also highly metaphoric, as it was extremely expansive, showing through the use of the establishing shot that Harry identity will change just as quickly as a river does.
Another of my jobs was to work closely with my groups’ cinematographer, and decided on the basic shot ideas. We did this through basic storyboards and an animatic, and used our influence of French New Wave on certain shots. While this was not as major an influence as we initially thought it would have been we did use it for to influence how we did our tracking shots. For example, the shot in the Captain’s office, in which the camera tracks around Harry was influenced highly by Jean Luc Godard’s film A bout de Souffle (1960), and his interesting use of motion in the film. The shot whilst making the scene more fluid, it was also an interesting way to finally show Harry’s face. We decided to only show Harry after the news of Nigel’s death, as this means we only see her character in crisis. We could also then bring in the more psychological elements, more commonly associated with the Neo-Noir genre.
We also decided to bring in more handheld camera movements after the announcement of Nigel’s death. This was done to bring more meaning into the film, as Harry slowly begins to crumble under the pressure of the case. This meant that audience spectatorship was enhanced through the use of the handheld motion, as they begin to connect far more with Harry and her mental state throughout the film, as she slowly realises that everything she believed in was a lie. This alignment with Harry was also extremely important to establish in these early stages of the film, as we want the audience to become attached to Harry in these early stages of the film, creating the allegiance which would be so important in the empathy of the audience with the character.
The final job which I took was the mise-en-scene, which I decided to keep as simplistic as possible. The coat which Harry wears was extremely important, as the trench coat style is highly symbolic of the kind of detective which appeared in the 1940s and 50s Noir films, made especially famous by Humphrey Bogart. This intertextuality was very important to the film, as this was a way of casting the audiences mind back to these old movies, which enhances the spectatorship and also again places our film into the Noir film bracket. It was also a way of showing that Harry is the new kind of hero, as she takes the image of long-standing Noir protagonists, with the difference being the pattern of the jacket showing she is different to these old style protagonists. The fact that in the flash forward sequence she is not wearing this jacket was also an important factor, as it was a metaphor for her loss of identity, and her escape from the police world.
The Photograph of Nigel and Lily was also important as this would be the only time which the audience sees the couple until a lot later in the film. As a result this distances our audience from them, meaning that when we would reveal Nigel was not really dead and holding his wife to ransom, the audience would have their perception of the police force changed due to association, and not just about Nigel. This was highly important in explaining Harry’s actions later in the film, and as a result we want to make her reasons for leaving the police force more prominent.
The sound was the most problematic thing in the film. Due to the places we filmed in there was a lot of background noise which meant lots more editing to remove the noise. We decided on the soundtracks to enhance the mood of the scenes. This included the choice of a song with Morse code SOS in, which is again another way of signifying to the audience that Harry will be in danger. The contemporary nature of both songs is also key in enhancing the Neo-noir nature of the film, as they are both quite edgy.
The film begins with a flash forward, which while disjointing the structure, and altering it from the conventional linear structure of most Hollywood films, also introduces the audience to the motif often used in Neo-noir films, that of identity crisis. This loss of identity meant that as a group we decided to not show Harry’s face until Nigel’s death had been announced, showing how her world begins to fall apart. This also meant we could show more psychological elements, again another motif of the Neo-noir genre.
To conclude I believe we have met our aims and contexts efficiently. We met our target audience, with all of those people watching the film commenting on the brilliant use of the black and white effect. Our mini-homage to Dirty Harry (Siegel, 1971) came out far better than I could have imagined, with an interesting idea of the slow fade in of colour at the end creating real meaning. The research which I did into the Film Noir and Neo-Noir genres really paid off, as it has helped to formulate ideas, and helped greatly with stylistic elements in the film. While not having as much French New Wave influence as we initially thought, it has always been a background influence, and meant that we decided to take whatever we had to hand to help create our film. All in all the project has been a success, and has been an enjoyable way of applying the techniques which I have learned about in an enjoyable way.