Setting and Costume in Film Noir.

Conventions of Film Noir (part 1)

Setting and Costume in Film Noir

Film Noir is renouned for the classy, silhouette style. The whole style consists of contrasts between the costume and the setting, which is heavily aided by the lighting.
The fims focus on either detectives, gangsters or generally other organised criminal activity, so the dress code is normally a black, grey, brown or pinstripe three piece suit, accompanied by a fedora of a similar colour.
Normally, a cigarette or cigar would be present; the smoke seems to contribute effectively to the contrast of the entire image.

Not from a film, but this picture of Al Capone sums up everything the Film Noir era embodied in film. The films imitate the real life image of the gangster/cop 40s conflicts. The style refers to the classy suit style of the '40s; grey, pinstripe or black suits. The fedora hats and cigars/cigarettes. The image of the characters is the biggest part of the visual experience, as the dark clothing of the protagonists or characters in the lighting of film noir creates great black shadows behind, complete silhouetting of the character, or the overly illuminated foreground effect. 

The women wore very glamorous 1940s dresses. The theme of class was always present, which is normally expressed through the medium of clothing. The reality is, the dresses would be in deep reds, blues or purples, but due to the greyscale/black and white filming of the Noir era, they always come out as grey, giving an extra sense of sophistication. Yet again, cigarettes were often present.

Generally, Film Noir settings seem to be in prohibition period cities; Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. However, they could take place in small towns, suburban settings, rural areas or the open road. The buildings they take place in tended to be bars, lounges, nightclus, gambling dens, houses, stairways, offices, jails or bedrooms. The typical ending took place in visually complex, often industrial settings, such as refineries, factories, trainyards and power plants.

One Film Noir film we looked at was Double Indemnity.
In the "I killed him" scene at the start, traditional setting and costume is summarised. Walter Neff (portrayed by Fred MacMurray) is sitting in an office, smoking a cigarette. He is in a suit and a fedora hat, as is the style.
Also adding to the Film Noir setting is the fact that he's discussing a murder; another crime film. The shadows in the background are heavy, and Walter is very well lit, setting the mood for the scene, putting all the focus on him.

How to shoot a conversation

Conversations are a vital part of film.
Despite the visual imagery, the sound imagery is vital in the flow of a story.
The story is displayed through the characters and conveyed and interpreted through them and the script.
This is why conversation is vital.
The key to capturing and enhancing the conversation is to convey it from all aspects.
This means all angles and every perspective; how one character sees the other, from the distance, from above.

The conversation featuring here is the ever famous THIS IS SPARTA scene from 300, between Gerard Butler, Eva Green and Peter Mensah.

The conversation is captured from several angles
to enhance the mood, the feeling and build up the scene.
It shows the full passion and intensity of the conversation.

There are several ways to capture a conversation, but they always have to stick to 'the rules'

The 180 degree rule:

The 180 degree rule is essentially the line travelling straight through the two characters. For example, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and the Messenger (Peter Mensah) are both standing along the metaphorical line of sight. The camera never breaches the line. The characters will always have a set position on this line, to make sure the shot doesn't confuse the viewer.

Shot Variety:

To keep a scene interesting a variety of shots is necessary, to keep the flow of the conversation, and to catch the entirety of the conversation.

The most common shot in the THIS IS SPARTA scene is the midshot; the face, shoulders and some background present.

Like King Leonidus here:

 

And then there are master shots; featuring both involved from a side on angle. Like when Leonidus delivers the kick that makes the film memorable.

Picks Ups:
Little bits that are edited into the shot after the main action has been filmed; fillers to add context or extra detail when no conversation is present. For example, in this scene it could be where he glances at his wife, or when he looks into the distance, at Sparta itself.

Continuety Editing:

The process of editing a scene to increase the fluency. In the beginning, we see Leonidus talking to the messenger. We follow them walking and talking from several angles, both moving shots, and still camera shots. We see their faces, other characters faces, background shots etc. It all links the shots together to make everything organised and structured, so the scene flows into itself perfectly.

Shot/Reverse Shot:
When we have a shot of a characters face which then switches to what the character is looking at, through their viewpoint. It then returns back to a shot of their face. This is to emphasize what they're looking at.
For example, in the 300 scene, we know that when he looks at his wife, they're both considering what the messenger said. Without conversation, we can tell this doesn't meet their approval. When she nods, we, the audience, can tell that something big is going to happen.