Lighting in Film Noir

What is film noir?
The rounded theme for Film Noir is usually about criminals, femmes fatales,antagonist and their bleak urban settings which is expressed through the use of dark shadows and lighting. 
In addition, this style of film was used and quite popular in the 1940's and 50's due the Hays code(1930-68). 
The Hayes code limited the amount of sex and violence shown on screen, so elements of that had to come from unique camera angles and lighting.

  Analysation

The most common and used device in film noir is low-key lighting which is applied to create a chiaroscuro effect which is also used here as we can see the harsh contrasts between dark and light. Filler light are not used often in film noir as we want to amplify the exaggeration  in contrast in the low key lighting . We can see that lights have been placed behind the actor to create a silhouette 

  The Night of the Hunter Clip

First of all, there is more chiaroscuro and harsh lighting used on the female character to create a halo effect and also to emphasis on her purity and innocence whilst the male character is left in the shadows to suggest him as impure and deranged. In addition, soft lighting was used to glamorise the female character. A foggy background was used to create sense of suspense or even foreshadow another tragic event.

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 mise-en-scène: Altered perception

Costume: We can see that the person injecting the liquid  and hands on the woman's face is a doctor and this also infers that the government are behind on this. In addition, the title has red cross around it which also implies the involvement of medical workers.

Lighting: Similarly, we find a contrast between the gloomy edges of the poster and the bright centre. This reminds the audience of a surgery room.

Actor: The unrealistic eyes indicates the genre of the movie: science fiction. The rested eyebrows gives the impression that this is the norm and standard in the utopia of the film

Props: The title of the movie 'altered perception' suggests a controlled society that lacks of cognitive processing.
Furthermore, the slogan 'truth can be prescribed' also connotes that similar to prescriptions, the truth is also now man-made.








Mise-en-scene: Harry potter and the order of phoenix

Costume: we can see most of the character are wearing uniform that confirms their juvenility and youthfulness which also tells us what their target audience is.

Actor: We have the protagonist in the centre and a wide shot to emphases his presence and importance in the film.

Lighting: The misty bright light from behind contrasts with smokey blacked-out edges of the poster to convey a sense of mystery and secrecy. 

                                                Props: The wand is a key element in exposing the genre of the book: Fantasy literature and Fiction. Especially since all the character in the poster also possess a wand but only Harry's is shown, this could be to foreshadow the importance of his wand in the film.   

                                                                                                                                                                             

 Mise-en-scene: Only God forgives.

Costume/Prop:  The stubble beard, slit eyebrow and flyaways in his hair add dimension to his stern face. The outfit worn by the protagonist demonstrates professionalism   which contradicts with placement of his hands that connotes secularism. 

Lighting: The visual presentation of the orange and red      usually are given to warm hearted comedy and animation film but this is clearly not the case.                 The use of the vibrant colours gives us a neon nightmare kind of look and also signals that this movie might a psychological thriller.

Actor: The character is clearly not a heavy build man but through his fists, he is able to convey his significance and authority.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           




                                                                                                                                                          

Newspapers

• Which daily newspapers (if any) do you read?
• The Guardian Mail
• What sections of newspapers do you turn to first, and why?
• Usually whats ever on the front cover of the newspaper.
• What sections do you never read, and why?
• Anything football related.
• What kinds of stories do you usually read and why?
• Politics, global affairs and sometimes scandals.
• Do you, or someone else, buy the newspaper you read?
• My father.
• Do you look at the online versions of any newspapers? Which newspapers? Why do you visit their website and not others?
• Yes like twitter which is surprisingly quite informative.

Magazines

• What magazines (if any) do you buy regularly?  Why
• What sections of the magazines do you read and not read, and why?

Television

• Approximately how many hours a week do you spend watching television?
•  5-6 hours.
• What times of day do you usually watch television?
•    morning or late at night (during the weekends only)
• What programmes do you like best and why? 
• Korean, Taiwanese and Japanese drama. 
• Do you watch alone or with others? If you watch with others, who decides what you will watch?
• Alone.
• Do you watch 'live' TV or on-demand/catch-up? Do you use any other devices to watch TV (such as laptop of tablet?)
• Catch-up. 

Radio

• Do you listen to the radio?
• No.
• If yes, what stations do you like best and why?
• Approximately how many hours a week do you spend listening to the radio?
• What times of the day do you usually listen to the radio?
• Where do you listen to the radio?
• What other activities (if any) do you do whilst listening to the radio?

Cinema

• What films have you seen in the cinema in the last month?
• Suicide Squad.
• What films have you seen in other places – for example, through rental, satellite film channels (free or otherwise) or through video-on-demand?
• A Japanese movie called Mother
• Who else watched the films with you?
• None.
• What devices do you typically use to watch films: TV, laptop, tablet, phone etc.?
• Laptop/ipad.

Online

• How often do you access the internet?
• Laptop/phone
• Where do you access the internet?  At home, at college or school, or at work?
• Home and School
• What are the main sites that you access?
• Twitter and kdrama sites.
• To connect with the rest of the world
• What other activities (if any) do you do whilst accessing the internet?
• Read online books or make blogs on tumblr.
• What different devices do you use to access the internet? What is your primary device for accessing the internet?;
• Laptop
• What social networks do you use regularly (e.g. Twitter, Instagram)? Why do you belong to these networks in particular?
• Twitter at least 2 hours day honestly.

Reflection

• How can you develop the amount and variety of media you consume?
• Listen to the radio and read newspapers.
• What will you change in your media consumption habits this year as a result of studying A Level Media?
• recognising the different types of media outlets.
• List three sources of media (websites/newspapers/apps/TV programmes etc.) that you will start to access this year that you haven't engaged with previously.
• The BBC
• Captial Fm (radio)
• Newspaper (The sun)
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