Representations of the Femme-Fatale in Film Noir

The femme-fatale is a key character in film noir and is still used as a basic character construct in modern films such as Basic Instinct and Sin City. She usually begins her on screen presence as innocent and worried. She expresses her troubles to an eager detective willing to help the damsel in distress by any means possible. Usually he takes the case and finds out by the end that he's been on a wild goose chase lead from the start by none other than the femme-fatale.

Her true character is dangerous and unhinged, she will go to endless lengths and stop at nothing to get what she wants, it's almost admirable how determined she is, but that admiration is quickly diminished by how transparent she becomes. You truly see how crazy she is, how some of them don't cause the chaos for a reason, they do it for fun, they like chaos, they're extremely dangerous.

Examples of some of cinemas greatest femme-fatales include Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity with the infamous low angle shot focusing on her character Phylis. Joan Bennet in Scarlet Street playing her character of Kitty Marsh, and Lauren Bacall in the big sleep. The manipulative street smart Vivan Ruttledge.

For the time they defied expectations of how a woman should act, during the 30's and 40's women's role in society changed because during World War II men went off to war and women had to cover men's old jobs- farming, building. When the war ended women wanted change and power as opposed to what they had before. for the first time in history women were emancipated. However they still had to act a certain way, to conform to the work place like men had to and be polite about it. This is why a woman non-conforming took the audience by storm as it was unusual, people wanted more.

We are using a femme-fatale for our film however as it's only an intro so we're trying to establish her early on as someone who appears to be hated by her lover (the villian: Tony) then as she walks off a later shot is shown where Tony and his nephew are trying to keep quiet and exchange secret information, then the camera tilts up and shows that the femme-fatale has been watching the whole time, this shows that she'll be a key part later on in the film for the villains downfall/hubris.

The shot I just mentioned is reminiscent of Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity as her introductory scene of her at the top of the stairs:

Planning Schedule

Planning schedule

3rd November 2014 - Planning schedule created.

7th November 2014 - Begin to organize when certain actors can perform.

11th November 2014 - Film all of the college scenes, borrow a camera for the night.

11th November (Night) 2014 - Normal lesson no filming, film the detective scenes at my house.

17th November 2014 - Free lesson - Re-shoot anything that needs it, add additional scenes if necessary 

28th November 2014 - Record the voice over at Sixth Form recording studio

1st December 2014 - Editing again making sure all editing is done so add on's can be added for example titles,
voice overs and sound effects.


8th December 2014 - Add titles, voice overs  and sound effects.

15th December 2014 - Evaluate our film opening 

December feedback

You are making good progress toward the deadline. Your web-log reflects your motivation and planning is clear.


Ensure all planning is thorough and documented such as a production schedule

 Go back over posts and ensure clarity when discussing audience and representation

Document your creative journey by taking screenshots and using them to discuss progress.

Representation of the Detective in Film Noir

The detective is a staple character in film noir. Even today with Neo-Noirs such as Sin City there is still a detective. There a crucial part of any crime mystery and they usually have a key set of characteristics, this post is going to explore some of those characteristics.

Firstly the age of the detective can say  a lot about the character itself. He's usually an older man, mid 40's. He's seen what there is to see of life and he isn't happy. He knows the tricks of the rade and he doesn't need some young new rookie giving him orders, he knows his way is best and he sticks to it. People usually associate older age with stubbornness and that's exactly what the detective usually is; stubborn.

Secondly the gender of the detective in noir will, most likely if not always be, male. During the 30's/40's when Noirs were huge society saw men differently as they do today. They were seen as the masculine heroes who put the food n the table whilst his wife stayed at home and cleaned/cooked. Men had an overbearing sense of power during those times that was reflected on the big screen through Warner Bros Noir films. Watching some you will often see a backhand to a woman's face or remarks such as "Sweetheart" and "doll-face" which would be considered sexist by today's standards.

Finally, although he's usually depicted as rough, strong and resilient they usually fall prey to women who are easy on the eyes. Femme Fatales are usually the key reason why the detectives get themselves into trouble. They fall for the dame that's dangerous, the one they can't have and end up paying the consequences because of this.

The Detective in our Film Noir is Detective Lance Bullock, he's the first speaker in the form of a voice over and sets the tone for the rest of the film. He's rough, he's angry and he doesn't like wild goose chases. However he does believe in his superiors, he knows that when they have a hunch they're usually right, so as strange as their orders are this time he has no choice but to trust them. We tried to script a detective who resembles all the key characteristics shows above that are common conventions of his character in film noir. Our detetcive goes by his gut, no matter the cost.

Film Analysis of Others

In order for me to create, film and edit my 2 minute opening sequence I looked at a range of other opening sequences to criticize and praise what was good and bad about them. I have chosen to analysis this particular opening sequence as I know it has been given a high grade which is what I am aiming for. The link for this video is; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8i7MrrxVh7U

and is called on YouTube; Vindicate Film Opening Title Sequence (A GRADE) - AS Media Studies 2014.

I first would like to talk about its time. The specification of this that is 2 minutes long and this video is 2 minutes 7 which is good as they have stuck to the specification. Further more it starts of with a logo (home-made) which shows they can add titles and also make a logo for there production. You only see the logo for about 2-4 seconds which is good as it gets straight into the opening sequence. While this is happening there is a  voice over which is telling the viewers what's happened and why they are there which sets the scene for the viewers so they aren't in the dark to what it is about.

The first seconds it shows a large range of shots with also a background music setting tension. There is also more titles which they name the character within the clip. They also are wearing props which he looks like a police officer. There location is a house which they have fit a story line within the household as they have more props guns and are searching the house. The story line flows and the audience knows what happening but is also intruded to know what's going to happen.

More titles have been added for example 'directed by' and 'costume and props by' Constantly the clip is changing shots which as this is a upbeat opening sequence its suits and fits and keeps the audience watching at all times In case they miss anything.

Special effects then have been used because as they search the house the camera then goes to a gun (the eye of the gun?) watching one of the people searching the house. It then goes to the credits which say 'Vindicate' but goes from a white background to a red and then back to white with a shooting sounds this suggest someone got shots however the viewers don't know if they did the opening sequence is just portraying that.

Taking the good points from this opening sequence and using them in my opening sequence.

The use of props was very good, which made it more realistic for the viewers.

The start where they have a logo but also have a short summary of what's happening so it enables the viewer to have a limited amount of knowledge within the first 5 seconds of watching the opening sequence.

Taking the back points from this opening sequence and understand why not to use them in my opening sequence.

I think sometimes this opening sequence comes across as a trailer as there is a lot happening for the first two minutes which goes against the specification so when making my opening sequence I think I have to very carful with what footage I have in my clip.

Finally at the end there is a plain black screen for about 10 seconds which has no purpose I don't think there is any need for it so it should of been edited out.

Film Noir - Storyboard

Our film storyboard. Estimated time of final film to be around 2 minutes 20 seconds.
Note: Follow the story board by the numbers, not the position of each square.

Representation of Audience - Why go see a Film? Who is our Audience?

Horror is a genre which has many aspects. The aim is to scare your audience and there are a variety of different ways to do this. This means that he audience will want to find out how the creators of the film are going to scare them. This shows that the audience wants to explore the genre.  Another reason why audiences may be interested in horror is because it's a mainstay genre to see with friends. Most modern horror films are short and simple with little plot, this means they're mainly made to scare audiences and, simple stuff like this means that groups of friends can enjoy seeing them with a focus on enjoying themselves rather than concentrating on the film. 

That example is solely for horror, however it's not just the scary parts that attract an audience. There are qualities in horror that most films share to bring in an audience. This blog post is going to focus on all of the different representations that films show to bring in an audience.

The first feature is known as the male gaze. This is where casting directors hire an attractive female character so the audience has 'Eye Candy' so if anyone sees a film trailer and sees an attractive woman, they may see it solely because of the 'eye candy'. Actresses such as Emma Watson and Jessica Alba This is also the same for the opposite sex with the female gaze. A woman may not want to see a big Hollywood action film, however they may tolerate it if attractive men are in it such as Tom Cruise, Zac Efron or Daniel Raddcliffe.

The second feature could be star power. An audience member may resonate with a certain actor/actress and want to see the film because they have faith that he/she will give a great performance. This could also relate to the reviews a film gets. There has been many film where to overall film was considered poor but the saving grace was the actor/actress. A certain star could completely change your opinion on whether or not you go see a film. A modern example of this would be the work of Johnny Depp, he's gained a huge following since Pirates of the Caribbean and is a great example of actors who an change an audience members mind. 

The third feature of a film which may draw the audiences attention is the genre of the film, this can also relate to the time of year. For example during the summer, audiences are most likely going to see big summer movie blockbusters with little plot and a lot of action such as Transformers 4. During October audiences may be more likely to see a horror due to it being Halloween and the same for Christmas. If you know nothing about a film yet know its a genre that you particularity like, or is fitting for the time of year and known what you can expect. This means that the audience isn't completely in doubt with what they're going to watch and if they had to chose between a genre they liked to one they didn't really like, then knowing the conventions of that genre will want to pick the one they like and know what to expect.

Who is the audience for a Film Noir?

Usually films are made today with a goal to bring in a larger audience, this is why it's rare to see films rated higher than 18 as they know that it's mostly teenagers that go to the cinema. However with a Film Noir the audience is supposed to generally be adults, due to when they were originally made. Most teenagers may have not even watched a Film Noir as they have more less been replaced by thriller. The themes in our production are adult, and focus on an adult in a strange situation concerning crime however it's focused in a teen-based area (A Sixth Form College) this is where we have changed the conventions of the genre to fit with a modern audience, however this is the only key concept we have changed.