Film Noir

Schrader’s article on film noir was helpful in giving a history of the concept and how it tied into what was going on in the world at the time. For example, he discusses how film noir mostly pertains to Hollywood films of the forties and fifties that show the crime and corruption going on in that era. He then goes on to talk about how noir specifically draws from the elements of war and post-war disillusionment, post-war realism, the German influence, and the hard-boiled tradition. By breaking it up into these few categories he helped me grasp a better understanding about noir because it is a difficult concept to fully understand.

The article by Place and Peterson about visual motifs on film noir was helpful in giving an extensive list of techniques for how to tell that a film is in the area of noir. I didn't realize how much lighting can do in a scene until reading through this article. It can tell you the mood instantly and what the character is feeling in the scene. I always knew lighting was important but now I know that a single wrong shadow can cause a scene to need to be re shot and the lighting people are perhaps some of the most important players in the making of a film. Other than lighting I found it intriguing that objects hold such an importance in the noir style. If an object is in the frame is takes on an importance because it is a stable composition even if the item isn’t of importance to the storyline.  However they note that mirrors are a common object used that does hold importance because characters see themselves in it and their reflection can have shadows.