Film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a term used to describe Hollywood crime dramas particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. It started in the mid-1940 to the late 1950’s and that’s where it had stopped. It is in black and white, and the lighting is a big part in the filming.

In this image they use low-key lighting because you can’t see the actors they are just shadows and the smoke behind them is the only light in that frame. You can’t see the actor’s faces and this connotes that the director done this so it looks suspicious. But it makes them stand out in the frame because of the bright smoke behind them. There is a key-light behind them because their shadows come to the foreground, this is affective if it’s a crime scene or the actor’s identities are meant to be hidden.

They are also in an alleyway or a backstreet and this connotes that something suspicious is happening. The low-key light also makes it look very serious and the man is walking towards the woman but you can’t see the man’s face. The genre for this particular movie could be romance or a crime drama because there is a man and woman involved. Also they are in sneaky and dangerous places.

The trailer is ‘A woman in the window’ high-key lighting is mainly used in this trailer. The trailer starts off with high-key on the first two main characters then introduces them still in high-key. The movie is mostly in high-key. The movie i think is a romance because there is high-key lighting on all the women. This connotes that it is a romance and the women are made to look attractive. But then later in the movie it mentions crime and the clip suddenly switches to low-key. It is the part when everything turns bad and the lighting changes from bright to dark which connotes that trouble is beginning.