Location Shots

 

As a group, we all brainstormed together areas and locations that would be suitable for our film and of which we may consider filming. Looking closely at our previous research, i.e. Noir conventions/codes, we wanted to make sure the areas in which we would eventually film where suitable for the narrative and most importantly, the genre in question. Here are some of the following locations we visited:-

 

 

 

 Due to the fact that we have 3 group members as well as 2 cast members as well as the ease of access to the locationin question, our group made the joint decision that Baldock Town would be our first choice when filming. We felt that Baldock itsself held many classic settings of which would work well in our film. The historic past and old buildings in this town meant our film could look authentic as well as the fact each of us was familiar with the area (so could pin point particular places of interest).

We were initially fascinated with the local church - We felt the visually striking structure itsself, as well as the surrounding graveyard and land fit in well with our ideas, also helping to play a significant role in our plotline. The themes of death, deceit and sin present in our narrative hold a dark juxtaposition to this place of religion and worship which create a dark, sinister undercurrent to our film as a whole.

Directly Above is a snap shot of a particular area in which we feel our final scene could be held. The beaming light of the sun contrasting with the dark shadows created by the towering trees and graves work really nicely together - creating an eerie atmosphere.

I have also experimented with the hue and saturation of the images - changing the format to black and white, increasing the contrast and bringing definition to both the light and dark areas. This allowed me to see what the scenes would look like when theyre brought to life through the use of moving image. 

Directly above are the snap shots of the location where 'The Confrontation' scene is held. The stand-off between the protagonist and femme fatale is a pivitol moment filled with tension building up to the climatic moment of the film, so therefore we hoped to use a symbolic and visually pleasing location which could echoe the importance of this scene. The setting of the church/ Grave yard subtley projects a sense of irony as this holy place of worship and sleeping place of the dead will soon become our protagonists inevitable fate (unknowingly to the audience and the character himself).

Not only does the location add to the ideology and narrative of the film, but gives a cinematic effect that adds to the artistic style and visuals of which Film Noir enquires. The natural light shining down from the sun above contrasts with the vast shaded areas in order to deflect the risk of sunbeam ruining shots. This contrast also adds further definition to the dark and light areas - giving a similar visual effect to low key lighting.

We chose the use the closed down police station just off Baldock highstreet for the initial meeting between the femme fatale and the male protagonist. The scene consisted of Detective Ray leaving his place of work, meeting Chloe and sharing his cigarettes with her. As they smoke, they get to know eachother, Chloe suggesting they get a drink. I really liked the railings and long, diagonal pathway its led down, creating an interesting visual effect to film with. The location matched the desired criteria:- worn brickwork, institutional looking building. Although quite noisey due to being on the roadside, this kind of worked to represent an urban city setting. To avoid the noise masking the dialogue we waited for dips in traffic and passers by before we filmed each section.

We chose a desolate, dark alley way leading away from the main highstreet for 'The Crime Scene' as we felt the quiet, alleyway masked in shadow added to the mysterious, eerie nature of the scene. Again, the brickwork and urban street setting fitted well with our desired location. The vast, bending alley and towering trees/ building structure seemed intimidating compared to the helpless corpse lying low down on the ground. The arch way also gave the scene a nice artistic edge, as if the camera is looking into a framed painting.

A Historic row of houses worked perfectly for part of our montage scene, in which the pair hold hands and walk down a pathway together. Grand, old fashioned architexture appears in many Film Noir movies - adding to the quality, style and sophistication of the genre. The brickwall is in parrallell to the diagonal pathway which cuts directly across the frame again adding a sense of style and quality. The sunlight shon directly from the left, hitting the houses and brickwork, creating stark shadow and highlighted rooftops which added definition between the dark and light areas.

We were originally planning to film a 'Dancing in the street' clip to include in our montage scene. However, we had already filmed a majority of our film down streets or alleyways, and felt it we could inject an added dimension by filing this part in a secluded, more natural environment. We settled for the maze like garden to the side of the Tescos Building in Baldock. This area consists of tall trees, bushes, flowers and cobbled pathways which looked really nice when caught on camera. The idea of dancing in a park filled with nature mirrors their blooming relationship as well as appearing visually pleasing on screen.

Another clip which was to appear in the montage was the pair sitting closely on a bench. We struggled at first to find somewhere that would not be confronted with traffic and passers by, until we came across this bench which is in a central position along the highstreet. By the time we found this bench it was mid day - so the street was fairly quiet. Behind the Bench was a grand old fashioned building surrounded by folked black gates adding to the air of luxury and sophistication Noir thrives on. The lines in the bench echoed the lines in the gate in the backdrop, creating visually stunning imagery. The light was also shining from the left, highlighting the left sides of the subjects, whilst the right side of them was more concealed in shade.

The parts that we had filmed for the montage so far were looking good but we felt there was something missing. To add to the continuity and structure of the scene, we added a final clip in which the Detective would walk the Femme Fatale to her house. We found a perfect setting down Pepper Alley which saw a gateway leading into a large house. The long alleyway, along with the perfectly placed street lamp and grand structured gateway all worked well together to create an interesting layout which fits in well with the genre. The alley itself was hidden in thich shadow, with only sunlight coming through the gates, like a gateway to heaven which looked beautiful when shot.

We also took some images/ ran some practise filming scenes of locations in doors, in this case being loving scenes between the two main characters in the bedroom and also the bedroom/bathroom scene, in which the Femme Fatale awakes, goes to the bathroom and is stunned when she learns the Protagonist has found the murder weapon and evidence in her Bedroom. This scene was to be filmed in the day when the natural light from the sun would be able to creep through the window - showing the scene to be early in the morning aftwer the night before. With each section filmed inside the house we experimented with various shot types, piecing them together when we were next in the editing room.