How the Filming Process Went

How the Filming Process Went

We arrived in town around 9:00am to capture the establishing shots. Thankfully, we managed to film these successfully, with the desired weather forecast. We expected the day to be sunny, which would have hindered our filming schedule, forcing us either to reschedule or to fix this in the editing process. However, the morning was very cloudy and dreary, allowing us to capture the desired effect for our chosen genre, noir. We have filmed shots of the Belfast City Hall, The Crown Bar, Albert Clock, and multiple different locations around the Belfast docks. Belfast's many iconic locations have given us a multitude of options to use in the opening of our film.

The weather forecast had changed by the time we had to film our opening scene at the docks at around 11:00am. Since we needed to maintain a dark and dreary tone, we decided that this would need to be fixed during the editing process. To further this we got permission to film in an abandoned area beside Harland and Wolffe, which was a perfect location for the drug deal scene. As we needed to get to the bar at 12:00pm the filming was quite rushed, however both actors worked well under pressure.  The lighting was good and both characters had learnt their dialogue thoroughly and worked well together to provide a convincing performance. We experienced some difficulties with wind, however we will try and fix this in post-production. Coincidentally, we also noticed some very fitting graffiti at the location at which we were filming. The graffiti read 'NO RETREAT' and 'SHOOT TO KILL' - two very fitting themes to this dock scene.

We then went to meet another one of our actors for the next scene. The next scene we had to film took place inside the sunflower bar. We had to phone the bar several days prior to this, in order to gain permission for this, and they were happy to have us. We went to the bar as soon as it opened at 12:00pm so that we would not disturb customers later on. The bar were very helpful as well; keeping the music off and voluntarily supplying us with matches for the cigar. This scene also appeared to be a success, with the actor only requiring roughly 1-2 takes per shot.

We filmed the next scene a week later with another older actor. Although we filmed it a week after the rest of the footage, this pool hall scene coincides with the docks scene. We were filming in the Westway Snooker Hall. We contacted the pool hall a few days before we were to film, and we were allowed to film as soon as it opened at 10:00 am. Fionntan got one of his uncles to play the role of the police chief as he seemed to suit the role quite well. This scene did not take long to film, and it appeared to be a success, with the pool hall providing the perfect neo-noir setting.

Despite having filmed the footage, we decided that we needed to overdub the audio due to problems with wind. A week after the pool hall scene, I borrowed a mic from a friend and invited the actors from the dock scene back to my house to retake the audio in a quiet room. This went well, as both actors managed to capture their voices from the footage perfectly.

Film Noir Conventions, and how we're breaking them

Film noir conventions and how we're following and breaking them

First off, I will discuss the stereotypical iconography and location traits of classic noir films. Noir films are known for their urban gritty locations, often in abandoned locations or rain-drecnhed alleys with gloomy lighting sometimes populated with neon lights. We will be following this convention, as we will be filming when it's dark or at least foggy, and will be filming in an empty location on the Belfast docks. Some other key locations of noir films are diners, bars, poolhalls,  nightclubs, police stations and gambling dens. We will be incorporating a dimly lit poolhall into our film, as well as an old-style bar.

As for the mise-en-scene, noir films tend to incorporate traditional attire such as bowler hats, trench coats, braces, and props such as guns, cigars and whiskey. We will be trying to match this in our film, including all of the aformentioned attire and props. As for the shot types and angles and editing, noir films have some common traits. Noir films use low angled and canted angled shots, tracking shots to follow action and bridging shots to cut back in time when the protagonist is reflecting. As for editing, noir films use action matches, eyeline matches to show the viewer what the character is looking at and parallel editing to show different characters engaged in phonecalls. As noir films tend to be slow-paced, they rarely have any over the top editing or visual effects. Similarly in our film we aim to use low and canted angled shots, action matches and parallel editing, however we aim to break conventions by using unconventional shot types such as POV shots and over the shoulder shots. Noir films tend to use moody jazz music as their film score or incidental music, which we will try to use as incidental music in the closing bar scene and during the credits. We also aim to make use of both diegetic and non-diegetic sound.

As for film characters, the archetypal noir characters are the corrupt cop, the femme fatale, the stoic detective and the hardened mobster. The prominent themes in noir films tend to be love and betrayal, urban decay and degeneracy, flashbacks and voiceover narratives and convoluted stories. As our film is supposed to be brief and only a short opening to a film, we won't have the time to elaborate on any of these characters or themes in much detail.

As for neo-noir, the conventions tend to be the same but with a modern spin. The films feature violence with more modern forms of crime such as pimping and drug dealing, with more world-weary and cynical protagonists with false accusations and betrayal, focusing more on long tracking shots, obscured frames and deep focus.

We are breaking conventions of noir and neo-noir by the way we blend them together and juxtapose them in our film. We use traditional noir attire, dialogue and characters, while also using modern props and neo-noir scenarios, such as the drug deal. We blend noir and neo-noir together the best in our dug dealer character - despite saying dialogue that seems reminiscent of an old noir film, he will be dressed like an urban youth and speak with a broad accent and their mannerisms. This juxtaposition will act as a parody.