Media conventions: Short film format

1. Media conventions: Short film format • Genre: The genre that me and my group chose to base our short film around is noir-thriller. The typical conventions of a noir thriller is that the film is to be fast paced, have abrupt moments such as deaths in order to shock the audience and are presented in black and white. In my short film I have included all of these typical conventions in order for the film to be presented as a noir thriller. For example, in my short film there are many uses of transitions and fast paced camera shots used such as fades, extreme close ups, point of view shots , long shots etc. The shots I have just mentioned helped the film to have a fast pace which is a typical convention in a thriller film. Not only does it help the film to have a fast pace but it also helps the film to flow correctly which is a typical convention in noir films. Using both conventions in different scenes connected the different parts of the film together as different transitions and camera shots had to be used at different times. For example, the sudden changes of camera shots were used in the scenes that contained the deaths as this would have helped the intensity and excitement in the film to continue through out the scene and was used in order for the audience to gain excitement from the action happening. Another example is how the transitions were used, as in the poker scene, there needed to be a steady pace which was not too slow in order to prevent the audience from being bored while watching it and couldn't’t be too fast as the audience would not understand the scene fully. Therefore using the transitions ensured that the scene would flow at a steady pace, which would keep the audience interacted with the film and would allow them to understand the scene fully. My short film is also presented in black and white in order to present the 1940’s social context in order to help the realism of the film and to help present the noir genre.

2. Narrative The typical convention of the narrative in a noir thriller is that the film contains a convoluted storyline, voiceover from a first person narrative, majority of the film being in a linear narrative but also includes elements from a non linear narrative structure such as a asynchronous (flashbacks) and a closed narrative as a noir thriller film tends to have an order then a disorder and then the order is restored. In Rosaline me and my group have followed majority of the typical conventions of the narrative within a noir thriller but have also challenged some of conventions that are typically used. For example, in our short film we have used a convoluted story line as in the ending scene of the film there is a twist as the character Don Androlini, the father of the character Rosaline reveals to her that he is the father and the truth about her mothers death. We used this typical convention as we believed it would give excitement to the audience, not only this, as we used the twist in the film in order to portray our great understanding of the typical convention included in a noir thriller. Another convention we also included was a voiceover from a first person narrative as we included the voiceover from the main character, Rosaline’s point of view. We used this so that the audience could experience the situation from the main characters point of view as they could then experience her feelings and emotions. We also followed a linear narrative structure but included a asynchronous, as in the final scene we included a flash back which was presented in colour as the flashback was part of the twist as it helped to explain the twist and was used so the audience could visualize what Don Androlini is explaining. The typical narrative conventions that we challenged whether the film was going to have an open or closed narrative. As a group we chose to have a open narrative in order for the audience to think about what happened after the final scene in the film, we did this by having an order then a disorder but not having a order restored as the characters in the film all die which therefore does not show what happened after all of them dying. This was done so the film would have a long lasting affect on the audience and so there was some mystery within the film.

3. Themes The typical themes that are included in a noir thriller are death, love, hate, revenge, crime, relationships. In Rosaline me and my group have included all of these themes. For example, death, in Rosaline there are constant deaths in order to provide the audience with constant excitement and entertainment. The theme love is portrayed in the ending scene when Don Androlini reveals to Rosaline that he killed her mother in order to protect her, the idea of him protecting her shows how much he cares for her and the extreme lengths he is willing to go to in order to protect her which portrays his fatherly love for her. This links in with the theme of relationships as there is the relationship between Rosaline and Don Androlini and the Relationship between Don Androlini and his with who is murdered. The theme of revenge is portrayed through the storyline itself as the film is based around Rosaline avenging her mothers death and seeking revenge on Don Androlini. The theme crime is presented through Don Androlini’s character as he is a gangster who commits a murder. Me and my group included all of these themes as we believed that it would truly portray the noir genre of the film.

4. Characters The typical conventions of characters in a noir thriller is that there is a gangster or gangsters, seductive females and a dominant male characters who have the most power and control, the typical convention of characters also include their costumes and the way they are presented through these elements. In our short film we have used and challenged these conventions in order for the characters to suit the narrative of the film. As in the film there is a role reversal between the males and the female as in the film there is a gangster which is one of the typical convention we included but the gangster does not hold the power as the female does as she is the character committing murders. This shows how we have challenged the convention of the males having authority and control over the females. Another convention we have challenged is the representation of the female as stereotypically in noir films females are portrayed as seductive characters who manipulate the males whereas in Rosaline we chose to portray the character Rosaline as a blood thirsty and vengeful character in order for her personality to best suit her role in the film. Other conventions we followed are the costumes of the character as in the noir period males wore clothing such as top hats and suits which is what the males in Rosaline wear. Also the character Rosaline herself is wearing a sophisticated dress which is the typical clothing of women in the noir period.

5. setting The typical conventions of the settings in a noir thriller is that scenes are mainly set in houses, casinos , low key lighted places such as alley ways and office. My and my group used all of these conventions in our short film as the beginning scene is based in a house where the murder is a women takes place, this is a typical location for the death of a women as in noir films they tend to be murdered in their home which is a convention we used in our opening scene. A casino is also location that is typical in noir films, as we are not of the age of 18 we were not able to film the gambling scene in a casino but in order to portray this convention we used a characters home and used props such as card and gambling chips in order to show the convention of gambling is still in our film. Low key lighting was used throughout our film in order to show the dark atmosphere and to also create suspense around the deaths of the characters. We also followed the conventions of filming scenes in location such as dark parks where the character was isolated and alone and in the office of Don Androlini to show his position as a gangster and his hierarchy.

6. Endings In the ending of noir thrillers there is normally a close ending where the disorder is restored, there also is the downfall of the protagonist and the death of one of the main characters. Me and my group used majority of the conventions that are typically used in a noir thriller but also challenged one particular convention. The conventions we used were the downfall of the protagonist as in the final scene Rosaline is told the truth about her mothers death and at this moment she had already stabbed her father so her downfall is that not only has she lost her mother, she is also losing her father and she has committed many murders. The convention of a death occurring at the end is also used as the two main characters, Rosaline and her father Don Androlini die. The convention we challenged was the convention of the film having a closed ending, we chose to have an open ending as I previously mentioned, we did this in order for the film to have a long lasting affect on the audience and for the audience to be able to image what would have happened after the ending scene and to have thoughts to whether someone had found their bodies or not. Overall all the typical conventions we included in our short film were used to ensure our audience could experience the noir period and for them to be presented with a realistic view of the noir period and for the audience to gain a huge amount of excitement and enjoyment from our short film.