Welcome back to my blog, readers!
Before I jump into this week's first research post, there is something I would like to establish. For the past few posts following my decision to make a mystery film opening, I simply stated that I would be making just a "mystery" opening, widening my further research into the genre as a whole rather than a specific sub-genre. So starting now, I would like my opening to be a noir story. Though very niche today, this would be the best subgenre for me to advance with since I personally find the deeper plot and characters interesting; additionally, I stated that in the technical elements post most of the lighting conventions can be traced back to noir films of the 40's and 50's. Despite all my research, all of what I have found would still apply for a noir film.
Anyways, the next step in my research is all about color theory. This includes the behavior and effect of colors in a film alongside ones most common to, the newly chosen, film noir.
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What comes to mind when you think of a noir setting? For most, it is probably the black and white films of the old times, which utilized lighting techniques like backlighting and chiaroscuro to convey deeper meaning into scenes. Despite what may seem like an limitation, the monochromatic filter of films like The Lighthouse (2019) and the opening of Casino Royale (2006) help create narratives that depart from the colorful norm of modern-day film, establishing time periods and emotional responses, as well as grabbing the audience's attention without the possible distraction of color.
As previously established when researching technical elements, the deep, contrasting shadows created by a few lighting techniques can help to obscure a person or environment. These create unsettling feelings of mystery, and sometimes even suspense and feat in the audience, as they attempt to interpret what they are seeing. Shadows also give the image a particular harshness that can truly only be created by the two-toned filter of black and white film. The colors (or lack there of) themselves are usually effective at reflecting the typical noir's bleak themes of corruption and betrayal.
Although there is a lot of creative ingenuity that goes into working around the monochromatic environment of a typical noir film, there is another, rather obscure mystery film genre that updates and adapts the characteristics of film noir with modern themes and techniques. Neo-noir films, like typical noir, were popularized decades ago. The 1960's-70's saw a point where noir films were being infused with the new tropes of the time, the biggest being color itself.
The use of color in movies can express many meanings, though the primary colors (red, blue, and yellow) can be seen as more universal, as they hold many meaning that can change depending on the genre or context of a film. Reds, in the topic of mystery, are synonymous for its associations with blood, an outcome of violence and sometimes rage or anger. Yellow is typically associated with happiness, but in many other cases can represent madness, imagination, and deceit, which are all things faced by the protagonist of a noir film, who tend to be mentally broken in one way or another. Blues represent sadness and coldness, but also order, as cops are typically represented in any mystery film one way or another.
Sin City (2005), though being almost 21 years old at this point, is still an example that I cannot pass up. The film uses a combination of both monochrome as well as primary colors that give the film unique visual identity that is practically a culmination of all that I have found on color theory. For example, the use of red for blood or yellow for hair pop out amongst the black and white of the rest of the environment. The combination of both color elements of noir and neo-noir serve as narrative devices that underline the film's themes of violent corruption.
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My newfound knowledge of color theory opened my eyes to how much can be expressed with (or even without) colors! Personally, I find that the work-arounds with having a traditional monochrome film noir, usually involving lighting, especially stand out, because without them a scene would just appear bland and have no meaning at all. Though, I am not sure if that is how I want to tackle my brief. Instead, I feel like using specific colors to convey certain meanings of feelings would be more interesting, as I can use both those and other technical elements, giving me countless other opportunities to express tone and mood rather than relying on lighting alone.
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Sources used for information:
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Following this research session, I think taking a look at the titles of some movies themselves would inspire me when it comes time to make one of my own for this brief, as it only makes sense to provide one towards the end of the opening scene. Thanks for reading, until next time!
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