Main task - pre production -The big sleep - Research.

In media with Mr. Sheppard we sat and watched 'The Big Sleep' opening scenes to identify conventions within film noir to see what we can put into our own films. We got a sheet with some questions so that we could make accurate notes on things that we need to know:

What is the story about and how does it convey the story to the audience?
A private detective that is employed to sort out a black mail problem of a rich old man who is in a wheelchair. There are two young women in the house, they are described as a part of the problem of the black mail, his daughters. The detctive needs to solve the problem of the person black mailing the old man and to stop it happing as well. This is conveyed throught the detective going to the house, the daughters being a heavy presence towards him. The dective also introduces himself as a private detective and then we see the slips of paper that refer to the black mailing. 

What production techniques are used to bring this film to life?
-Non-diegetic, loud music to show intensity. This is found in the opening titles.
-Back lighting to emphasise the time of day and key lighting on the characters to make them more obvious to the audience. 
-Camera shots were blurred and narrowed on women to make them more beautiful.
-Shadows, music and props such as cigarettes make the film more realistic and stays true to the continuity of the films. 


How is it a conventional film noir?
Within just the opening sequence of 'The Big Sleep' there are many things that are conveyed to the audience so that we can tell it is conventional film noir:
-Black and white.
-Private detective character as our main male lead.
-Smoking.
-Sillohets/shadows.
-Opening titles. 


What sort of props are used and why?
Props are used in all films to help convey to the audience the setting or the narrative. In 'The Big Sleep' the following props are used in the opening scenes to just that:
-Cigarettes, a thing that everyone did at that time.
-Big houses in lovely locations, shows the wealth and the different worlld that some people get to live in. Normally to show the difference between the detective and the people employing him. 
-Wheelchair, this is to show that although the rich chracter (in this case the old man) has all the money, he is still dependant on others for help.
-Alcohol, this was another thing that would have been usual back in the time. It is also showing that the chracters that are drinking are cool and sexy.

Where is the setting, why do you think this setting has been used and how is the setting being portrayed on screen?
A big house in  America is being used, the main dialogue is taking place in a green house sort of thing. However the overall setting of the big house, is to portray the afliantual nature of the upper-class the world that the main character finds himself in compared to his possible complete oppsite way of life. 

Why do you think, in an era that had discovered colour film (first colour film was 'Gone with the wind' in 1939) this film is in black and white? What effect does this have on the audience?
The effect is that it is showing the way it is done int he old age. It makes a statement that this is supposed to be like a black and white detective case. Also it is easier for the director and lighting crew to create the mysterious look of a crime that they need to convey to the audience. 


What sort of titlting and music is used throughout?
There is music with the openign titles that is slow, this builds the suspence that the audience need to so that they can correspond this to other crime films that they may have seen before. It also shows that the openign titles are very much staged (not within the film) to make it further obvious that they are not apart of a film, other then releasing the information of some names to the audience.

Who are the main chracters and how are they are portrayed?
The male lead is our private detective. He is handsom and confident. He both smokes and drinks, instantly making this a cool and sexy thing for someone of this age to do. This means he becomes a role model to all other men. 
The females in the opening scenes are two very different yet in some ways similar to each other. They appear to be the daughters of the old man that is being black mailed. They both talk to the detective however the first (youngest) of the two appears in a very short tennis outfit and the shot we first see her in, the majority of it is taken up by her legs. You can see she is the youth of the family as she is flirtaious with the detective. However the other sister is not in this type of costume and is talking to the detective about her father. She also drinks and smokes making this sexy and cool and appearing as a role model to women watching the film.

How would you describe the lighting used and what time of day is it filmed at?

The lighting seems to be slightly more than normally. Just highlighting the chracters against the setting. It's not very strong so does not make anything completely jump out at you. It appears to be shot during the day. 

What sort of costumes are used for the main characters and what does this say about their characters?
The detective wears a simple suit with a white shirt and a black tie. He accompinies this with a hat when he is outside, there is a plain white handkercheif sticking out of his breast pocket of his suit. The shirt looks neat and clean however as though a little worn and possible second hand. This makes it look like he wants to be neat so that he can get a job, however he may have money issues as he has not had many job recently so he can't afford to buy a new shirt.