Media Studies: Film Introduction Evaluation – Jennifer Twine 2167
The idea of this project was to create an opening sequence of a film. We had to plan, produce, direct and edit the film to make our desired piece.The genre I tried to emulate was film noir; the term describes low key black and white Hollywood crime dramas that were primarily made from 1940 to 1950.Like this, I chose to make my film low budget and black and white to fit the atmosphere I was trying to create - this being a post war crime thriller.I came up with a few potential storyboards with different subjects and different stories, but settled on a simple film introduction that gives a taste of what will follow later on in the film and what the conclusion is to these events.To try and recreate the crime film noir genre, I felt black and white camera effects would give the sense that it was an old style film and also give the sense of a sinister and dark narrative.The camera is often out of focus and blurred to give a sense of unawareness and to literally confuse or blur the viewers vision into what could be going on, I also feel it adds to the threat and suspense of what is due to happen. At the beginning I also feel this is created by the two female protagonists or the ‘femme fatale’ both being shown against a bright light, so adds a silhouette effect and sense of mystery to the characters. They are distinctly noticeable as ‘femme fatales’ by their makeup, posture, glamour and costume and so are identifiable as potentially dangerous and mysterious even within the first minute of the film.The majority of shots are mid shots to make the reader feel they are looking from their point of view at what’s going on. There is a slight lack of close ups that are a trait of film noir films, so if I was to re-film I would include more of these, though there is one at the end that invites the viewer and shocks them especially as it is quite sadistic due to the circumstance of what the woman intends to do to the man (drug him).The music used is typical piano/jazz music that would usually be associated with film noir and immediately lets the audience know of the time in which it is set. The music seems quite upbeat and innocent, which juxtaposed with the callous and sadistic content is quite dark and fear-provoking for the audience and they are almost oblivious to what will happen. I also decided not to include conversation or dialogue from the characters as I felt the film said enough as it stood, and especially as it is only an introduction to the film, I didn’t want to include too much in it or cheapen it with unnecessary sounding.Editing the film was fairly easy and ensuring continuity has kept throughout went reasonably smoothly. I used the schools specialist programmes to complete this, being Apple iMovie editor. I felt this was sufficient to complete my film successfully.The audience I have produced this for would probably be 12A as it does suggest villainy and violence as well as breaking the law by using drugs and weaponry. However this rating would make it suitable for the majority especially as it did not contain any direct violence or direct harm to the male character. It did however contain the women smoking, which may have not been suitable for minors. As well as the lack of close ups, other downfalls to the piece would be the sheer amount of smudging and off focus shots due to the age of the camera I used. Although I deliberately set the shot up and chose the particular camera to add to the effect, some of the shots are a little bit too amateurish I feel.Influences include Cindy Sherman (especially at the end), Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder’s ‘Sunset Boulevard’. The images and shots I used can be drawn from ideas from these directors and film makers and is what prompted me to produce a film of this particular genre.The typical femme fatale characters I felt must be included to give it a traditional film noir feel. My continuity exercise also took a very helpful role in this project as it allowed me to practice different shots, lighting and of course perfect continuity. If I had better technology such as more high tech cameras, the sharpness and colour of the film could have been more professional. I was also limited by the natural light outside as I was restricted because of the season in which it was shot. In future I could set aside more time to get the shots I wanted or done it over two days. In this case I would have to ensure I took pictures of the props and characters to ensure continuity was sustained.

The British Film Institute Research

'The BFI are a charitable organisation established by the Royal Charter to encourage the development of the arts of film, television and the moving image throughout the UK, to promote their use as a record of contemporary life and manner, to promote education about film, television and moving image and their impact on society, to promote access to and appreciation of the widest possible range of British and World cinema and to establish, care for and develop collections reflecting the moving image history and heritage of the UK.' - The Royal Charter.

Cinemas
They run the BFI Soundbank and IMAX theatre in London, which has the largest screen in the UK, this having 12000 watts of digital surround sound and 3D screenings.
The Soundbank shows films from all over the world, particularly critically acclaimed, specialised and historical films that may not otherwise get shown.

Festivals
They run the London film festival and the London lesbian and gay film festival.

Education
They support the teaching of film and media studies in schools and colleges throughout the UK.

Archive
They have the largest film archive containing over 50 000 fiction films, over 100 000 non fiction and 625 000 Television programmes.
The majority is British but it also contains work featuring British actors or British directors.
They also publish sight and sound media, DVDs and books.
It was founded in 1933 and at present is managed by director Amanda Neville.

Analsis of the Intro of 'Withnail and I'

The Film opens with a slow crescendo of mellow yet melancholic saxophone followed by an establishing mid shot of one of the main protagonists ('I' or Marwood). He is sitting in a dully lit and drab room and is in the midst's of a comedown, he seems encompassed by fear and paranoia and his expressions and actions are tired and uneasy. He is pensively smoking a cigarette as if in an attempt to relax as the camera zooms in slowly to his face, showing his anxious and troubled expression as he apprehensively looks around the room as the shot then changes.
The non diagetic music also perfectly fits the atmosphere and moody grey surroundings of Marwood, the bluesy nature of it also sets the era to the audience, instantly letting the audience know, they are watching a film set in the 60s. They can then start to relate to the mood and the atmosphere with what is going on.
The next shot shows the squalid and drab London flat that Marwood is actually living in. The camera pans round from the left revealing dull greys and browns of tarnished and old furniture, books and ornaments. The camera continues to pan round (about 180 degrees in total) past some various empty spirit bottles, this immediately starts to imply the state of the characters and their possible lack of money.
The books scattered around and the Globe suggests they are quite highly educated and intellectuals - though the mess and grubbiness of the flat shows their lack of glamour in the once middle class London and the loneliness of the characters.
The state of the kitchen is not dissimilar from the rest of the flat and Marwood walks past the camera and away from it as he lights the stove. There is then a close up and he again walks away from the camera to the centre of the shot, it is now a long shot of him and we can see Marwood hunching over a chair and breathing uncomfortably, again showing trepidation.
This makes the audience question why he is in this position and what could be wrong with him.
The shot also invites the audience in, looking at the character from your own point of view, this is helped by the static camera in the kitchen with the kettle and the door frame in the foreground. This frames the character and shows how alone and trapped he seems to be.
The audience can also see behind him that the curtains are closed though it is light outside - highlighting that they are trapped and maybe out of sync with reality.
Still in a long shot he staggers out of the shot and pulls on his coat, the camera follows him out of the room mid shot then he comes in from the right starting to aggressively bang on the door of the other character. He then addresses him as 'Withnail' - the camera then following Marwood as he walks away. This is an important part of the characterization as we find out that all the events and narration are from Marwood's Point of view, and we only hear of Withnail's feelings and point of view at the end of the film in a monologue, where we still don't hear things from his mind but through Shakespeare - once he has nothing and no-one left in his life.

The next scene shows a close up of a man frying eggs in a cheap and dirty cafe, he throws them into a sandwich and literally drops it in front of a woman (an over shoulder shot from Marwood who is sitting in the foreground). This shows the lower social class and vulgarity of London and the sordidness that underlies the city.
It again shows how uncomfortable and trapped Marwood is within the city and the lack of hope he has being in such a place.
The camera then zooms in purely onto his eyes as he skims the headlines of the newspaper he is reading, there is then a shot reverse shot twice onto the paper and his eyes.
The headlines are showing the ridiculousness of humanity and the extremes of life in London as the camera zooms out slightly and he looks over at the vulgar woman eating - the camera from his observation (an over shoulder shot from the man in front).
The camera then shows a close up of Marwood with his disgusted expression, as his eyes then focus on a paper opposite him as he stares at the outlandish article in front of him (shot reverse shot twice).
His voice then narrates non diagetically as if he is thinking, about the 'murder and all bran and rape' that Londoners have to wake up to - the camera slowly zooming in on his worried expression as he contemplates going home to discuss the issues he has with Withnail 'immediately'.
He also says he must be out of his mind, which is also reflected in the majority of his body language from the beginning, suggesting his state of health at the moment is quite unstable - we then come to learn that he has been tripping from speed as the scene goes on.