Task 2.1 Research into Existing Products

Century Fox Logo in 1920

Film Noir - a term used to describe Hollywood crime drama.

1) Where did genres come from?
In the 1900's films were starting to be experimented with. By the 1920's, there were a lot of films that existed in the film industry. Directors wanted to audiences what they want. Film companies followed the same kind of pattern also. They found out what was popular with audiences and then continued to make films in the same genre so new films became popular. It made the film companies more money because the cinemas were selling more tickets. In the 1920's, the majority of the films were owned by the 5 big companies. They were known as 'the Majors' or 'The Big 5'. These companies were 20th Century Fox, RKO Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. These companies are still around today.
 

2) How did the 'Golden Age of Hollywood' re-inforce genres?

Genres were the cash cow of the film industry. This means that companies followed the same pattern because it generated money. The film companies did not want to stop making the same genre film because it was popular. This re-enforced genres because since the same kind of films were being made, this meant that there was other genres that were not as popular.

3) Which genres became popular in Hollywood?

The genres that were popular in Hollywood was Romantic, Weston and Melodrama. These genres are still popular today such as the Twilight Saga, the Lone Ranger and If You Could Say it in Words.

4)Why do audience like genre films?
 Audiences like genre films because they are able to watch their favourite films. They are able to specifically watch a type of film so they have a selection of films to watch. Film noir is still around in modern day. An example of a modern day film which is extremely popular is James Bond. There have been 30 James Bond films which are still popular and they are increasing in popularity each time.

Codes and Conventions of a Film Noir

• Narrative - Spider and the Fly. Femme Fatal (the main actress) is the Spider and the detective is the fly. The spider attracts the fly into a web of deceit.
• Lighting - chiaroscuro (Italian for light and dark). It should reflect the mood of the film. Low key lighting should be used. This is shadows with one key light.
• Red dress is usually worn by the Femme Fatal. Represents the 'Scarlett Woman' who has less morals and is known as the wild type. It also means danger.
• The detective would normally wear an overcoat and a hat.
• There is an unsaid romantic connection between the detective and the femme fatal. The detective usually falls in love. The spider and the fly classic idea applies here. The film usually films end with the femme fatal being arrested or dying.
• Cigarettes are usually used in these films. They are used to create lighting and a smoke effect. It also can represent the attitude of a character. It's atmospheric.
• Ambient sounds are usually used. For example, city noises (cars, beeping of horns and shouting). Another sound that can be used is slow jazz which is normally played by a saxophone.

Nowadays, film noir is still used in television and film nowadays but it has a different name. This is called neo-noir. Examples of this would be Chinatown (1974), Barton Fink (1991) and LA Confidential (1997).