Conventions of Film-Noir

The Conventions of Film-Noir

Film-Noir is known for its effects of lighting, grasp of emotion, the use of war as a subject in many, iconic props, the femme fatale and many more. Film-Noir began in the early 1940’s which is why it’s so heavily influenced by the war and the ideas of war. It suggests certain ideas and everything from the setting to the costumes show a part of the culture at the time. However later as the use of film-noir became more popular many writers and directors started to distance themselves from the normal ideas and focus on things such as the femme fatale and the flawed hero which was mainly seen in the 70’s and 80’s. Although more recently the use of film-noir has become very rare, it is still used now, but with a more modern twist with monochrome effects and more varied camera shots and also the use of colour. The use of colour may well be introduced to highlight something in the scene from all the black and white that surrounds it.

The lighting in film-noir is very important as it can determine the character’s moods and what they are feeling? But also it can emphasise something or someone or add atmosphere. The main role of the lighting is to create an idea or show a view which may not come across easily in film-noir. Some times the light is shown in a dark room to exaggerate a character or what they are doing, although this can be either two different types of lighting ambient or non-ambient lighting. Ambient lighting is also known as low-key lighting which is usually used to illuminate a character. On the other hand shadows are also part of the lighting and this can change the mood or atmosphere and change the tone of the scene.

As mentioned before the use of colour is important as it highlights the ideas and views of the director. For example in Casino Royale in the gun barrel sequence, the whole scene is in black and white, but then there is red arteries dripping with hearts coming out. This emphasises the idea of love in a dramatised way even though the main character is in the middle of a fighting sequence. However the use of black and white still vocalizes Daniel Craig’s character. Another key point is that in most film-noir productions they use a vanishing point; this can very easily put all focus on characters/buildings/scenery or an object. In this case it’s used to show the main character and make him look more powerful and allows him dominate the scene.

Themes are a main convention to look at as it represents the whole film. If the theme is war then the whole film is based on war, from buildings to the costumes, to the language, all of it is used to incorporate the theme. Most of the time in film-noir the themes usually displayed are betrayal, love, deciet, revenge etc. Although it depends on the how the director wishes to portray the theme is what make most film noir produtions different from each other.

By Dalia Chowdhury