Film Noir

As part of my research into short film, and art film, and stylised films I have researched into one of the most iconic styles of film, Film Noir.




Cinema and photography are two media forms that help us to tell stories through the use of a camera and mindful composition. This genre heavily relied upon visual style, and was most prevalent in the mid 20th century. Through the exploration of Hollywood’s film noir visuals, I can learn about the history of cinema while finding inspiration for my own stylised short film.





Film noir is a genre that encapsulates a number of dramas from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. The movies themselves were usually crime fiction pieces that relied on cynical detectives. Film noir defines itself through unique visual conventions, experimental narratives, flawed antihero protagonists, and questionable morality.
The visual style that film noir made so prevalent and iconic is low-key, dramatic lighting depicted in black-and-white. Film noir is similar to ‘chiaroscuro’, a category of art that is illustrated by its usage of high contrast between light and dark elements. Directors utilized stark lighting and heavy contrast to portray characters in a way that wasn’t typical of Hollywood, or anywhere else, at the time.





Conventional Hollywood filmmaking relied on standard lighting (three-point lighting that ensured a subject was fully lit and visible), where as film noir would cast their talent into darkness, sometimes hiding portions of their faces. Lighting within film noir was all about creating dramatic shadows to help craft a mysterious feel.
Symbolism is rich within film noir. Which character falls into darkness and why? The depiction of a character  having shadows thrust upon their face or a halo of light behind their head creates strong foreshadowing and can even reveal their true desires and emotions.




A common cliché that was in use before the film-noir era of Hollywood, but became a staple of its style is the casting of blinds or horizontal lines of shadow upon a subject’s face. Dramatic and stark patterns of light such as this were never subtle and helped to create a strong visual and recognizable visual style. During a period when black and white was still prevalent in the cinema, lighting was your strongest visual.




Also quite common within film noir was the use of silhouetting. The intense lighting could create a feeling of strong disconnection from the viewers or make a sense of impending dread.Film noir pieces also took use of dramatic camera work to convey a story. Using low-angle shots to make the audience perceive the subject as more powerful was quite common. Directors also employed techniques such as Dutch angles and wide angles to distort reality. Dutch angles rotated the camera, making the world feel off-balance while wide angles distorted the faces of actors. Film noir was all about manipulating the reality the viewer saw to convey a story.



As a film-maker I am taking inspiration from the techniques used in film noir, so I can use them in my own films. Film noir paths the way for using dramatic lighting and unique camera angles to tell a story.  I am definitely thinking of having a black and white film noir style sequence in my short film, even if I don't choose to make an entirely grayscale film. I have going to have to think of a way of incorporating this into my narrative without taking out any realism of the film.