Pulp

After showing my film to a few people, I received comments that my OTS had an 80s/90s feel to it, which is what I was going for. I was also told that my film fit quite well into the 'pulp' genre. I had a vague understanding of what it was, but not much. Therefore, I did some research on pulp films and realised that I was inspired by this genre without completely realising it, and traditional elements of pulp films were evident in my  OTS. 

I noted that the setting is often 'seedy,' 'trashy,' as well as the plot involving a lot of crime and characters lacking a balanced moral compass. I feel I was subconsciously influenced by Pulp Fiction in terms of the character, as even though it's not shown at all in my OTS, the main characters would be partners with a male character, working together. However, as I also wanted to have a science fiction element in my film, I wanted there to be two different versions of the same character (but from parallel universes), somehow meeting in the same universe, and the same house, which would become more apparent as the film went on. 

At first, I was slightly worried about the graininess/quality on my OTS, but actually wanted to keep this in as whenever I watch films that have low quality I feel that, it makes the film look intimate in a way, but creating a barrier because it looks old or unreachable, which is something that I would like my film to do, as well as the story being quite far removed. 

Film Noir Conventions and Representation

As I'm creating a neo-noir OTS and not completely traditional film noir, I thought I should talk about the features and conventions from classic noir films that I have decided to use, and what I have adapted.

Smoking

At the beginning of the OTS, the main character is seen smoking for a short while. As smoking is a big feature in classic film noirs (see below for examples), I wanted to include this as it does give off an element of mystery, as smoke can hide/distort things from view. As well as this, I wanted the protagonist in pyjamas to seem very calm and quiet throughout the opening title sequence, I felt that her smoking at the beginning, but without a cigarette in her hand, immediately gave off a cool presence, as well as something odd about the fact she's smoking without a cigarette.

Shadow

Shadows are also something I tried to incorporate a little. The most prominent shadow in my OTS is in one shot (below).

One of the protagonists is looking at her hands, however, the shadow of her hands come up to her neck, almost making it look like she is being strangled by it. I wanted to use this as it could foreshadow what would happen later on in the film, if I created it. 

Narrative

In terms of a conventional narrative, I wanted to use flashbacks in the OTS, but project them differently to how they are in traditional film noirs. Usually, flashbacks in film noir create the entire bulk of the piece, told usually from the 'every-man's' perspective, reflecting on what has happened, and how it brought him to his current situation. In my OTS, I use very quick flashbacks, one of which does suggest the protagonist is thinking about what has happened. However, the main bulk of the film, if I did make it, would be in the character's present day, not necessarily ours, but it would not be all about the character's memories.

I have now decided to cut the small flashback shot as I felt it didn't fit with the OTS once I'd made some other changes.

Adding onto this, instead of having a voiceover, I have a small amount of speaking from an unknown source at the beginning of the OTS, when the radio is turned off. This is part of one of the pieces of music I use, and is a different take on the traditional narration/voiceover in film noir, as usually the main character narrates the events that happened and this audience is aware of whose voice it is.

Characters

In terms of character, I wanted to make sure the female characters were not seen as someone who was always 'made-up' and looking as if they were 'ready' to be on camera. I'm completely for wearing whatever you want, but I think in film, when people, more predominantly with women, have a full face of make-up and a beautiful outfit, when the situation they're in doesn't call for it, and isn't used to project some sort of message, is a pedestal I wanted to avoid. 

Neo-Noir OTS: Music

Music is a very important part of my OTS, and as with any film, can create a completely different atmosphere and tone compared to watching the same scene without it.

Creating my own music was one option, but honestly, I wasn't sure if I'd have the time, and I'm not particular skilled, so I may have not found and created the exact piece of music I wanted. It may have also not been very good quality and I would not have the correct equipment at hand to be able to record the piece, which would have been frustrating. Instead, I decided to find some music online, which was copyright free. I found a great website, called Free Music Archive, which has a vast selection of great recordings, which are free to purchase, but not royalty free, they come with licences. The two pieces of music I decided to use  which comply with what I want to do, so I do not have to change the direction I wanted to go in with my film.

I decided to use two pieces of music by 'The Fucked Up Beat,' who creates trip-hop music. I decided to use two pieces of music by them, one being 'hope!' and the other 'paranoiaXXVI'. I edited them both together, using the spoken beginning of 'hope!' with most of 'paranoiaXXVI'. I then edited snippets of the beginning of 'hope!' into the end of the track, to add a distorted, almost nostalgic feeling into the music, as if the audience had heard it before, but it had been changed slightly. This mirrors the opening titles, and basis for the story.

I wanted the music for my OTS to be very prominent and be in sync with the titles and clips of the opening title sequence. This is because I feel it is satisfying in a way for the audience and also to push me a little in terms of editing, as this is my first time editing a film, and see if I could achieve what I wanted.

Unfortunately I cannot include the audio file in this blog post, as Blogger does not support it, however, I have created a Prezi which does allow me to use the audio file and within the presentation I talk about the details of the licences and how they co-inside with my OTS. The music is fairly dark, and could be a little distracting so if you would like to mute the track while reading the presentation, there is a mute button in the bottom left hand corner.