Evaluation

To begin the product, we had to do some research what Generic Convention' meant. Generic Convention is basically things that turn up in a genre, once we did this we then watched a short film called 'This gun is for hire' this film was filmed in 1947. This film was a old black and white film that was getting us introduced to 'Film Noir'. Straight after we watch the film we had to get into pairs and we got given some cards that we had to solve which one went below each subtitle, the choices were either under genetic conventions of film Noir, and the other not genetic convention of film Noir, we got given 21 cards, here is a picture of where me and Taylor placed the cards -

Afterwards, we got given an image by Mark and we had to answer some questions.

The questions we had to answer were basically asking us about where the picture was being taken and what elements were being used during this image.




Once we answered the questions we had to do some research on 'Film Noir' and had to find some images that represented what we understood about 'Film Noir' we had to explain when we thought the photographs were taken and why we thought this.
Here are two of the images that I found when I was researching -



Once we did this, we had to do some more research! we had to research 5 Film Noir posters or DVD covers and give a little description about each poster, this helped us a lot with understanding what had to be on a poster and DVD cover when we were making our own.
Here is one of the Posters I found.



Once we did all the research about different things, we finally had to take a think and try and find some 'Film Noir' Images that we wanted to take forward and try and recreate ourselves, we then also had to explain why we had chosen to use the images that we did.


Here are 2 images I wanted to try and recreate -

During each lesson, at the start we always had to do a memory check, these always included things that we learnt in the previous lesson, this helped all of us remember things.

During the memory checks, there were loads of questions and we had to give the best answer, once we had all finished we then had to share our answers with the class to make sure everybody understood what we have been learning. This helps a lot when somebody is away one week as it helps them keep up with the work.

The week after, we finally got allow out to take some test shots for our DVD cover or poster, we had loads of ideas but the ones that I wanted to try and recreate were too hard as we couldn't get the props therefore we changed our mind and I used Leah as my model and took some different shots, once we took all of our shots as we had to take 10 images of the same shot, we had to make some contact sheets for our images, here are my contact sheets -

 Once we uploaded the contact sheets, we then had to find 4 images that we really liked to take forward to edit, these are the four images I chose -

I have chosen these four images as I feel like they were my strongest images out of them all, I really liked how they were taken and the position that they are all taken in. 

The props used in these were Leah's dress as it was really vintage - she was a really good model for these images as her make up made her look really vintage as well.

After we did this, we then had to put together our DVD cover and Poster using these photographs that we had taken 

Here is the DVD cover and Poster that I made using Photoshop using these images -

The lightening used for 'Film Noir' were mainly, Key lighting, Back lighting and also Fill lighting.

My test shots really helped me with my final shots as I looked and edited quite a few of them and then there was loads of images to look at to see which ones stood out and which ones were the strongest of all my images, I felt like I could really tell which ones were the best out of all the images that I had taken. When editing my images, I made them black and white to start with and then I used 'levels and curves' to change the highlights and shadows via Photoshop.

If I was to do this assignment again then I would may be come more prepared and bring some more props therefore this would of made the images look more like the ones I was trying to recreate, I would also look around and try and find some more good backgrounds that were more darker and more like 'Film Noir'.

I really like my poster and DVD cover as it's all what I have done, all the images are my own and I created it from scratch.

UAL task

Today in lesson we had to do a task with our filming groups, we had to take an 'product shot image' on a white sheet which is the one with the pocket watch. Then we had to take an image portrait and also landscape of the front of 'The Adams Building' at the front of it and then we had to crop the image and make it black and white to finish the task off. Me, Leah and Abbi took these images together and published them via blogger.

Memory check - Week 7

Q1. Detail at least four areas of knowledge a freelance photographer must possess.

(for example. Ability to use a computer and edit photographs)

1. Reliable Transport - able to plan ahead for times and routes etc.

2. Able to edit photographs using different software. For example - Photoshop and also back in the day, using a dark room to edit the images when filming. 

3. How to use the equipment correctly

4. The ability to manage money and overall cost of a photo shoot

Q2. What attributes would you say a freelance photographer should possess?

(for example – dependability. The role requires being reliable, responsible, dependable and fulfilling obligations)

1. Dependable

2. Honest

3.Truth worthy

4. Reliable 

Memory check week 6

1) Look at the following four photographs and describe the rules of composition they adhere to and explain the message.

The first image is of three women holding an flag, this image is a rule of thirds and the shot is a mid-shot.

The second image is of the London bridge at night with the Olympics rings, I think this is again the rule of thirds and also a use of a slow shutter speed, it's a shallow dept of filled and it is semantically.

The third image is of a sand castle at the beach, with a flag in it. the sand castle is in focus and the back ground is really blurred out, this image has a shallow depth of fill, and is again rule of thirds.

The final image, is a black and white image of a family that are sitting around a table eating their lunch, this image looks really old. It has loads of texture so high ISO has been used in this image.

The meaning on all of these images is 'British', all of these images link together and have the same meaning.

2) Put the below apertures in order, starting with the one that will produce the shallowest depth of field. a) F16 b) F1.8 c)F8 d)F4

Answer - b)F1.8 d) F4 c)F8 a)F16

3) If the shutter speed is 1/60th of a second and the ISO is doubled from 100 to 200 what will the shutter speed be increased to?

a) 1/500th b) 1/240th c) 1/120th d) 1/100th

Answer - C 1/120th.

4) You are taking a landscape shot. What aperture value would you use to gain the maximum depth of field?

a) F5.6 b) F2.8 c) F16 d) F22 e) F8

Answer - D) F22

Test shots and Contact sheets

Today in lesson, we got to take photos! Me, Leah, Taylor, Abbi and Yasmin went to the spinal staircase to get some shots for our film noir dvd or game case, once we went there we then went to the toilet to get some reflection shots and then went and used the TV studio to get some shadow images! Once we did this, we then uploaded them onto the computer and made a contact sheet of all the images we had taken today.
Here are the contact sheets -

For this contact sheet, I feel that some of them are a bit blur but if we increased the ISO and the shutter speed, this would of made the photographs less blur.

For this contact sheet, I feel like they were really good shots because they aren't as blue as the other images and they remind me a lot of film noir.

Theses images were really hard to take as we had to use the 'TV studio' and they were hard to get he images without the shadow.

Once we did this, I picked 4 images that I really liked and decided to edit them a little bit to make them look more like the theme of film noir, I made the photographs black and white and used levels and curves to change the contrast.

Here are my edited photographs. -

I like this image as it is a really dark room with a morbid feeling which is what some of the posters of Film Noir look like.

I really like this image as it makes the poster look like a never ending story, because my poster was called 'the unknown' this looks like it blends in well.

I like this, the girl is upset, and looking down in her bathroom, I seen an image like this on a poster of Film Noir this is where I got this idea from.

Finally I like this image as this is like loads of the ones I have seen, the boy thinks he is the boss but the girl is finally giving him what he has been giving her and is ready to shoot her.

Memory check

1.What does the acronym DSLR stand for? Describe the difference between a bridge

camera  (like the ones we use in our lesson) and a DSLR

Digital Single Lens Reflex

2. Name four genres of photography where a zoom lens is used.

Portrait, Wild life photography, Action shots, Landscape

3. The key light is the name given to the main source of light we are using during a photo shoot. Name four sources of light you could use to produce this light on future assignments.

1. Red head
2. Natural lighting
3. Studio lights
4. Lamp

4. What does the term ‘considered’ mean when referred to your final shots?

Where you consider how you would take a photo, e.g. background, angles etc..

Photography Propsal

For my first idea, I decided that I was going to try and recreate the image below, I picked this image because I like the lighting and also I feel like it will be a very easy image to recreate. I feel if I take this image to recreate, it would get quite a good grade as the image is very well presented. I think this image would be easier to retake in college because we have the correct lighting equipment to make this as realistic as possible, I also have people that can help me by being my models. You aren't allowed weapons in college and as you can see on the image the person behind the camera is holding a gun, I could get a prop, a fake gun which will be allowed and will still look identical as the image is all black so you won't be able to see the detail as much. I will be using a low ISO of 100, so I could get good quality and loads of detail.

The second picture I would like to try and recreate is this - 

I feel like this would also be a good one to try and retake as it's quite an easy shot to take, although the outfit may be hard to try and match and also the hair, this image will be able to be taken at college but also could be taken at home which gives me more time to take this shot. I like this image as the lighting is really well presented for this image I will also be using a low ISO of 100 to keep the detail and make it as realistic as possible. No props is needed for this image which makes it easier as the background is just black so it's just focusing on the person laying down which which be quite simple to do.

The third image I want to try and recreate is an image of a beautiful girl wearing really vintage clothing -

This image is just a basic portrait of a women wearing dark make up and vintage clothing. This image will also be really easy to recreate but the lighting in this image may be harder to get the same as it's sort of shadowed out/blurred. This would be a good one to take at home as the background looks more at home, the make up would also be easier at home so then nobody will have to walk around college with loads of dark make up on. I like this image and will again use ISO 100 to keep the detail. The props I will need is just a veil for the hair, everything else looks natural.

The final image that I want to try and recreate is this - 

I do like this image but the only thing that is wrong is the blinds will be hard to recreate as I don't have blinds this way, I have them the other way. Again because of the gun I will have to get a prop of a fake gun as we aren't allowed weapons in college, I also don't own a gun. I like the lighting on this and the shadows! This image will be good to take at home because this image is taken in a house. The props I will need is a gun, and also the hat on the man. The coat is quite old fashioned too so this may need to be brought.

Five Film Noir poster and/or video games DVD covers

In the first part of our lesson today we have been asked to research and find 5 Film Noir posters and/or video game box covers and give a small description on what they are based around and what is in the shots.

I think in this first poster that I found, it is based around a rich man that has all the girls and uses them as basically slaves and to help him achieve things, he looks like he makes loads of trouble. This poster includes him smoking, women looking like they are in love, and him looking at them in desecrate. 

I think in this poster both of the main characters look like they are sneaky away, they look like they have done something really bad and are trying to get away with out getting caught. In this poster, it doesn't look like the women is being miss-treated which is very surprising in this time of day as women used to be used as slaves for the men.

This one looks like it is based around a man that is a murder and a women that is in love with him and goes along with him. The man seems to be the worst person to be on the wrong side of in these days, everybody would of been worried to be near him and obeyed him to keep their lives but this women went against that and fell in love.

This poster can tell you a lot about this story, this story is about a guy miss-treating a women. In the days that Film Noir was around, women again got treated badly by their partners and never got any sort of love unless they went with what they're partner said so. He looks like he is hurting her really badly whilst shouting at her because she may not have done what he had said for her to do. By the caption it looks like he had killed quite a few people in the past and she is next as he 'forgot to kill me' which makes me think that she will be next. 

This final poster looks like a man that is basically stalking this women constantly and doesn't leave her alone. He looks like he only wants her for sexual activities instead of loving her and wanting her for who she is. The women looks quite young compared to the man in the poster, which is really bad as then it looks like he is taking advantage of her even more.

Film Noir Photography examples

I have a feeling this photograph was taken in the 1940 and also the 1950's as in them times all that men were interested in was violence and getting into trouble, trying to beat one another. This image has very low key lighting as well as emphasizing shadows from the blinds. It is very dark and dull due to in this time, most things like this happened at night.

If I was to retake this image I would have to use one redhead to show the shadows of the blinds reflecting onto his face mainly.

I think that this photograph was taken in the 1950's because of the way it has been taken. It looks like the guy in the background that you can hardly see is threatening to kill the women that you can see. In this time, women got treated really badly and acted like slaves for the men, if the stepped out of order there was really bad consequences. If I was to retake this image I would make the image a little bit brighter so you could actually see what they look like as this image is very dark, they have used one redhead on this to make the shadows of the women's leg and also the light is bouncing of the wall onto her hair so you can tell that the person is a female. I would also change the angle of the image so that you could at least see a little bit of the other person which could tell you more about the story.

I think that this was taken in the 1940's, the women looks like she is doing something that she isn't meant to be doing. Again like the other one, because of the way women's get treated it looks like this women is going against the rules of this time! I like this image as the background is very dark so her face stands out quite a lot and this is due to a redhead being used onto her face to make it stand out more. The sort of clothing worn shows that it's quite a late.

This image was taken in the late 1940's,early 1950's. The man in the picture looks like he is very rich and controlling in some sorts, the women again looks like she is in love with this man but also looks like she does all of his work and jobs for him. This has quite a lot of lightening in the picture as none of the picture is really dark but the main lightening looks like it's from the top of the image shining down mainly on the faces.

I like this image, as the quality is a lot better than the ones recently, I think this one was late 1950's maybe going into the 1960's, The women looks well presented and also doesn't look that old fashioned, her clothes seem to be something that you would of seen people wear a few years ago. Although the women does look in worry but she looks like she is a very rich and wealthy women. As you can see the light is coming from the right side of the photograph which is making her face glow a lot more. If I was to retake this image, there isn't anything I would change as I think this image is really well taken and the lighting is in the right place.

I like this photograph, I think that this was taken in the 1950's where again, the women had to do what they were told and couldn't live their lives as they wanted to live them, the women in this picture doesn't look very happy at all, in fact she looks very worried and upset, the lighting in this picture has been used mainly on her face again which helps it stand out a lot more. If I was to retake this image I would make a shadow in this image as I think that it would look a little bit more frantic.

I think that this photograph was taken in the late 1950's, I like the lighting in the image as it picks up the main parts of the image and the background is very dimmed out. I feel like this is taken in that time as again it's a women that looks like she is being kept inside and she wants to get out but can't. The shadows on her face from the blinds is due to where the redheads have been placed. If I was to retake this image I don't think I would change anything about this image as I really like the way it is.

Finally I think that this image was taken in the early 1950's as the quality isn't very good and the way her fashion is and her hair is very old fashioned. In this image the women has either passed out or she is sleeping. The lighting in this is basically just on her dress, the background doesn't have any lighting on. If I was to retake this I would put a background in and maybe dim it out so that you can see where the picture is based and so you know what she is exactly doing.  

References

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgrc=WoRVlOxTlz91fM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgdii=lnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A%3BlnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A%3BV1uZjhH5aUi3ZM%3A&imgrc=lnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A

image.https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgdii=lnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A%3BlnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A%3BbouQX7qYa0ouBM%3A&imgrc=lnLvbRTUWTw19M%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgrc=pQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgdii=pQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A%3BpQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A%3B6d__fHZ2rjnP7M%3A&imgrc=pQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgdii=pQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A%3BpQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A%3BRqvNP0eToWJsZM%3A&imgrc=pQlNUh7ZjjB5sM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgrc=fROocePWI6UUEM%3A

https://www.google.co.uk/searchq=Film+noir+high+resolution&espv=2&biw=1680&bih=949&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMI3__94Mf7yAIVi10aCh3YBwo9#tbm=isch&q=film+noir+photography+high+resolution&imgrc=QZ7DgI1qfS9zWM%3A

Film Noir Photograph research

1.What time period do you think the photograph was taken? Give

reasons for your answer.

Late 70's early 80's, because the quality of the image isn't very good/clear, also colours in the

image are very saturated, also the way that the people are dressed and also there isn't much

health and safety as there was no doors on the train, whereas nowadays there would be loads of

accidents.

2.What do you think was the genre/subject?

This genre could be advertising a holiday advertisement as it is a photograph of a part of the

destination.

3.Are the elements in the shot balanced?

This shot is a rule of thirds shot, and everything is balanced. Although there focusing more on the

people in pool than they are on the elements around them.

4.What message could the photograph be trying to convey? 

This image could be trying to persuade people to take a holiday at this destination and showing

them how fun you can have there.

5.Do you notice anything striking about the shot?

On the trains, there was no doors so this is really dangerous as loads of accidents could be caused,

the windows are also open so the gap is a lot bigger for people to fall or hurt themselves.

6.Do you think consent was needed from the subjects?

For the minority of the people in the photo, they are mostly young people in the pool. For them to

take this photograph and put it online and also just to take the image they would need parents

consent/parents permission to be taken the photographs of their child. However in the time that

this photograph was taken people didn't think of asking for permission to take photos of anybody

in the surroundings.

7.What is the viewpoint?

The viewpoint has been shot at eye level.

8.If you were to produce this shot what would you do differently?

I would try and get more elements of the surroundings in the shot, i'd take the image in a

different angle so that you could see a lot more of the holiday destination. 

Film Noir notes - This gun is for hire

In the first session with Faye we learnt what 'Generic Convention' meant. Generic Convention is basically things that turn up in a genre. Afterwards, we then watched 10-15 minutes of a film, 'This gun is for hire' this film was filmed in 1947. The film was Black and white themed, we had to write down things that happened in the film. I noticed that in the film, they used varies of different shots, this made the film a lot more dramatic. They used different sorts of background music that matches with the scene this helped the certain scenes more realist. As said the film was based in 1947 so everybody in the film was dressed very old fashioned and women wasn't treated as equally as men were.

The film mainly has diegetic sound as well as the non diegetic sound being in the background music.


Afterwards we got into pairs and we got given some notes and we had to put them into two groups. The two groups were - genetic conventions of film Noir, and the other not genetic convention of film Noir, We had to split 21 notes into two groups to which we thought were suitable for which group - here is what me and Taylor decided -