CHOOSING A GENRE

My group and I decided to create a film opening loosely set in the film noir genre. My groupmates and I are all fans of historical movies in the genre, like The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, and Laura, as well as more modern takes on the genre like Blade Runner and Drive. We've decided to take inspiration from a loose interpretation of the generic standards, focusing on a mystery and utilizing the aesthetic and conventions while ditching some of the more dated, problematic aspects of the genre, like the romanticization of substance abuse and the rampant misogyny. Personally, Laura is one of my favorite movies, and I've watched it maybe a dozen times since I first saw it in my childhood. The movie opens abruptly, narrated by a gruff man who immediately introduces the conflict of the film and keeps viewers hooked: "The night Laura died, a silver sun burned through the sky like a magnifying glass." The language is slinking, evocative, and intriguing. The viewer is immediately confronted with the mystery the eponymous character's death, and so my group wanted to capture that rapturous atmosphere in our own opening. We're thinking about incorporating cinematography reminiscent of the era, with low key lighting, soft fades, and a participatory camera.

Besides Laura, we'd like to incorporate some of the more experimental aspects of the genre, like those exemplified in In a Lonely Place. The movie's opening credits are inserted over a shot of Dixon Steele, played (of course) by Humphrey Bogart, driving down busy streets. The camera focuses on his eyes in the rearview mirror, utilizing an intriguing cinematic angle to draw viewers in an keep them interested while the opening vignette plays out. Dixon is recognized by a woman in the car next to him - she claims to have been in a movie that he wrote, but he replies that he never goes to see his own movies. The woman's husband grows annoyed, berates Dixon for bothering his wife, and pulls away quickly. This vignette takes place over the course of about 15 seconds, but it establishes a number of things in the viewers' minds while utilizing some novel cinematography. The vignette demonstrates Dixon's character, shows his profession, and establishes his alienation from the world around him, something that grows increasingly relevant as the movie goes on. These facets are obviously very intriguing, and I'd like to try and incorporate some of these character-building techniques to develop our characters in the short time that we have without bogging the viewer down with unnecessary exposition that breaks the tone of the opening. For my group's opening, I want to synthesize my influences and combine the narrative techniques of In a Lonely Place and the cinematography of both movies. I'm not sure yet if we're going to use a voice-over narration yet, but it's definitely an option!