Visual Style

As the above film shows it is possible to over-do the visual style of film noir. Created by some film students it looks nice but has little impact in the narrative which I have already discussed should influence the visuals.

I my film I am going to have an alienated character how struggles with loneliness. The idea also was presented to me to have him in a bar or pool in the night. A man on his own in one of these places in the middle of the night is a starting point to show his separation from the world.

I am planning to show him very much alone so if he is in the bar he would be seen in wide shots of the whole bar as the only person there. Likewise, shots of him playing pool alone in a pool hall full of empty tables with a camera peeking around a pillar or another table would really help to show this point.

I also plan on getting many extreme close-ups of the actors face as he goes about what he does alone, with just his thoughts for company. The general feel of the film will be a slow and gloomy atmosphere as the lonely guy has no rush. The whole night is ahead of him and he can take his time.

I plan for the film to be in black and white to help show the dark, shadowy feeling of the character. Also the lighting contrast could look great across the shiny edges of the bar tables or alone the dull soft pool tables.

I will shoot in colour, one for clarity as discussed in The Man Who Wasn't There, two in case I get great looking colour images that help tell the story more, three in order to more easily study lighting and contrast of the shots I am getting and fourth, so dicisions can be made in post. Black and white has a distinct noir feel to it which I am hoping to explore. Many films have a noir feel like Blade Runner and Memento which are shot in colour, therefore by shooting in colour I can decide in post whether or not black and white will work would work the best or not.

I have taken some inspiration from the Martin Scorsese film The Color of Money (1986). This was the sequel to The Hustle (1961) which are all about hustling in pool halls. While not noir looking in it's visual style the film does do some rather fascinating things with the pool tables and mostly the pool balls. One sequence the pool balls seem to move on their own and just by showing the balls, not even the cue, the audience can feel more involved in the game Tom Cruise is playing.

One area I am particularly excited about is the look of the pool hall if I film in a pool hall. As seen in The Color of Money there is a great, slightly dull look to the pool halls thanks to the hanging lights above the tables. This particularly would be fascinating to film.

As I am trying to replicate a depressing character, moody lighting would work much better than the more highly contrast lighting often seen in the more memorable imagery of the noir films. However, low key lighting is still vital.