Film Noir - Similar Products - Conventions of Film Noir

Conventions

There are 5 main sectors within the conventions of Film Noir, are these sectors are:

- Costume
- Characters/Actors
- Location
- Camera Angles and Shots
- Lighting

There are many differnt conventions of film noir, one of the main and easily noticable conventions is the fact that it is in black and white.

Costume in Film Noir is a very important factor of the end product, as it is in any other type of film it plays a big role. Costume in Film Noir is used to represent the differnt types of characters and how they act, it also helps to define the characters within Film Noir, one example is the Male actors tend to wear a hate and a coat and most of them smoke a large Cigar. 

Also in Film Noir the female characters are usually wearing glamourous clothing and they are also stereotypically very attractive. This is Stereotypical in Film Noir films as it makes the female character stand out, also in the film posters they tend to stand out because of how Glamarous and attractice they are.

Film Noir films are also stereptypically very dull with harsh and dim lighting. This is to reach the desired effect on the film so it can be portrayed to the audience. In each scene there will be very little lighting, but with the little lighting there is it should be used to show the most important parts of the scene, so that the audience can see the important aspects and what is going on. You can see in the picture below the use of Dull lighting to create effect.



 

 The camera work in Film Noir usually used very strange and interesting camera angles. Some other angles they also use is Dutch tilts, high angles, low angles and wide angle shots. Sometimes interesting camera shots are used in conjunction with the lighting to create strange affects, such as silhouettes on the walls behind people. This creates a sense of mystery to the audience and keeps they well interested.

Stereotypically the location of Film Noir is usually set in a city. Within a city very interesting camera shots can be found and used, which helps to keep the film interesting. Usually in Film Noir's there is Crime and Corruption which is almost always present in big city's and not the type of thing you would see to happen in the country side, this is why they are set in the big cities.