Final Images

Since this will be my final post I thought I might as well make it a fairly extensive one. Above is the final 5 images that we have chosen, this was indeed not an easy process, I was originally left with 15 images in which to choose. Indeed a number of images had to be judged by certain criteria such as: 1. Photographic Technical Aspects 2. Relevance to Theme 3. Helps Progression of Narrative or Idea and of course a long list of other elements such as tone, composition, lighting, model communication etc. Indeed the list of criteria was extensive in order to include the best photographs. I feel this is perhaps a very good indicator that the photoshoot was a great success. The photoshoot does possess elements of narrative or perhaps an underlying theme. It conveys the beautiful but deadly "femme fatale" reminiscing about a past love now dead. Due to the atmosphere in the scenes, the crude posture of the model and the rather malevolent gleam in her eye, it seems to imply she may have had a hand in his murder or death. Indeed there were a number of photographs that were too cliche or revealed far too much of the narrative, this is one element of film noir that is frequently overlooked. The feeling of details or information being cloaked, you always feel a step behind the plot. I would have to say that the final imagery does possess contemporary elements, and perhaps should not be viewed as pure film noir. Instead we can see influence from Sin City, the way in which parts of the imagery is highlighted in order to glamourize and romantize the femme fatale. There were a great variety of ways in which we could have shot the imagery, I was considering adding text to the imagery. The kind of language and quotes you would encounter in Film Noir such as

Hollow Triumph
Paul Henereid: You’re a bitter little lady.
Joan Bennett: It’s a bitter little world.

Farewell, My Lovely
Dick Powell: I caught the blackjack right behind my ear. A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in. It had no bottom.

However I felt this would perhaps add unneeded elements of humour and woud thus be counter productive.Film noir had it's own type of lighting, most of which was typified by hard lighting and low-key settings. Often the director or photographer would use shadows to create shapes in the background or sometimes even on the actors. A familiar one being a streetlight shining through the venetian blinds of a private eye's office. I tried to emulate this lighting effect however it proved rather problematic due to direction of light and also the gaps in the stencil in which I cut out to place on the light was far too wide.

Although, film noir is a cinematic technique, this type of lighting is quite easily done in still photography. You can achieve fantastic results using as little as one light or more if you have them. I find that using one light on the subject with a reflector to bounce a small amount of light to bring out some details in the shadow areas works great. But again this downgraded due to the sheer brightness of the wall colour in my rather claustophobic.The great thing about film noir lighting is the delicate interplay between the light and shadow which can add an air of mystery or even glamour to your subject.

I found the model, Flik was very adept at portraying the femme fatale, since the main focus of this shoot was based upon her there would have been quite alot of pressure on her. In the past I have worked with models that were not very convincing and it was clear to see the constructivism and amateaur nature due to the models emotions and facial expressions, however I feel Flik does indeed make the imagery that much more convincing and beautiful.

This is one of the other possible postproductions routes in which we could have took and while it certainly does appear less cliche, we agreed that it didnt stay faithful to our concept Film Noir.
Overall I am very pleased with the final results.

Casablanca and A few tips for better Film Noir Imagery

It's probably no stretch to say that Casablanca, arguably America's best-loved movie, has had more words written about it than any other motion picture. It contains a wide array of recognizable lines ("Here's looking at you, kid", "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine", "Round up the usual suspects", "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship", "We'll always have Paris", "The problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world").

The first time I saw Casablanca, I remember remarking how "modern" it seemed. While many movies that I have seen from the '30s and '40s appear horribly dated when viewed today, Casablanca stands up markedly well. The themes of valour, sacrifice, and heroism still ring true. The dialogue has lost none of its wit or cleverness. The atmosphere (enhanced by the sterling black-and-white cinematography), that of encroaching gloom, is as palpable as ever. And the characters are still as perfectly-acted and three-dimensional as they were more than fifty years ago.

It takes place about a year after the Germans invaded France. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) and her husband, Czech freedom fighter Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), wander into Rick's Cafe in Casablanca. The two are on the run from the Nazis, and have come to the American-owned nightspot to lie low. But the German-controlled local government, headed by Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains), is on the move, and Laszlo has to act quickly to get the letters of transit he came for, then escape. Little does Ilsa know that the cafe is run by Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), the one true love of her life. When the two see each other, sparks fly, and memories of an enchanted time in Paris come flooding back.

After watching this film I had a much stronger grasp of film noir. Despite the rather serious nature of the film I found the lines to be inspirational. Indeed including typography within an image could have quite an interesting result, however it could also downgrade the quality of the imagery and could reflect and change the true meaning of the photo shoot. I found watching this film extremely useful and I do hope this will reflect in my final images.

Steven Meisel and Sin City Influence

I feel Sin City is one of the few contemporary examples that remain true to the Film Noir in a technical sense. The lighting is dramatic and we do tend to encounter the usual downtrodden gravely voiced crooks and other lost souls. Furthermore one thing I have noticed about film noir is due to the atmosphere that the director or photographers creates, there always seems to be something going on behind the scenes, there is something afoot and you always seem to be one step behind, indeed I feel this is evident in Sin City. However it does not seem to possess the romanticized storys of heroism or love affairs, but instead this drama is replaced by tales or horror and extreme violence. Perhaps this is the next logical step to Film Noir's mutation or contemporisation. Below I have shown a photoshoot by Steven Meisel which was greatly inspired by Sin City.

This is a series of images shot by Steven Meisel, who has an inclination to dark and sometimes violent arrangements, but still attuned very much to an avant garde style. This is series is no exception. It was shot in the same year for Vogue Italy, that the inspirational film, Sin City. It is very clear to note the sheer resemblance and the reminiscent overlapping themes and ideas that are present in both. This shoot possesses the usual film noir lighting and seedy crime orientated surroundings however it does also communicate a more modern approach or perhaps a contemporary twist. Instead of the usual washed out vintage look or the typical black and white, this imagery highlights areas of importance, once again another element that was brought forward by the modern emulation of film noir. This could indeed be a post production option that could be implemented into our imagery however it is still up for debate. I find this work to be extremely fitting and would like to use multiple models in which to create a detailed and deep narrative.

Models: Lily Donaldson, Karen Elson, Julia Stegner, Gemma Ward, Missy Rayder

I also found a website which proved to be quite useful. It offers tips on film noir shoots and has greatly helped me prepare for the upcoming shoot.

http://deadsailorproductions.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-06-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&updated-max=2008-07-01T00%3A00%3A00-05%3A00&max-results=3

Annie Leibovitz Film Noir Photography

Killers Kill, Dead Men Die

Here is a rough synopsis:

"With a star corpse, and suspects ranging from Helen Mirren to Forest Whitaker, Annie Leibovitz and Michael Roberts create a film noir masterpiece to die for."

THE GUMSHOES. INT. WEST L.A., OSCAR SLADE DETECTIVE AGENCY, INC.—NIGHT

Like any private eye worth his money clip, Oscar Slade (Bruce Willis) is not a talkative man, especially when he's in the company of his junior partner, Dan O'Bannion (Ben Affleck), and their young protégé, Jimmy (Tobey Maguire). But this night is different. Oscar's got something on his mind.

Oscar: There's only two types of people in this town: the Killers and the Killed. If you're not the one, you're gonna end up the other.
Jimmy: What about the dames, chief? Where do they fit in?
Oscar: Have you seen the dames in this town? Warm beneath the sheets, hot under the collar, and ice-cold under the skin. That reminds me—I've got an appointment. Don't wait up, fellas. I might be a while.

LOBBY OF THE DAMNED. INT. HOTEL LA BREA—NIGHT

Making like lovebirds, undercover police detectives Sloan (Ed Norton) and Minsky (Kate Winslet) are working the Hotel La Brea on a tip. The place is a rattrap, but that's why they're here: to trap rats. And, with any luck, exterminate them. The owner, blind racketeer Marlon Doppel (Robert De Niro), knows who offed poor Oscar, but he's not saying. Neither is Muriel Slade (Jennifer Connelly), who has so deftly misled the law for reasons having to do with saving her own skin. The languid drink of water in the corner (Julianne Moore) is content to know not much of anything beyond which gentleman will take on the job of keeping her in silk. Tilda Lydeker (Helen Mirren) arrives in search of answers, unaware that she may be checking in one last time before checking out for good.

When I first found these images I was instantly drawn into them. The sheer detail and balanced tonality of these examples are phenomenal, they remind me of excerpts from "The Reconfigured Eye" in which W J Mitchell talks about the way in which through modern technology and a die hard mission to create "perfect" photographs. We see things within images that previously would not have been considered in the past. This in my opinion is a gleaming example of this quest to create an image so detailed that it seems to defy reality, or at least how we view the world. Indeed it is a constructed reality, and does not try to parade itself otherwise, and a reality in which I would like to emulate in my imagery. However this is of course not possible at this juncture in time due to the scores of people involved in creating this imagery. I dont have the help, celebrities, cash or the knowledge of Annie Leibovitz however I have been greatly inspired by this work and indeed there are elements that will greatly improve my shoot.

Final Concept

After much discussion and debate we finally came to the conclusion that a "Film Noir-esque" shoot would be the most captivating and would challenge both stylist and photographer alike. We both agreed that it should be shot on location as trying to convert the studio into a typical film noir scene would require a lot of work and the fact that smoking in the studio is prohibited doesnt help. We wanted to choose a location that was rather smoky and seedy, basically a place in which these crime orientated shenanigans occur, so the location chosen was my basement. I always found film noir to be captivating due to not only the 1930's romantic vision of crime and the streets. However I also have respect for extensive and technical use of lighting and composition, trying to emulate this effect was a great challenge and I would go as far to say that I am only half way there. We originally were looking to include both male and female models and perhaps have some overlapping narrative throughout the series of photographs however it was rather difficult to conduct the shoot due availability.

I will continue with this progression at a later point however my next post will consist of research and compositions that inspired us during our shoot.

The Cathouse by Baldovino Barani

I will be updating this post within the next few hours. Below is a link to the remainder of work in this series.

http://ananasamiami.blogspot.com/2009/06/cathouse-by-baldovino-barani.html

Cardboard Ladies

There is something about the formality of traditional portraiture which seems to invite parody. Swiss photographer Christian Tagliavini obliges by abandoning fully 3-dimensional human subjects altogether. In his series Dame di Cartone (Cardboard Ladies), he takes fancy dress to a rather strange and illogical conclusion by replacing his sitters' bodies with cardboard costumes from various eras. They seem to be an affectionate and slight;y teasing tribute to both fashion photography and art history. I find this imagery to be both imaginative and of course completely crazy. The purpose is not to earnestly portray these individuals, who dont even seem to have names, instead he toys with the idea of making fun of early portrait photography.

I find this body of work to be both captivating but also slightly annoying, however this is possibly only due to the makeup and the facial expression of the models or sitters. The very concept behind this imagery is gleefully bizarre, when I decide to do a photoshoot I find cardboard doesnt possess the qualities I want in a fabric. There isnt necessarily a narrative more just an underlying theme. I would like to go out on a limb and try to do a photoshoot of this calibre however I dont feel it is necessarily my style. I still feel this work is captivating and despite not being completely to my taste, I feel there is a lot that can be learned from his work.