film noir research

The term "film noir" comes from the French term for "black film" or film of the night. Film noir movies include different genres and styles of movies, such as police, gangster and detective movies.

Film noir movies are mostly shot at night or in dark places where the scenery is dark which keeps the full focus on the main characters. The stories often take place in bars, casinos, run down apartments/hotels or even back alleys. 

Film noir movie scenes often have a lot of shadows due to the use of key and back lighting but no filler lights. There are also often dark shadows across the actors face as a result of back lighting. The shadows and darkness created on a whole makes film noir movies feel more mysterious and stressful to add more tension within the scenes.  

Characters in the film noir genre are often greedy, jealous and/or out for revenge. Story lines are usually based around a robbery, fraud, blackmail or murders.

The hero in a lot of film noir movies are often an underdog or a detective that usually have a down turn find any means to find a way out of their predicament. The actor may commit unlawful crimes in order to get the information he's looking for which may cause the audience to view the character as being the antagonist instead of the protagonist.  

This video clip fits perfectly with the film noir category as it shows the contrast between chiaro (light) and scuro ( dark). This is because throughout there are constant contrasts between light and dark. Shadows appear often, especially when something tense/shady is happening. All the darkness throughout creates a sense of suspicion as the characters aren't letting the audience know the full story.