So Youz guys thinks you're ready for some film noir video? Huh? Well youz ain't seen nothin'. Them shadows over there? They got nothin'... nothin', I tell ya! Sure youz put some light over there and youz was careful, real careful... that nothin' spilled in the wrong place. It's all 'bout control, you see? Youz gotta control the situation. Sure they asked youz to light the joint up and youz done a real clean job. OK? But youz didn't see nothin'. Right?

The Golden Age of comic books reached it's peak in the 1930s and gave birth to many of today's super heros such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman but more importantly the '30s ushered in Dick Tracy who was America's favorite detective. These stories were of intrigue, betrayal and good vs evil and the lines were frequently blurred between the characters. These comic books were illustrated with powerful, graphically depicted scenes shrouded in long shadows, and distant lights. Even though the character's motives were frequently blurry and unclear the graphic nature of the illustrations were hardly blurred. These illustrations reflected the artist's intent to convey the hard nature of those times.

Sign of the Times

The film studios of the '30s could make movies about super heroes, but these films were hardly believable. However, a film about crime was not only believable but realistic because many of the world's major cities were engulfed in crime. Filmmaking of the 1930s was still in its infancy and film directors were quite limited by the technologies of the time. Eventually, the art of filmmaking had evolved to reflect what was on the minds of film studio moguls - the dark side of society - and directors, were demanding their photography and lighting effects crews create a style that could evoke the emotions of the time. Thus was born filmmaking in the style of "Film Noir."

Film Noir is often called a genre, meaning a type of movie style like a western, a romance or a comedy, but it is often argued that you can't call it a genre because Film Noir video isn't about the story, it's about the light - and the dark - within that story.

The Shadow Knows

Film Noir is a lighting effects style where the mysterious shadows of a scene - that place of the unknown - might be more intriguing than the subject itself. If you are to create such a dark and powerful scene you must be prepared to use whatever is available to you and to use it with authority.

As an independent video producer it's best to start this project with a realistic set of goals and with that ever important understanding of one simple concept; "it's not smart to mess with mother nature". Unless you have a grip truck full of equipment and a bus load of assistants it's not wise to try a large scene in broad daylight because the sky (mother nature) will confound you every step of the way. It can be done but if you are just learning film noir video why complicate things?