Conventions of Film Noir

If you didn't know, Film Noir is a genre that became popular in post war 1940's. It is very dark, enigmatic and disorientating, but that it what makes it so characteristic and loved by so many. It isn't just about it being black and white it has a lot more to it, here are just a few common conventions of Film Noir.

Probably the most noticeable part of film noir is the story line. They are all base around themes like deceit, betrayal and crime, it is all very dark and morbid. Generally there is a gangster or business man involved in crime and then cops who are against them, but this can vary entirely to involve detectives and love interest, it changes for each film but there is usually some sort of convention with the characters. There is a lot of mystery behind each character you never know everything you need to about them, making them shady and unpredictable.

The use of shadows and lighting in film noir is iconic and really makes it stand out from other genres. Lighting is so important for film noir, it helps you focus on small details, or only focus on one place. A good example of that is in this picture from the third man. There is a very bright single source key light that is directed on his face, we can now clearly see any emotional responses. In other cases it is more important to get the shadow than the actual character as it suits the scene better and is more disorientating.

Film noir is known for it's close surroundings and claustrophobic shots. It shows how hopeless or vulnerable the character is. It does this by having high buildings that are really close together, like an alley way or road, it has no escape routes or hiding places. This makes the character look weak and hopeless, which suits film noir's dark mood perfectly.
It is a different case with the close and claustrophobic shots however. To create this effect they have the camera really close to the character to show all the emotion that is going through them at that point. This is done very well in "The Third Man" in the ending scene in the sewers, to make him look hopeless, lost and trapped.

Smoke and steam are surprisingly important in Film Noir, they creates a sense of mystery and bleakness. It is commonly used in alley ways to make them look cold and dangerous. When a back light is put on the smoke, silhouettes appear from inside the smoke, this creates an eerie feel to the scene and also looks very cinematic.

Clothing is very important in film noir. It can tell you a characters role and importance in the film simply by what they're wearing. The same can be said for the settings, the lighting and setting can tell you if that place is important or relevant or not.
Men in film noir often wear suits.. This is because it makes them look important or powerful to the audience and other characters. It also adds to the themes of crime and spying, any powerful criminal will wear a suit to show how he is better than everyone else.
Females however wear dresses to make them look pretty and to add lust to film noirs many themes and moods. A common characteristic of film noir is having a femme fatale character to lure men to their demise, and the way they do this is to dress and look in such a way that the male character will fall for them.

The settings can play an important role in film noir, they can make it disorientating by having different levels so you get lots of high and low angle shots that when edited together can be disorientating. There are many stereotypes with film noir settings, the biggest being the simple lamppost. A lamppost suits film noir well as it can be used as the single light source of the shot, this way it can be used in the actual scene instead of just being in the background.