Cinematography

This week for my cinematography assignment I chose the movies Killer’s Kiss and The HitchHiker to pick some still shots that show the theme of noir.

This still shot is from the movie Killer’s Kiss. This show to me is the epitome of noir media for multiple reasons. One of the reasons being the geometrical venetian blind effect that is happening from the actual blinds themselves, while also projecting this image onto the actor in the photograph. This photo also has an essence of mystery even though I know the man in the photo is actually just watching the boxing match however, if one did not know what was going on in the background of this picture you may think their is a darker meaning. Noir always makes me think of swanky-ness and smoking, which is exactly what this man portrays, he is dressed to the nines with a cigar in his hand. Lastly, a photography technique that we read/talked about this week is the lighting coming from the side and it not being harsh. This is also shown in this photo, there is soft lighting and it is mostly coming from outside of the blinds onto the man’s face.

This still shot is also from Killer’s Kiss. I chose this shot because it portrays the grittiness of the city landscape. It is city which is something that is portrayed a lot in noir media, it makes you think of crime and corruption. Its also very busy and it show the hustle and bustle of the city.

This still shot was captured from the movie The Hitchhiker. This picture shows distinct shadows on the villain’s face making him look like even more of a sketchy character. The lighting in this photo like the other is coming from only one side of his body, thus also creating the ominous shadows. The black and white really adds to the eerie-ness of this shot because you can see the crazy in the killer’s eyes and it makes everything more suspenseful.