The dubious task of brainstorming for Project Brief 4 began in this week’s Monday class. After forming a group with Holly and Cameo, we decided that we would attempt to create a short film in the hybrid genre between Horror and Film Noir. We felt that these two genres would intersect nicely, and be interesting to explore. Having all completed previous assignments in at least one of these areas, a hybrid of the two seemed like the natural path to follow in our Genre Trajectories. Using a mind-map method, we found inspiration in films like Lost Highway (1997) and Drive (2011), as well as tv shows such as The X Files and even Scooby Doo. Whilst these latter tv shows delve into the realm of Science Fiction, the way they construct their narratives by building suspense could be useful despite our inability to incorporate more than two genres into our final piece.

We also watched The Killers (1946) in Monday’s class. Although I used the genre of Film Noir in my first Project Brief, I hadn’t seen this film yet. I did enjoy it, and I was able to clearly define it as a Film Noir, with a trademark ‘fall guy’ and ‘femme fatale’. I think I could benefit from viewing the film again, however, as I did find it confusing at certain points. It was beneficial to watch another Film Noir piece this week, as it aided in our brainstorming process for the final assessment.