Film study help

[Ryanrulez5]

Doing a student film in a couple of months time need to do alot of research before our teacher even allows us to look at the camera. I need examples of films (Names, dates they were released)
my films is a silent comedy and are looking for films that have the following scenes or like them because I need images of film and have to explain them and talk about how I will use similar techniques in my film.

-Character in danger people trying to kill him, falling debris but character is not aware of the danger and people get hurt

-Noir film where use of Noir lighting is good looking a window shot where characters face is blurred out

 

[Frezzato]

snip

Are these all separate examples? I mean, do you need a film example where a character is both in danger and where people get hit by falling debris? I think it would be helpful if you were to post exactly what you were instructed, word for word.

 

[Albino Boo]

Buster Keaton is your best bet

 

[Ryanrulez5]

snip

Are these all separate examples? I mean, do you need a film example where a character is both in danger and where people get hit by falling debris? I think it would be helpful if you were to post exactly what you were instructed, word for word.

I need a film(s) where a character is in danger of being hurt but does not notice or seem to care that he is narrowly escaping injury or death in a comedy film of some sort if it is people instead of debris or other danger that would also help just need multiple examples.

 

[Frezzato]

snip

I think Albino Boo hit the nail on the head with Buster Keaton. There's also plenty of Charlie Chaplin films you can find on YouTube, in their entirety no less.

The most recent example I can think of happens in the beginning of Shaun of the Dead, but it's Shaun that notices everything, while the entire world around him is oblivious to the zombies. A lot of this is actually foreshadowing, but when Shaun is at his job, at time marker 9:50, he's flipping through TV channels and doesn't notice all the foreboding news stories, including military trucks. The entire beginning of the movie is full of pranks like that, like the scene that immediately follows in the flower shop (man in a suit running from something) to Shaun seeing the homeless looking man that's about to eat a pigeon. Then he's surrounded on the bus by a coughing man and a zombie-like woman, asleep to his right. It's just entirely full of pranks up until they start fighting for their lives, but again, it's Shaun that notices everything, while the world remains oblivious.

Unfortunately, it's mainly older movies that love to show danger while the main characters are unaware. The classic Abbot and Costello movies did it frequently, and probably did it best [https://www.google.com/search?q=abbot+and+costello+meet+dracula&oq=abbot+and+costello+meet+dracula&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4636j0j7&sourceid=chrome&espv=210&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8#es_sm=93&espv=210&q=abbott+and+costello+monster+movies&safe=off]. I'm not too familiar with them, but I do remember that every time one came on TV (when I was a kid), I loved the dynamic between the two.

In terms of what you will be capable of recreating with your own resources, I think Abbott and Costello are the way to go, as it was the strength of the relationship between the two characters that set up each reveal nicely, plus those movies were made in a time before expensive CGI, so they had to get creative with their scenes, or at the very least, knew how to keep things simple. And most of the time, simpler is better.

Spoiler: Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein

 

[Frezzato]

Another recent example for you might be Mystery Team (2009). A trio of socially inept teen detectives take on a murder case and their leader, Jason, played by Donald Glover, keeps insisting on pushing further into the investigation while his two buddies clearly do not. It's hard to explain, and I highly recommend watching it if you love comedy.

There's a scene where they go to buy drugs as part of their investigation but have absolutely no idea what they're doing. Again, Jason is insistent on hunting down leads and is oblivious to the danger that he's dragging his friends into. It's no longer available on Netflix
Streaming, but I have the DVD and can give you specific details if you want.

Spoiler: Mystery Team (2009) Red Band Trailer (NSFW)

 

[Albino Boo]

For the film noir, is this what you mean

from the big sleep

or something closer to this. From the 3rd man

I think there is shot in the 3rd man with this effect in window but I can't find it online