Audience Expectations

As part of our research into the Film Noir genre, I have created a survey on an audience's expectations of a Film Noir. This has been a great way to gather some useful information which we can use in our further planning stages during our coursework. We can now see what an audience would expect to see when watching a Film Noir, even if they have not seen one before, and so this will help us structure our opening and think about the conventions of a Film Noir.



From this survey, one can conclude that, whether someone has seen a film noir before or not, they expect the film to be based around a murder. One can also draw out that they expect a Film Noir to be set in a big city, with the 5 main themes being: Secrets, Murder, Revenge, Betrayal and Love. This is significant because these 5 themes are all very important in any Film Noir, and is what differentiates a Film Noir from a normal crime investigation film. The questioned people recorded that they expected a mysterious and dark atmosphere throughout the film. In addition, they said that they would expect a thought-provoking ending to the movie. Some people gave us some extra information and said that they would expect a 'femme fatale', a melancholy atmosphere and a slow pace throughout the movie. These are all very helpful points, as they will aid us structure our final draft of our film opening.