• ‘Taxi Driver’ is a film noir film about a man who had left the royal marines and

and suffers from insomnia, he has come to the city of New York to apply for a

taxi driver profession. He is shown as a loner who has strong opinions about

what is right and what is wrong with the world. He had once fallen in love with

a women however after an incident with her, he is determined to do as much

as he can to make the world a better place.

• The beginning of the clip begins with a large amount of thick, grey smoke. You cant tell that the camera is at a low angle untill the taxi comes into the scene and drives through the smoke, this makes out as if the taxi has more power over the viewer. An extreme close up is used on the mans face to show the expression with his eyes focusing around the room, making him look quite sly and professional with his job profession. The extreme close up is also used when he is in the taxi in the city centre, watching people walk around. This makes him look like he is keeping an eye out for someone, which in film noir films is common to wait to meet up with someone to discuss something private with them and looking out for them. An eyeline match is used between the worker and the man. A low angle is used looking up at the man who is stood up compared to the worker who is sat down to make you feel like you are in the place of the worker, this makes the man seem like he has more dominance over the worker and is confident in what he is doing. A shot reverse shot is used during their conversation, this shows their facial expressions to be serious and that the man has knowledge when he replies quickly to the questions also showing he has confidence. Because of the setting and the shot reverse shot, this is ideal in relation to film noir films as conversations between 2 people are usually in a deserted place and personal. At the end of the clip an over the shoulder shot is used when the worker is handling over some forms to him. This would represent dealing something over to someone privately in film noir films.

• The sequence begins with the institution logo to give an idea of the type of film

it is,. ‘Columbia’ are famous for presenting old styled films which are shot in past

times around the 50’s era. This immediately informs you that it is going to be a

film Noir film. After the beginning sequence the background is black with red

text slowly appearing with the main characters names, one at a time. The dark

background shows the idea of black and white films which were used in the

50’s giving a classic film Noir experience, the red text shows the most popular

actors in the film which also suggests the type of film it is as the actors that play

this film are mostly famous for the same genre type. The taxi driving out of the

smoke which then reveals the film title, ‘taxi Driver’ makes the picture seem

quite ironic with the taxi prop. The film title is presented in front of thick smoke

which hides the scene it is in and gives mystery and suspicion. The rest of the

credits are shown in front of the thick smoke so you still cant see the

setting, leaving you suspicious and determined to find an answer to what is

going on and where the scene is going to occur, just like a film Noir film giving

mystery and determination. When the first character is introduced, low key

lighting is used on his face so you cant see his true identity and become

suspicious that he could be hiding something from someone.

• In the first 5 minutes of the clip, sound perspective is used at various volumes

throughout. It starts off at a low volume and slowly begins to build up to build

up the tension and make you think something is due to happen shortly.

However this fools the viewers as nothing dramatic happens and the volume

of the sound then decreases. The music is very eerie and creates a build up

when the credits end and the start of the clip begins properly. The diagetic

sound of the phone call which stops the non diagetic music crreates a good

effect in relation to film Noir films as it gives mystery to the scene as you don’t

know who is trying to get in contact with them. Narrative sound is then used

from the characters so you can hear the main parts of the conversation that

could be vital for the rest of the clip. The in depth conversation between the

two characters helps you come up with an impression on the main character

and the type of personality he has, which determines what type of person he

could be.

• The majority of the beginning clip is set at a taxi firm, this suggests that

most of the action could be held here as it is introduced as the first

scene in the film, meaning it must be an important location. This

scene is relevant to film noir films as most scenes are set in people-

based areas such as bars, diners or pubs. The dress code of the locals

helps to set the scene and give an idea of the time the film is relating

to, in this case being the 50’s when film noir films were most common.

For the main character of the man, he is in fairly casual clothing with

a leather jacket which gives the idea that he is in some sort of team

and gives him a butch feature. The worker is in a typical shirt with the

top 2 buttons undone showing his gold chain which puts him in a

place of high authority and good pay in his job compared to the

other man. The scenes also relate to film noir films as they are set in

the main setting of a taxi firm which is quite dark, smoky, dusty and

gloomy, giving the idea of suspicion.