Film noir script ideas

[MissMittens]

I have a vintage 30's movie camera (don't ask) and am thinking of buying some rolls of 35mm and shooting a black and white film.

I'm looking for ideas to use while writing a script. What would you like to see in a movie in the film noir genre, that you either haven't seen covered, or you think deserved to be built upon?

 

[Widebrim]

Wow, that's quite a request, and good for you on that goal...Well, being a vet and the son of a WWII vet, I'd recommend something that deals with the issue of veterans returning home and being expected to slip back into society as if nothing had changed. While there have been films that have explored the "can't get a break, can't fit in" syndrome, I'm rather speaking of one where the main character outwardly does appear to fit in, but inside is actually experiencing boredom/restlessnes/guilt, etc. The only Film Noir that I can think of which kind of dealt with this was Pitfall, with Dick Powell.

 

[martinsantos]

Beautiful project!!

The biggest trouble about filmmaking is about the run time - in 35mm this can be expensive, as a "pro" gauge.

I would suggest to take a look in some tales by Chandler or Hammett, and find a simple story that would fit your cast and running time.

(I tried once with an veteran silent Keystone 16mm. Think that you will loose around half the film by errors, if you're trying with friends as actors, not with amateurs or professionals in acting).

 

[John in Covina]

Film Noir often deals with a person wrongly accused or a person that makes a mistake in judgment and it leads to continued lies to cover that mistake which makes for a nightmarish situation. Greed or seeking the love of an amoral woman figure highly The Lighting, camera view with odd angles are use to reinforce the mood. Also a juxtaposition of size in forced perspective is often used to make the main character look small against an ordinary object to show how small they are in the world and it's problems.

Political drama a well known Senator's office is being used by the members of her staff for political graft. It turns out her fiancee is the mastermind of the plot and is in actual control.

 

[Salty O'Rourke]

Perhaps you could get a few ideas by listening to some Old Time Radio private eye/detective shows. Jack Webb's pre-dragnet efforts are especially noir-ish - Jeff Regan, Investigator is a good one, also check out Pat Novak, For Hire. The Gerald Mohr Philip Marlowe's are excellent. You can find plenty of free eps to download, just google 'em up.

 

[MissMittens]

After checking the price on processing 35mm, and the fact that I don't have any cutting room equipment setup for 35mm, I'm thinking of going 16mm with sound, as I have a splicing table in my storage unit for 16mm for doing wet splicing, and also a projector, so I can do my own editing. You were right martinsantos - processing and post-production work on 35mm would probably break the bank. So the premise is going to stay the same, just won't be using the Mitchell.....

So now I have to write the treatment, and write the scenes/dialog around that. Probably be a couple of weeks before the treatment stage is complete once I have settled on an idea

 

[Xavier_Godshore]

The plots/scenarios of the few 'vintage' (silent) films I have done have all come from listening to music. Johnny Cash, Sting, Nick Cave and Tom Waits songs are some excellent places to start as they're real storytellers. Though they might not be of the genre you're going for, a story is a story and should be easily adaptable.
~X

 

[martinsantos]

16mm is very handier and the results on screen are stunning. And in BW is still possible to develop yourself the film with great results (at least with 100 feet rolls).

Never saw "in person" a sound 16mm camera, just played around with some silent cameras (my own is a very simple, Keystone A12; the very best I've found was a Bolex-Paillard from 60s). Will you try with magnetic sound?

Martin

 

[MissMittens]

16mm is very handier and the results on screen are stunning. And in BW is still possible to develop yourself the film with great results (at least with 100 feet rolls).

Never saw "in person" a sound 16mm camera, just played around with some silent cameras (my own is a very simple, Keystone A12; the very best I've found was a Bolex-Paillard from 60s). Will you try with magnetic sound?

Martin

Hi Martin,

Yes, I'd use the magnetic sound feature since the camera has it. If I had a crystal sych 16mm I'd just record the sound separately and add it post-production, but the camera doesn't have that feature. I have a nice standard 8 too that I'd like to use for some effects, but I'd have to digitize everything after processing and digitally edit, which I don't want to do. I want to make this purely analog.

 

[martinsantos]

Purely analog certainly is more interesting and funnier!:eusa_clap

Once I got a roll of regular 8... A not-so-good film (reversal Fomapan), but cheap. Used this brand a while to make B&W slides. But never had use to it. Shot it, but then I remembered about the cutting in two parts. And never found anybody to do it for me!!

Hi Martin,

Yes, I'd use the magnetic sound feature since the camera has it. If I had a crystal sych 16mm I'd just record the sound separately and add it post-production, but the camera doesn't have that feature. I have a nice standard 8 too that I'd like to use for some effects, but I'd have to digitize everything after processing and digitally edit, which I don't want to do. I want to make this purely analog.