5 Minute, Film-Noir

[Mr. Durden]

OK, so for a film course I'm taking, I was asked to write a five minute screenplay (for a no budget film) in my favorite genre. I chose film noir, the problem is I'm not allowed on camera talking, only voice over.

I was wondering if anybody has any tips for writing a very short film noir?

 

[SeanEmer]

I'm not an expert, but voice over and film noir go together very well. If it's only 5 minutes long, try starting the film in the middle of the story, instead of starting from the beginning. Use voice overs and action to convey the bits and pieces the reader/viewer would need to have filled in. The voice overs can add to the noir-esque essence of the film. Stuff like "I knew I was on to something, a hot lead for sure." or "She was beautiful, there was no doubt of that. A seductress, playing innocent." fits perfectly into film noir.

As far as what the script is actually about, well film noir would indicate that it is some kind of crime drama, so your main character might be a 'private eye' trailing the badguys, or watching the unfaithful woman, etc. etc.

did that help at all?

 

[Chris Messineo]

If you want to check out some examples of 5 minute scripts, you can go to MoviePoet.com

There are over 200 five page scripts. Go to script search and search for "Film Noir" and you should see about half a dozen scripts you can look at.

You will have to register before you can read, but it is quick and free.

Chris

 

[Charli]

If it's a mystery, jump right into the part of discovering the clue or if it's a murder mystery, the body. Use one person as your focal point and everything from the point of view to use in voice over.

 

[MichaelP]

To farther Charlie's idea. if the camera IS the main character and everything is being seen through his/hr eyes, then everything that character says is a voice over... A little bit of a cheat, but you might get points for creativity.