Help on doing a courtroom thriller without the courtroom.

I

ironpony

Carbonite Member
I have an idea I really like to be the first feature film I make. Only problem is, is that I can't afford the courtroom. So I was thinking of maybe doing a movie about a case, before it goes to trial. Instead of a courtroom I could change it to an interrogation room. The cops could interview suspects, and the suspects lawyers will be there defending them. Perhaps I can think of a convincing reason for the prosecutor to even come down too. Of course there won't be a judge or jury in the plot, but that's okay, cause the plot itself is not about them so much as the suspects and the detectives, so even if they are not in the courtroom, they are in the police station interview rooms.

Any thoughts on this, or tips to make it work better? The thing is is that the first third starts out that a witness is under police protection and they have to protect her from killers. During this time, some twists and turns develop along the way, that come out in court later. Or in this case, in the police interviews. Instead of having to get the witness to the courthouse on time, they have to get her to the interview on time.

Does it make enough sense that they would have to interview her again before a hearing? They already interviewed her earlier, so I feel I need a reason as to why to do it again. Also, the defendant she is testifying against will be in the interview room with her right there, with his lawyer. Although this is normal in court, it seems highly irregular to do it in a more private police room. Any tips on how to make this work more? Thanks.
 
On the courtroom, a couple of High Schools in my local area have courtrooms - I don't know some sort of education.
Maybe yours do as well. Might not be difficult to ask the video teacher there for access for a film with credits and maybe use a some of the students.
 
None of schools in my area or even a couple of hours away, have courtrooms. Only courthouses that don't allow you in unless a trial is in session, have courtrooms.
 
What do you really need for a courtroom?
A room, chairs, a couple of tables, a few props, actors.
There are many alternatives to using a real courtroom.
 
The walls can be very unigue looking in a courtroom and don't know of a building that would pass otherwise.
 
Write the script first, make it as good as it can be, then worry about making adjustments to fit your budget/locations/equipment/etc.

If you tie your hands before you even start, your story will suffer for it...
 
Mynock said:
Write the script first, make it as good as it can be, then worry about making adjustments to fit your budget/locations/equipment/etc.

If you tie your hands before you even start, your story will suffer for it...
Click to expand...

That is great advice. Write the story first then think about the logistics of putting in the screen. Putting together a court room is really not that big of deal, relatively, art direction wise. I have had a few brushes with the law (I have a lead foot....) and really most modern court house offices are pretty bland, and not much different from public sector offices these days.
 
That's another thing. You say courtrooms are pretty bland, which they are, will audiences by locations for a movie, if they are more bland than usual? Such as I want to have a police interrogation room, but the best room I know of for that, would be a meeting room in a grocery store, with no windows, accept for one, which can be used as a one way mirror window like they have in the interrogation rooms. It's not a mirror, but you don't have to shoot it directly, and audiences can still think it's one. Can the audience buy bland settings, on a low budget, or will they not look convincing enough to most viewers? Not just courtrooms, but government or law enforcement building settings in general.
 
It's all smoke and mirrors, but lets step into reality for a moment. If you do not have the budget for putting something together like a simple courtroom, then you likely do not have the budget for a crew talented enough to make the viewers believe. Not trying to ruffle feathers, just being real.
 
David W. Jones said:
If you do not have the budget for putting something together like a simple courtroom, then you likely do not have the budget for a crew talented enough to make the viewers believe. Not trying to ruffle feathers, just being real.
Click to expand...

That's not at all true. But I think Mynock had it on point; write it for a courtroom and worry about the logistics when you go to shoot it.
 
Michael Traven said:
That's not at all true. But I think Mynock had it on point; write it for a courtroom and worry about the logistics when you go to shoot it.
Click to expand...

Sorry I've been doing this too long too give advice like that for low budget films.

(IE) I've got a great idea for a horse race movie but don't have any money for horses or short actors for jockeys.

Work within your means!

Don't write an epic drama set on a spaceship to mars if you don't have the means to pull off the space ship set.
 
David W. Jones said:
Sorry I've been doing this too long too give advice like that for low budget films.

(IE) I've got a great idea for a horse race movie but don't have any money for horses or short actors for jockeys.

Work within your means!

Don't write an epic drama set on a spaceship to mars if you don't have the means to pull off the space ship set.
Click to expand...

I'm no longer entirely sure what point either of your posts is trying to make, but I've also lost interest in figuring out that information.
 
I like the premise of a courtroom drama without the courtroom.

These kinda of dramas would be tricky things to write without getting boring, so don't just swap a courtroom for an interrogation room.

Lincoln Lawyer was done well, did you see it?
 
Nope haven't seen it. Only a small percentage of my story, is set in the courtroom anyway, the rest takes place in some other places, with suspense scenarios going on. So even if I did have to swap out the courtroom, it would still only be a smaller part of the movie, and not most of it.
 
Really? No one mentioned 12 Angry Men??
smiley_huh.gif
 
David W. Jones said:
It's all smoke and mirrors, but lets step into reality for a moment. If you do not have the budget for putting something together like a simple courtroom, then you likely do not have the budget for a crew talented enough to make the viewers believe. Not trying to ruffle feathers, just being real.
Click to expand...
+1
 
Many (if not most) court systems have contingency plans for conducting trials elsewhere if the courthouse is damaged or otherwise unavailable due to natural disaster, terrorist threat, etc. I have also seen them displaced over long periods of time because of the same. As an example, the Federal Courthouse where I live has been in temporary quarters since the flood of June 2008 and the new one won't be finished until well into next year, so the federal courts here have been in "temporary" quarters that whole time...
 
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