Just need some advice.
Would it be a good idea to make my first feature a silent film?
Would it be a good idea to make my first feature a silent film?
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Silent Film
- Thread starter Wolverine237
- Start date
Maybe in about 35 years when it's an original idea again. 8-) hehehehhe
Silent Movie (1976)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075222/
The Artist (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/
Silent Movie (1976)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075222/
The Artist (2011)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/
Do you have a great script for a silent film? If so... do it.
If you are trying to bypass the hassle of recording sound... well, maybe.
Do you want to make a silent film?
Let’s explore the question;
“good idea” - what do you mean? Zen asked the best question; do you
want to make silent film? Is that your passion? If so then it’s a good idea.
Do you mean “Is there a market for a silent film?”
Are you asking if people want to see a silent film?
Do you think that a silent film might be easier or less expensive than
making one with sound? If that’s your reason then in might not be a
good idea.
So what do you mean by "good idea"?
“good idea” - what do you mean? Zen asked the best question; do you
want to make silent film? Is that your passion? If so then it’s a good idea.
Do you mean “Is there a market for a silent film?”
Are you asking if people want to see a silent film?
Do you think that a silent film might be easier or less expensive than
making one with sound? If that’s your reason then in might not be a
good idea.
So what do you mean by "good idea"?
To clarify
Do you mean "silent" 1920's style black and white silent film? OR
A film shot MOS without sound and dubbed in later like El Mariachi ?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104815/
Do you mean "silent" 1920's style black and white silent film? OR
A film shot MOS without sound and dubbed in later like El Mariachi ?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104815/
As an artistic project that you could learn a ton from, nothing wrong with it. If you expect to recoup a single cent from it or have more than a handful of people ever watch it, terrible idea.
I would have thought it would be difficult to make a silent feature film on a tight budjet,
I'm guessing you would need very very good actors to keep the story flowing and to keep people intrested up untill the end.
Have you done any short silent movies? I'm sure if you did a little 15 min silent film you would know for yourself if it is a good idea for you.
good luck.
I'm guessing you would need very very good actors to keep the story flowing and to keep people intrested up untill the end.
Have you done any short silent movies? I'm sure if you did a little 15 min silent film you would know for yourself if it is a good idea for you.
good luck.
I suppose I'm asking the question simply based on my idea and the pairing of such a stylistic form of silent film.
My basic plot is about a Space Transit Air Marshall named Kelvin. The woman he loves is kidnapped and he is forced to smuggle illegal material across the galaxy for an Alien mafia. Aboard the Galactic Transit Cruiser and on his way to the destination Kelvin must deal with an unexpected attack by Space Pirates who are searching for the very material Kelvin is smuggling. Kelvin must fight off the Pirates, the Mafia, and any other foe that gets in his way so that he may save his one true love.
I envision this film as extremely cinematic, incredible visuals, action-packed, and full color. Not at all black and white or based in the 1920's. I'm not trying to copy The Artist (AMAZING FILM!!!). I am simply inspired by it.
I thought I could make the main character of Kelvin a Deaf person so that the idea of everything being silent ties into the character. A Deaf Hero would be unconventional and it could deepen his character; Even with all the aliens and weirdoes in space, he feels much more out of place.
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…like a silent POV of deaf main character.
Why not film a cheap trailer and post it for feedback? You'll get an idea if it's going to work before designing a ton of visual effects and costumes and Sci-Fi props. Just a thought.
Why not film a cheap trailer and post it for feedback? You'll get an idea if it's going to work before designing a ton of visual effects and costumes and Sci-Fi props. Just a thought.
This is just a tiny spark of an idea which I posted. This is the screenplay section and my only focus is actually completing a script.
It's a very interesting idea. I think that for viewers it would be more compelling to switch between Kelvin's POV (where everything is silent) and the 'real world'. Just as we see the world from the FPS viewpoint in a video game through a visor. I can see how it would make a cat-n-mouse sequence much more scary, especially in a darkened scene with no sound to know where the monster/enemy is or about to pounce. I think the use of sign language would also help to convey Kelvin's situation when he interacts over a monitor with his girlfriend. Even 'silent movies' weren't silent but were supplemented with a musical score played along side live or by recording.
I would write the treatment and then create the script. This forces you to think visually rather than with words/sounds which is very helpful for a 'silent' film where action needs to guide the audience.. For the shots from Kelvin's perspective, film them without sound (MOS="mit-out sound"). In the shooting script these would largely be from his perspective. For the others, there would be sound. Occasionally pulling out to see him in the actual noisy environment.
Though for suspense and since it's the future, I'd give him a cochlear implant that allows him to hear. Except in the presence of solar radiation or whatever "kryptonite scenario", it generates only noise and he must rely on his other skills. This allows you some flexibility. You can introduce him as deaf. Have him interact normally but at a critical juncture, he must cope with his disability. And, of course, he probably should find a way to turn it to his advantage. It sounds a tad formulaic, but you don't give a character an defect unless it's something they must overcome. If you're making him deaf, then it has to serve a greater purpose for his character in terms of his development.
Lighting and sound are integral to the success of a movie in addition to the story and videography. Silence is great punctuation if not overused. Cheers
I would write the treatment and then create the script. This forces you to think visually rather than with words/sounds which is very helpful for a 'silent' film where action needs to guide the audience.. For the shots from Kelvin's perspective, film them without sound (MOS="mit-out sound"). In the shooting script these would largely be from his perspective. For the others, there would be sound. Occasionally pulling out to see him in the actual noisy environment.
Though for suspense and since it's the future, I'd give him a cochlear implant that allows him to hear. Except in the presence of solar radiation or whatever "kryptonite scenario", it generates only noise and he must rely on his other skills. This allows you some flexibility. You can introduce him as deaf. Have him interact normally but at a critical juncture, he must cope with his disability. And, of course, he probably should find a way to turn it to his advantage. It sounds a tad formulaic, but you don't give a character an defect unless it's something they must overcome. If you're making him deaf, then it has to serve a greater purpose for his character in terms of his development.
Lighting and sound are integral to the success of a movie in addition to the story and videography. Silence is great punctuation if not overused. Cheers
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In that case my answer to your question, “Would it be a good idea
to make my first feature a silent film?” is yes.
It sounds like something you have some passion for. Make it!
Good suggestions man. I decided to add speaking characters into the story. Basically the scenes with the main deaf character would be silent.
I strongly recommend you watch the 1998 version of Bangkok Dangerous (currently on Netflix streaming). I think you'll find some neat stuff in there about a deaf main character.
Two quite big misconceptions here:
1. As already mentioned, silent films were called "silent" films because they were distributed without sound, not because they were designed to be experienced in silence. If you're not going to have sound but instead just music, it's going to have to be excellent high quality music, if you don't want your film to appear like a particularly bad school project.
2. Due to a rather unusual personal history, I've got a great deal of observational knowledge about how and what deaf people perceive. The huge misunderstanding made by hearing people is that deaf people live in a world of silence, which is completely untrue. The vast majority of people classified as deaf still have a significant amount of hearing but the quality of what they hear is distorted to the point that they cannot understand speech (from hearing alone). Even the tiny minority classified as "totally deaf" still hear sound. Deafness just means there is a problem with the ears and/or auditory nerves, it does not mean that the totally deaf are incapable of perceiving sound. Let me give you an example: If a truck drives past your house do you hear the truck or feel it? The answer is both, because sound waves are just vibrations travelling through the air. Any sound which you perceive through feel, as well as through hearing, a totally deaf person is capable of perceiving as well. In fact totally deaf people are far more sensitive to the perception of sound through feel than hearing people because their method of sound perception isn't overwhelmed by what they sense through their ears. The proof is in the fact that there are quite a few very high achieving musicians who are deaf, because it's possible to highly train the perception of "feeling" sound. In short, you have to be dead to experience the world as silent!! Contrary to not doing anything and having silence, doing a POV of a deaf character requires some very creative sound design work, which is likely to be more difficult to do convincingly than doing a POV of a hearing person! I certainly wouldn't advise shooting POV scenes of a deaf character MOS.
G
1. As already mentioned, silent films were called "silent" films because they were distributed without sound, not because they were designed to be experienced in silence. If you're not going to have sound but instead just music, it's going to have to be excellent high quality music, if you don't want your film to appear like a particularly bad school project.
2. Due to a rather unusual personal history, I've got a great deal of observational knowledge about how and what deaf people perceive. The huge misunderstanding made by hearing people is that deaf people live in a world of silence, which is completely untrue. The vast majority of people classified as deaf still have a significant amount of hearing but the quality of what they hear is distorted to the point that they cannot understand speech (from hearing alone). Even the tiny minority classified as "totally deaf" still hear sound. Deafness just means there is a problem with the ears and/or auditory nerves, it does not mean that the totally deaf are incapable of perceiving sound. Let me give you an example: If a truck drives past your house do you hear the truck or feel it? The answer is both, because sound waves are just vibrations travelling through the air. Any sound which you perceive through feel, as well as through hearing, a totally deaf person is capable of perceiving as well. In fact totally deaf people are far more sensitive to the perception of sound through feel than hearing people because their method of sound perception isn't overwhelmed by what they sense through their ears. The proof is in the fact that there are quite a few very high achieving musicians who are deaf, because it's possible to highly train the perception of "feeling" sound. In short, you have to be dead to experience the world as silent!! Contrary to not doing anything and having silence, doing a POV of a deaf character requires some very creative sound design work, which is likely to be more difficult to do convincingly than doing a POV of a hearing person! I certainly wouldn't advise shooting POV scenes of a deaf character MOS.
G
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Thank you for your comment and your insight on Deaf people. It is very helpful and something I never thought of. My idea has certainly evolved from the strict definition you have mentioned; from silent film to some crazy hybrid.