How does Film Noir show us terrible people doing terrible things without endorsing it?

Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular:

• how to keep the audience on side of characters doing reprehensible things
• how to control your audience understanding of those reprehensible actions
• distinguishing between characters undergoing transformative arcs against discovering their true natures

In finding the common craft tools of Noir over 100 years, this Part 2 looks at two modern noirs - DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) and WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) - after Part 1 looked at the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done. Thanks Chris.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 - Using noir as a lens

00:01:56 - DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS

00:31:33 - WOMAN OF THE HOUR

01:04:30 - Key Learnings

01:08:50 - Thank you Patreons!

LINKS

Shot Zero on the noir-set of noir shots in WOMAN OF THE HOUR

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-123: Flawed characters & noir
• DZ-03: Making unlikeable protagonists compelling
• DZ-110: Voiceover

More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob.

Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter.

You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

What can Film Noir teach us about character arcs and audience engagement?

In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can characters doing reprehensible things still engage audiences? How can you ensure representation isn't endorsement? And whether these characters undergo transformative arcs, or simply reveal their true natures?

Part 1 focuses on two (now classic) noirs: DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE.

While Part 2 looks at two more contemporary examples DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESs and WOMAN OF THE HOUR.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.

CHAPTERS

• 00:00:00 - Cold Open
• 00:00:17 - Flawed Characters and Noir
• 00:16:40 - Double Indemnity
• 00:53:38 - The Long Goodbye
• 01:21:15 - End of Part 1

LINKS

• Mel's A Brief History of Queer Coding in Film: Part 1 - https://melkillingsworth.substack.com/p/a-brief-history-of-queer-coding-in-film-part-1

More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob.

Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter.

You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

What happens when a group of filmmakers play a ragtag group of filmmakers in a gritty sci-fi horror?

"Ignite the fire within and explore unknown territory" - Werner Herzog.

This episode is unusual, even by Draft Zero standards. It's an "Actual Play Podcast" where Chas, Stu, & Mel are joined by Kim Ho and Luke Clark to play MOTHERSHIP, the sci-fi horror game we talked about in episodes DZ-121 and DZ-122. Stu is the GM while everyone else is a ragtag crew of freelance filmmakers. We debrief the experience (so far) at the end of the episode)

Mel plays Zara, the glamorous face of the operation. Chas plays Winston, the cynical and egoistical "photojournalist". Kim is Cal, the scrappy scrounger and sound recordists, while Luke is Tarsos the steadfast producer of the group. The crew are enlisted to record a sensationalist report on a missing corporate president before the mercenary retrieval team arrives.

And yeah, this means we're soft-launching yet another project that's called 1d0, which looks at how we can use tools from ttrpgs in screenwriting… and vice versa.

To get future episodes go to: http://www.1d-zero.com/

CHAPTERS

• 00:00:11 - Intro for DZ Listeners
• 00:01:51 - Meet the Snortin' Betsy
• 00:06:22 - A Mansion Most Vile (Ep 1)
• 01:52:32 - Debrief through TOMBS

RELATED EPISODES

• DZ-121: Escalating Antagonism 1: Sinners
• DZ-122: Escalating Antagonism 2: Rebel Ridge + Meet the Parents

LINKS

• Tuesday Knight Games
• Joshua Kramer: A Mansion Most Vile
• Alewood Games: Arkyvr
• Nobody Wake the Bugbear
• Campaign Supplies

More Draft Zero is brought to you more often by our awesome Patreons. Especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis, and Khrob.

Please considering rating or subscribing to us on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on the Social Medias! We like finding new listeners.

We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter.

SUBSCRIBE TO SHOT ZERO via Substack

SUBSCRIBE TO 1DZERO via Substack

ACKNOWLEDGES via our website: https://draft-zero.com/2025/1dz-01/