A couple of questions for realism in my script. :)

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Okay, so I'm doing Script Frenzy in April, and I've outlined most of the script already. I just had a couple of questions that I needed answered before I wrote those scenes.

1. This one is pivotal. The set-up: the Boss of a store is a murderer. He hasn't been caught yet, though he did leave fingerprints on the scene. The cops have never taken his prints before, so he's not on the system. He's also a sexual predator to some degree. There's a young woman who works in the store. Near the end of the script, after many inapprorpriate comments, the Boss grabs this woman's butt. She storms out and goes to the police. Her idea is to get her butt dusted for prints, so she can prove he did it for a sexual harrassment claim. Long story short, the police do it and match his prints as that of the killer, bringing him to justice. This is more or less a side-plot (it's really a romance) but it ties up the end of the movie quite nicely alongside the romance.

Anyway, the first question is: would the police dust her butt for prints to help with a sexual harrassment claim? If not, why not, and what could she say to convince them. I rather like this ending, and I'm willing to fight to keep it in the movie. If it turns out to be completely unusable, I'll just have to come up with something else, I guess...

Thanks in advance. I'm completely clueless about how to answer this question.

Q2: Is there a product that you can buy, which is basically temporary hair dye? I need another character to be able to dye her hair for a nightclub scene, but have it wash out in the shower afterwards, so she can go to work and look like she always does. She's living a double life, but she's definitely the sort of girl to dye streaks through her hair, using vivid and unnatural colours. If no such product exists, do you think water-based paint could do the trick? Or would that be too hard to get out, even though water will dissolve it, leaving flecks of colour in her hair after the shower?

Again, I have no idea about the answer to this one. It's not exactly pivotal to the story, but rather important (in my mind, at least) to the nature of that character.

MANY thanks in advance to any answers any of you can give me. If nobody particularly knows about Q2, I guess I could always go in to the hairdressers and ask them. But Q1 - I wouldn't want to walk into a police station and bother a cop to ask about something that's just for a movie...

So again, MANY thanks.

RIFF · Mar 18, 2011

Dust her butt. Yea, they'd do it if she asked nice, sure, yep.
Any officers want to tackle that question?
I'm betting it's ridiculous in the extreme. They would go talk to the guy. Maybe he
has a plausible excuse. )

not_HarryS · Mar 18, 2011

Unless the girl is wearing pleather pants, I don't think that the cloth would hold a print. And skin definitely wouldn't hold a print. I doubt that the police would even consider humoring her in this respect.

As for your second question, yes. There are temporary hair dyes that you can spray on like hair spray. In fact, they work a lot like hair spray in that they will set your hair and make it hard. Only problem is, they aren't very realistic, natural colors. If you were going for some pink-and-purple punky do, then they should work just fine. Keep in mind though, that as they are powder-based sprays, if your character was dancing in a night club, she might sweat, which would cause the color to run down her neck/forehead.

GeorgeK · Mar 18, 2011

not_HarryS said:
Unless the girl is wearing pleather pants, I don't think that the cloth would hold a print. And skin definitely wouldn't hold a print.

Yeah, a leather or even better a fake leather miniskirt

not_HarryS said:
I doubt that the police would even consider humoring her in this respect.

maybe if she's hot...but they might linger a bit more than necessary and make her uncomfortable in a way similar to how she felt when the boss did it. Somehow I envision Janeane Garofalo storming in and taking over the procedure while berating the male detectives.

not_HarryS said:
As for your second question, yes. There are temporary hair dyes that you can spray on like hair spray. In fact, they work a lot like hair spray in that they will set your hair and make it hard. Only problem is, they aren't very realistic, natural colors. If you were going for some pink-and-purple punky do, then they should work just fine. Keep in mind though, that as they are powder-based sprays, if your character was dancing in a night club, she might sweat, which would cause the color to run down her neck/forehead.

I know that they exist. My daughter used some the night of her prom to make her look blonde.

crunchyblanket · Mar 18, 2011

With regards to the second question, lots of products exist than can be washed out straight away. I've used food colouring in the past. It gives a very vivid colour and washes out with a vigorous shampooing. There are also various gels and sprays that can temporarily dye the hair.

WriteKnight · Mar 18, 2011

"not in the system" - What state is this? Many states now require at least a thumbprint for drivers license registration.

Not going to dust her butt. Sorry.

In the realm of 'possible' 'probable' or 'plausible' - You're going to need another solution. My suggestion is she grabs the surveillance video from the store as evidence. Or sets it up with a hidden camera.

Theatre supply will have 'streaks and tips' for changing hair color.

http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/store/paint_streaks.html

Summonere · Mar 18, 2011

WriteKnight said:
Not going to dust her butt. Sorry.

In the realm of 'possible' 'probable' or 'plausible' - You're going to need another solution.
http://www.wardrobesupplies.com/store/paint_streaks.html

Doesn't the answer kinda depend on what kind of story this is? I could see Lt. Frank Drebin doing this.

shadowwalker · Mar 18, 2011

Even if the cloth would hold prints, they would be distorted. Of course, if you're writing for CSI, they can get perfect prints off anything. :tongue

As to the dye, they're all over - particularly around Halloween. But would a wig also work (far easier to get rid of)?

WriteKnight · Mar 18, 2011

Summonere said:
Doesn't the answer kinda depend on what kind of story this is? I could see Lt. Frank Drebin doing this.

As a comedic scene - sure. As evidence gathering - no. Won't serve the plot line of generating usable evidence- which is what the OP asked for.

crunchyblanket · Mar 18, 2011

shadowwalker said:
As to the dye, they're all over - particularly around Halloween. But would a wig also work (far easier to get rid of)?

For what it's worth, I actually wear wigs when I'm clubbing/gigging - I work in a hospital so I'm not able to dye my hair unusual colours. I also have clip-in hair extensions if I just want bright coloured streaks.

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Hmm, okay, so I'm getting a big "NO" on the butt-dusting. I kind of love this idea though, so I'd be willing to ignore the fact that the cops wouldn't do it (probably a bad idea, but I am stubborn) - except that the prints wouldn't be very clear, so probably couldn't lead to a conviction. Damn it.

Now I have to figure out a new way for the Boss to get caught as the killer, and a new response when that girl gets her butt groped.

Ah!! I just thought of something! There's a male co-worker who was going to punch the Boss in the face because of what he did to the girl. So all I need to do is get a customer to call the cops (having the fight on the store floor, instead of in the boss's office) and then the cops would take all participants' prints, right? *hopes so*

So will that idea work?

*is very glad he asked about the butt-dusting well in advance of writing the script*

crunchyblanket said:
With regards to the second question, lots of products exist than can be washed out straight away. I've used food colouring in the past. It gives a very vivid colour and washes out with a vigorous shampooing. There are also various gels and sprays that can temporarily dye the hair.

Food colouring, huh? I never even considered that... I like the idea that it gives a very vivid colour. Colour is the big issue here.

How would you apply that? Does it work equally well on blondes, brunettes and redheads?

Thanks.

...

Thanks to everyone who's answered. I really appreciate it.

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Oh, and a couple of comments I forgot to add:

1. For what it's worth, I had intended for the butt-dusting girl to be wearing either leather or PVC pants (black). That's what prompts the Boss to take a chance and grab her butt. I didn't choose it for the print-holding capacity - just because it would prompt the Boss to act out on his sexual predator desires. (And the character would totally wear those sort of pants.

)

2. The spray-on hair colour and dripping down her face/neck was anticipated. I was totally fine with that character getting a little dirty in the club. She's just that day found out her best friend was murdered (the Boss's victim, though she doesn't know it yet) and she was going to get worked up out of anguish. Messy would just emphasise how broken she feels at that point.

crunchyblanket · Mar 18, 2011

Cliff Face said:
Food colouring, huh? I never even considered that... I like the idea that it gives a very vivid colour. Colour is the big issue here.

How would you apply that? Does it work equally well on blondes, brunettes and redheads?

I used to mix the food colouring with a small amount of shampoo, and leave it on my hair for an hour. Rinsed it with cold water and voila. The more food colouring you use, the brighter the colour. I'm naturally blonde so the colour was quite bright on me. If your hair was darker, it would come out a much darker version of the same colour. When I was done with it, I'd use anti-dandruff shampoo to scrub the colour out.

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

You're a life-saver! Thanks a bunch!

At this point I'm not sure what hair colour this character will have naturally... this is about the only scene where her hair colour really matters to the story.

Oh, and another thing I forgot to add earlier:

As per the Boss's prints not being in the system already - it's set in South Australia where I live (tentatively, this could change) and over here, you only have your prints taken if you're involved in something bad. Like, if you were caught spray-painting a wall with something crude, or getting into a fight, and the cops showed up? They'd take your prints. As far as I know, they don't even take a thumb print when you get your license down here. I've never heard of that happening - although I've never had a license myself. I'll have to ask someone down here whether that actually happens or not... But I don't think it does, at least not here in South Australia.

FocusOnEnergy · Mar 18, 2011

She might use Manic Panic (available at Hot Topic stores everywhere), which is a very popular temporary hair color. I've never tried it, when I went pink and purple with my hair, I had my stylist do it for me.

They make a product lline that is gel based http://www.manicpanic.com/dhgels.html

As with any hair color product, the darker the hair underneath the less of a result you'll get with it (which is why bleaching is used for dark hair). If she's blonde, you'll get vivid results and as the hair gets darker, so do the results.

Focus

jclarkdawe · Mar 18, 2011

If he had something on his fingers like paint, ink, grease, he'd leave a mark. And it doesn't have to be a really good print. I forget how many points you need in court for a positive identification, but if several points match against an open murder case, they'd start expanding their investigation to include him as a suspect. It wouldn't be a positive identification, but enough to warrant looking at him.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Thanks both.

Focus - I've never heard of ManicPanic, because we don't have Hot Topic down here. I have heard of Hot Topic though. From what I gather it's a store that has its own gothic section or something like that? I'll check out ManicPanic in a moment. I'm assuming it could be imported to Australia? Many thanks for the information and the link.

jclark - the set-up I had was that there was a murder weapon found near the scene of the crime with a full-enough set of prints on them to seriously damn whoever had those prints on their fingers. The butt-prints were already a long shot in my mind... that's why I asked about the plausability here before I committed that scene to the script. If the Boss had anything on his fingers to leave a decent print, it would be grease, out of the options you listed. But still there would be the problem of convincing the cops to dust her butt for prints in the first place...

Hence I came up with the brawl in the shop, a customer calling the cops, and all fighters being fingerprinted down at the station after the fight was broken up.

But I'm so clueless about police procedures... could someone please tell me whether the characters would be printed after having a fistfight that the cops busted up? If not... then I'm pretty well out of ideas as to how the Boss would wind up getting printed and linked to the murder...

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Okay, I browsed around the ManicPanic site, and they have an Australian distributor, called Furr. So whether the movie winds up being set in America or Australia, I've got at least the option of ManicPanic.

Thanks again.

jclarkdawe · Mar 18, 2011

Cliff Face said:
jclark - the set-up I had was that there was a murder weapon found near the scene of the crime with a full-enough set of prints on them to seriously damn whoever had those prints on their fingers. The butt-prints were already a long shot in my mind... that's why I asked about the plausability here before I committed that scene to the script. If the Boss had anything on his fingers to leave a decent print, it would be grease, out of the options you listed. But still there would be the problem of convincing the cops to dust her butt for prints in the first place...

I'm sorry I wasn't clearer. I'm thinking of something that would be in plain sight, easily seen by the police when they look at her butt. They wouldn't dust for prints on clothing, other than maybe leather, and wouldn't do it while she was wearing it even if they could.

When police have a bad set of prints at the scene, they look for possible matches. Depending upon how many resources they can put into a case, you start looking at all your possibles. That's why you don't need a complete print on the dress. A possible match would be investigated.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Caitlin Black · Mar 18, 2011

Hmm. It still probably doesn't do what I need it to do. Like, if a partial print gets the police looking into the Boss as a suspect, would that be enough to arrest him on the spot to come in for immediate questioning? I need something pretty damning - something that takes the Boss out of the picture in timely fashion, for the end of the movie. Something so damning that he'd get scared and let slip something that would hang his noose, so to speak, in front of the cops...

So how immediately serious would a partial match be?

(Sorry for asking so many questions. And thanks for taking the time.

)

Fruitbat · Mar 19, 2011

Hey there Cliff. I don't know anything about police procedure either, but just a thought, I think that you could still have it happen even if it's not correct. In fact, maybe it would add an extra twist. Say the girl insists on getting her butt dusted for prints. The cop on duty gives in because she's a cute girl and hey, he wants to dust her butt. Or, she goes in to report the harrassment and he insists on dusting her butt for fingerprints because he's hilariously inept. It's done even though it's not proper procedure (and by showing that it's not, the author doesn't get called out for inaccurateness). Then later on it actually becomes a big help in solving the crime.

Also, I was wondering about fingerprint viability after she rides to the police station. Maybe the fingerprints would get messed up if she sits on them. Or could she walk to the station?

Good luck with it.

frimble3 · Mar 19, 2011

If all you need is to have his prints taken, what if the store is broken into and the police need to take everyone's prints to exclude them from the prints that might be the criminals? Either you could tie it in to your main plot, that there are a lot of robberies in the area, and the police are handling that as well as the murder, or maybe the robbery is faked by someone who wants those prints taken, and the whole 'butt dusting' thing didn't work? Because unless it's a comedy, no, I don't see the police doing that. Unless it is some creepy cop trying to cop a feel, which would have to be set up earlier in the story, I'm thinking.

Caitlin Black · Mar 19, 2011

Good points both.

Fruitbat - I considered the "sitting and removing the prints" thing, and decided that because it's set in a small town, it shouldn't be too far to just walk there.

frimble - it started out as a romantic comedy. After outlining most of it, I decided it would probably be a straight romance with a twinge of comedy. I'm not averse to using dark comedy (and I'd assume a leering horny cop dusting her butt against protocol would be in the realm of dark comedy - even though it's not really about death and the like, the idea of this violated girl allowing herself to be similarly violated by a cop for a good cause would still be "dark" in its own way) and there's plenty of room to put in darkly comedic instances.

At this point it's not a 100% completed outline, and not a single word of the script has been written - so the comedy angle is something to think about.

And I do really think that this girl character would think straight away of getting the cops to dust her butt for prints.

Of course, if I go the "fist fight between the men / cops called / prints taken" route, that would happen before she had a chance to go to the cops...

Why do I feel like I'm going round in circles?! *sigh*

Anyway, everyone's been super helpful, and I really appreciate it. It's given me a lot to think about, and hopefully I have enough information now to decide which way to go with it.

Thanks guys and gals.

jclarkdawe · Mar 19, 2011

Cliff Face said:
Hmm. It still probably doesn't do what I need it to do. Like, if a partial print gets the police looking into the Boss as a suspect, would that be enough to arrest him on the spot to come in for immediate questioning? I need something pretty damning - something that takes the Boss out of the picture in timely fashion, for the end of the movie. Something so damning that he'd get scared and let slip something that would hang his noose, so to speak, in front of the cops...

So how immediately serious would a partial match be?

(Sorry for asking so many questions. And thanks for taking the time. )

So have it be a big palm print slapped on her butt in grease, if that's what the plot needs, with enough points to identify him. Especially if it's a comedy, that would be believable.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Caitlin Black · Mar 19, 2011

You make a very good point.

I should stop overthinking it, and just run with it whatever way it is possible...

Thanks for the reality check, intended or not.

A couple of questions for realism in my script. :)

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