Ideas for Shorts...

[stevens]

Anyone want to share some cool ideas for shorts? Something that can be done on a low budget basis... I'm trying to think of something to film for my next project and I am by no means a writer. :hayguyz: Would love to hear some of your ideas out there (if you don't plan on filming them yourself)

[DefusedProductions]

i have the exact same problem.

[spicysmoke]

you guys just need to sit down and put pen to paper. right random crap till you think of something. Once you have an idea just run with it!

[voyace]

this should be how do you come up with your ideas because no one wants to just give away ideas when i run out of idea i go to the park and just sit there until i get realy bored then i start actin wierd tryin to itertain myself then i get ideas

[spicysmoke]

I can totally relate to you there voyace

[Leatherfeet]

If you want to do something cheap and fun, make a sci fi movie, You can use almost anything to make guns, spaceship cockpits and costumes, just get some decent editing software to add in the lasers and rockets. You can use photoshop aswell, though it takes a while.

If you want more of a challenge go for something like a zombie movie, not easy to do, but cheap enough.

Think of what locations surround you, if there is a woods, you could make an Indiana Jones type movie etc... Just be creative.

[firepigpoop]

Ive always been into cheap movies that just mess with your head, like a thriller type

[John the Fish]

Find a few random objects around and base a movie off of them.

[PatsO]

Like this:

Two mafiosi gangs are talking to each other, arguing. Camera shows some guns, cigaras making the sort as serious as possible. MAfia boss stands up and the shooting begins. Flashes all over the place. All are dead. It shows the room with dead guys for some time and then they begin crawling on their knees, while laying on their backs, to the door. That'll be awesome:D

[stevens]

I want to go in the direction of a comedy short, I feel those play out the best.

[ninjabros]

Yeah, I can hardly ever think of ideas, its like chronic writers block. SO any ideas come up and I'll film them. Sorry.

[DefusedProductions]

I must say my best and easiest ideas to come up with are parodys...

[SyxxGage]

My best ideas come to me late at night when I'm very tired. I carry around a voice recorder or a small notepad for when I get random ideas. I also find that going to a busy place with lots of people moving around (like a mall) tends to trigger some ideas. I find that trying to think out a story too much will eventually lead to frustration. Sometimes I just go through my book of random ideas and throw a bunch of them together wether I originally intended them to be used in the same film or not.

[Leatherfeet]

[quote=SyxxGage;2944]My best ideas come to me late at night when I'm very tired. quote]

Me too, except I wake up in the morning and think... What the hell, thats crap, heheh.

Anyway, more ideas...

Dreams, I had a dream that inspired an outfit for the enemy soldiers in my film, you never know what might happen...

Also try this is you are REALLY stuck.
http://www.maddogproductions.com/plot_o_java.htm
Lame, I know, but me and my friend tried it with a zombie theme in mind since we didnt have a clue what the plot was. It turned out completely differently from what the generator gave us, but it was a good starting point.

[stevens]

lol @ the plot generator

[spicysmoke]

[quote=SyxxGage;2944]My best ideas come to me late at night when I'm very tired. I carry around a voice recorder or a small notepad for when I get random ideas.[quote]

yeah im the same, its good but then again gets annoying when im trying to sleep, but its where virtually all my film ideas have come from.

[stevens]

Writers block, ahhh

[Joshbond]

It's good to write your own shorts, i find. I've got so many shorts i have to make when my firewire port & chord come in the mail! XD

[spicysmoke]

Far out, it took me so long to find out i needed to use firewire to get footage off of my camera, it got seriously frustrating, i ended up losing a whole days worth of footage and nearly didnt make the film. But luckily i did and it ended up winning a school competition, here it is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r73lhkocDs

Crap that remends me, the same competition is on again this year and its due in 4 weeks!

[Joshbond]

Whoah that was fast paced, and awesome! :D

[stevens]

nice...

[Kohrsfilms]

Usually when I'm trying to come up with a movie idea, I already have a genre picked out. Then I try to get a friend over so we can brainstorm ideas. First we write major scenes that we want to do. and then we write filler that connects those scenes.

Sometimes it's different but that's normally how it goes for me.

[etentertainment]

you guys just need to sit down and put pen to paper. right random crap till you think of something. Once you have an idea just run with it!




That's exactly what my English teacher said when I asked
him for movie ideas.

[KMProductions]

ha, random crap. Me and my friend did a trilogy and the movie was called "Random Crap". We really just came up with 20 or so random little ideas. Turned them into movies. They were about 10 minutes each.

[John the Fish]

Carry around a pen and a memo pad, sometimes ideas for shorts hit me at weird times, and I cant remember them. When you have a random idea, or a funny moment, write it down, basically anything can be a short film.

[Lex]

There are always the options of what kind of mood you would like.

Engulf the set with darkness to pinpoint sections with lighting.
If you want to be melodramatic, thriller, monolog...

[stevens]

I have an office building location available to me, and I'd like to set a short story around a guy who needs to go in late at night to the office... i'm not sure where to go with it, but visually i can see this looking good


suggestions?

[Lex]

Offices and night time- The main character can be stressed out, exhausted, over worked, frustrated, etc. about why needing to work.
What could happen is an attack from _______ and it could be a chase. Plus use a snorricam shooting from behind the main character or _______ as the chase begins. Running away in hallways and stairs with flickering lights every now and then would raise the tension with a decent background music.

[Lex]

Office at night- If the character is alone the whole time, they talk to themselves as they work. Mindless ranting about life and so on when walking around from the desk to kitchen/printing room/bosses desk.

[stevens]

I was thinking of going more the comedy route... Maybe he is there late because he is embezzling from the company? Not sure how I can play that off as a comedy though

[John the Fish]

Sounds kinda like Office Space.

[stevens]

true

[fadedxmasfilms]

i'll throw out a couple of random one's


a man overcoming his fear of something, (like peanut butter!)
a girl who rubs something and gets 3 wishes
a trailer/comedy about a household object
film in front of a mirror so ppl can c u :P
make a slasher, (Halloween is around the corner!)
bring over some friends and make a nerdy star wars or a slasher together
do a film about a man's obsession with sharpies
shoot a documentary about a friend, (it'll piss him/her off though)
explore a creek or some woods around ur house
film u and ur friends at the mall

[Steve Nelson]

Watch tons of movies! And that'll help get your creative juices going, cause you'll be all, "Oh, if I made this, I would've...". You're mind will fill in the blank when the time comes. And also, just shoot anything and edit anything. Go to filmfights.com. Every 2 or 3 weeks, a new fight is put up. The next 2 fights are posted so you can start making your videos now!

[New Spark Films]

Pick a genre (let's say action), a location (try Seattle) , and some kind of a plot device, (like for instance, a shoebox with valuable mysterious objects inside.)

There- Two groups of people in Seattle fight over a shoebox with unrevealed contents. You have a start.

[stevens]

Hmm, I do for sure want to go in the comedy direction - and I have the office to myself.

[stevens]

Any other ideas, I'd love to hear em