Short Film Ideas

[*Y*]

Hey Guys, I have to do a short film and I can't think of anything in terms of the story. Can you please help me? Maybe throw some ideas out in to the atmoshpere. :D It can be about anything. Thanks!

[Kingsly]

Okay, so this guy has to do a short film for school and cant think about what to write. He:
1) falls asleep at the typewriter/MBP and dreams about wacky things such as saving a complete stranger from ninjas or something.
B) his annoying friend comes over and bothers him, they go party/etc. and he has a crazy wacky night fighting ninjas or something.
He wakes up/goes home and writes the script about it, turns it in and gets an A.
Good luck, I hate writing on a deadline (which is why I have a secret stash of previously written scripts for such a situation!)

[puckhead193]

A short film on how to do a short film...... ;)

[*Y*]

Hey I am actually looking to do something serious this time.;)

[Peyton]

OK, this might sound stupid, but done right it would be amazing.

Have a family. The mother exemplifies every 'yo mama' joke you've ever heard.
The sister exemplifies every 'blonde' joke you've ever heard. Etc with the dad. The movie is shot from the perspective of the son/brother, who has to encounter/put up with the public telling him these jokes (but they are actually true) 'Yo mama so fat she goes to a resturant, looks at the menu and says "okay!"' and that actually happens. So not only is he hearing these jokes (pick the funniest you can find) he is also actually living with these characters.

The dad can be 'yo daddy so dumb' or whatever you can find that would fit.

It doesn't have to be done in a mean way either, maybe have a moral in there that the son still loves them just as they are, I don't know, but it seriously would be pretty amazing.

You heard it here first
I get royalties. And a trip to the sundance film festival...:cool:

[fusionstudios]

OK, here it goes...

Shots of a quiet town. Everyone is going about their boring, mudane daily schedules.

Shot of a man dressed in all black sneaking around an alley. He approaches a lever and pulls it down.

The entire town goes black and white. People are shocked, confused, and panicked. The town floods out of their homes, offices, etc. and fonto the streets in search of the cause of the B&W color change.

One man finally wanders down the alley and finds the lever. He turns it back on and everything goes back to normal. Everyone celebrates. The man raises his arms in triumph and walks away.

The "man in black" sneaks out into the alley again, turns the lever off, rips it off the wall, and takes it with him. The scene changes to black and white. Celebrating people look confused, look to the sky, fade out.

Hmmm... maybe it's a little cheesy, but with a sick music track in the background (starts out slow and minor, gets more and more intense, when the color comes back on it reaches a climax and modulates into a major key, and suddenly goes back to the mood in the beggining when the color is turned back off) it might turn out pretty cool. If you find or write a good song to fit the film, I don't think you'd need any other audio. I'm all about short films with hidden underlying messages, and I think this one would fit the bill.

Hope this helps!

[ChrisA]

Hey Guys, I have to do a short film and I can't think of anything in terms of the story. Can you please help me? Maybe throw some ideas out in to the atmoshpere. :D It can be about anything. Thanks!

Here is what I'm working on. (very slowly with no due date) See boom for how to adapt this for your use

Little girl goes with parents to one of the tourist submarine rides in Hawaii and is looking out the porthole at all the pretty reef animals. She imagines herself being outside swimming 80 feet under water. We see her see herself swimming (with no equipment) and then see
what she sees as she's swimming and then maybe she is/becomes one of those reef animals. and then one of those reef amimals looks inside the submarine porthole and wonders what it would be like to be a little girl inside a submarine. OK you can guess the cycle continues endlessly and we never know if the film is about a fish or a girl.

Problem: You will need an underwater housing and conciderable experiance with underwater videiography to do this short film. That plus more skill then I have with compositing

Technical hint. Some types of fish like to look through the flat plate lens port on the housing (as if they'd never seen a Sony Mini DV cam before) but really they are seeing their own reflection and are teratorial. THey are staring at "that other fish" It looks just like they are looking through a window and "thinking". They will do the same to your dive mask, come 3 inches close and stare at you

Adapt the above to any two people. It's just the old "Prince and the Pauper" story except they only _imagine_ swapping places and I think it's better if you never knwo which is real and which is not.

[ChrisA]

OK, here it goes...

Shots of a quiet town. Everyone is going about their boring, mudane daily schedules.

Shot of a man dressed in all black sneaking around an alley. He approaches a lever and pulls it down

I think the story would be beter if after they all turnned B&W and after a near riot they just stayed B&W and eventually went beck to the same borring thing they did in color.

Hey. How about reversing it. It B&W and "boring" they turn into full color and go nuts "it's the end of the world" finaly they get used to it and go back to borring.

[mpw]

Two hot chicks in an office with broken air-con while they're waiting for the repair guy to show up they strip off their clothes to keep cool in front of a big office fan. The office fan accidentaly blows their clothes out of the window, at this point the pizza delivery dude shows up but of course their cash was in their pockets so how do the naked girls pay the dude for the pizza?

OK I'm out of ideas could someone else finish this story for me.:D

[ChrisA]

Have a family. The mother exemplifies every 'yo mama' joke you've ever heard. The sister exemplifies every 'blonde' joke you've ever heard. Etc

No, not a family. What if the __entire world__ really was like those stereotyp jokes. Every one of us belongs to _some_ group The film starts out "normal" with not much happening and then little by little one joke after another untill non-stop continous stereotype joke to the point where it becomes "normal"

But gosh the special effects budget. How to film 1001 Polish people changing a light bulb by rotating the house? to say nothing of the elephans in the cherry trees with red painted toe nails -- to expensive

[Kingsly]

How to film 1001 Polish people changing a light bulb by rotating the house? to say nothing of the elephans in the cherry trees with red painted toe nails -- to expensive
Oh c'mon! Thats too easy!

[*Y*]

Dare I ask: Anyone else?:D

[Peyton]

Hey so are these ideas not good enough for you? psh...:rolleyes:

[*Y*]

Oh they are good. A little too good for me!;)

[Phat_Pat]

show a man sitting in a coffee shop

hes reading the paper and everything seems nice

the waitress comes and gives him a coffee which he gingerly sips on

flash back

its the kitchen... the person who is making the coffee cuts her finger off (i'll let u figure out how)

blood squirts everywhere as you cut slow motion to the severed finger falling into the coffee cup with a bunch of blood

you zoom into the cup and zoom out showing the cup just hitting the mans lips

you cut wide and in the background a girl is being rushed to the ER and the medic is screaming "wears the finger!"

people look around in frantic but the main guy doesn't seem to notice (he hasn't taken a sip yet cause something in the paper caught his attention..)

you then pan down to his pocket where an iPod is attached with the cord running up his shirt

the man takes a sip of his coffee and continues reading the paper

the camera pans out as an ambulance sits out side waiting and the lady is rushed out with the head medical man saying "we are not leaving without that finger!" and some jack johnson or something calm plays in the background

fade out....

chya...

[mac.FINN]

Two words... The Matrix.

Oh wait, you said short... and you said story.

[OnceUGoMac]

What are you shooting on? Is this a real short film ( 16mm, etc.) or is this just a video? What class is it for?

[johnelwayfan7]

I need 2 make a movie that has to be about 5 min. long and it can't have people in it, any suggestions???

[shecky]

maybe you should learn how to be creative yourself, instead of asking others to do the thinking for you.

[MetalFace]

the first rule of short films is you do not speak about short films.

[NickD]

A guy goes on an epic (Monty Python-esque) quest to find inspiration for his new short.

[diamond3]

I need 2 make a movie that has to be about 5 min. long and it can't have people in it, any suggestions???

Make the people be cars with your voice in the background. It would be funny, but you might not get an A. Maybe you could do a documentary on how flowers bloom. Instead of using timelapse, just shoot the footage for 5 minutes as it blooms. I have no idea what to do there without people. Can you include a dog or something else?

[Lorryshow]

hi guys im Lor and i am also after some ideas for a short film i need to do for school im want it to be a serious action film thats stirs emotoins kinda i just need a few starting tips 4 a theme ! :)

[kalisphoenix]

hi guys im Lor and i am also after some ideas for a short film i need to do for school im want it to be a serious action film thats stirs emotoins kinda i just need a few starting tips 4 a theme ! :)

Imagine a society where people who have committed a crime have to "work it off," no matter how serious the crime -- for instance, if you commit murder, you get sentenced to forty years of "unpaid labor" (much like if you had an immense credit card debt, so immense that your entire monthly salary went to the interest payment). Of course, since prisons are commercially run in order to maximize efficiency and minimize taxpayer burden, there is an economic incentive to find people guilty of murder, even in cases where no murder actually occurred. Police, for instance, might be funded with dividends from the convicts' production.

Your hero, one of these police officers, is on trial for the murder of a child -- but he saw her walk by only seconds into the film, very much alive, and is chasing after her, frantically trying to get proof that she is still alive. But who is keeping this girl hidden, and why?

That's probably overkill for a "short film," though.

[Lorryshow]

thats a realli good idea !! , it should be a a movie !! i would pay to see a movie like that !!

[kalisphoenix]

thats a realli good idea !! , it should be a a movie !! i would pay to see a movie like that !!

Thanks :) Now make people pay you to see it, and buy me an 8GB iPhone if you get rich 8)

[m3gau]

hi guys im Lor and i am also after some ideas for a short film i need to do for school im want it to be a serious action film thats stirs emotoins kinda i just need a few starting tips 4 a theme ! :)

Seriously whats the point in making films if you can't be creative! (just thought i'd point that out)

If you looking for themes take something really serious like bullying or Aids or crime and do a short story about it. Bullying or AIDs or something would be very emotional if done right.
(i'd like to point out i'm only giving ideas out cos i have too many and not enough time to make them all and i refuse to be specific)

[seany916]

Post an ad in a local college paper that you'll shoot somebody's project within your parameters for free.

[RappyaMurray]

Short Films are great because you can make a film using the simplest of ideas ...

If you want check out this little film my friends and I put together extremely quickly with a very simple idea of a boy being chased by a couple masked men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJuMvVUh3LQ

please comment and tell me what you think constructive criticism is appreciated.

[RappyaMurray]

Short Films are great because you can make a film using the simplest of ideas ...

If you want, check out this little film my friends and I put together extremely quickly with a very simple idea of a boy being chased by a couple masked men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJuMvVUh3LQ

please comment and tell me what you think constructive criticism is appreciated.

[Spizzo]

Short Films are great because you can make a film using the simplest of ideas ...

If you want, check out this little film my friends and I put together extremely quickly with a very simple idea of a boy being chased by a couple masked men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJuMvVUh3LQ

please comment and tell me what you think constructive criticism is appreciated.

A tripod would help with that camera shake.

[m3gau]

please comment and tell me what you think constructive criticism is appreciated.
Cool. I made a similar film once. The only thing i'd say was you should have kept the chasers more scary and dramatic (all the jumping over rocks and walls was cool but it didn't work with the atmosphere) like you could have just shown a pair of feet running with out showing too much body. Makes them spookier as you have no idea as to who they are.

[YoungCreative]

Short Films are great because you can make a film using the simplest of ideas ...

If you want, check out this little film my friends and I put together extremely quickly with a very simple idea of a boy being chased by a couple masked men http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJuMvVUh3LQ

please comment and tell me what you think constructive criticism is appreciated.

Along with the other good suggestions posted here, try shooting shots of the jumpers from both sides of the obstacle. Edit so you see a view from behind as they jump and then cut to a low angle shot from the other side of the obstacle as they jump over. This adds variety and creates more action with shorter shots.

I would also suggest a different selection for the soundtrack that isn't so laid back. Something more upbeat or a track that adds to the tension/drama.

[Proto Media]

so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.

[greendj]

It could be humorous to do a short comedy spoofing the stereotypical Hollywood movie writing progress. You have a small group of writers sitting in a room brainstorming on a movie idea and they have a checklist on a white board of each stereotypical element that a movie needs to be successful. But you have them being serious as they present each one and it is humorous in it's seriousness. For example, the board checklist would include:

1. Topless scene - You NEED that....
2. Lesbian Kiss - You NEED that...
3. Guy gets up and washes his face in the sink to clear his mind - Every movie has that...
4. Need to get a liberal dig in to the Republican president - Yes, the Hollywood powers will like that......
5. Feel good message - You NEED that.....

"Wait, we forgot to talk about the environment somehow........"

Everyone gets serious. You are RIGHT!!!

[t.ali]

Hey I would like to use your idea for a film I am making. I am a UCLA film school student and I would like to get your name so that I can credit you as a writer. It's perfect for a three camera studio with limited props, time and experience. I know you posted this a while ago and may not get this message but I hope you do.

Thanks in advance
T


so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.

[samtmansha]

show a man sitting in a coffee shop

hes reading the paper and everything seems nice

the waitress comes and gives him a coffee which he gingerly sips on

flash back

its the kitchen... the person who is making the coffee cuts her finger off (i'll let u figure out how)

blood squirts everywhere as you cut slow motion to the severed finger falling into the coffee cup with a bunch of blood

you zoom into the cup and zoom out showing the cup just hitting the mans lips

you cut wide and in the background a girl is being rushed to the ER and the medic is screaming "wears the finger!"

people look around in frantic but the main guy doesn't seem to notice (he hasn't taken a sip yet cause something in the paper caught his attention..)

you then pan down to his pocket where an iPod is attached with the cord running up his shirt

the man takes a sip of his coffee and continues reading the paper

the camera pans out as an ambulance sits out side waiting and the lady is rushed out with the head medical man saying "we are not leaving without that finger!" and some jack johnson or something calm plays in the background

fade out....

chya...

Dear Phat_pat,

I really wanna make a movie for my IB film project on this; can u give me ur full name & permission so I could credit you. Please reply asap.

Thanks.

samtmansha

email me at samt_manshaATyahoo.COM

[Rizvi1]

so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.

Hey I would like to use your idea for a film I am making. I am a UCLA film school student and I would like to get your name so that I can credit you as a writer. It's perfect for a three camera studio with limited props, time and experience. I know you posted this a while ago and may not get this message but I hope you do.

Thanks in advance
T

agreed, this is an awesome film idea

[RAGING DEMON]

Hey Guys, I have to do a short film and I can't think of anything in terms of the story. Can you please help me? Maybe throw some ideas out in to the atmoshpere. :D It can be about anything. Thanks!

i write scrips , i can sell you one, ill send you a small act before you commit to paying me $1! in all seriousness, if you want any help with scripting, or what not , send me a message!

i also make short films,

[ktooth]

Wow you guys have some fantastic Ideas! One or two have been picked out on the discussion board for a media project that I am doing. Is going to be a short film of fifteen minutes made entirely by people I have met on Facebook!

Want to get involved?? follow the link! :D

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=196431712826

[stacy1986]

Hi, Ive seen that you are all throwing ideas around for Short Films. My friend is a broadcast media graduate from Derby University in England, and she has just started a facebook group called 'It starts with an Idea....'
She is trying to recruit as many members as possible to take part in the short film....anything from generating ideas, writing scripts, editing, filming, acting, props....you name it. Its going to be a mass film project, and the more people that get involved, the more interesting this will become!
Obviously you are all interesting in short films, so I think this group would be right up your street, and its an fab opportunity to be a part of something massive, thats never been done before!!!
go to http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?topic=12187&post=52624&uid=196431712826#/group.php?gid=196431712826 or search for 'It starts with an Idea.....' on facebook...join the group....post your ideas for short films on the discussion boards and we will take it from there! This could be really exciting!! Get involved!!!

[Adam44]

Originally Posted by Proto Media
so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.


As is said above I know its been awhile since you posted on here but just wanted to let you know that I wrote a script based on your idea and if I were going to go any further than that I'd need your details to put in the credits :)

[Richardthe4th]

commercial prisons with people put in it to keep things running actually exist: in the u. s. of a.

a woman in prison accused of murder but with the victim still alive actually exists: in afghanistan

so if your imagination isn't enough, check out the real world, it is crazier then you can ever imagine

or get a job in a real world company, that is a theater stage with a play, unbelievable

isn't this a nice world. if you see the fun of it, it's great :-))

but seriously, if you don't have imagination (as an art major??) start with a premisse and make a story out of that.

ok: the day after the internet and mobile phones stopped working ;-)

cheers

[SideStream]

im writing the script for a crime film and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to incorporate detectives in to it but still keep i edgy and hard. all the ways ive tried have just turned out cheesy

[badboykthp]

I have an idea for a science fiction movie about the struggle between past and future. The idea that suddenly appeared after I watched the Discovery Channel documentary about the discovery of secret BECMUDA triangle. If you're really interested, contact me via the address: vinhdaodac@yahoo.com.vn

[hayelz127]

hey i was wondering if i could use that idea fro a short film festival, i would modify it a bit but please? it is so clever!:)

[tyrewjr]

so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.

Well I basically stole this idea.. LOL but I would love to give you credit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRtI_99oXhY
Could I get your name or something so you can get the credit? thanks!

[jsf721]

OK-You make a movie where the main character keep running into these crazy people at the Gas station, the supermarket, the lunch place and he is a dr in a hospital. and he writes and dictates alot of notes for his assistant to type. In the end, he is the crazy and he is amental patient. The assistant is the nurse on his floor and the rest is a dream. You pull back from a window and it ends up he is a well dressed metal patient in a paded cell.

the end.

[salacious]

what equipment do you have exactly to shoot this short film, that then could help inspire your possibilities...

i mean you could do anime or something..
or you could do a documentary style..
or you could just film a whole load of crap that doesnt make sense and make the people watching it go OHHHHH.

[Boe11]

What kind of length are you shooting for? 10m? Feature length?

Any other parameters? Is it for school? For fun? For a contest?

[Raksheeth01]

so you start out with a guy waking up, and its obvious this guy has sever OCD. everything in his house is squeaky clean, and he has a routine that he follows every morning. The key is, you never see this guy talk, he just goes about his normal routine that he does every morning.

The narration sets in and start talking about " I am samuel johnson, and I am the best assassin in the world. I study my targets meticulously (show him reading the paper), and take the best care of myself ( show him brushing his teeth or somethin) and I am always thinkin one step ahead.

Then this OCD guy walks out the front door of his house, on his way to his car for work, and gets his head blown off. Then the camera shifts to somewhere else in the bushes, and shows a guy all in black with a sniper riffle, and he says "and that is why I am the best"

I think it would be cool cause if you did it right, the whole time you would be thinking that the guy getting ready is the sniper, getting ready to go and and get his target, but then in the last scene, you realize he is the target.


I am very interested in using this synopsis to build a script for an upcoming short-film I am going to shoot. Would it be okay to use this idea? If so, who do I credit?

[mimi gold]

someone phones up the samaritans and the samaritan suggests its fine and acceptable to commit suicide. this is the training they received~not to interfere with the clients freewill. after doing this for a while they themselves become numb to the shock effect of suicide and try to do it themselves out of ennui.
they find themselves in hell as punishment for dying in their sins (self murder)
but somehow get to be revived and come back to earth/life. when they start life again their perspective has been radically changed and they can't any longer allow people to consider suicide over the phone to them. they now have to persuade people not to do it. they do this through a revelation of jesus love for the lonely and oppressed.

[MiitchFMP]

Hey, Ive just started to create a short film and would appreciate it if i could get some feedback on the idea. Its very brief and still needs a lot of expanding but any comments will help a lot.

http://mitchellgfmp.blogspot.com/

(feel free to reply on here or blog)

thanks

[waloshin]

The story about me!

[GeorgieStargirl]

OK, here it goes...

Shots of a quiet town. Everyone is going about their boring, mudane daily schedules.

Shot of a man dressed in all black sneaking around an alley. He approaches a lever and pulls it down.

The entire town goes black and white. People are shocked, confused, and panicked. The town floods out of their homes, offices, etc. and fonto the streets in search of the cause of the B&W color change.

One man finally wanders down the alley and finds the lever. He turns it back on and everything goes back to normal. Everyone celebrates. The man raises his arms in triumph and walks away.

The "man in black" sneaks out into the alley again, turns the lever off, rips it off the wall, and takes it with him. The scene changes to black and white. Celebrating people look confused, look to the sky, fade out.

Hmmm... maybe it's a little cheesy, but with a sick music track in the background (starts out slow and minor, gets more and more intense, when the color comes back on it reaches a climax and modulates into a major key, and suddenly goes back to the mood in the beggining when the color is turned back off) it might turn out pretty cool. If you find or write a good song to fit the film, I don't think you'd need any other audio. I'm all about short films with hidden underlying messages, and I think this one would fit the bill.

Hope this helps!

Hi, would it be possible for me to use this idea?? I think it could make a great little short!! :D

[iAppleseed]

Do a Music Video!

A short film on how to do a short film...... ;)

Oh that:rolleyes:? There was a full featured film about that, and it's called Inception :D