Short Film Ideas

*Y* · Mar 13, 2006, 09:35 AM

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.

It can be about anything. Thanks!

Kingsly · Mar 13, 2006, 11:49 AM

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 · Mar 13, 2006, 11:53 AM

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

*Y* · Mar 13, 2006, 04:24 PM

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

Peyton · Mar 13, 2006, 04:34 PM

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...

fusionstudios · Mar 13, 2006, 05:32 PM

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 · Mar 13, 2006, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *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.

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 · Mar 13, 2006, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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

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 · Mar 13, 2006, 06:36 PM

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.

ChrisA · Mar 13, 2006, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peyton

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 · Mar 13, 2006, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisA

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* · Mar 13, 2006, 09:15 PM

Dare I ask: Anyone else?

Peyton · Mar 13, 2006, 09:17 PM

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

*Y* · Mar 13, 2006, 09:29 PM

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

Phat_Pat · Mar 13, 2006, 11:05 PM

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 · Mar 14, 2006, 01:24 PM

Two words... The Matrix.

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

OnceUGoMac · Mar 14, 2006, 09:45 PM

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 · Mar 28, 2007, 08:34 AM

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 · Mar 28, 2007, 08:41 AM

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

MetalFace · Mar 29, 2007, 06:49 PM

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

NickD · Mar 29, 2007, 07:31 PM

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

diamond3 · Mar 30, 2007, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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???

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 · Jun 29, 2007, 10:32 PM

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 · Jun 29, 2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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 !

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 · Jun 29, 2007, 11:14 PM

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

Mar 13, 2006, 09:35 AM	#1
Y macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: VA	Short Film Ideas 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. It can be about anything. Thanks!
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 11:49 AM	#2
Kingsly macrumors 68040 Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Squirtin' calls on mah Zune phone yo...	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!) __________________ OMG its teh Zune phone!!!11!!!!!!one!!!1!
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 11:53 AM	#3
puckhead193 macrumors 604 Join Date: May 2004 Location: NY	A short film on how to do a short film...... __________________ 20" iMac C2D - 2.33GHz, 3 GB ram, ATI X1600 256 MB VRAM 17" MBP i7, 8 GB ram, 500 GB HD @ 7200 - 64 gig iPod Touch 64 GB black Verizon iPhone 5 - Verizon 64 gb iPad 3
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 05:32 PM	#6
fusionstudios macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2006	A bit abstract, but I like it... 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!
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 11:05 PM	#15
Phat_Pat macrumors 68000 Join Date: May 2004 Location: I Live Where I Live	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... __________________ HELP STOP GLOBAL WARMING; USE MRoogle
	2

Mar 13, 2006, 04:24 PM	#4
Y Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: VA	Hey I am actually looking to do something serious this time.
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 04:34 PM	#5
Peyton macrumors 68000 Join Date: Feb 2006	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...
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 06:36 PM	#9
mpw Guest Join Date: Jun 2004	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.
	3

Mar 13, 2006, 09:15 PM	#12
Y Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: VA	Dare I ask: Anyone else?
	0

Mar 13, 2006, 09:17 PM	#13
Peyton macrumors 68000 Join Date: Feb 2006	Hey so are these ideas not good enough for you? psh...
	1

Mar 13, 2006, 09:29 PM	#14
Y Thread Starter macrumors regular Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: VA	Oh they are good. A little too good for me!
	1

Mar 14, 2006, 01:24 PM	#16
mac.FINN macrumors member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Canada	Two words... The Matrix. Oh wait, you said short... and you said story.
	0

Mar 14, 2006, 09:45 PM	#17
OnceUGoMac macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2004	What are you shooting on? Is this a real short film ( 16mm, etc.) or is this just a video? What class is it for?
	0

Mar 28, 2007, 08:34 AM	#18
johnelwayfan7 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2007	I need 2 make a movie that has to be about 5 min. long and it can't have people in it, any suggestions???
	0

Mar 28, 2007, 08:41 AM	#19
shecky Guest Join Date: May 2003 Location: Obviously you're not a golfer.	maybe you should learn how to be creative yourself, instead of asking others to do the thinking for you.
	1

Mar 29, 2007, 06:49 PM	#20
MetalFace macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2007	the first rule of short films is you do not speak about short films. __________________ 24inch iMac 2.16GHz Core 2 Duo 2 GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM nVidia 256MB GeForce 7600 GT
	0

Mar 29, 2007, 07:31 PM	#21
NickD macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Colorado	A guy goes on an epic (Monty Python-esque) quest to find inspiration for his new short.
	0

Jun 29, 2007, 10:32 PM	#23
Lorryshow macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: NZ	Hey guys . 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 !
	0

Jun 29, 2007, 11:14 PM	#25
Lorryshow macrumors newbie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: NZ	wow ! thats a realli good idea !! , it should be a a movie !! i would pay to see a movie like that !!
	0

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Short Film Ideas	gonzo.	Digital Video	4	Dec 16, 2012 02:36 PM
Short film ideas needed for FILM STUDENT...If shot; the writers will be credited.	samtmansha	Digital Video	14	Dec 16, 2012 02:35 PM
Help! Need a 16mm short film idea	Allstarsrd	Digital Video	2	Dec 8, 2009 04:16 PM
Short Film Ideas	Intel Inside	Community Discussion	8	Apr 27, 2009 07:16 PM