How to Come Up With Unique Ideas for Short Movie
Allowing your creative side to shine through can be extremely rewarding. If you are one of the millions of people that grew up watching the iconic films of the last few decades, then you might have a desire to create a film of your own. Before you film an epic three-hour film, you need to hone your skills by creating a series of short films.
Every year, over 90,000 short films are released to audiences around the world. The main thing you need to do to make your short film attractive to movie enthusiasts is to develop an original idea. Here are some things you need to focus on when trying to come up with unique ideas for a short film.
Develop Ideas With The Tools You Have On Hand
The main mistake amateur filmmakers make is developing ideas that require lots of equipment and sets they don’t have on hand. While grandiose ideas are fun to come up with, actually bringing them to life on a shoestring budget is difficult. This is why you need to work on developing short film ideas based on the tools you have at your disposal.
If all you have is a Super 8 camera to shoot your camera with, then giving your film a grainy and homemade look is a good idea. Once you are done shooting with this camera, you can convert super 8 film to DVD to make distributing your film easier.
You also need to use areas in the city you reside in to shoot your movie. Using locations right out your backdoor can help you control costs and give your film a hometown feel. Taking the time to scout various locations in your area is the best way to choose the right backdrop for your short film.
Share Stories From Your Own Life
Providing audiences with a great short film that is based on real-life events is a good idea. Many movie lovers like stories that they can relate to. Some filmmakers mistakenly create ideas that are based on unbelievable fantasies. While these fantasy-based stories have their place in the movie world, you will have a hard time telling an epic story with a short film.
Sitting down and thinking of life-changing moments that you’ve experienced can help you come up with short film ideas. Obviously, you will need to change the names and some of the details in your story to protect the people involved in them. By taking this autobiographical approach to creating a short film, you can keep your movie honest and relatable.
Start With An Ending and Work Backward
Every filmmaker is different in regard to how they write a story. If you are having problems writing your film in sequential order, then you might want to work backward. Coming up with an ending to your film and then building a story based on this element is a good idea. This is especially beneficial if you are developing a short film thriller with lots of twists and turns.
Implementing the tips laid out in this article can help you develop a winning short film idea.