How are these ideas for short films?

[harmonica44]

One is a teen comedy kinda like American Pie or of that sort. In AP and other ones, there has been a teen boy who always wants to nail a MILF, sometimes the mother of another student. The twist in mine is that the genders are reversed, and it's teen girls going after DILFS, possibly the father's of students they know, but all I have is just that spin on the premise so far.

Another is a sex comedy but with senior citizens in a situation my friend came up with, that most seniors would not be able to do, and everything goes wrong.

And the other is a James Bond inspired campy spoof, and that will require a special DP who knows how to do some special effects shots for the scenario.

Thoughts?

 

[rayw]

Our culture has a double standard where, while quite illegal, there's MORE tolerance for adult women (cougars) to have sex with teen boys and ALMOST ZERO tolerance for adult men to have sex with teen girls.

A: I'm, to be polite, "suprised" you're not aware of this.
B: Would be really surprised if you could find quality actors and actresses for these, geographically speaking. If you got 'em already: great.
Still advise against.

NOBODY wants to see senior citizen sex.
To call that a niche market is being generous.
That's a fetish.
I suggest a PASS on that avenue.

Do you have access to a "special DP" for the JBond spoof?
If yes, then gopherit.
If no, then work with what you got.

Well yes I am aware of the double standard, but that's the point. I wanna make a short that would break it.

Still advise against. The standard is pretty durable.
There's easier quarry elsewhwere.

 

[harmonica44]

Well yes of course I am aware of the double standard, with all do respect, but that's the point. I wanna make a short that would break it. And as for the senior citizen thing, it is different, or at least I've never seen a comedy to deal with it. I don't have a special DP for it, at least not yet.

 

[CamVader]

A better first short would be much simpler...like someone trying to open a jar of pickles for 5 minutes.

It has all the elements: a beginning, middle, and end. As a matter of fact, this would be a good challenge in general.

Are you up for it? If you are, I'll make it a general challenge on another thread with a time frame to completion and some rules. With any luck, we'll be able to see what a group of folks did with a simple concept, including yourself.

Trust me, after you shoot it and screen it, you will come up with a list of 20 things you wish you did differently.

 

[rayw]

If you wanna try your hand at comedy (a VERY tough achievement itself) just keep it simple.

You have guys to collaborate with, so that means you have vehicles.

Write a comedy short about:
- a couple that lock themselves out of their car.
- two guys complain about their fast food.
- a couple that uses happy meal toys to communicate/argue/flirt/faux sex.
- a conversation between someone under the hood on the side of the road and a mischievious passenger riding shotgun.
- conversation between kidnapper and the kidnapped.
- a game of "I Spy" that goes wrong.
- a conversation before a bank robbery.

This is your first experiment.
Don't try to make it Stanley Kubrick or Rob Reiner.
KISS.
Keep
It
Simple,
Stu.. Silly!

 

[LastChancey]

You have to be funny in person to be funny on camera, or when writing comedy. Plain and simple. And don't ask yourself... we all think we're funny. If your family and friends don't find you hilarious, I advise against trying to make a comedy movie.

 

[rayw]

You have to be funny in person to be funny on camera, or when writing comedy. Plain and simple. And don't ask yourself... we all think we're funny. If your family and friends don't find you hilarious, I advise against trying to make a comedy movie.

Hey, Chancey.
Pull my big weiner!

 

[Dreadylocks]

You have to be funny in person to be funny on camera, or when writing comedy. Plain and simple. And don't ask yourself... we all think we're funny. If your family and friends don't find you hilarious, I advise against trying to make a comedy movie.

I whole-heartedly disagree with this. The people I know that are hilarious in person would not last 1 minute in a performance situation. It's not about how to act or perform funny. It's about writing good material.

In fact, this is an important tip for anyone who wants to shoot comedy/act in comedies. Play it straight. If you're trying to 'act funny' or 'be funny,' it won't work. But let the writing and the situation speak for itself.

 

[Murdock]

You have to be funny in person to be funny on camera, or when writing comedy. Plain and simple. And don't ask yourself... we all think we're funny. If your family and friends don't find you hilarious, I advise against trying to make a comedy movie.

I whole-heartedly disagree with this. The people I know that are hilarious in person would not last 1 minute in a performance situation. It's not about how to act or perform funny. It's about writing good material.

In fact, this is an important tip for anyone who wants to shoot comedy/act in comedies. Play it straight. If you're trying to 'act funny' or 'be funny,' it won't work. But let the writing and the situation speak for itself.

I can agree with both of these. Like Mel Brokks said, "Comedy is serious business." You can't try and be funny. But I do feel, when writing you need to have a natural sense of timing about when to end a gag, what word combinations have more potential to be funny, etc. Then the actors need to be able to bring this to life in a natural way.

 

[LastChancey]

I whole-heartedly disagree with this. The people I know that are hilarious in person would not last 1 minute in a performance situation. It's not about how to act or perform funny. It's about writing good material.

In fact, this is an important tip for anyone who wants to shoot comedy/act in comedies. Play it straight. If you're trying to 'act funny' or 'be funny,' it won't work. But let the writing and the situation speak for itself.

Ah, well to put my statement in a bit of context perhaps, let me clarify. There's a big difference between being situationally funny in sort of a dumb "my friends laugh at me" way, and being genuinely, objectively funny. In that regard, I agree with you... that the people who are hilarious in person are not necessarily always performers. I am specifically referring to people who are good comedic performers in front of their friends and family (i.e.: ability to improvise, comedic timing, and confidence rather than simply putting on stupid looks and referencing inside jokes all the time). If you can make all sorts of people laugh, regardless of your comfort zone, then you can write comedy. I truly believe there's a fairly defined line between people who are funny and those who aren't, regardless of the comedic medium.

EDIT: Sorry to get off-topic.

 

[Alcove Audio]

"Dying is easy, comedy is hard" - Supposedly said by Edmond Gween on his deathbed.

Harmonica - Don't try to force things, all of your ideas sound forced. Go back and read the answers to all of your previous questions, like "Should I write what I know?". Think about what you have already put forth regarding potential subject matter; from everything I can tell funny/comedic is not your direction.

Almost all of my steady indie clients seem to have a recurring motif in their work. Even some of our greatest directors seem to have an underlying theme or context to their work despite genre, and some who work almost exclusively in one genre. What is your recurring theme? What are you truly passionate about? That's where you should start.

 

[harmonica44]

You have to be funny in person to be funny on camera, or when writing comedy. Plain and simple. And don't ask yourself... we all think we're funny. If your family and friends don't find you hilarious, I advise against trying to make a comedy movie.

Well not to brag or anything, but people I know find me to be very funny and I'm usually the life of the party. Being funny for film is a challenge so far, but with the right script maybe. I am better at coming up with serious ideas, but those require longer stories to pay off, rather than the time length of a short, for me.

What Dreadylocks said fits me. And Alcove Audio is right, that I am more thriller genre driven in my imagination.

 

[rayw]

I think you're funny.

 

[CamVader]

I think you're funny.

Is it appropriate to gag yet? LAWD JEBUS HEP US!

 

[rayw]

(Think SLINGBLADE)!

 

[CamVader]

(Think SLINGBLADE)!

Okay, I'll refocus. Ohm....

 

[harmonica44]

K I'll make all of them and I'll talk to some others in the business about which one they would rather do, if they are interested. I'll start by writing the james bond spoof since I already had that planned in my head.

 

[harmonica44]

Well I am almost done that one and have posted what I got for feedback. Do any of you find that you think that your short ideas are good enough to be used for features, and your brain would just rather write them into those? Only problem is is that you can't come up with an idea that's good enough for a short, without being good enough for a feature?

 

[harmonica44]

"Dying is easy, comedy is hard" - Supposedly said by Edmond Gween on his deathbed.

Harmonica - Don't try to force things, all of your ideas sound forced. Go back and read the answers to all of your previous questions, like "Should I write what I know?". Think about what you have already put forth regarding potential subject matter; from everything I can tell funny/comedic is not your direction.

Almost all of my steady indie clients seem to have a recurring motif in their work. Even some of our greatest directors seem to have an underlying theme or context to their work despite genre, and some who work almost exclusively in one genre. What is your recurring theme? What are you truly passionate about? That's where you should start.

Okay thanks for the input. And yes I do have a certain theme and genre, which is the action/thriller/drama genre. But all my ideas are too long for shorts though, and can't come up with anything good, for only 10 minutes. I thought at least with comedy it's a simpler plot that relies on gags more so. So what's the difference between an idea that sounds forced, and not forced?

Maybe I'm just much better at coming up with feature lengths than shorts, and I need to direct other beginner writer's shorts. Do a lot of writers let newcomers director their shorts for free to break into the business? I've looked but haven't found any local callings for any, but there have been a couple on here.

 

[chilipie]

Maybe I'm just much better at coming up with feature lengths than shorts, and I need to direct other beginner writer's shorts. Do a lot of writers let newcomers director their shorts for free to break into the business? I've looked but haven't found any local callings for any, but there have been a couple on here.

There are plenty of writers advertising their work here on IndieTalk, often for free. Like composers, there aren't really any issues with dealing with writers that aren't local. Why not find a short script you like and give it a go?