New guy... Want to make some short films, but no ideas!

Just found this forum while I was searching around for some information on making your own short films and stuff. I am kind of just experimenting around right now to see if this is something I may want to get into as a career. I have been making little movies on my dad's camera since I was about 7, and a decade later I am still very interested in the whole movie making process.

Anyways, a couple days ago I picked up another camera to start making some movies again. The reason I bought a new one was because my old one (mini VHS palmcorder from 2002) is very hard to get on a computer to edit with. My new one is not the greatest camera, but it should suit a beginner just fine (I'm not looking to buy the best of everything). Cam is a Sony DCR-SX41. I also recently got a MacBook Pro with the free iMovie program on it, so I have really gotten the itch to start doing some filming.

My only problem is, here I am with a new camera, decent editing software, and NO ideas. I just can't think of what I want to film. I don't have any volunteer actors for any sort of filming I would do, and I am not much into acting, I am more interested in the cinematography/directing aspect of filming. Are there any sort of filming excersises/practice movies and shots I can do that anyone has in mind? I am just trying to get some ideas on here so I can get out and start shooting.

Any advice/comments are appreciated. Thanks!

-Joe
 
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Maybe you should take a look at what films you like and get inspiration from that or maybe a life experience. If you need any advice PM me i'll even score your film free as im trying to get experience
 
Hi Joe,

Do a search on "WIS-KINO" on youtube. That should give you some ideas.

If you can make it up to Madison on July 16 to the 19, WIS-KINO is holding it's summer
kabaret. Everone makes a 5 minutes film in 72 hours and they will be screened one of the
local theaters on the 19th. It can be a lot of fun.

Terry
 
hi there...i'm new here too ;) wanted to get filmmaking into my career as well... maybe u can refer to those winners of bmw shorties. i watched some of the winning films, not bad :)
 
yea i agree with motorstorm, art imitates life. shoot things you like to do or something you appreciate. use something thats happened to you but fictionalize it, exaggerate it, abstract and obscure it. youll have plenty of ideas that way
 
life experiences, conversations you overhear in your daily activities. stories your friends tell you. stories you read in the paper. understand psychology as it helps create characteres. write about what you know. if not, do proper research. Inspiration is EVERYWHERE.

make a list of the movies you like the most and study them and those directors. keep a notepad with you at all times (MOST IMPORTANT) to write down ideas as they come to you, just as a rapper writes down random lyrics when they come to him. read screenwriting books. understand the best way to write a film (pick up Syd Fields "Screenplay").
 
Just try to keep your mind open to catching snippets of ideas as they pop into your head. I've noticed a lot of people when they start thinking about possible ideas and starting looking at their lives/the world around them/their past that they start getting little pieces of ideas or half-finished starting points, but they never hold onto them. I know a lot of people who figure an idea's not worth keeping if it isn't completely written in their heads within five minutes of first thinking about it.

It sounds silly, but keep one of those little note pads with you. Anytime you get an idea or an image in your head that could lead to an idea, write it down. The more you do that, the more your mind is going to remind you to hold onto these ideas.

If you can hold onto an idea, however fragmented it is, then you can possibly begin to develop it. Sometimes, you can even get a complete idea out of combining two seemingly unrelated ideas from other sources.

I know that sounds absolutely insane, but it honestly works for me.
 
It sounds silly, but keep one of those little note pads with you. Anytime you get an idea or an image in your head that could lead to an idea, write it down. The more you do that, the more your mind is going to remind you to hold onto these ideas.
You can use a cheap pocket audio recorder, or a Palm Pilot, or a...

"If you don't write it down, it never happened."
 
I'm so glad that someone asked this question. :blush:

As a newcomer to "moving pictures", I too, grapple with the same dilemma as the original poster. I have a decent understanding of lighting, exposure, aperture control, composition, etc., as I was a freelance nature photographer for years. However, now that I have the ability to shoot video (Canon HF S-10), I stare at my camera and go "Yep, what to shoot, what to shoot?".

My uncle, now a retired cameraman (Nat. Geo., TV commercials, and feature films), told me that one way to get better and to grab ideas, was to take my camera *everywhere* with me and shoot, shoot, shoot. He also advised me to watch as many films as I could so that I could find things that I like, and try them for myself. So, that is my current plan. I've already snagged a few cuts that were worth saving in the archives for something in the future. I'm learning FCE and made a little short about a hike that I took. The footage is hideous ( I used the video setting on a 5 mp snapshooter), but I saw that with better material, I may be able to edit it into something that my family, friends, and I may enjoy watching.

I think, as my journey starts, that I should not decide on what to shoot... But to shoot as much as I can and learn. In due time, my "style" may emerge, and it may be 180 degrees away from what I thought I should be doing.

Thanks for reading my babble and having me here. I hope to learn a bunch.

Chris
 
What I did to start filmmaking is something I still do. Take a camera everywhere. Shoot tons of random and interesting images and then try to find similar subject matters in the footage and compile them into an experimental film or music video. Keep doing this and it will help you develop ideas, even story structure and push your imagination to come up with things to shoot instead of just shooting things. Everybody starts somewhere.
 
Just throwing in my 2 cents, I was in the same boat with lack of ideas and so I actually would leave the camera aside for a bit and delve into other passions. Reading, writing, watching films and others' short films on youtube and vimeo, looking at art. anything that compelled me at the time. and now the ideas are flowing like you wouldn't believe. i'll be driving and get an idea, the middle of the night i'll wake up having an idea, be daydreaming at work and get an idea. you never know when inspiration is going to strike you. but i heartily agree--write it down! you will forget even though you think it's important it'll leak out of your head like water!
 
Joe hasn't been back in almost six weeks. Maybe he
found his ideas and is in the middle of making his
short film.

Not every person with a new camera and decent editing
software is a writer. I'm a little surprised that no one
has mentioned looking for a script. There are thousands
of writers who don't have a new camera and decent
editing software who would love to see their script turned
into a movie.

Making a movie is such a collaborative process that seeking
out other people is very often the best thing a filmmaker
can do.
 
All i can say is, go by what inspires you find somthing that just makes you want to start the second you get the idea and the easiest way I get like this is by watching films I like, if your doing experimental films i would say watch the Tetsuo series if your doing the 12 step style film watch some of the films that speak to you, its not about your technical ability really because you can always learn, just focus on inspiration and ideas before anything else.
 
Different ideas come in different ways. The film that I'm finishing pretty much came to me one night while dozing between the hours of 2-3 AM.

One exercise I like to take is to take any situation we take for granted, and ask "What if"? Sometimes some lucidrous ideas can come up, but those ideas can work out well.

Another I do is I just take my camera and just either go for a drive and shoot footage of whatever scenery or stuff that catches my attention. When I go back later and look at the footage, sometimes something will pop up like a "Hey! Wouldn't this scene be cool if...."

Biggest thing I've found is don't limit yourself- go nutty, go far out, don't discount any idea, you never know what is going to be an inspiration :)
 
i mentioned pick up Syd Fields "Screenplay".

I apologize. Don't. It's a waste of time and money if you want to start out with short films. There are better ones out there that I picked up at Barnes and Noble.

You need to find inspiration. You need to develop ideas.
 
One thing to remember is to not think about what you can and can't do. Come up with an idea then later try and work out how you can do it. Don't grow an idea based on evaluating what have and what you can do.
If you want strong ideas just write whatever you want and don't worry about restraints or your idea will become dilluted.

As people have said write things down in a pad. I have a list which sumarises every film I've came up with in one line. It's allways enough to remind me.
Also draw things, draw everything. I find that things come together better when I translate them to drawing. It's also a lot easier to instantly be reminded of an idea from a drawing.

Getting the idea down is important before you do anything. Have a script written out. If you're not good at this, read some other scripts from films you like so you can see how things translate to paper.
http://www.scriptpimp.com/show_me/free_screenplays/ This site has a lot of scripts.
 
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