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Where Do Ideas Come From?

Fwilly

Fwilly

Hey guys I know I just posted a thread about how I FINALLY thought of an idea. The Problem with that Idea is that it would most likely be a feature length film and would need a budget and people who are older than the people I could get. So now I still haven't made my first short yet and I honestly still can not think of an idea. So what I'm basically asking is where do you get your ideas from. What inspires you. Because it has been like 18 months sense I've had this passion and I still have not made anything of it because I honestly have no idea what to make!!!
 
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I get my ideas from the life experiences that I've had.
I come up with a theme and I work truth and insight into my stories.

Maybe you're just too young and haven't had enough of those life experiences yet.
Write what you know.
 
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Fwilly said:
I thought of something recently including zombies but the problem with zombie movies is you need someone to do makeup on a lot of people to be zombies
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I don't think the makeup part is too hard. There is a $50 book on amazon that teaches you how to do film makeup. Or you can watch videos online. Besides the makeup effects don't have to be the best. It's a short film. But why don't you let everyone know what you do have available to you so we can make better suggestions.
 
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Fwilly said:
Yeah but you need a mass of people which I don't have.
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Why do you need "a mass of people?"


I very seriously suggest that you watch a few dozen episodes of the original "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." They're half hour productions with a (relatively) low budget, a small cast, limited locations and very sharp yet simple scripts; many have a delicious twist at the end.

A few personal fave "Zone" episodes:

Time Enough at Last
The Hitch-Hiker
Eye of the Beholder
The Invaders
A Penny for Your Thoughts
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
Two
The Midnight Sun
Five Characters in Search of an Exit
Nothing in the Dark
To Serve Man
The Gift
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Living Doll
The Masks
 
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Alcove Audio said:
Why do you need "a mass of people?"


I very seriously suggest that you watch a few dozen episodes of the original "Twilight Zone" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." They're half hour productions with a (relatively) low budget, a small cast, limited locations and very sharp yet simple scripts; many have a delicious twist at the end.

A few personal fave "Zone" episodes:

Time Enough at Last
The Hitch-Hiker
Eye of the Beholder
The Invaders
A Penny for Your Thoughts
Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
Two
The Midnight Sun
Five Characters in Search of an Exit
Nothing in the Dark
To Serve Man
The Gift
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Living Doll
The Masks
Click to expand...
The mass off people would be necessary because a group of people wouldn't be overwelmed by 3 zombies but they would be by 20 zombies
 
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The mass off people would be necessary because a group of people wouldn't be overwelmed by 3 zombies but they would be by 20 zombies
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Who says it has to be a group? Can't it be one guy or girl?

I'd be overwhelmed by three zombies if I ran out of bullets.

What about two friends who decide to venture out of their protected area (basement, attic, etc.) to get food. A zombie comes of nowhere, and bites one of them. The friend has to make the decision to either 1) Kill his friend OR... 2) Risk his life.

OR

A guy who is trying to cover up a bite from his group.

OR

The POV of a person who is going through the human to zombie/infected creature.

OR

A guy who keeps a family member/friend, who has been infected, chained up in the basement. He cannot decide to kill the family member/friend and be free or stay and wait for a cure. He decides to wait. One day after going out to find food, he comes back to find the family member unchained.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6MlaIe1ljs

Chomp.

OR

A group of survivors stuck in a basement or other tight space. It's simple, dark, gritty, and claustrophobic.

OR

A guy walks downstairs to find his mom/friend/family member being eaten. The zombie/infected person is running after him, and chases him to a small room. The guy is stuck in this room, with a vicious zombie/infected person waiting outside the door eager to get in. He must use simple, small, everyday objects to outsmart and kill the zombie.

OR

Friend 1 shows up at Friend 2's house because friend 2 has not answered any of his calls or left his home. Friend 1 finds Friend 2 sick in his bed, and... well... I think you should know what happens.

OR

A man wakes up to find everybody dead in his home. He hears creaking noises upstairs. He goes up and goes into the bathroom. He whips the shower curtain open, to find no one there. The camera pans back to the man to reveal a zombie behind him.

OR

HUGE zombie apocalypse. The humans finally defeat the zombies, and families go back to their homes. A mother and daughter (or two friends; it depends how you have) go home, and find a diary of their friend (or father). They continue to read the diary, and in the end, they find out he/she was bitten, and is still in the house.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6MlaIe1ljs

To me, most of the scariest/most tense moments in zombie films were with without crowds and crowds of zombies. Remember that scene in the Dawn of the Dead remake with the little girl? What about the church scene in 28 Days Later? Tar man from Return of the Living Dead? The little girl in the basement from Night of the Living Dead? The entire Evil Dead (that didn't have many characters)?

Audio, lighting, and editing can give the feeling of a large crowd, a smaller space, a larger space, etc. Say you had a scene in the basement of a house during a zombie apocalypse. If you had the sounds of moaning, footsteps, and banging coming from the door and the upstairs floor, you'd think zombies were everywhere. Without sound in that scene, there is no tension. If you have a guy getting chased down a street by 3 zombies in a wide angle shot, there's not as much tension. But when you use fast editing, close up shots, intense music, and sound effects, you have a scary zombie scene.

overly-attached-zombie-240x180.jpg


Bye bye...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6MlaIe1ljs

:lol: Never gets old!
 
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If you are absolutely at the point where you cannot come up with a good enough idea to make a film around but still have the passion and brain to make films, then just get some producers on board! Seriously, they're not just great at helping to get the film made, but also great at helping you to develop your film. In fact, my first YouTube film, "13:03" was originally an idea by my friend after needing help to get started in which I took and made my own, and have ever since been able to develop my own ideas as well as develop ideas from my producers! I'm sure you'll have friends who'll have a decent idea or two, trust me.
 
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