I always want to be working on a prodject, but I am at a complete lack of ideas. I cant think of anything myself or between my friends in the sense of a narritive prodject (short film) that sounds like anything interesting. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how they start and idea. I mean I seem to dissmiss any idea as complete crap before I get anywhere with it... I keep loosing motivation. HELP.....

Hudson
H Cubed Productions

Take a cue (no pun intended) from the films you like. Why are they interesting to you, what is it about the Characters that is engaging.....


Basically you need to create characters that are interesting (they could be any walk of life) it's all what you make of it. What all the films have in common that you like is; all the people are at a cross roads (usually) in their life and take a turn for better or worse, it is "THE" defining moment. I mean you are witnessing this pivotal moment in their life. "Interest" and "Connection" to the character is what makes the viewer want to know more about this person.


For inspiration just "watch" people, they are their own films, so to speak. You could easily look at a person and think of ways to create their "cross road". What has happened in their life that WE/I (the viewer) needs to know about. What is so interesting that it must be a film?


Just some things to think about when developing characters......


Always think in terms of this 'cross road' (i.e. a major turning point in life), because the rest of their life is like everyone else, typical. And no one cares about that part. No one wants to watch a film about someone washing their clothes.

People like to see typical people in extraordinary situations. "How did that person make it through that alive" etc. etc., Know what I'm say'n?

Hope that is helpful!

Jay888 covered pretty much all the bases.

Stories truly are all around you. Remember, with shorts, its good to keep them simple at first. Try writting very short, one dimensional stories, then move from there.

Try taking a random inanimate object, and write about it. A clock, a car, a can of shaving cream. There is a very old short film, that is about a man trying to sit in a chair, but the chair has a mind of its own. Be creative. This is the world of movies, none of the rules of our reality apply.

Another starting point is to take a scenario weve seen a hundred times before, and give it a twist. Have a guy who really needs to mail a package, head to the post office. Boring right? but what happens on the way to the post offfice? I just finished writting a short script about a serial killer, loading a body into the trunk of a car, and dumping it in the woods. That is the beginning, and end of the short. Again, boring right? Its usually a scene from a larger story about a serial killer, that is used only as information. But I take an ordinary situation (as ordinary as dumping a body is for a serial killer, that is) and give it extrordinary circumstances. On the way to dump the body, he gets in a fender bender. The guy in the other car (despite no damage) wants to call the cops, and file a report. Another scenario that seems boring enough.... unless you have a body in the trunk!

Just look around. Stories are everywhere, just waiting to be told. I promise, once you open the flood gates of creativity, you will have no end of stories to tell.
R. Michael McWhorter
www.tizzyentertainment.8m.com
www.tizzystoryboardartist.8m.com

And you shall know us by the trail of dead.

Nice ideas from Jay and Tizzy. Have you ever read "Screenwriting" by Sid Field? That book will really help you with the idea of story. I had problems coming up with stories too until I read that book along with some other script writing books. I think if you know how good scripts work then you will be able to look at everyday life and see stories as they appear to you in the real world as Jay was saying.

In my short story telling class last year my teacher would have us all write down a sentence with at least one character and him/her in some sort of action. We would all exchange sentences and we had 30 minutes to write a short story using our sentences as starting points. We came up with a lot of great shorts in that class and it was a lot of fun too.

The idea about a cross roads is very important too as you know...that is why stories are stories, because something happens, which causes the person to try and try and try again to get his/her life back to the way is was in the begining. Hint...Acts ONE, TWO and THREE.

Hope it helps, check out thta book!!

"I don't have time for film school...I'm too busy making movies" lol

Sorry that book is called "Screenplay" not "screenwriting". Always get that title mixed up with another...okay.

"I don't have time for film school...I'm too busy making movies" lol