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Looking for some killer short film ideas so you can make a killer short film that gets
you a killer job doing what you love? To understand what makes for some good short
films ideas you really need to make sense of some of the theory behind shorts. Otherwise,
you’re not going to have a strong handle on whether whatever it is you choose to do
has any real form or function and, thus, advantage over other films being showcased.
Basically, you need to master the formula for what makes a short great before you spend
all your time and energy making one! Best Things For A Short Film Idea?
A short film is a slice of life. It’s a moment. The best shorts play off a single
emotion, usually humor. Humor grabs people. It demands our attention.
Plus it can play internationally. If you were living under a rock let me gently remind you…the
whole world is online!
So make your short VISUAL and FUNNY. You can ignore this advice and attempt to tell a poetic
or dramatic story, but I’m telling you from experience, AND as an audience member to make
Think of great jokes. That’s all a short film is. It’s 1-3 minutes. Nice and simple.
If you want to expand it beyond 3 minutes then I strongly suggest you master telling
a story under 3 minutes first. Again, I bit off more than I could chew on my first few
films and A) they didn’t get finished or B) they were a storytelling disaster because
I didn’t grasp the basics first.
Other Ways Shorts Are Different… Beyond humor, let’s talk about the philosophy
of short films… Shorts, are slices of life. They’re about
a character with a problem. That’s the basis of great short… One character with one problem.
Your audience needs to relate to that character. They need to see themselves in that character.
Take for example the Pixar short ‘For The Birds’. The main character is an awkward
bird. He’s the outsider. We all feel like the outsider. We all dream of being something
more than what we are. That’s why you’re a filmmaker right? You have DREAMS!
Since shorts are, well, short, you only have so much time to establish your character,
your world and your situation. A feature film can take up to 25 minutes to establish all
that. But in a rad short film you’ve got less than 30 seconds. BAM! The minute the
film starts the audience should ‘get’ who the main character is and what he’s
trying to accomplish. Take the dorky bird in ‘For The Birds’.
He looks over and sees all the other birds (who all look alike and very different from
him- this makes it crystal clear to the audience that he’s the outsider) on the telephone
line. He wants to join them. Notice how all that info is set up in visuals?
No talking, no explaining. Simple, eloquent images that show the audience who the main
character is and what he or she wants.
while running on a treadmill? Or had to tie them while running a race in the Olympics?
How fun would that be to tell! Short film ideas should come from life. They
should take a mundane (relatable, everyday situation) and take it to the extreme.
In ‘For The Birds’, the film ends with a funny punchline. They take the situation
to the extreme. This not only delighted audiences, it also got them an Oscar. The Oscar was won
because it was a well told short film idea. And guess what? Anyone, including YOU, can
tell a great short story.
So start paying attention to life and I promise you’ll find inspiration that will help you
figure out the most killer, awesome, stupendous short film around.