How to Find Movie Ideas: 12 Steps (with Pictures)

2024 Author: Jason Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-19 22:11

How many people feel disappointed after watching a bad movie thinking, “I can make a better movie”. However, when asked to provide ideas for the film, their minds suddenly went blank. The problem is not that most people lack creativity, but that they usually try to come up with ideas that are too grandiose instead of figuring out how a film works, and then walk backwards from that point.

Step

Method 1 of 2: Starting from Zero

Step 1. Understand the important parts of a film idea

Most people get stuck because they want to find the entire film's story at once, instead of starting with the necessary elements and building on from there. Many films are designed by mixing three simple elements: setting, characters, and conflict. Here's the recipe for making a new film. Sometimes, if one of the elements is unique enough, you can start the writing process. (Cabin in the Woods begins with events at a state-run horror studio, which is a unique enough idea to be the starting point for the story). No matter what type of film you want to make, you just need to think about the following:

Background:

Where will the film take place, both time and space? Are you imagining a medieval space or earth epic? Or a small town somewhere?
Protagonist:

Who will be the main character? Do not rush into thinking about his personal qualities, just an overview. Is he a spaceship pilot? Workers in the stables? Dentist?
Conflict:

What does the main character want? Does he want to be a hero? Does he want to fall in love? Does he hate his job/boss?

Step 2. Develop a movie idea from these three simple elements

All films, from whimsical independent films to high-grossing films, are built on these three concepts. Don't worry about the intricacies of the plot, the subtleties, and the details because you can think about it when you write down your ideas. Right now, you need a solid basic idea to develop.

Space epic + Pilot + Desire to be a hero = Star Wars.
Medieval + Stables + Heroes and Love = Knight's Tale.
Big City + Employees + Hate the boss = My Stupid Boss.
High school + Popular student achievers + Quiet/cold youth = What's with Love?

Step 3. Take time to come up with ideas (brainstorming)

Good ideas almost never just pop up. People who come up with great ideas for movies usually take the time to do them. All you have to do is grab a piece of paper and a pen, get rid of any distracting aspects, and give yourself some time to think. If you need help, use the idea angler. It's important to jot down whatever comes to mind, whether you're driving, at home, at work. This may be the forerunner of a bigger idea.

“What if…” are the two most important words when looking for ideas. Jurassic Park, for example, is a consequence of the question “What if we could bring dinosaurs back to life?”
“What would happen if two of my favorite movies were combined into one?”
Follow news events that catch your eye. What would happen if you were there?
Write about what you are interested in, anything. Clerks developed from the hobbies of "nerds" and hockey on the roof, Fear of Marriage is based on the fears that couples usually experience before marriage, Soekarno is written by people who love history. There is no limit to ideas.

Step 4. Look for inspiration in real life

In any major newspaper, you can find 5 stories that can be adapted into interesting films. Often real life is more shocking than fiction and you will find that newspaper stories can be the starting point for new stories. How did someone who just won the World Hot Dog Eating Competition become a professional eater? What's the story behind the closing of Hotel Alexis? What did the police think when they received the report about “worms in food”?

Using this kind of story as a starting point, think of a plot or idea that can come to your mind

Step 5. Determine the genre

A genre is a type of film. Many films are often associated with several genres at once, but there is usually one dominant genre. Genres include Comedy, Romance, Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Drama, or Documentary, but there are also combinations such as Romantic Comedy, Drama Comedy, Horror Action, and so on. The advantage of having a genre is that it helps you develop the plot of the film, as well as gives you a focus on finding ideas. For example:

Do you like horror movies? In this case, the idea of the film should involve the creation of a strong evil character. Once you get your hands on the monster or villain, your movie idea is ready.
Do you like Romantic Comedies? That means you need a girl or boy who is unlikely to fall in love with each other (age difference, one is married, one is an alien, etc.)
Do you like science fiction? Think of the technology you wish you could create, from time machines, spaceships, or teleportation to devices for creating new planets. Your story will be the consequence of the new discovery.

Step 6. Change the plot of an existing film into something completely new

To be honest, no idea is completely original. It may sound cruel, but it actually gives you a lot of freedom. All films are made with influences and ideas from previous films and artwork, and your film ideas are no exception. How can you update or turn an existing idea into a new one? Consider the following example:

Austin Powers is a comedic twist on the espionage films, such as James Bond, that dominate cinema. There's not much difference in the plot, but the action scenes are replaced with jokes.
O Brother Where Art Thou practically retells almost every scene in Homer's The Iliad, but is set in a rural area in the southern United States.
Avatar is very similar to Dancing with Wolves, but with a setting in outer space that allows James Cameron to create something new.
Warm Bodies has all the features of a Romantic Comedy, but one of the main characters is the zombies. This unusual “fusion” of genres makes the film stand out.

Step 7. Think of your log line in one sentence to emphasize the idea

A log line is a very short description of the scenario in one sentence. A good log line consists of three points: the hook or what makes your film different from other films, the conflict, and the characters/settings. To learn how to write good log lines, take a look at examples from famous movies.

Back to the Future: A young man is transported back in time to reunite his parents before he and his future disappear forever.
Jaws: A police chief with a phobia of open water battles a giant shark, while a greedy city government insists the beach remains open to the public.
Ratatouille: A Parisian rat secretly joins forces with a talentless chef to prove that anyone can cook, no matter what critics and pest control programs think.

Method 2 of 2: Turning Ideas into Movie Screenplays

Step 1. Create a film structure for your idea

There are many film structures available, from the classic 3-act story structure to the popular “Hero's Journey”. All of that can be narrowed down to 5 basic elements found in 90% of films, whether it's action films, dramas to romantic comedies and films for children. Work out your ideas and think about these five key points, and you'll have a potential movie screenplay to work on.

Set-Up:

introduce characters, settings and the world around them. This will occupy about 10% of the entire film and introduce the audience to the film. The portion should not exceed 10 pages.

In Star Wars, George Lucas introduces the premise of space warfare, conflict ("Help me Obi-Wan, you're my only hope"), and a lot of crazy characters (Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C3-Po)
Change of Plans/Opportunities/Conflicts:

Something happens that triggers the conflict on pages 9-10 - Erin Brockovich gets a job, the words of a previously married friend in Fear of Marriage, Rangga wins a poetry contest, and so on. The next 10-20 pages show how the main characters react to this change.

In Star Wars, this is when Luke refuses Obi-Wan's offer, but learns that his entire family was killed. He agrees to go on a quest to save Leia
The Point of No Return (The Point of No Return):

Up to this point, the main characters are working hard to realize their goals. However, halfway through the film, something happened that made it impossible for him to return. Bond's opponent strikes again, the baby in Anya's womb dies, Thelma and Louise commit their first robbery, and so on.

In Star Wars, in the middle of the movie they fall into the Death Star trap. They couldn't return to Alderaan as planned and were forced to fight
Main Constraints:

After the point of no return, the stakes are even greater. There seems to be no hope for the main character and the audience anymore. In every romantic comedy film, the relationship between the girl and the boy is broken, for example when Cinta feels guilty and breaks up with Rangga, or when John McClane is beaten and bleeds in Die Hard. The main obstacle occurs when the film reaches 75%.

In Star Wars, Obi-Wan dies and the Death Star begins to move. The only chance to win is a last-ditch attempt to blow up the Death Star
Climax:

The main character with all his might makes one last attempt to achieve the goal, which becomes the most difficult task. The girl runs to the airport chasing her lover, the main character has identified who the real killer is and tries to save himself, or the final battle between hero and villain. Once completed, the last 10% of the scenario will clear things up and show the consequences after the climax.

In Star Wars, Luke performs a final heroic stunt on the Death Star and blows it up even though his chances of success are slim

Step 2. Develop character

The characters should feel real, as if they were driving the storyline, and not the whims of the writer from a different side of the world. Remember, successful characters are the soul of the film. Audiences empathized with him, loved him, and hated him, and even a good movie idea would fail because of a weak character. This is easier said than done, but there are a few tips that can help create a character that fits with the idea of the film:

Make sure the character has multiple sides. That is, the character must have a different aspect, not just a “grumpy guy”, or a “strong woman”. Multidimensional characters have strengths and weaknesses, which makes them closer to the audience.
Give wishes and fears to characters. Even though a character has only one wish and a fear, a good character doesn't manage to get what he wants. Their ability or inability to overcome fears (of poverty, being alone, aliens, spiders, etc.) creates conflict.
The character must have the drive to act. Don't make a character like a buffalo matched by the nose, which moves according to the author's wishes. Successful characters make decisions that push the plot forward. Sometimes, it's the one decision that moves the entire chain of events (Fatmawati runs away from home in Sweet 20, Luke Skywalker joins Obi-Wan in Star Wars), but sometimes there's a number of choices, good or bad at every turn (every character in Hangout)..

Step 3. Make your idea unique by changing expectations

You may feel constrained by having a rigid script structure, but it actually makes it easier for you to surprise your audience. How can you make a common 5 element structure and character unique? How do you make this film something off the shelf? The best way to do this is to break the rules:

What if the main character experiences failure, not success, after the climax?
What happens to a “multidimensional” character if he doesn't want to change? What happens if the protagonist is not the main character, as in Ferris Beuler's Day Off, which showed Ferris' friend Cameron is the main character developing?

Step 4. What happens if you change the background

Romantic Comedies with a Jakarta setting are common, but what about a village in Central Java? Bowling alley? Nursing home?

Step 5. Keep thinking about ideas

The most important thing you have to realize when looking for ideas is that ideas come with constant practice. Your first 10, 20, or even 50 ideas may not be the best, but experience working with bad ideas will help you identify good ones. Nobody always gets the perfect idea all the time, you have to work hard.

Bring a notebook to write down every idea that comes to your mind.
Try doing an idea search with a friend to double the speed of each other's ideas.
Do this process for each idea; try changing the idea by adding key elements to see if the idea is worth developing.