Sudden fever want to make a movie? If you want to be able to quickly grab a camera and make movies, you need a story to tell. Learning to spark a creative mind and start writing really doesn't have to be difficult. You have to learn to find a good story and develop it into an interesting script that deserves to be made into a great short film.
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Part 1 of 3: Finding Stories
Step 1. Start with a word, picture, or object
A story just needs a seed that you can cultivate until it grows. Will it eventually turn into a great short film? Maybe, maybe not. First of all, what should be focused in the early stages is how to come up with an idea and then follow where it flows. Here are some effective brainstorming methods for generating ideas:
A good way to start a story? Just start writing. Get out the paper and pencil, or sit down at the computer and keep yourself writing for a period of time. Say, for example for 10 or 15 minutes. Don't worry about whether you're writing a "story" or whether it will make a good film. At this stage you are just looking for ideas. It could be that what is written is 99% garbage, but maybe there is one small piece that can be developed into a story. Give yourself an idea
Step 2. Try a word practice
You only need one small flick to get a story idea. Make a list of random pictures, the first word that pops into your head, for example: Kindergarten, Bandung, ashtray, oil paint, and so on. Great right? Well, let's make at least 20 words, then start trying to connect the words. Come to think of it, what does this list remind you of? Extra-curricular painting class with kindergarten children in Kemayoran? Cigarette butts lit in the painter's studio? Start with the picture and let it flow. Find the story around the picture.
Step 3. Start speculating to get good ideas
One good way to keep story ideas flowing smoothly is to start speculating on strange, surprising, or absurd scenarios that might make a good story. For example, what if all food was made in pill form? What if it turns out that your father is a spy? What if suddenly your dog can talk? Various plots and slick characters can emerge from speculation.
Step 4. Find a short story that can be adapted
One great way to come up with ideas for short films is to adapt stories that have already been written by other people. Look at the collections of short stories that have just been published, which have interesting plots, then find one that seems fun to be made into a film.
Generally, novels are difficult to adapt into short films. So, try to focus on short stories only. Take a look at "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates as an example of a short story with an interesting and exciting plot
Step 5. Try filming real life
Who says short films have to be fiction? If you want to make a short film, try filming the world around you and creating documentaries. Find a local music festival in your area and ask if you can do a film interview with a band member, or try filming your pal training hard at a sport. Look for interesting true stories that are happening around you and ask permission to record them.
Step 6. Get in the habit of keeping and keeping a dream journal
Dreams can provide good inspiration for short films, especially if you like the weird. If you want to get an idea for a dream, set an alarm in the middle of the night to wake you up at that hour, then immediately write down the plot you get. Dreams can be a great source of pictures, strange events and dialogue for short films.
What scares you? A good spooky dream can be a great way to start a short horror film. When writing the script and filming it, try to capture the same “feel” as your scary dream. Check out David Lynch's series of short films called “Rabbits” for inspiration
Step 7. View history
History is full of great and fantastic stories. Other fields of science are also producing: Psychology (for character development), Geography, etc.
Step 8. Adapt ideas from feature films
There is no reason not to adapt ideas from feature films to short films. You can adapt by taking one of the scenes, themes or characters from the feature film.
Step 9. Summarize the story
Can you write a short sentence of 15 words or less that summarizes the main concepts and plot of your idea? If you can, then you are on the right track. Once you get the main idea, try to "round it up". Describe your film as briefly and quickly as possible so that you can write the best script out of it, as well as being able to explain the story to others in an effort to recruit other actors and supporters. Avoid vague or abstract descriptions. Focus on the script and plot.
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Some examples of good story synopsis, for example:
- A boy finds a small planetary creature, then takes it home.
- Kindergarten kids start painting weird pictures after school.
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Some examples of bad story synopsis, for example:
- A man struggles with depression.
- A series of mysterious events befell the citizens of Jakarta.
Step 10. Think practically
Consider what you have and how to make the most of it. Make a list of every locally available prop, location, and actor, and consider how to use them into a great story, as you get started with short filming. Maybe your friend who practices boxing three times a week can inspire a great boxing story.
Make sure that your story is or deserves to be filmed. The equipment and stage are invaluable if you want to make your own films and work without studio support and a lot of money. Once again stressed: it's hard for you to film a sci-fi opera in your parents' cellar. So make sure you are able to take the pictures needed to make the movie you want. Can you take a shot of a swoop with a camera on a special winder over the city of Yogyakarta while you live in Bandung and don't have money or a camera? Probably not. Find a way out
Part 2 of 3: Developing the Story
Step 1. Determine the protagonist and antagonist characters
Every story has a protagonist and an antagonist that creates conflict and creates tension. If you're not sure which one to choose, think about and consider this carefully when developing your story, to make it clear who should be given special attention and why.
- The protagonist is the main character or hero that we like. A person we empathize with and have an emotional connection with.
- An antagonist is a character, situation, circumstance or setting that moves against the protagonist, and thus creates drama. The antagonist doesn't always have to be a bad guy with a cross mustache, but it can be a difficult situation or some other abstraction.
Step 2. Find a good background
In a short film, this will more or less be the center of consideration in terms of practicality and application to the story. A good setting can bring suspense and drama on its own. The problem is, you probably won't be able to just fly to Bali to shoot a scene on the beach. Find a place to define and complete the story you want to tell, but it's available and accessible to you.
Try to work with what you have. If you're aware that you're going to have to shoot at your parents' house someday, that means it's going to be hard working an epic sci-fi film in the backyard and cellar. Try to think of a domestic story that can be worked on locally. Imagine the stories that happen in and around your home, in the city where you live. Stories that match the setting will be able to be worked on better
Step 3. Find the conflict
All stories need conflict in order for us to care. What would be able to keep the audience interested in your stories and short films? What does your protagonist want? What prevents the protagonist from achieving it? The answers to all these questions are the source of your conflict. Once you've established your original idea, start focusing on the things that create conflict in the story, then push and pull as much as possible.
- A conflict doesn't have to involve a fistfight or a gun duel to be considered high-level drama. The important thing is to involve a real conflict or feud between the characters, complete with emotional baggage. If a child brought a planetary creature home, what problem would it face? What are the risks that come with it? What is interesting for us to watch about kindergarten children painting?
- Find the “inside” and “outside” sides of your story. What we watch, that's the outside: there are unfortunate characters across the world and several events occur along the way. What makes a story interesting is the inside. How does this event change the character? What does that mean for the character? A good short film, or any story, in principle has both of these elements, which occur or run simultaneously.
Step 4. Don't make it complicated
Limit the scope of your story as much as possible. A short film is a basic story telling, similar to a short story or short story. Not novels. That's not to say that it doesn't have to be ambitious and unconventional, but that short films must be able to work within a limited number of elements, characters and scenes, to be effective.
Alternatively, it might be fun if you try to force yourself to film a complex or super-long story, as short as possible. What would “War and Peace” be like if it were adapted into a ten-minute short film? What if all six “Star Wars” films happened in 10 minutes, with all the equipment you currently have? How do you get around it?
Step 5. Be careful not to fall into common short film cliches
Like all forms of art, short films also have trite ideas and clichés. If you've never been stuck making one like that before, you'll be able to go one step further. Avoid making clichéd short films like these:
- A character appears alone, stares and talks in a mirror, then commits suicide.
- Avoid genres that are too often made in short films, such as film noir and gangster types.
- Anything involving a hit man.
- The two characters argue about something, until it is finally revealed that it is actually only one character, but has multiple personalities.
- The film begins with the alarm ringing, followed by the protagonist jumping out of bed.
Step 6. Keep your movie under 10 minutes in length
Making a film of any length is very, very difficult. Keep your films as short as possible, especially when you are just starting out. Making a great, powerful, dramatic and enjoyable three-minute film is a serious success. Try to get this to work before making your way to a 45-minute gangster masterpiece with gunfights in slow motion.
Step 7. Watch some short films
If you want to make a movie, watch the movie first. As with the advice not to try to write a novel without first learning the format of a novel, it's important that you know and understand how a short film works and what it takes to make a good short film before you try to make one. It's not just a short version of a feature-length film: a short film is a unique medium in itself, complete with various tricks and techniques that accompany it. Watch a few before you move on to making your own.
- YouTube and Vimeo are great sources for short films, both good and bad. Try to find out if your city hosts short film festivals–-mostly in metro areas-and see some of them in person.
- Music videos are also one of the great styles of short films that you may already be familiar with. Watch and study carefully how your favorite music videos are made. Watch Spike Jonze, Hype Williams, and Michel Gondry as modern masters in this kind of film format.
Part 3 of 3: Writing a Film Script
Step 1. Outline your story
The story outline doesn't have to be formal or roman numbered (although that's fine if you want). Storyboards in this case are usually used to help you understand what kind of shooting needs to be done in the next process, and to get a comic book-style visual theme to the film, as you write the script. Make a short sketch of what will physically happen in the story, adding some basic dialogue.
Film is a visual medium that tells a story, so don't rely purely on dialogue to tell a story. In a good story, the outline must explicitly describe the outside, although the inside is also implied
Step 2. Write the script for your film
Once you've successfully mapped out the basic elements of your story the way you want, you can develop the rest in a more scripted way, complete with all the dialogue and stage directions or scenes you want to include in the film. Try to make it as specific as possible, so that other people can film it and see the vision of the film according to your own.
Step 3. Surprise yourself
You may have your own ideas about where the story is going, but try to give yourself room to surprise yourself when you write the script. If you stick to just one direction for your short film, the results won't be surprising and predictable for the audience as well. As you write, try to take it in a direction you're not sure about yourself. Let the fun "accidents" happen and follow the flow to other, more interesting conclusions. That's how all good stories are written.
Francis Ford Coppola filmed the sequel to “The Outsiders” entitled “Rumble Fish”, without writing the script in advance until the day before shooting. None of the actors in the film know what will happen next, giving it a spontaneous and experimental feel
Step 4. Seek constructive criticism
Once you've finished writing the script, show it to your friends, or to people who both love the world of film and are able to provide constructive criticism. Heed their advice and try to revise your script as much as possible. There are a number of filmmakers who work on scripts for years and only produce more years after that. Making a film is a long process.
Try showing your script to potential collaborators like actors, producers, aspiring directors. Anyway, show the script to all those who can help you
Step 5. Create a special directory containing ideas or ideas
Not all ideas can be realized at this time. Create a special directory where you save your ideas and let them develop into new manuscripts in the future. There are some filmmakers whose ideas cannot be made into films until decades later. Scorsese's "Gangs of New York" was previously a possibility on the table for more than 30 years. Save your ideas until the time comes for them to be realized. Keep your little sketches tidy based on the following elements:
- Character
- Location
- Plot
- Structure
Tips
- Create a special file to store your movie ideas.
- Even though film is a visual medium, you still have to think about its connection to sound media.
- Be patient! Good ideas are not easy to come by. Try again!
- Animated short films are the least expensive film projects and are easier to make by one person. Blender is a 100% free animation creation software.
- When you're trying to recruit actors, take advantage of your friends or put out posters to make an announcement, like an audition announcement or something like that.
- The protagonist doesn't change.
- Have fun! Get your friends to be actors, then sit in a chair with a loudspeaker and yell at them!
