Any Ideas

M

M.A.D

Member
I'm not really sure where this would go so I posted it here:
I have been making films for awhile now, but I am still kid
All my past fills have been films that have a similar idea to another film, and my friends (which are also kids) play parts that do not fit their age (ex. 13 year old player the president of the United States)

My 2 questions are this:

1) What do you do to get new ideas for movies, and what they are about (make the story original)

2) Considering number one I have to make a movie about kids because that is who I have to act

If you have any ways of coming up with good ideas or you have an idea that you do not mind sharing with me I would be glad to hear it.

I also need some help elaborating on this idea. I want to make a movie about some one who dreams what is going to happen. When he realizes he has this special ability he starts writing down his dreams so he does not forget them. My problem is that I want there to be some sort of major crisis that he dreams about that only involves KIDS. This is really difficult for me, but maybe some of you who are good at thinking up this kind of stuff could help me.

If any of this is unclear please tell me. Thanks

M.A.D
 
"Scary" is easiest, so have you major crisis be a monster/madman/alien.

And we never have to see the bad guy. Might take some clever writing/staging. Might just be a matter of having the bad guy always in shadow (or just a shadow, for that matter).

Or go with the Charlie Brown TV specials method. The adults aren't ever seen, and are only heard as wahwahwahwahwah.
 
Well hang on, who said you have get your friends to play kids? Kids don’t have to play kids and if you need some one to play an adult then get your best actor to do it. Spoof it, play with the shooting whatever, but I wouldn’t want to feel restricted by the ages of my cast. I mean, what about Bugsy Malone for example? They’re all kids, that’s the beauty of it. Pwoysonly I reckon a cast full of people with the imaginations and carefree…ness of 11, 12, 13 whatever year olds. Think of it as a challenge.

Or as a free leash, whatever.
 
Hi cf & M.A.D.,

Could you please use the standard font size and colour for your text?

Some of us here are.... older than you. :)

It's dang hard to read tiny text and harder when the tiny text is a dark colour on a less dark background.

First of all, M.A.D. write what you know. Often great ideas come from that.

You can also collaborate with friends who can help you polish an idea. You can return the favour if they have a cool concept, too.

How does that go again? Movies have three acts? Setup, conflict & resolution?

You seem to have a rough setup and an idea for the conflict so what you need to do is flesh it out and create a third act that resolves the conflict. Yeah, I know that's really basic but I'm sure there are others who can add "clarification" to my words.

Download the HeroFest movies that are just available now and see how other arrange their work. You don't have to copy but I bet there's a ton of inspiration.

Check out the SciFest and ZombieFest as well. They're great fun and learning tools, too.

Hope this helps a bit.

sincerely,



ian
 
Y'know, if you just want to learn to shoot, direct, and edit, you can always plagiarize like crazy... just don't release it. Or choose an existing novel or short story, and write 20 mins. worth of script... just one chapter or a couple scenes, no the whole thing. Treat it as if you were hired to do the film version. Some great writers are best at adapting, not originating.

But, hopefully part of your learning process will be learning to (A) recognize the seed of a great idea and (B) develop it to its potential.

Myself, I've found that just the most basic of ideas... say, "a bad kid learns to be empathetic when he goes too far and puts someone in the hospital"... really can grow and gel when you start writing. If you can hear the various characters' voices and vocabularies in your head, just start writing dialog. Write their back-stories that won't appear in your final script. Write the letters they'd write to a friend, write a ton of pages without editing yourself, and see what grows out of that. Finding the "voice" of each character is a key that many, many writers talk about. You may be surprised. For some writers, the characters seem to take over in the writing process. Try to learn to let the creative side of your mind run loose. Don't edit when that's happening. Just type as fast as you can.

Think "exercise" and "test", not just "script, scene, movie".

As for your specific scene mentioned, the "really bad crises" this character dreams of... hmmm. Chances are, your audience will be your peers, and your family. Ask yourself, "what do they fear the most?" It's probably not monsters or aliens. (Sheesh, kids are fearless, right? They seem to fear embarrasment the most!) Have you ever seen an amputee at the mall, a kid with cancer and a bald head, read about a terrible car accident where someone JUST YOUR AGE died or was disfigured? Does part of you shiver and think "God, that would be horrible"? What do YOU fear? What do your parents fear? That you'll get into drugs, get in a car wreck, get kidnapped, get sick... all things that could be dreamed of, some of them things that could be prevented by your hero.

Just my .02 -- good luck.
 
try watching some movies that involve kids/teens, you might get some inspiration.

here are some movies that involve kids/teens as main characters: larry clark's kids, bully, truffaut's 400 blows, catherine breillat's fat girl - i need to watch more...

when you're a kid (especially 13) there are a lot of strange new emotions, awkwardness, embarassment, struggle for acceptance and identity, etc. - there's a lot to make a story out of. try getting your friends to be truthful to the camera. ask them to remember their first sexual experience with a girl or ask them to describe someone they hate. there are different themes that adults try to capture such as sibling rivalry and loss of innocence. the world is different in a kid's perspective - it's rare and difficult for an adult to capture it. so take advantage of your youth and stop trying to make another action movie/comedy spoof.
 
Michael Carter said:
Finding the "voice" of each character is a key that many, many writers talk about. You may be surprised. For some writers, the characters seem to take over in the writing process. Try to learn to let the creative side of your mind run loose. Don't edit when that's happening. Just type as fast as you can.
Click to expand...


M.A.D. - Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author gives you a different perspective on the characters and how they develop their own "voice".
 
Thanks alot! :)
You guys are really helping me along
Thanks for all your post


Michael - that really got thinking.
As for your specific scene mentioned, the "really bad crises" this character dreams of... hmmm. Chances are, your audience will be your peers, and your family. Ask yourself, "what do they fear the most?" It's probably not monsters or aliens. (Sheesh, kids are fearless, right? They seem to fear embarrasment the most!) Have you ever seen an amputee at the mall, a kid with cancer and a bald head, read about a terrible car accident where someone JUST YOUR AGE died or was disfigured? Does part of you shiver and think "God, that would be horrible"? What do YOU fear? What do your parents fear? That you'll get into drugs, get in a car wreck, get kidnapped, get sick... all things that could be dreamed of, some of them things that could be prevented by your hero.

M.A.D


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great! when I was thirteen, i had no idea about cuts and pacing. I didn't even know what a director was.

ahh jr. high, and research papers.

reminds me, i have to write a 9 page research paper tomorrow.
 
i did similiar things in the junior high years and my friends and i would normally just take a story we already knew and find a way to retell it whereas, kids are the main characters. we remade troy, 28 days later, and even he got game just for fun. it is a great way to learn how to frame and edit and its a lot less time consuming than sitting down and writing your own script.

when you do decide to write your own script, do not be afraid to "write what you know" like Ian said. write about simple junior high drama i am sureyou friends and classmates would love to watch a movie that they can really relate too.

best of luck in making your films.
 
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