very short action short

S

srproductions

Well-known member
I want to do a very short (5 minutes or less) action-packed flick. And in that amount of time, you can't have muchof a plot. But I want it to be not only exciting (which I very much want it to be) but interesting too. Any ideas on what I should do? I want there to be minimal dialouge. Thanks!
 
I'd say the key would be to start while the actions already happening. No lead up, just "%#$@*& whats going on?!". Also, it's easy to make it a monster movie cause when you see 20 tenticles and 7 tails...you pretty much know why everyone's running.
 
But then it's just a bunch of people running around chasing each other. It wouldn't be interesting. It wouldn't have a point.
 
starting off with the POV that it's an "action" movie and "can't have much of a plot" kind of dooms your scenario from the beginning.

You should put as much effort into the story as anything else and try to find a legitimate, believable reason for these people to be doing what you want. once you figure out your story, everything else will fall into place. Try and shove 10 minutes of story into 5 minutes and you'll start getting somewhere.
 
Ok. Any ideas for a conflict? I was thinking if the protagonist had a video that was evidence to something the atagonist did, so the atagonist wants to destroy him.
 
You seem to value action before drama, so you realistically, there isnt much room for originality (and even if you do come up with something good, you'll probably want to save it for a 10 minute short). Take something cliche and do another take on it. Yeah, we've all seen the "gotta get the microfilm" movie so if that's your angle, switch it up a bit. Take the antagonists view, take a darker stance, or do an "after the conflict" approach. In 5 minutes it's incredibly hard to pace it well enough to have an amazing twist.
 
That's why I don't know what to do. I want it story-driven, but I want to make an exciting action movie. I need an idea. What do you mean by "after the conflict"?
 
What i mean is, you can take a very pedestrian occurance like an assasination or a gunfight and rather than focus on that, have the audience come in during the aftermath of it. We hardly see the concequences of these things and what if they can be more exciting that the initial conflict. It a) gives you another stance and some originality in your approach and b) allows you a lot more room to advance your characters, which can be just as valuable as a nice plot. Say the job is done, and the hitman walks away from the scene and he sees someone watching him. the rest is him trying to chase this guy down, just to talk to him to see what he knows, he's a little paranoid and $%*& goes down. Or he reports to the boss, and turns out he gets terminated. how do you fire a hitman....pretty violently i would think. Course thats just off the top of my head, but you can fit a lot more into 5 minutes if you allude to a conflict that had just happened.
 
But the point is, I want to experiment with an action sequence. That's what the point of this would be. To push my skills (directing and fx) to the limit. So, I want there to be a plot, just so that it's not just an action sequence. You know what I mean?
 
Yeah i know exactly what you mean. It's gotta be pretty, but you also want it supported by a solid story. What kind of action are you thinking of? chase, fight, cars? I suggested the "aftermath" concept because you've got not only a tried and true concept (the one you allude to at the beginning) but also a new look at an old situation. From there, you are free to take it in any direction. The benefit is that the lead up doesnt take all that long which gives you more time to show what your capacity is as a director.
 
Well, I want to do an all in one type thing. Explosions, chase, shooting, hand-2-hand combat, cars, anything. So, you mean show the whole action sequence, and after that, continue with the story?
 
well actually i meant imply the whole traditional action sequence but (take the assasin's boss 'firing' him example), the action will start up again but in a more original way (which is where you can really show your creativity).
The boss tries to kill him off but our hero doesnt want to die. youve already conciously separated yourself from the cliche action sequence by having it exist just before (or just ending when) your film begins.
So now the audience doesnt need to sit through a boring gunfight, but they're immediately launched into the story of this hitman and they get to see a whole new arsenal of action scenes. The story is essentially about "what happened after a hit went down" rather than "the hit going down".
 
Well, actually, I wasn't thinking of it being a hit job. I thought like this guy (the atagonist) has his own "army", if you will. The point of making this would be making an exciting action sequence. I just thought if it had some story to it, it would be better.
 
no, i should hope it wasnt a hit job, i just used that as an example cause that was the most menial action story i could think of. I guess im used to having to cheat the budget so you pull off little tricks. but your talking about explosions and car chases so how much do you think your willing to spend?
 
Well, before I tell you, read Stu Maschwitz's book titled "The DV Rebel's Guide." After you read it, your whole look on filmmaking will change. So, with money not an option, what should I do?
 
Id like to hear more about the shots your thinking of and the action sequences. You mentioned an evil army or something. maybe some more info on that can give me a better idea of plot suggestions
 
Well a 30 second thought.

We enter as two cops are in a dramatic car chase - young cop and his older (almost retired) partner. They are chasing say - two guys that just did a driveby. Shooting ensues, carnage on the roads as the shooters dont care about anything but escape.

Old cop has a heart attack in the midst, its his last real job. He orders his young collegue to continue the chase. The young cop wants to give up, get his mentor to hospital etc etc, but also wants to give the dying old man his wish. etc etc etc etc etc.
 
Hello. Actually, you can have a five minute with a lot of action and a strong plot, and no dialogue. I have two scripts that you may be interested in. I'm planning to shoot one of them, but i can let you have it if you are any good :-) Check it out here http://www.geocities.com/dilmandila/diybook.pdf It's a horror. The other is currently offline but it's all plot and no dialogue and not the kind of action you are thinking of.

Thanks

Dilman
 
Don't treat it as a self-contained short. Write it as if it were a 5 minute action scene contained within a larger movie. That way you'll have as much time as possible for action/stunts/fights, etc. Know the larger story, but don't worry about showing it within your scene.
 
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