Short Film Ideas
For summer work I had been asked to come up with a few ideas for short films that I could make for my coursework.
The ideas had to meet some guidelines but those were quite loose to begin with - meaning that I could make short films about whatever or whoever I'd want to.
The first was an idea based on a short story or novella. When I was in Year 5 (I would have been ten years old) I read a collection of short stories by Michael Morpurgo and one stood out in particular - The Giant's Necklace. It is a described as being a ghost story for children and the ending is something that has stuck with me for the eight years since I last read it. Adapting this into a short film could be something really interesting and quite cool to do - with a more personal story as well, a short film could work better than full feature.
The second idea is based on Dr Barry J Marshall, the man who discovered that H.Pylori bacteria causes stomach ulcers. His story is fascinating - he drank all of the bacteria cultures and used himself as the test subject as his investigation was being shut down, for lack of results. The eventual discovery resulted in him winning the Nobel Prize. A feature could work for Dr Marshall but I would be extremely interested in seeing an adaptation which was short and snappy. I would definitely set the genre in a thriller setting but perhaps with a hint of dark comedy. With a feature length film, I feel the narrative could become boring so a short would benefit the event more.
The third idea is based on one of the short films we have already seen. I would find it fun and interesting if I filmed a sequel to the Ellington Kid which is basically a retelling of a similar story from the first film, but with a different genre and feel to it. The Ellington Kid is a dark comedy or social commentary. However, if I retold it as an intense horror, I could use different styles of camerawork and sound design to give the film a distinct feel - one different to the first whilst still being a continuation of these murderous kebab shop owners.
The fourth idea is a complete original creation. I loved how Over ended on such a poignant black screen with text written over it - telling the audience information they did not know at the start of the film. This basic idea has spiralled into an original idea for me, something which I will most likely pursue and actually film, which is that of acts of domestic violence where males are the victims. Whilst doing some basic research, I discovered that men are the victims of domestic abuse 40% of the time, something which I don't think has ever been highlighted on screen before. I want to keep the film simple - have it be a simple meal between a couple which gets progressively worse as the audience realises what is about to happen. However, I also want to highlight that domestic violence is not just physical. Verbal abuse and constant belittlement also has effects on people and so the abuse will be predominately verbal.
These four ideas were structured but they've also meant that I have thought about lots of different ideas which I may not have to start with. It doesn't matter that I won't film these ideas, at least they are forcing me to generate a various array of ideas and get thinking about genre, camerawork and other film making techniques.
The ideas had to meet some guidelines but those were quite loose to begin with - meaning that I could make short films about whatever or whoever I'd want to.
The first was an idea based on a short story or novella. When I was in Year 5 (I would have been ten years old) I read a collection of short stories by Michael Morpurgo and one stood out in particular - The Giant's Necklace. It is a described as being a ghost story for children and the ending is something that has stuck with me for the eight years since I last read it. Adapting this into a short film could be something really interesting and quite cool to do - with a more personal story as well, a short film could work better than full feature.
The second idea is based on Dr Barry J Marshall, the man who discovered that H.Pylori bacteria causes stomach ulcers. His story is fascinating - he drank all of the bacteria cultures and used himself as the test subject as his investigation was being shut down, for lack of results. The eventual discovery resulted in him winning the Nobel Prize. A feature could work for Dr Marshall but I would be extremely interested in seeing an adaptation which was short and snappy. I would definitely set the genre in a thriller setting but perhaps with a hint of dark comedy. With a feature length film, I feel the narrative could become boring so a short would benefit the event more.
The third idea is based on one of the short films we have already seen. I would find it fun and interesting if I filmed a sequel to the Ellington Kid which is basically a retelling of a similar story from the first film, but with a different genre and feel to it. The Ellington Kid is a dark comedy or social commentary. However, if I retold it as an intense horror, I could use different styles of camerawork and sound design to give the film a distinct feel - one different to the first whilst still being a continuation of these murderous kebab shop owners.
The fourth idea is a complete original creation. I loved how Over ended on such a poignant black screen with text written over it - telling the audience information they did not know at the start of the film. This basic idea has spiralled into an original idea for me, something which I will most likely pursue and actually film, which is that of acts of domestic violence where males are the victims. Whilst doing some basic research, I discovered that men are the victims of domestic abuse 40% of the time, something which I don't think has ever been highlighted on screen before. I want to keep the film simple - have it be a simple meal between a couple which gets progressively worse as the audience realises what is about to happen. However, I also want to highlight that domestic violence is not just physical. Verbal abuse and constant belittlement also has effects on people and so the abuse will be predominately verbal.
These four ideas were structured but they've also meant that I have thought about lots of different ideas which I may not have to start with. It doesn't matter that I won't film these ideas, at least they are forcing me to generate a various array of ideas and get thinking about genre, camerawork and other film making techniques.
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