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Needy for Ideas

J

jeremyhung

Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum... so far I think the responds to people's questions are great! Well this is my first post... and I am needy for some screenwriting ideas.

First of all I'm 13. I have a Canon HG-10.
That's it.

I am filming a short 'SERIES' for some people of the same age as me... (However, their characters are 15/16 as they look mature enough). I was trying to come up of a creative, new, fresh idea for the series, however I can't come up with anything good.

First 1: Superheroes
Second: Superheroes loses power and people kill them.
Third: Nothing else.

It doesn't have to be related to superpowers... well it's better if it's not. I was hoping for a reality show? Action is fine too.

Does anyone have any ideas? Anything is good :)

Jeremy
 
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Jeremy,

Congrats on your quest...

You say you like reality... So why not start out doing what you and your friends normally do... Follow them along and record it but before you do that, come up with some simple subjects that you and your group can talk about.

Girls.
Drugs.
Movies.
Sex.

Get the idea? Come up with the subject matter and as you guys move along doing what you normally do, discuss these subjects. Not just a group of talking heads but more along the lines of getting these discussions in as you move throughout your day.

I for one would be very interested in a truthful depiction of how your age group looks at these subjects.

Keep the camera and characters moving... No talking heads. Deep subject matter.

If nothing else -- do it for the experience.

Welcome to filmmaking...

filmy
 
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Welcome to the world of indie film making.

Like all indies you've run into the number 1 problem we all struggle with.

If you had unlimited resources then you could just let your imagination run wild, but as it is you've got to restrict your imagination within the limitations of your resources... you've got a camcorder, some mates and all of Hong Kong to play with... but nothing else.

One of the first things I had to learn as an indie film maker was how to make the most with what I had... and once you get into it, I think you'll like it too.

So, let's take your superhero idea...

You'd think with your current resources that it would be insane to try any kind of film based on people having superpowers, because you'd have to be able to do all those complex and expensive effects shots.

But... when you think like an indie, all you have to do is ask yourself... well, what superpowers can I create for next to nothing, with no budget and home made visual effects.

OK... what if your superhero's only power is the ability to read minds... or travel back in time 30 seconds

The great thing about these kinds of powers, is you can create them easily with the kit you have. And, the really cool thing is the more you think about what you CAN achieve, the better a film maker you'll become.
 
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Hi guys, thanks for the kind and helpful reply. I was brainstorming some ideas and I have an idea for a 'kind of' reality show...

Well some teens of different interests and obsessions come across each other in a blog and then meets in real life and they are actually totally different people. They must do a quest (I'm not sure about this part... how they're forced to work together), and bond well together.

I haven't thought much though so if anyone would like to spice it up... feel free to do so :)
 
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Maybe, if you take one of Filmy's suggestions, you could do a comparison of how young people in Hong Kong (where you are) see those subjects in comparison to young people in the U.S.

There should be hundreds of things to look at :)

-- spinner :cool:
 
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Hey everybody,
Again thanks for the ideas. I've discussed with the actors and they seem to like ACTION more. Also, people are age (most of our viewers at school) prefer ACTION more.

Can anyone share their ideas that involves:

15/16 year olds.
Hong Kong.
Action.
Killing.
Guns.

It's hard to put them together but I think we will have some fun and creativity.

Thanks
Jeremy
 
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When I was 15/16 all I made was action movies.

I made 14 films (and in those days I actually was shooting on film) with
essentially the same plot:

A couple of guys do something bad, a couple of other guys chase them,
there is a fight and the bad guys get away so the good guys chase them
again. The bad guys meet up with a few more guys and when the good
guys find them, there is a fight and another chase and another fight.

Sometimes we'd get a girl to be in the movie (which was always cool) and
once we got the drama teacher at school to play the "kingpin" of the
bad guys.

We would change the "do something bad" with each film and for the
fights we would try something different in the various locations we
had available - parking garages early Sunday morning, parks, the beach
(I grew up in Santa Barbara), the woods, even the school grounds. We
didn't have guns to the weapons were what ever we found, sticks, traffic
cones and just good old fists.

The bad guys would always die - some very gruesomely - and we would
get beat up pretty bad. But it was fun and I learned a lot as a director
by making so many movies.

The good thing was, the more we made, the more people wanted to
help. It wasn't long before I had a crew of 5 or 6 and a cast of 8 or 10.
I would show them in a classroom at lunch time and even charge people to come in.
 
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Jeremy,

I write action movies, and will be in Hong Kong in March - I have always wanted to do a chase scene on the escalators... or maybe on the double decker trams - when they get close together, you can jump through the top level window from one to another.

But you want ideas. Here are some ways to find movies ideas:
1) What is the worst thing that could happen to someone?
2) What is the best thing that could happen to someone, and how can that go wrong? (In Johnny To's ELECTION 2 the businessman joins the Traid to help his business, but must become a violent gangster to survive, and ends up a gangster instead of a businessman.)
3) Look through the newspaper for strange stories.
4) Think of how one situation might really be another situation - a woman who works at a bank realizes that the masked bank robber is her boyfriend. She thought he loved her, but he was really just trying to find out information about the bank.
5) Think about any problems people might have, then put those problems in the world of police or criminals. If my friend lies to me, I get angry... but if we are both criminals and he lies to me, I wonder if I can trust him. Is he trying to cut me out of a deal? Is he going to turn me over to the police to collect the reward?


Here is a tip on stories from character:
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip166.htm

Here is a tip on writing short films:
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip347.htm

This is a tip on full length film ideas:
http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip334.htm

Hope these things help. Now, go make movies!

- Bill
 
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Well, I think I read a story yesterday that can combine your internet idea with guns and killing. I can't find the article online, but apparently a teen in Russia met a "rival internet gamer" of his in person, and beat him to death.
 
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That'd make an interesting script right there.

You may not want it to end like that, but just a good comment on the different ways people react to these increasingly brutal/addictive games could really be quite fascinating.
 
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barnaclelapse, I'm not sure if you can blame that sort of thing on games. :| I don't play games and I get the urge to beat people all the time! ;) "Hey, you took my parking spot!", or "Put down that damn phone and pay attention to what you're doing!" ... no need for violent games in my life. ;) ;) If I had more time on my hands, I'm sure I'd have beaten someone to death by now. I think that's why people in this country prefer guns; it's much quicker. It takes a long time to beat someone to death, but with a gun, it's all over in a heartbeat. You're in, and you're out. On to the next thing.

I can see it's going to be one of those days! :) Lest anyone take me too seriously, I've only killed a few people in my entire life, and all of those people desperately needed killin'. I'm really a pacifist.

Disclaimer: This entire post was tongue in cheek, I must now get back to my game of Man Hunt II.
 
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oakstreetphotovideo said:
I can see it's going to be one of those days! :) Lest anyone take me too seriously, I've only killed a few people in my entire life, and all of those people desperately needed killin'. I'm really a pacifist.

Disclaimer: This entire post was tongue in cheek, I must now get back to my game of Man Hunt II.
Click to expand...


That just reminded me of something a retired AF Colonel once told me; "If you want out of jury duty, just wait until they ask you if you believe in the death penalty, respond with "yes, there's some people that need killing" and they will never ask you back" ;)

Neil
 
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oakstreetphotovideo said:
barnaclelapse, I'm not sure if you can blame that sort of thing on games. :| I don't play games and I get the urge to beat people all the time! ;) "Hey, you took my parking spot!", or "Put down that damn phone and pay attention to what you're doing!" ... no need for violent games in my life. ;) ;) If I had more time on my hands, I'm sure I'd have beaten someone to death by now. I think that's why people in this country prefer guns; it's much quicker. It takes a long time to beat someone to death, but with a gun, it's all over in a heartbeat. You're in, and you're out. On to the next thing.

I can see it's going to be one of those days! :) Lest anyone take me too seriously, I've only killed a few people in my entire life, and all of those people desperately needed killin'. I'm really a pacifist.

Disclaimer: This entire post was tongue in cheek, I must now get back to my game of Man Hunt II.
Click to expand...

No, no. I'm not blaming it on games at all. My thought is that in this great world of ours, you have people from all walks of life. Some with a pretty good grip on reality, some who are clearly missing 3-5 cans in their six-pack, and a million other possibilities in between. And since a truly great video game appeals to a wide range of people, it stands to reason that you're going to get people from all sorts of backgrounds and mindsets playing the game.

If you did a movie like this, because it's sort of been done before in different forms and genres, I think the best way to approach it would be with a sort of dark-comedy mindset.

Probably, with an emphasis on the dark part.
 
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some who are clearly missing 3-5 cans in their six-pack
Click to expand...
That would be me.

I made that post early one morning before going out on a shoot at a media relations class. I really wasn't making a serious comment about your movie idea. I think the concept is ripe for exploration, and I do believe there is a link between video game violence and the behavior of some people who are predisposed to violence, etc. Sorry for muddying the water. Contrary to common belief, I do have a sense of humor ... albeit a dark sense of humor.

It's a great idea! The final verdict will come from the execution, and how well you can sell it.

Doug
 
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oakstreetphotovideo said:
That would be me.

I made that post early one morning before going out on a shoot at a media relations class. I really wasn't making a serious comment about your movie idea. I think the concept is ripe for exploration, and I do believe there is a link between video game violence and the behavior of some people who are predisposed to violence, etc. Sorry for muddying the water. Contrary to common belief, I do have a sense of humor ... albeit a dark sense of humor.

It's a great idea! The final verdict will come from the execution, and how well you can sell it.

Doug
Click to expand...

Heh.

Well, I should probably say sorry as well.

I was pretty damn tired when I got around to checking things out here, so your humor was lost on my very sleep deprived mind.

And yeah, it's all in the excecution.

Which, naturally, is the really fun part.
 
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