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help with an idea for a short

Hey guys,

(note: english is not my native language)

Im a first-year student at a filmschool in Brussels. At the end of the year i have to hand in my first short-movie! After a lot of brainstorming i came across this idea but i think i might need some help to work some things out.

Im just gonna write out the notes i made in a bar yesterday..

The short is about somebody with a writer's block (he's stuck) and he's just writing some ideas on a notepad. Eventually he has an idea about someone being robbed. He starts writing the situation and after a brief moment he hears someone screaming outside. When he looks up he sees someone is getting robbed... exactly like he just described in his notepad. But he doesnt quite realize the link yet. Eventually he thinks of another setting.. This one is in a bar, the barman in the story is very clumsy and breaks a glass. Shortly after he wrote that, the barman at his bar drops a glass too. At this moment he starts to realize what is going on, everything he writes actually happens... Here starts the fun and games and he discovers his power and tries it out on a couple sitting next to him. He managed to start them fighting, at this point something terrible should happen because i wanna reach a turnpoint in the story. Like maybe the woman who runs out the bar is run over or something and he has to feel like its his fault. Or maybe hes thinking of dark ideas to let happen to people but in the end it happens to himself i dont know.

This short can only be max 5-7 minutes so i dont know if it's realizable. Also i don't have a proper ending yet but i kinda want its something shocking.

Do u guys think im onto something here or should i just keep it simpler and save this idea for later till i understand more of screenwriting...

But I hope someone can help me out with this idea and maybe help writing it out till it works or just give me some suggestions.

(note: yes the school is ok to ask for help since we never wrote a proper short ourselves...)

Thanks in advance!

Greetings,

Kamiel
 
I don't think you want to open a student project by saying the word writers block. You could have the main character write a letter to someone who died and he must tell him something, as this person died so suddenly. That also blurs out the line between reality and supernatural in a convenient way. But figure out the end first.
 
Hey guys,

(note: english is not my native language)

Im a first-year student at a filmschool in Brussels. At the end of the year i have to hand in my first short-movie! After a lot of brainstorming i came across this idea but i think i might need some help to work some things out.

Im just gonna write out the notes i made in a bar yesterday..

The short is about somebody with a writer's block (he's stuck) and he's just writing some ideas on a notepad. Eventually he has an idea about someone being robbed. He starts writing the situation and after a brief moment he hears someone screaming outside. When he looks up he sees someone is getting robbed... exactly like he just described in his notepad. But he doesnt quite realize the link yet. Eventually he thinks of another setting.. This one is in a bar, the barman in the story is very clumsy and breaks a glass. Shortly after he wrote that, the barman at his bar drops a glass too. At this moment he starts to realize what is going on, everything he writes actually happens... Here starts the fun and games and he discovers his power and tries it out on a couple sitting next to him. He managed to start them fighting, at this point something terrible should happen because i wanna reach a turnpoint in the story. Like maybe the woman who runs out the bar is run over or something and he has to feel like its his fault. Or maybe hes thinking of dark ideas to let happen to people but in the end it happens to himself i dont know.

This short can only be max 5-7 minutes so i dont know if it's realizable. Also i don't have a proper ending yet but i kinda want its something shocking.

Do u guys think im onto something here or should i just keep it simpler and save this idea for later till i understand more of screenwriting...

But I hope someone can help me out with this idea and maybe help writing it out till it works or just give me some suggestions.

(note: yes the school is ok to ask for help since we never wrote a proper short ourselves...)

Thanks in advance!

Greetings,

Kamiel

I think it's a nice idea for a short, but I think you may struggle to tell that whole story in so few minutes.
 
Hi, Kamiel

Good luck with your filmmaking school.

First few things you ALWAYS need to consider before writing a screenplay are your reasonably available resources: locations, cast & crew talent, equipment, technical proficiency, and budget.

Consider these resources you do have then figure what you can make from what you have.

Screenplay writing is the most flexible aspect so that's the last thing to consider.
Lowest common denominator at the student level tends to be securing economically sensible locations: AKA free!
If you have free filming access to a bar then you're good, otherwise...

As far as any story goes - the writer's block thing is rather cliché.
I'd avoid it.

Instead, I'd rip-off something vetted:
http://www.indietalk.com/showthread.php?t=47026
Watch some of the breakdowns, goto the spreadsheet, see how adaptations of existing material can be applied to new and original material without blatant copying.

Then start thinking of stories that don't involve breaking things and choreographing fight sequences.
GL!
 
Read it. I d suggest not to shoot this.
For your first movie it is going to be extremely difficult to shoot , obtain locations, choreograph all the actors. Your story sounds like it's a simple shoot, but there are many many things that can and will go wrong.

Go simple. 2 actors at the most. One AVAILABLE location. A bar is difficult place to book because you ll have very limited time (possibly in a morning) to film, unless you ll pay enough money to the owner to shut the bar down for a day.

Write something that you can film in your apartment.
 
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If coming up with a new idea, it's a good idea to think about story in terms of:
CHARACTER with PERSONALITY at LOCATION encounters SITUATION/CHARACTER/etc.
Obviously, there is more to this, but think, why is this day different for our protagonist?
All the best, and I hope you share your final product with us.
 
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