Creating a short film is a goal that many people have for themselves. They love the idea of coming up with a great idea and bringing their vision to life. Of course, there is a lot to think about when making your short film.
For example, you may be pondering whether to shoot on film and convert 16mm film to digital, or even use your phone to shoot the film. You also need to think about who you are going to bring in as actors, how long the film will be, and so much more.
But before any of that, one of the biggest decisions you need to make is deciding what the film will actually be about. Coming up with a unique idea can be challenging, and take a lot of time. In an effort to help you out, this blog post is going to go over a few helpful tips to assist you in coming up with a unique idea for your short film.
Think About Your Life Experiences
One of the first places to go for unique ideas for a film is to look at your life experiences. There is nothing you know better than the life you have lived, which makes it the perfect place to go for ideas for short films. Only you have lived your life, so using things from your life in a film can help ensure it is incredibly unique.
You could make a film on a situation you found yourself in, feature people from your life as characters, or film it in settings that have been important to your growth. Take time to think about the things that were important to you, themes that have played a role in your life and experiences that shaped your behavior and thinking.
Of course, whatever type of film you decide to shoot, be sure to avoid some common mistakes, to ensure the movie comes out looking as good as possible.
Consult Current Events
The current events happening around the world are often another place to look for inspiration and ideas. This could be news in sports, technological breakthroughs, protests, important events, or anything else that people deem interesting and important.
Observing these events and how people react to them can be a great way to think of ideas or learn about what things people are interested in. Of course, you can’t simply take a current event and make a movie about it, without first dealing with a ton of things like copyright, who has rights to what, and things like that.
However, there are no rules about using these events as inspiration and coming up with your own unique movie idea.
Visit Inspiring People and/or Locations

If you need to come up with a unique idea for your film, you want to get inspired. One of the best ways to inspire yourself is to visit places that inspire you. This could be a mountain, a lake, a gorgeous river, a small town, or anywhere else. You can even check out iconic filming locations from other movies, to see if they can get your creative juices flowing.
Also, spending time with interesting or inspiring people is a good idea. They can give you great ideas, tell you amazing stories, and generally help you learn different things that could help you make your movie. You may even want to base a character off of one of these people, too.
In conclusion, we hope this article has been able to help you come up with some unique ideas for short films.