Another great exercise that helps aspiring filmmakers develop into better storytellers is making a short film (5-10 minutes long) with absolutely NO DIALOGUE. This is an exercise that film schools require from beginner level students.
So funny, a couple of months ago when I saw this video, I didn't really understand how you can struggle with finding ideas. Now, however, I've sort of emptied my bucket of ideas, and I find the video very helpful and inspiring. I'm definitely going to make a old story interpretation and the 7 seconds long film. Thanks!
Definitely going to do the "one film per month for six months" challenge. I was considering doing it bi-monthly, but, I need all the experience I can get.
Hi Simon as you had mentioned in your video "why filmmakers should learn graphic designing ?" that you use gimp,which is similar to photoshop.In this video you have used the typing effect for the 7 challenges font. How was that done? Was gimp used for that ?
yes, ***** is right, I used after effects (the 30 day free trial). However, everything except for the animation + sound effects could have been done in GIMP!
Great video! I have an interesting idea: it is a challenge: You give us words and filmmakers from which all filmmakers try to produce an imaginative, varied and unique film! After two weeks, for example, you evaluate all submitted videos and give allenFilmemachern tips on how they can improve! Finally, you show your video and explain why you made the video exactly as it is. Hopefully you can understand my idea! Greetings from Austria:-)
Thanks! That is an interesting idea - a competition where I enter as well, haha! I like the idea of giving some words for people to make films about, but I have to say it will probably be a while before I do another competition. It takes ages to watch all the submissions! I'll remember this for if I do another competition, and thanks for your suggestion, I really appreciate it!
this works okay as a introduction to the app called Vine: UA-camRS REACT TO VINES (Will Sasso Lemons, EverybodySpurts, Ryan Gosling won't eat His cereal) but they don't always have to be comedies made on a smartphone like those examples
hey simon! i'm sort of stuck right now in terms of my passion in filmmaking. i keep fading in and out of really wanting to do it and thinking that i really dont want to do it. did you ever have this problem? what made you CERTAIN that filmmaking was absolutely for you? thanks in advance :) also may i say your graphic design style is AWESOME!!!!
Hmm, that's a tough one. I'm very grateful that (so far) I think i've just been naturally very committed to filmmaking without questioning it. Before it gets boring, I always find that there's a whole new realm of things I haven't learned about! So to be honest with you, it's not something i've experienced that much, in terms of filmmaking in general. However, I definitely experience that with 3D graphics - one month I'm learning loads and finding it really fun, and then I don't do any for months! It's the same with writing music, I have very 'dry spots' where I don't feel driven to make music. So those are still filmmaking related, but I don't think I'll want to try to take them as a career. So my advice to you would be this: Try lots of things. It sounds to me like you are interesting in filmmaking, but haven't yet found the specific part that really like. You might find that editing, or graphic design, cinematography, sound recording, mixing, producing, VFX, or any of the other hundreds of 'filmmaking' jobs are your real passion. Similarly, you might find that your passion is something completely different! Although I'm pretty sure I'll be doing something filmmaking-related in the future, I can't say for certain what it will be. When I started out, I wanted to be a director or an editor. Now I'm leaning towards being a cinematographer, but have been doubting that recently too! It's okay for you to change your mind, nothing has to be decided now! Just find the thing you enjoy most, and keep doing it, until you find something else that's better!
DSLRguide woah! thanks so much for that in-depth reply, that was really awesome of you. thanks for taking the time to write that and i will take your advice and see what works for me :) thanks so much and best of luck in your career!!!
thank you for this. I've been struggling to come up with ideas of what to film and this would add some sort of structure to my thoughts. I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!
Hmmm good video's you have, may i suggest you put a light somewere that reflects in your eyes? they kinda look dead black atm ;) i see 1 small light, Also, how long did it take you to make this vid :p i see the light outside going down...
I see your point, it's always good to have an eye light! The nice thing about my current lighting setup is that I can get it ready very quickly, efficiency is very important! Haha, the filming took about 45minutes (I started to late, which is why it got dark!). But I had already been setting up for half an hour, and planning it for a while too! It was the text animations + sound effects that took the longest though!
I really like Vines. Love them. Heh, I think they're hilarious. But I can't think of any that tell an interesting story. Like, there's this subreddit www.reddit.com/r/sixwordstories where people post nothing but six-word stories. There I've seen some that I really love: "My mother taught me to shave." and "Reburied our son, still no answers." Those really inspire the imagination to fill in the rest with story. But Vines tend to be really emotional and less evocative in an expansive way... or the ones I've seen. Have you seen any seven-second films that tell an interesting story? Have you made any? I'd love to see them :) PS. Love your channel! I really appreciate your work!
***** thanks for sharing that subreddit - will definitely check back on that :) i'm not hugely into vine, all of the ones i've seen have been comedies - very compact jokes with a great punchline. definitely lots to learn from them, although I've never tried anything shorter than 30 seconds before :)
DSLRguide I just looked it up and (here in the states) any written work published before 1977 is in public domain. There are other exceptions but I think we should all stick to that one to avoid any trouble.
Bryce Dearden Awesome! Plus there are many classic stories that were told but not written, so those could work to (little red riding hood, three wolves, goldilocks - they have the basis of a great story, and could be adapted into serious short films if needed) I imagine that each country has some old legends and stories that are very popular! I believe China has some good stories like that
that's quite specific, so I don't know of any of the top of my head. Google will be able to help you though! A good way to approach it might be to find a copy of, say, the story "Little Red Riding Hood" and adapt it into a serious action short. Change all the characters from fairy tale characters to CIA agents and drug lords, and you might have something! Just an example.
that's a tough one, no one has figured the answer out completely... I suppose if you really want to do filmmaking you will use any spare time you have for filmmaking. Lunch breaks, evenings, weekends...
I would love to make shorts... I even had planed one for this weekend, but my main actor "forgot". Does anyone know how I can make a film without actors?
Here is a filmmaking challenge- release your film about the drug that you never finished a few summers ago. Maybe it'll help you get over your fear of failure.
If you meant website theme then no, I didn't create it. If you meant music theme, then I'm actually about to update it, so I might do one about the new music theme, but no guarantees.
spider1g5 grabbed a mic, and listened to a metronome in Logic Pro, while playing. Then match it up with the timings along with the other tracks that were keyboard based.
hmm.. I might ask everyone to submit questions, and then I'll do a Q&A video where I answer them, we'll see! Always happy to hear suggestions for episodes though, so thank you!
Another great exercise that helps aspiring filmmakers develop into better storytellers is making a short film (5-10 minutes long) with absolutely NO DIALOGUE. This is an exercise that film schools require from beginner level students.
I was going to say that : )
This is one of your most creatively inspiring videos. I am already coming up ideas based on these 7.
Thanks man for your eye-opening ideas! Although I'm working on wildlife documentaries but your videos are truly helpful
Great..! Thanks for the video Simon..!
The music thing you were talking about wass always in my head
So funny, a couple of months ago when I saw this video, I didn't really understand how you can struggle with finding ideas. Now, however, I've sort of emptied my bucket of ideas, and I find the video very helpful and inspiring. I'm definitely going to make a old story interpretation and the 7 seconds long film. Thanks!
Aron Ludikhuijze awesome, so glad to hear it!
Definitely going to do the "one film per month for six months" challenge. I was considering doing it bi-monthly, but, I need all the experience I can get.
that's awesome. go for it, good things will come!
Brilliant. Thanks.
Great man!
Dude you are a SAVIOR.
Wow! you are really good at what you are doing.Congrats!!!!
thank you!
Great video! :) keep on this work
Great!, good job =) thanks for the tips.
Vaya, Diego, te encontré por aquí, jaja.
Extremely useful
Great vid and I know you already did a video on graphic design but what software do you use for it? Thanks
Frm past week i am keep watching ur videos,u r simply awesome
thanks iwasaki!
Hi Simon as you had mentioned in your video "why filmmakers should learn graphic designing ?" that you use gimp,which is similar to photoshop.In this video you have used the typing effect for the 7 challenges font. How was that done? Was gimp used for that ?
I'm pretty sure he just used after effects
yes, ***** is right, I used after effects (the 30 day free trial). However, everything except for the animation + sound effects could have been done in GIMP!
Great video!
I have an interesting idea: it is a challenge: You give us words and filmmakers from which all filmmakers try to produce an imaginative, varied and unique film! After two weeks, for example, you evaluate all submitted videos and give allenFilmemachern tips on how they can improve! Finally, you show your video and explain why you made the video exactly as it is.
Hopefully you can understand my idea!
Greetings from Austria:-)
Thanks!
That is an interesting idea - a competition where I enter as well, haha! I like the idea of giving some words for people to make films about, but I have to say it will probably be a while before I do another competition. It takes ages to watch all the submissions!
I'll remember this for if I do another competition, and thanks for your suggestion, I really appreciate it!
thanks
very nice! thanx! but could you give a link on the 7-second short film as an example. i dont understand how to make it!
this works okay as a introduction to the app called Vine: UA-camRS REACT TO VINES (Will Sasso Lemons, EverybodySpurts, Ryan Gosling won't eat His cereal) but they don't always have to be comedies made on a smartphone like those examples
Hey Simon buddy, you alright?
hey simon! i'm sort of stuck right now in terms of my passion in filmmaking. i keep fading in and out of really wanting to do it and thinking that i really dont want to do it. did you ever have this problem? what made you CERTAIN that filmmaking was absolutely for you? thanks in advance :) also may i say your graphic design style is AWESOME!!!!
Hmm, that's a tough one. I'm very grateful that (so far) I think i've just been naturally very committed to filmmaking without questioning it. Before it gets boring, I always find that there's a whole new realm of things I haven't learned about! So to be honest with you, it's not something i've experienced that much, in terms of filmmaking in general.
However, I definitely experience that with 3D graphics - one month I'm learning loads and finding it really fun, and then I don't do any for months! It's the same with writing music, I have very 'dry spots' where I don't feel driven to make music. So those are still filmmaking related, but I don't think I'll want to try to take them as a career.
So my advice to you would be this: Try lots of things. It sounds to me like you are interesting in filmmaking, but haven't yet found the specific part that really like. You might find that editing, or graphic design, cinematography, sound recording, mixing, producing, VFX, or any of the other hundreds of 'filmmaking' jobs are your real passion. Similarly, you might find that your passion is something completely different!
Although I'm pretty sure I'll be doing something filmmaking-related in the future, I can't say for certain what it will be. When I started out, I wanted to be a director or an editor. Now I'm leaning towards being a cinematographer, but have been doubting that recently too! It's okay for you to change your mind, nothing has to be decided now! Just find the thing you enjoy most, and keep doing it, until you find something else that's better!
DSLRguide woah! thanks so much for that in-depth reply, that was really awesome of you. thanks for taking the time to write that and i will take your advice and see what works for me :) thanks so much and best of luck in your career!!!
Sam O' Browne no problem, you're welcome, and thank you!
thank you for this. I've been struggling to come up with ideas of what to film and this would add some sort of structure to my thoughts. I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!
nice one, Alan!
DSLRguide wait, you haven't seen the results yet :D
Hmmm good video's you have, may i suggest you put a light somewere that reflects in your eyes? they kinda look dead black atm ;) i see 1 small light, Also, how long did it take you to make this vid :p i see the light outside going down...
I see your point, it's always good to have an eye light! The nice thing about my current lighting setup is that I can get it ready very quickly, efficiency is very important! Haha, the filming took about 45minutes (I started to late, which is why it got dark!). But I had already been setting up for half an hour, and planning it for a while too! It was the text animations + sound effects that took the longest though!
I really like Vines. Love them. Heh, I think they're hilarious. But I can't think of any that tell an interesting story. Like, there's this subreddit www.reddit.com/r/sixwordstories where people post nothing but six-word stories. There I've seen some that I really love: "My mother taught me to shave." and "Reburied our son, still no answers." Those really inspire the imagination to fill in the rest with story.
But Vines tend to be really emotional and less evocative in an expansive way... or the ones I've seen. Have you seen any seven-second films that tell an interesting story? Have you made any? I'd love to see them :)
PS. Love your channel! I really appreciate your work!
***** thanks for sharing that subreddit - will definitely check back on that :) i'm not hugely into vine, all of the ones i've seen have been comedies - very compact jokes with a great punchline. definitely lots to learn from them, although I've never tried anything shorter than 30 seconds before :)
Trueeeeee
Do you use After Effects for those headlines? They look pretty good.
yes! thanks Billy.
I like your jumper :)
Cheers Jasper mate
I knew you'd know straight away ;)
Do you have any suggestions on where we can find old stories that have gone out of copyright?
google would be my suggestion! I think anything older than 100 years loses copyright or something..
DSLRguide I just looked it up and (here in the states) any written work published before 1977 is in public domain. There are other exceptions but I think we should all stick to that one to avoid any trouble.
Bryce Dearden Awesome! Plus there are many classic stories that were told but not written, so those could work to (little red riding hood, three wolves, goldilocks - they have the basis of a great story, and could be adapted into serious short films if needed) I imagine that each country has some old legends and stories that are very popular! I believe China has some good stories like that
Yeah exactly! I'm looking forward to trying some of these challenges out.
Thanks for all the great work you do!
please could you give me links for old action short scripts that have ran out of copyright please?
that's quite specific, so I don't know of any of the top of my head. Google will be able to help you though!
A good way to approach it might be to find a copy of, say, the story "Little Red Riding Hood" and adapt it into a serious action short. Change all the characters from fairy tale characters to CIA agents and drug lords, and you might have something! Just an example.
okay, thanks
can you tell me how i can follow your tips with a massive lack of time because of my job? thx a lot
that's a tough one, no one has figured the answer out completely... I suppose if you really want to do filmmaking you will use any spare time you have for filmmaking. Lunch breaks, evenings, weekends...
heroes don't always wear capes
I would love to make shorts...
I even had planed one for this weekend, but my main actor "forgot".
Does anyone know how I can make a film without actors?
You can get actors - just tell them there will be pizza! Pizza always helps the actors to have a good time!
DSLRguide PIZZAAAA!!!! :D I freaking love pizza.
Sam O' Browne Would you like to come over?^^
I am in germany. ;D
I am not very good at scriptwriting and never no how to end a story, so that's why I often choose a plot twist, it's easier for me haha
I love plots twists! just say 'the sixth sense' the other day and though it was brilliant.
Here is a filmmaking challenge- release your film about the drug that you never finished a few summers ago. Maybe it'll help you get over your fear of failure.
Did you create your own theme? And if so, can you show us how?
If you meant website theme then no, I didn't create it. If you meant music theme, then I'm actually about to update it, so I might do one about the new music theme, but no guarantees.
I meant the intro guitar theme. And how you recorded it.
spider1g5 grabbed a mic, and listened to a metronome in Logic Pro, while playing. Then match it up with the timings along with the other tracks that were keyboard based.
Thanks!
Check out Dogme 95! Now thats challenging :)
Wow, just googled it, and i'm not sure 'challenging' is a strong enough word! I suppose it would be a learning experience to limit yourself that much
Make a live stream where you answer quastions :)
hmm.. I might ask everyone to submit questions, and then I'll do a Q&A video where I answer them, we'll see! Always happy to hear suggestions for episodes though, so thank you!
A tip from me to you.. relax with your hands :D