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• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

15+ Short films for students with ready-to-use lesson ideas

Who doesn’t like short films? They’re often innovative, funny, or surprising, and always to the point. There are hundreds of great short films available online for free, about almost any topic you can imagine. Whereas it’s not always easy to show feature films in the classroom (because of your limited amount of time), a short film can perfectly be watched and discussed in one lesson sequence.

Since most short films have an engaging element, they can be used in several ways in your lessons:

• as a lesson starter;
• as an introduction to a new topic;
• as a discussion starter;
• or just as a way to add some variation to your classes.

In short (pun intended), there’s no reason not to use a short film in your lessons from time to time.

In this blog post, I’ve selected 15+ great short films for students about totally different topics and created ready-to-use lesson examples for each one of them. Most of the presented short film lesson ideas focus on social-emotional learning (SEL), which will encourage your students to stand strong in this world and respect others.

Most of these short films don’t have spoken dialogues, so they can be used in any language (and we’ve already translated most of them in English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch). All the digital exercises are created with BookWidgets . You can create a free BookWidgets account (if you don’t have one already) and copy the widgets to your account, which will allow you to make some changes where necessary. We’ll explain how this works at the end of this blog post .

But first - drumroll please 🥁 -, BookWidgets proudly presents the 18 selected short films. Click on the name of the film to get the synopsis and the ready-to-use lesson ideas.

• 🍪 Snack Attack
• 📺 Jamais sans mon dentier
• 🧑🏾‍🤝‍🧑🏽 Louis’ Shoes / Cuerdas
• 🪙 Coin Operated / Alike / Happiness
• ☯️ Brothers
• 🧠 Mind Games
• 🤳🏼 Are you living an insta lie? / A social life / Percentage of life
• 🎁 The Present
• 📸 The Photographer
• ❤️‍🩹 Le grand jeu / J’attendrai le suivant

FYI: Since the publication of this blog post, it has been one of the most popular contributions on this blog! 🤩 Therefore, we decided to offer you an extra series of inspiring short films with accompanying ready-made lesson activities in a new blog post . Check it out 🙌

Snack Attack (2012)

🎬 Producer: Andrew Cadelago

🗣 Language: None

🎲 Topics: stereotypes, young vs old, politeness

🍿 Synopsis: If you like plot twists, you’ll love Snack Attack . An old lady sits on a bench in the train station, when suddenly the boy sitting next to her starts eating her cookies. As a spectator, you’ll quickly think the boy is extremely rude and has no respect for elderly people, but things turn out a bit differently…

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: This short film is a great resource to introduce the danger of stereotypes and judging people too quickly. You could start your lesson with pictures of an old lady and a young punk-style boy and ask your students to tell the first things that come to their minds when seeing these pictures. Write them down on the blackboard before watching Snack Attack . It is a good idea to pause the short film a couple of times and ask your students what they think will happen, like in the digital exercise you can find below.

💡 This Short film activity is also available in German 🇩🇪 , Spanish 🇪🇸 , French 🇫🇷 , and Dutch 🇳🇱 .

Jamais sans mon dentier (2017)

🎬 Producers: Students from the bachelor 3D Art Animation program at Bellecour École

🎲 Topics: Cooperation, Elderly people, Rebellion

🍿 Synopsis: Four retirement home reseidents want to watch their favorite series Never without my denture , but the remote control is taken away. As a result, they team up to get their remote back.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: This light-hearted short film is an ideal introduction to get students thinking about their own lives and how they would see themselves when they are elderly. Consequently, this assignment fits perfectly into life skills classes. Besides, this short film can also be used as an introduction to group work since it shows the importance of setting goals, collaborating, and possible failure.

💡 This Short film activity is also available in German 🇩🇪 .

Louis’ Shoes (2020) / Cuerdas (2013)

🎬 Producer: Théo Jamin, Jean-Géraud Blanc, Kayu Leung, Marion Philippe / Pedro Solís Gracía

🗣 Language: French (with English subtitles) / Spanish (with subtitles in multiple languages)

🎲 Topics: school, inclusivity, autism, physical and intellectual disability

🍿 Synopsis: These two short films show that a school is not an easy setting for students who are a bit different .

In Louis’ Shoes , a boy named Louis has to introduce himself to his classmates in his new school. He gives viewers an insight into his life and the additional challenges for students with autism.

Cuerdas is about a student with a disability who enters a new school. He is viewed strangely by most of his classmates, but there is one girl who thinks otherwise and involves him in all activities.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: In our society, students are often expected to achieve the same goals. Yet everyone is different, so this is not always realistic. Therefore, it is important to engage in conversation about inclusivity to have students understand classmates’ and other people’s thoughts and actions.

Coin Operated (2017) / Alike (2016) / Happiness (2017)

🎬 Director/Producer: Nicholas Arioli & Jennifer Dahlman / Daniel Martínez Lara & Rafa Cano Méndez / Steve Cutts

🎲 Topics: childhood dreams, life goals, money, capitalism, the rat race

🍿 Synopsis: Childhood dreams and the brevity of life may sound like heavy topics, but they are presented in a very approachable manner in Coin Operated . The story starts with a boy who has the dream to travel in space. He overcomes a first disappointment when a rocket kiddie ride doesn’t help him to reach his goal. He then decides to start selling lemonade to make enough money to get into space one day. Will he eventually get there? Watch the short film to find out.

A different childhood dream is the main topic of Alike , where a father and son live a monotonous life. However, the kid’s passion for music will eventually break the routine.

In Happiness , the spectator gets a much darker image of the quest for happiness and fulfillment. This engaging animated short film shows the rat race we’re all living and leaves no one unmoved.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: There are quite a few interesting YouTube comments about Coin Operated , Happiness and Alike , so it’s a nice idea to ask your students to read some of the comments and discuss them, before writing their own comments. Another idea could be to ask students to compare the three short films since they address the same topics but differently.

💡 This Short film activity is also available in German 🇩🇪 , and Dutch 🇳🇱 .

Brothers (2011)

🎬 Producer: Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah

🗣 Language: Arabic & Dutch (English subtitles)

🎲 Topics: religion, morality, drugs, violence

🍿 Synopsis: Brothers is a modern parable about two young people from Brussels. Karim is exemplary and committed to the community, while Nassim goes down the bad path. Sometimes, however, things turn out differently than you might think.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: Since this short film has scenes related to drugs and violence, it is only recommended for older students. The film ends with an open-ended question about what is good and what is bad, an ideal starter for a class discussion.

Flatlife (2004)

🎬 Producer: Jonas Geirnaert

🎲 Topics: urban cohabitation, neighbors, daily routine

🍿 Synopsis: An old Dutch proverb says “A good neighbor is better than a distant friend”. Flatlife shows the life of 4 neighbors who live in the same skyscraper. The split-screen view allows you to simultaneously follow the 4 characters, who don’t seem to realize the influence they have on each other’s lives.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: This short film is great when you’re teaching a foreign language and your students are working on themes like the parts of the house, housing environment, and habits. The split view works great for a group work: make 4 groups and ask each group to concentrate on one of the four characters, so they can present them to their classmates.

Mind Games (2018)

🎬 Producer: Jiaqi Emily Yan

🎲 Topics: education, exams, free time, the meaning of life

🍿 Synopsis: In Mind Games , a boy is taking an exam, but his brain decides to escape and play outside. The exam should be no problem, as the brain fills the boy’s head with books. He answers question by question, but then bumps into a final question which he can’t answer without his brain: “What is the meaning of life?”.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: Mind Games could be used as a tool to let your students reflect on the way they study for an exam. You could also use it as a lesson starter to discuss the role of schools (it could be an introduction to the spoken words film What is school for? , presented in this previous blog post ). But the most creative way of using Mind games would be to ask your students the final question of the exam and give them the freedom to answer by text or by drawing.

Are you living an insta lie? (2017) / A social life (2016) / Percentage of life (2018)

🎬 Producer: Ditch the label / Kerith Lemon / Pascu Dragos

🗣 Language: English

🎲 Topics: Social media

🍿 Synopsis: These three different short films are all about the impact of social media on young people’s lives. We see how they share beautiful or impressive pictures with their friends, but in reality, a lot of these things are made up. The three short films are great instruments to let your students reflect on the impact of social media on their daily lives.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: Since the three short films discuss the same subject and have a lot of similarities, it could be interesting to ask your students to analyze and compare them. Besides, they are a great way of starting a group discussion about a topic that concerns them all. To end this topic in a creative way, you could ask them to make their own “Instagram versus reality” picture or movie.

The Present (2014)

🎬 Producer: Jacob Frey

🗣 Language: English (subtitles in other languages available)

🎲 Topics: video games, living with a disability, pets

🍿 Synopsis: A boy is playing a video game when his mother gives him a present… a puppy! But the puppy is missing one leg and the boy doesn’t seem to be interested in it anymore. The puppy then starts playing by itself and it doesn’t take long before the boy gets infected by its joyful enthusiasm. When he decides to go outside with the puppy, it turns out the boy is also missing a leg.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: The main theme of the story is living with a disability, but The Present could also be used to introduce topics like video games, pets, free time … Besides, you could ask your students to analyze the emotions of the different characters (the mother, the boy, and the dog).

💡 This Short film activity is also available in German 🇩🇪 , French 🇫🇷 .

Versus (2006)

🎬 Producer: François Caffiaux, Romain Noël, Thomas Salas

🎲 Topics: war, sports

🍿 Synopsis: In the animated short film Versus , two samurai tribes (a red one and a blue one) try to conquer an island that lies right in the middle of their territory. They are very creative when it comes to finding new war techniques and even get inspired by different sport disciplines to beat the enemy. If you want to find out which tribe wins, you’ll have to watch the short film ‘till the very end (there’s a last plot twist after the closing credits).

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: Versus is a great way to introduce the vocabulary related to sports in your language lessons, but could also be used to talk about the uselessness of war.

The Photographer (2021)

🎬 Producer: Eric Crain

🎲 Topics: Photography, passions

🍿 Synopsis: In The Photographer , a man tells about his passion for photography and the meaning it has for him.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: In the below ready-to-use lesson activity for English learners, students are asked to choose a picture from their life and describe what memories it evokes. Another option would be to have learners create their own text or video based on this short film in which they describe their own hobby or passion.

Le grand jeu (2008) / J’attendrai le suivant (2002)

🎬 Producer: Yannick Pecherand / Philippe Orreindy

🗣 Language: French

🎲 Topics: Love, Public transport

🍿 Synopsis: French is often considered as the language of love and these two short films are about very romantic love stories… but if you’re expecting a happy ending, you might get disappointed. If you like dark humor though, you’ll love both of them.

👩‍🏫 Lesson idea: Both short films are great for French teachers who like to work on listening comprehension. You could also work the different future tenses by pausing the video several times and ask the students what they’re expecting to happen next.

Instructions on how to use these digital short film lesson activities

Above, you can find the 15+ ready-to-use short film lesson activities by clicking on the image. You can use these lesson examples for free. Since they’re all made with BookWidgets, I’ve listed them in this BookWidgets group , and most widgets are available in English, French, German, Spanish and Dutch. Here’s what you need to do:

• Click on this link . It will immediately bring you to the group with all of the short film activities. If you don’t have a BookWidgets account yet, you’ll have to sign up first for free .
• Click on folder with the name of the short film activity that you would like to duplicate. Select the activity in your language of preference. Click on the settings wheel , choose duplicate selected widgets . Choose where you want to save the activity in your BookWidgets account.
• Go to your saved short film lessons. You can now click on the black dropdown arrow next to the ‘Show’ button and select Edit . You can make some changes to this activity (if you want). If it’s perfect for you, click on Share in the upper right corner.
• Share this link with your students. When they click on it, they can fill it out. When done, they can submit their answers to you by clicking on the submit button.
• As a teacher, you go to “Grades & reporting” in BookWidgets to find your students’ answers.

Of course, now that you’ve got your own BookWidgets account, you can also create new short film activities or other assignments yourself!

Attention! Once your free trial runs out, you’ll only be able to use the widgets you’ve already finished/shared with students. While your BookWidgets account will still work and you’ll still get your students’ results with the free BookWidgets version, you won’t be able to duplicate widgets nor create new widgets yourself anymore.

Do you already use short films in class or are you planning to do so? I hope I gave you some new ideas that might inspire you. Which of these ideas is your favorite? Let us know on Twitter! - @ibookwidgets

Or share your own widgets about podcasts in our Teaching with BookWidgets Facebook group so that in turn, you can inspire others!

And most of all… enjoying watching! 🍿

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Homework: 3D animated short film, by Naolito

The Short Film

'Homework' is a 3D-animated short film, based on Nacho Arjona's original idea. It is a funny and emotive story about a pencil, an eraser and other popular school supplies that live in a regular school. Together, they will explore the school building and they will live amazing adventures. While they all want to have fun, they’re all very different, so they’ll need to learn how to work together.

"Homework" is a 3D animated short film that follows the imaginative adventures of a pencil and its friends, using their unique abilities to help each other in unexpected situations. When Eraser sees the rest of his friends having fun, he decides he also wants to be part of it, and while his intentions are the best, approach to art will cause an uproar that they haven’t experienced before. Pencil is used to be the most popular kid in the group, so someone else messing with art is not very welcome. The consecuences of everyone’s actions will take them to unexpected places where they’ll face the danger of the unknown.

• Cast & crew

A young father (27), his twelve year old daughter, one night club, two secrets and a lie that will solve everything. A young father (27), his twelve year old daughter, one night club, two secrets and a lie that will solve everything. A young father (27), his twelve year old daughter, one night club, two secrets and a lie that will solve everything.

• Annika Pinske
• Emma Frieda Brüggler
• Tim Kalkhof
• Matus Krajnak
• 1 Critic review

• Transvestit
• (as Matus The First)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

User reviews

• April 2016 (Germany)
• Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin (DFFB)
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 7 minutes

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Top 6 Short Films to Study

Short films are an interesting phenomenon.

While most are an intro to filmmaking for many students and budding directors. Shorts are some of the most innovative works of art existing within film. Of course, thanks to filmmakers like the Lumiere’s brothers and George Melies, cinema was born from shorts.

Short films are essentially cinema in its purest form.

In this article, we list 6 of the best short films to study for filmmaking inspiration.

The Best Short Films to Study

1. paperman.

Paperman is a classic love story. A man searching for the love of an elusive woman.

We’ve seen it all before.

Its genius lies in its craft and economic storytelling. With a runtime of 6 minutes, there is not a single frame wasted. This is quite common with animation where each second can cost thousands of dollars.

The story starts with a lowly office worker bumping into an attractive woman on a train. The rest of the narrative focuses on the man’s inability to focus on his work. Thanks to a woman he saw for all of five seconds.

Bizarrely he spots her in the office window opposite.

Now, if you were trying to get the attention of someone in the adjacent high-rise building, what would you do?

Well, he decides to make a paper airplane. His aim is for the plane to reach her and thus get her attention.

OK, the story lacks depth but some of the best short films don’t require it. That’s exactly why the film is a good case study. 

It’s a complete masterclass in animation, story beats, and editing. Yet, without the magical realism component, the award-winning short film loses impact. Disney produced the film and with a crew of over 100 people, it’s not an indie production by any means.

As a production, filmmakers can’t look to Paperman for inspiration.

The main takeaway of the film is that every single shot counts. While important for most films, it’s especially important in a short. You don’t need to make your story complex but you need a hook.

Paperman ’s hook was the idea of the man using paper planes to attract the lady’s attention.

Takeaway: Every shot counts .

2. Pitch Black Heist

John Maclean’s 2012 award-winning short film is another example of the kind of economic storytelling that reigns supreme.

Starring Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunnigham, it details the story of two thieves attempting to rob an office of digital information.

The premise is simple.

The caveat is that they must complete the heist in pitch-black darkness. Simple story. Intriguing Hook. Starting to notice a trend here?

Pitch Black Heist features no complexities. But the darkness element offers the narrative a unique perspective on the heist genre. This is the key that filmmakers wanting to succeed at making the best short films should think about.

Forget complexity. Simplicity is king.

But there needs to be a unique angle. It should offer something other films don’t. Thus completing a heist without being able to see is a great example of this.

There is a 2-minute segment towards the end where Maclean plunges the audience into darkness. The viewer can only guess what’s happening through dialogue and sound design. This heightens the anticipation of a mishap as we delve further into uncertainty.

In essence, we become the characters as we navigate the surroundings with the same visual impairments they have.

Takeaway: Invite your audience into the minds of the characters.

3. The Roof

In 2016, The Young Vic theatre in London released a number of short films starring household names.

The Roof is a brief comedic tale about a pending visit from a theatre legend.

Due to the Young Vic’s status within the UK’s theatre scene, they were able to garner names such as Sir Ian McKellen, Jude Law, and Natalie Dormer.

At the start of the film we are introduced to the mystique of a “Peter Brook” – a legendary figure within the theatre world.

When a bandaged man walks in it’s assumed that this is Peter. Towards the end, it’s revealed that the same man is in fact not Peter Brook but a structural engineer from the Peter Brooks firm in Croydon.

The Roof is a prime example of a punchline short. I call it a punchline short because the film’s structure plays like a joke.

The set-up = the visit of a star

The punchline =  mistaken identity.

The comedy arises from the sea of fans that were following a Croydon-based engineer and not a legendary theatre director. As a punchline short film, it leaves the audience with a question.

Who do we follow and why? In the minds of the fans, it didn’t matter whether they actually knew it was Peter Brook or not. It was enough that people thought it was him.

The Roof succeeds as a short that brings to light a philosophical question under the guise of comedy.

If you wanted to do the same…think of a clear punchline with an underlying question that challenges a common societal thought.

Takeaway: Make sure the pay-off is worth the set-up.

4. The Irrational Fear of Nothing

A paranoid man roaming the streets of New York City. Anxious about the world he inhabits.

That’s pretty much it.

The Irrational Fear of Nothing doesn’t really have a story. One character. No inciting incident. No plot.

It’s a film that shouldn’t work…but does.

Why? Because it presents anxiety (something many people experience) from a novel perspective. Director Paul Trillo and his team used a SnorriCam throughout all the sequences. The SnorriCam is a camera rig that is typically fastened to an actor’s body. It allows the camera to always follow the movement of the actor which creates a disorientating effect. 

You have probably seen the camera angle in many music videos, commercials, and films. It’s become overused but when done right it can create a great synergy between form and story.

That’s why The Irrational Fear of Nothing works.

The film is about a claustrophobic man in the large expansive world of NYC. The SnorriCam exacerbates the alienation through camerawork that keeps the audience close.

The interplay between camerawork and story enhances the best short films by amplifying both form and content. The best short films make the most out of the medium. In a sense, they wouldn’t work as longer versions. For example, the SnorriCam effect would not work for a full-length feature as it may seem a tad gimmicky.

Takeaway: Experiment with camerawork. Take advantage of the brevity short films provide.

5. William Tempest – River Island

Combine Last Year at Marienbad with a dash of Eyes Wide Shut and a Paris Fashion Week runway show and you’d come close to describing the atmosphere in this branded content short film.

It’s not exactly a typical short film as it is an advertisement.

Again, there is no real story. Director Ryan Hope blasts us to another realm through his one-take journey into an eclectic stately mansion dripping full of fashionistas and suave men.

As a short film with no narrative, what makes the film alluring is the atmosphere. Hope was able to create this through stellar production design, a jaw-dropping location, and camerawork.

Its masterful worldbuilding entices the viewer with questions.

Why are the models drifting in and out of the set? Who is the old lady and what role does she play?

In fact, why are they all there in the first place?

Asking the viewer questions without answering them sparks intrigue. Intrigue is what keeps viewers glued to their seats in anticipation of the questions being answered.

But don’t answer them! Let the audience make their own conclusions.

One-take-short films are hard to pull off. With the advent of newer camera technologies, letting the camera roam for minutes on end is the easy part. The hard part is filling the mise-en-scene with interesting enough sets/characters to justify it.

To attempt a one-take film, you would want to make sure that every single part of your set tells a story or at least implies one. You can’t get away with dead zones in a one-take-short film.

Takeaway: Keep the audience guessing at all times. Never give them closure.

6. Whiplash – Short Film

You’re probably aware of the feature film but did you know it was originally a short? Damien Chazelle’s oscar-winning feature started as a proof of concept short which attracted the interest of financiers.

The proof-of-concept short is a common tactic utilized by filmmakers to see if their stories have the legs to be made into features.

Whiplash was no different.

It’s a story about a newcomer trying to keep up in a drumming class.

On the surface, that’s it.

But what lies underneath is what sets the story apart.

Chazelle needed to find out whether his militant portrayal of a drum class would work. J.K Simmons appears more like an army general than the usual music teacher. The best short films work as premise tests for features because you’re forced to pine for brevity.

With brevity comes concise filmmaking.

In the short film version, Chazelle took one scene out of the feature and based the entire short around it. The main difference between the short and feature is that there’s no Miles Teller.

While Johnny Simmons does an admirable job, the role is Tellers. He truly made it his own in the feature.

That’s beside the point anyhow.

A proof of concept short is there to test the waters and Whiplash achieves that through its unique portrayal of a musical pastime. It achieves it through the lens of competition and physical endurance.

The short also succeeds in further portraying a more militant atmosphere through J.K Simmon’s performance. Earlier I mentioned how the best short films marry camerawork with the story to enhance the atmosphere. Well, the same applies to character actors.

Simmons’ role works perfectly for the short as he’s known for playing angry and domineering roles.

When making your short film think of the actor’s relationship with the subject matter. How believable are they as characters in the specific role? Could you imagine the role being played by anyone else?

Some of the best short films win based solely on unforgettable characters and actor performances.

Takeaway: Cast actors that are perfect for the role and the rest will fall into place.

In Conclusion

Shorts provide a great opportunity to learn the craft and set themselves on their way to success in the industry. My first short film UNUS was a stepping stone for me into features and I recommend all budding filmmakers to do the same.

Look at some of the takeaways listed here and see how you can incorporate them into your stories. Each passing year it becomes easier to make films. Money is no longer an excuse.

Go and create.

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18 Creative Short Film Ideas for Students [2024]

Discover 18 short film ideas tailored for students to inspire storytelling and filmmaking in the classroom. Learn how to come up with more ideas by yourself.

Learn Filmmaking | By India Mantle

Shotkit may earn a commission on affiliate links. Learn more.

This guide contains a list of our top 18 short film ideas for students to help you get your creative juices flowing and get you started on your next project.

From the hundreds of film ideas we’ve come across, we compiled the following compelling ideas to help you draw inspiration and develop robust concepts for your upcoming films.

(While we’re on the topic of inspiration for short films, may also like to discover some great vlogging ideas too.)

So, if you; ‘re looking for a creative short film idea for your next student movie project, let’s dive into the recommendations.

Table of Contents

Top 18 Short Film Ideas for Students in 2024

Here are our top pick short film ideas that will spark your imagination:

Silent Short Film Ideas for Students

For this type of movie, you can choose whatever story to narrate as long as it can be conveyed in silence.

You’ll need the characters to be good at clearly using nonverbal expressions and gestures. You’ll also need to make good use of music to aid in conveying the idea of your movie.

Here are a few of the best ideas for silent short films:

1. Voiceless World

The story of this movie is set in a world where people lose their voices for unknown reasons. That way, they won’t be able to communicate verbally.

In such a world, actions and emotions would become louder than words. The film sequences will show how people would adapt to such occurrences.

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2. The Mountaineer

The film will record a mountaineer’s experience of climbing a mountain silently.

It’ll reflect the mountaineer’s persistence and feelings at each moment throughout the adventure. You’ll need to use a high-quality  action camera  for this.

The movie’s story metaphorically represents all the critical life milestones that need focus and dedication.

You should work on conveying this idea throughout the  video editing  process by adding proper music and effects. Using proper editing techniques can vividly deliver this message.

3. Real Canvas

It’s a film about a poor painter who draws their paintings and lives inside them. The protagonist will paint real places and experiences and then tap on the artwork to enter them.

Once the protagonist touches the paintings twice, they’ll be transported to the location and experience depicted in the painting.

The movie’s main idea is that your imagination can give you the freedom to live many lives.

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Short Horror Film Ideas for Students

Horror films can effectively convey messages because of their strong emotional impacts. Here are a couple of horror film ideas you can use for your next project:

4. Who’s Coming

A person reading a horror novel starts to hear knocks at their door.

After a few minutes of being terrified, the person opens the door to find a delivery man waiting for them with a pizza.

You may add more ironic events to the story if you want to include a bit of additional complication, humor, or horror.

The main idea of this movie is that things aren’t always as you expect them to be.

5. Faceless

The movie is set in a town where people start losing their faces. They all start to look identical.

You’ll create a story depicting how people would behave when experiencing the complications that can arise when they all look identical.

A  VHS effect  can help take this horror film idea to the next level with its added grain and noise.

Short Film Ideas for College Students

This list of ideas will perfectly suit you as a college student filmmaker:

6. A Day in a Robot’s Life

This movie’s story is set in a world where robots have become highly intelligent and live side by side with humans.

The film shows how robots would deal with humans and their emotions that they find difficult to understand.

The film will briefly discuss how life would become as robots live among humans. You can cover this topic from many angles.

Choose one that you believe will resonate the most with your audience.

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7. The Life of the First Human on Mars

The movie imagines how the first person to live on Mars would start their life on a new planet. It’s up to you to include some complications that will resonate with your audience.

8. An Invisible Person

The movie is about a person who has become invisible for any reason. It shows how this invisible person will approach life in this situation.

To write a good film script for this work, you can simply think of yourself if you grant the ability to be invisible.

Unleash your imagination and write down what you’d do in this situation. Then, pick the most exciting ideas to incorporate into the film.

9. Inside a Suicide Prevention Center

The film is about a life-changing call with a professional at a suicide prevention center. You’ll showcase one or two main problems through the call that drove the person to think of suicide.

These issues can be the absence of social support through a deep depression or any similar story.

Pick a common real-life issue in its extreme case and try to reflect it deeply. You’ll also need to provide a reasonable solution to solve this problem throughout this call.

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10. The Only Person Left on Earth

The movie is about a day in the life of the last person on Earth. What would you do if you were the only person on Earth?

Imagine the empty streets and silent world. Picture yourself as the central character and write down everything you believe you’d do in such a situation.

11. Travel Through Time

In this film, the central character will find a way to travel to the future or the past. The film will address this change in time from different perspectives.

You may select a time with remarkable historical events and provide a unique perspective on this time.

There are a lot of topics you may discuss through this film’s idea. There are also several  camera movements that you can opt for to make your film dynamic.

• Examples of Parallel Editing in Film

Short Film Ideas for High School Students

This is a list of easy yet powerful ideas you can choose for your short film as a high school student:

12. The Sequence of Seasons

The film will show vivid visuals of specific greenery locations and their transformation as each season starts and ends. Your camera will focus on the trees and plants all year long.

Show how the sequence of seasons changes plants.

You may also include an animal in the film sequences and capture how its activity changes dramatically from one season to another.

13. A Day in the Life of Your Furry Friend

The film will focus on the key moments in your dog’s or cat’s day as if you capture life from their perspective.

It’ll showcase all the important moments in the daily lives of the pets from their wake-up until they go to sleep.

This includes how they play, have their breakfast, chase shadows, watch the outside world from the back door, and more.

You can also focus on how your little friend reacts to you and other pets inside and outside your home.

Try to capture as many reactions and real-life events as possible to reflect the pet’s real emotions.

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Easy Short Film Ideas for Students

If you’re looking for ideas that are relatively easy to execute, this list contains a few ones you can count on

14. The Nightlife in a Certain City

You’ll start shooting this film at midnight and end as the sun begins to rise.

The film will feature an aerial view of the city first, and then it’ll start to showcase certain streets and activities.

15. Getting Over a Personal Challenge

Despite the abundance of personal challenges stories in movies, creatively executing this idea will still resonate with the audience.

After all, this is a compelling theme as it speaks directly to the heart of humans. Everyone likes to see the journey of personal growth because it motivates them.

The main challenge to include in the film can be financial hardship, a breakup, illness, or any other adversity.

16. Before the Digital Media

The film is about a few children living in a world without smartphones or digital media.

The movie will focus on how these children would entertain themselves without the existence of today’s digital entertainment.

It’ll showcase how interaction with other people would be without the dominance of digital devices and social media.

It’ll also depict how the abundance of entertaining digital devices distracts people and keeps them weakly connected.

Try to replace the voice of smartphone notifications in the film with a non-digital notification like the tick of a physical watch every hour.

After each watch tick, the children will start a new activity.

3-Minute Short Film Ideas for Students

The following couple of ideas can be turned into 3-minute short films:

17. Stranger at Home

After being abroad for 10 years, a man returns to his hometown to find that everything has changed and no one remembers them.

The film will highlight the disappointments the person will experience as they visit places they used to go to and find they’ve completely changed.

It’ll also show how the people that person expected to find are no longer there.

You might include a happy ending to the movie, such as a neighbor who can recognize the returning person.

The ending scene may be the protagonist spending some time with that neighbor.

18. A Close Look at a Local Landmark

The film idea is about highlighting one of your local landmarks and presenting it through your lens from a deep perspective.

You’ll need to capture the place from a wide-angle view. Then, show it side by side with each of the surrounding buildings.

You’ll also capture close-up scenes of the intricacies of the landmark, showing its smallest details.

You might use a soundtrack in the background for events associated with this landmark. This sound design will evoke the audience’s emotions and boost their engagement with the film.

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How to Come Up With Short Film Ideas

We’ve listed the above 18 ideas to help you draw inspiration for your next short film. However, you always need to have your own method of generating original film ideas whenever you want.

Here are a few tips to help you easily come up with film ideas:

Keep Yourself Updated With the Latest News

By being knowledgeable about the latest and current events, you’ll be aware of the problems and stories the people are interested in.

That way, you can turn these problems and issues into film stories with the addition of a bit of imagination.

Watch Many Short Films With Analytical Eyes

By watching many short films and breaking them down, you can figure out the elements that make a great film. This will allow you to select your ideas meticulously.

You can watch these films online or attend film festivals where you can meet other filmmakers and expand your network.

Watching feature films can also help you generate creative ideas for short films.

Analyze Your Own Life

If you take a close look at your life and those of people around you, you’ll find many stories worth telling.

Pick a bunch of the most interesting stories around you and think of them as film ideas.

When you add a bit of imagination and dramatic elements to these stories, you’ll likely have winning film ideas.

Still, if you plan to use a story of one of your friends or family, ask for permission first.

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Use Generative AI Tools

You can use generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT or Google Bard, to develop ideas for your new films. You’d be surprised by the ideas these handy tools can generate!

Go for a Walk in Nature

One of the best ways to come up with creative movie ideas is to walk in nature. A  study  by Stanford University found that walking can improve creative thinking.

In addition, being out in nature surrounded by a world of various creatures will inspire you.

By watching nature while walking, you’ll be able to come up with a bunch of ideas, whether related or unrelated to nature.

Short Film Idea Generator

Here are the key points from the Short Film Generator clip shown above:

• Each short film must have four different elements: genres, family and friends, separate pieces of paper, and hats or buckets.
• Label three hats: one for characters, one for props, and one for locations, and write down different options for each category to generate ideas for short films and comedy skits.
• Use a random selection of genres, characters, props, and lines of dialogue to create a short film that incorporates all four elements.
• Use a formula with genre, character, dialogue, and prop constraints to creatively tell a story in a short film.
• Other elements in a story don’t have to be the main focus or come from the main character, they just need to appear somewhere, like a pink umbrella used symbolically or a line of dialogue.

For example: “A guy carrying pancakes gets hit by a street and drops them on the sidewalk.”

Imagine You or a Friend in an Unusual Situation

Imagine someone you know well in an unusual situation, like the person being a superhero, and picture the scenario that would result from this.

Keep the ideas flowing and generate more, no matter how silly the ideas seem. The key is to have as many ideas as possible and then filter them to pick the best.

When you select an idea to proceed with, you can use AI-powered story software to assist you in generating a lot of narrative possibilities based on your central concept.

You can also use screenwriting and storyboard software to craft your scenario.

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Teaching Ideas

8 Ways to Teach With Short Documentary Films From The Times

How to use our weekly Film Club feature to teach close reading and critical thinking skills via an eclectic mix of nonfiction videos.

By Jeremy Engle

Death metal-singing grandmothers. Gravity-defying dancers on nine-foot stilts. The dangers of “sharenting.” Coming-of-age with autism. What really happened at Stonewall. The whereabouts of smooth-voiced, permed-haired Bob Ross’s vast collection of lost paintings. These are just a few stories and themes we have explored in our weekly Film Club since it began in 2015.

Every Thursday during the school year, we feature a short documentary film from The New York Times and a set of five open-ended questions intended to encourage thoughtful and honest dialogue, either in your classroom or in the comments section. These films — drawn from Times Video series like Op-Docs , Modern Love , Diary of a Song and Conception — offer viewers an intriguing and unique perspective of the world and ask students to think deeply about themes like ethics, human rights, gender identity and scientific discovery. And each one is typically under 12 minutes.

As with other short texts like stories, poems and articles, mini-documentary films can stimulate discussion, debate, thinking and writing. And, they can serve as a refreshing break from print media to help students explore curriculum themes and practice important literacy skills.

You might use Film Club weekly in your class as a tool for regular writing and discussion. Or, if you’re looking for specific ways to make short documentaries a part of your curriculum, below, we present eight ideas for teaching with the series. For each topic, we suggest several films to watch, questions for discussion and activities to go further.

Let us know in the comments section or by emailing us at [email protected] how and why you are using Film Club and if you have any suggestions to improve our feature.

Explore a Theme or Big Idea

A concerto is a conversation, a virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family’s lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from jim crow florida to the walt disney concert hall..

All right. It’s a real pleasure to welcome Kris Bowers, our composer, who has written a concerto, “For a Younger Self.” Welcome. [APPLAUSE] Can I ask a question? All right, Granddaddy. Can you tell me, just what is a concerto? So it’s basically this piece that has a soloist and an ensemble, an orchestra. The two are having a conversation. And so sometimes that conversation can be this person speaking, and now this person speaking. Sometimes the conversation — It’s a question. — is at the same time. Yeah. And it really depends on how the composer wants to, or how I want to frame that conversation. Did you ever picture yourself doing what you’re doing now? Huh. [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] I’m very aware of the fact that I’m a Black composer, and lately actually I’ve been wondering whether or not I’m supposed to be in the spaces that I’m in, or supposed to have gotten to the point that I’ve gotten to. Well, I can tell you one thing. Never think that you’re not supposed to be there. Cause you wouldn’t be there if you wasn’t supposed to be there. It goes back to slavery. [MUSIC PLAYING] My grandfather, who I found out has cancer a little while ago, I wanted to spend some more time with him and talk to him about his life, about our family, ask him as much as I can before he passes. [BELL RINGING] Granddaddy. Mm-hm? Need a bit of help with this. Do what? Getting this seamed out for the show. OK. Don’t step on the pedals. Push it right in the corner. OK. Wow. OK. We’re going to make it real handsome here. You’re going to be ready to go. Thank you, sir. Growing up in the South was quite a thing for me. Bascom, Florida, as far back as I can remember, I think the plantation was the Bowers plantation. All 13 of you all grew up in that house? Mm-hm. Wow. How all of us stayed in two rooms, I don’t know. We would start on the porch singing. And there were people, I don’t know how they could hear it that far, would come drive in the front yard and listen to us sing at night. People in that area was, the Blacks were Bowers, and the whites was Beavers. Beavers had the grocery store. But when Dad would walk in the store, this kid about my size, small kid — How old were you about this point? Like how old? I probably was 6 or 7 years old. Oh, wow. And he would go up to my dad and say, what could I get for you, boy? That stuck with me forever. Why are you calling my dad a boy? And Daddy would answer him, sir, yes sir, no sir. But it was something that stayed with me because I knew then when I got of age I was going to leave there. I didn’t want no parts of the farm. I didn’t want no parts of that part of the country. I just wanted to leave. Wherever I could get a ride to, that’s where I was headed to. [MUSIC PLAYING] What was that process like, hitchhiking as a Black man in America in the 1940s? I had to be crazy. Now, the first place I remember being is in Detroit. A man picked me up. He was saying that he could get me a job and a place to stay and all this. I asked him, does it snow there? And he said yes. And that was the end of that, because I didn’t want to be any place that was cold. But I hitchhiked from there to Denver, Colorado. And I was in this Greyhound bus station, cause they had two counters, white and Black. So I could get something to eat. And I heard somebody say, Los Angeles, California. I said, that’s where I want to go. Never heard of Los Angeles before. I had $27 or $28. I didn’t know how I was going to make it, but I knew I was going to make it. So I said well, I’m going to pretend to be an employment agency and call around to get a job. Wow. I got the telephone book, started at the A’s. A Cleaners. And I don’t think I made more than five calls, and the phone rang, and it was the A Cleaners, and they said they needed a presser. I got all the information. I said, OK, I’ll send someone right out. And that was me. [LAUGHING] That’s where I met your grandmother. [MUSIC PLAYING] How old were you when you bought the cleaners? I was 20. Wow. So within two years I had gone from homeless to I was in business. [MUSIC PLAYING] But I never could get a loan. And I owned the place. I said, something wrong with this picture. I told them I come in for the loan, and he said no, I don’t have anything. And I left later, and picked up an application, and I mailed it in. A few days later, I got a call, your loan is approved. I said, it’s the color of my skin. I said in the South they tell you. In Los Angeles they show you. From then on we started buying property, I would get things at the cleaner, everything, but nobody ever saw me. Everything was done by mail. People are constantly throwing up things to stop you in life. But you’ve got to know you cannot stop me. [MUSIC PLAYING] My name is Kristopher Bowers, and I want to play “Shining Star in Atlantic City.” My parents decided before I was born they wanted me to play piano. Literally, I think it’s called like “Piano Sampler No. 5” that they used to put on my mom’s stomach every day. Actually, one of the first pieces of music I ever wrote was on this piano. And I remember, you know, just playing around here all the time. But we were up at a restaurant one, I believe it was a Sunday. At Marie Callendar’s? Marie Callendar’s. They had a piano in there, and I asked the guy could you play it. And they said yes. I carried you over there, and you were playing it, and I was proud of you. [LAUGHING] [MUSIC PLAYING] There aren’t that many opportunities for young kids of color to showcase their talents or to interact with other kids of color playing music and doing those things, and you talking about being my manager, essentially, from the very beginning. If I didn’t have that, I probably wouldn’t have been as confident pursuing music. I remember — where were you in school at that I was up there? What, in New York? At Juilliard? Juilliard? Wherever it was, you enjoyed it. So that’s all I was thinking. If you enjoyed making a living at it. I knew that, boy. And the winner is Kris Bowers. “Green Book.” [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] [MUSIC PLAYING] What do you think your biggest challenge is today? My biggest challenge today, being honest, is my health. It’s just trying to stay healthy. That would be my challenge today. [MUSIC PLAYING] I’ve got a few more years to go, but I’m almost to the top. [LAUGHING] Ten more years, I’ll be at the top. [LAUGHING] So now I just keep trying to do the best I can. Yeah. And enjoy seeing my children and grandchildren being successful. That’s glory in itself. It’s just something that I hope I had a little something to do with it. [MUSIC PLAYING] [APPLAUSE] (SINGING) Then sings my soul, my savior, my God to thee, how great thou art, how great thou art. You did it! You did it! You did it! [LAUGHING] See, it surprised you. [LAUGHING]

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30 Ways to Brainstorm Short Film Ideas You Can Actually Produce

• How to Make a Short Film
• How to Write a Short Without Dialogue
• Short Film Schedule Tips
• Write a Short That Gets Noticed
• Making a Short Film
• How to Storyboard a Short Film
• Phases of Short Film Pre-Production
• Ari Aster Short Films
• How Whiplash Went From a Short to a Feature
• Best Short Films of All Time
• Best Short Film Ideas
• Brainstorm Short Film Ideas
• Social Media for Short Films
• Crowdfunding Movies
• Fiscal Responsibility on a Short
• The Ultimate Film Grants List
• Top Film Festivals

A n unproduced feature script has a .3 percent chance of being made in Hollywood. Short film ideas, on the other hand, can be made for significantly less money, increasing their chances of being produced.

But writing contained short films takes a very specific skill set. With a limited production and narrative scope, knowing how to write a short film starts with carefully curating your ideas.

We also include a helpful downloadable brainstorming cheat-sheet.

Let’s dive into 30 ways to brainstorm short film ideas you can actually produce.

Short Film Ideas

1. start with the ending first.

This doesn’t seem like a how to write a short film tip, so much as a screenwriting lesson in general.

However, brainstorming short film ideas that have their endings baked in up front, will make your shooting script that much leaner. It’ll allow you to only focus on the scenes and sequences needed to achieve your desired ending.

Even if you want to flesh out certain parts later, having a barebones skeleton is great when a producer brings up budget .

Need FREE screenwriting software to write your short film?

StudioBinder has you covered - check out a sample script below:

Sample Screenplay | Made in StudioBinder

Did we mention the software is completely free?

And because StudioBinder is cloud based, you can access your screenplays from any computer anywhere in the world. Manually save or let StudioBinder auto save while you write. Our screenwriting software helps you professionally format along the way, and syncs across all of StudioBinder's features. 

SHORT FILM BRAINSTORM IDEA

2. think about the medium of film.

The best short films (and films in general) always take advantage of the medium.

If you can find a way to write a short film that is deeply dependent on editing techniques, clever sound design, film grammar, and storytelling then you will have something to take to festivals and elsewhere that pleases the viewers.

Christopher Nolan discusses Following

It will also show producers that you can think visually, and create an experience that works well for film as opposed to a novel or even short story.

When you watch a film like Christopher Nolan's Following,  you are entertained by a story that could work as a short story or even a novel, but it's effective as a film because you can track things very easily while still being fooled. 

SHORT STORY IDEAS

3. look in your own backyard.

Whether you’re writing short films, a television pilot, or a feature film, you should always write what you know.

But this is even more applicable when it comes to tempering short film ideas, as you can shoot where you live, work, or if you’re a PA, both.

These are film locations that are easily accessible and cheap to use — or, better yet, free. In either case, you’ll need to use a  film location form template  to fully secure your location.

You’re probably closer than you think to a unique location full of narrative possibilities.

Watch the entire short film, Dig

Look to 2014 Sundance Film Festival selection, Dig, as inspiration for your own short film ideas. Shot entirely in the director’s backyard, it’s a great example of how starting with an easy to access location can yield something truly original.

4. Set your short film on a college campus

Into dystopian sci-fi? Lots of college campuses built in the mid-twentieth century feature cool, brutalist design — ideal short film ideas for college students who want big-budget looks in small-budget packages.

Just make sure you use our  location tech scouting checklist so you don’t forget any signatures.

SCRIPT IDEAS

5. research deserted places.

How about horror? Yes, there are creepy forests and cemeteries all over the country, but there are also abandoned hospitals, warehouses, and zoos. Ask around, make friends in the community, and research permit costs as you brainstorm movie ideas.

This will require some reverse-engineering as you begin to construct short film ideas around physical spaces. But the payoff could be surprisingly fun.

To reach out to a location scout for more short film ideas like this, go to  ProductionBeast , search “Location Scouts,” and immediately you’ll find profiles you can message for advice.

Related Posts

• Essential Tips for Writing Better Movie Dialogue   →
• Free Checklist: The Location Scouting Cheat Sheet   →
• FREE Download: Film Location Release Form Template →

Good Movie Ideas

6. start with the prop.

One of the last steps of writing a short film is creating a script breakdown that details all the props, costumes, and crew needed to make your production come to life. It’s the foundation for your budget, and not a bad place to start when brainstorming short film ideas.

By creating a list of props, characters, and stunts to start, you automatically make your short film script that much more producible.

You can make a script breakdown using our free script breakdown template , or just plug your script into StudioBinder, where you can tag and enter elements that will auto-generate into lists for you.

You can see an example of a script breakdown below:

Script Breakdown | The Pirate Captain of Toledano

A script breakdown will actually help you build a better idea, because it will help you think about the production side of the equation. You will think more about sound design, the amount of extras, costumes, and more. 

SHORT MOVIE IDEAS

7. write about a day in the life.

Take a look inside you, or, more specifically, take a look behind you — at what you did yesterday.

Did you meet someone? Did something happen at work? Was it actually totally boring?

Writing short films is all about economy. There might not be enough for a feature in your day at the coffee shop, but it could be a vehicle for some charming short film topics.

MOVIE IDEAS TO MAKE

8. write about character flaws.

When coming up with your short film ideas, think about characters flaws for your protagonist. This can immediately make your short film interesting.

For example, just look at Miles from  Sideways  who completely embodies pessimism. In mostly every scene from Sideways, you’ll see Miles frustrated with life which is also extremely entertaining to watch.

What if you want to make your main character extremely selfish? Look no further than Mark Zuckerberg from The Social Network . How about a character that doesn’t believe in himself? Take a look at Rocky Balboa or even Luke Skywalker.

How about a character that is power-hungry? Just look at Walter White from  Breaking Bad.

If you want to make a good short film, make your lead character more interesting with character flaws.

Right off the bat, this will make your main character more interesting, especially as a short film.

SILENT FILM IDEAS

9. find an old family story.

And going even farther back, there’s often rich material for short film ideas in your parents’ or grandparents’ histories.

Think about what makes you sit up and pay attention. Or, conversely, what disturbs you or prompts you to ask difficult questions. To quote mythologist and accidental screenplay guru Joseph Campbell: “Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”

Once you hit on something that resonates personally, test to see if it’s an actual story or just a vignette.

SHORT FILM IDEAS VS. VIGNETTE IDEAS

A vignette is a funny, curious, or even harrowing experience that lacks dramatic tension. A story involves stakes, goals, and forward movement.

There’s usually a central character who wants something and encounters obstacles to that want. It’s not rocket science, and after awhile it becomes easier to recognize the true potential of real-life events for writing short films.

5 Minute Short Film Ideas

10. visualize your short film ideas a storyboard.

Have a great idea for short film sequence in your head? Maybe you shouldn’t ask yourself how to write a short film, but rather how to create a storyboard instead.

Creating a storyboard and building your short film ideas around one sequence can yield not only a great script, but something producible, as you can show your team of creatives exactly what you’re thinking.

You can either do this by hand, or use storyboard software that’ll do the heavy-lifting for you.

Learn how to make a storyboard with StudioBinder

Funny short film ideas, 11. create a moodboard.

A mood board is basically a collage of visual references for a creative project.

It is used to communicate the “look and feel” of your project by showing visual inspirations.  It is most commonly used to visualize a script, but you can use them to brainstorm too.

Use a mood board to make a collage of things that inspire you.  Maybe you love turtles.  Or perhaps there’s an album cover that inspires you.  Find a  free mood board template and insert items that inspire you.  Good ideas will follow.

• Learn How to Make a Storyboard in 9 Steps   →
• Free Mood Board Templates and Top Apps →   
• Free Download: Script Breakdown Sheet Template →

Good Short Films

12. pick a genre, then twist it.

As you brainstorm movie concepts, keep in mind that short film ideas need a strong hook or clever twist to stand out. And twists can cost production anything.

By twist, I don’t necessarily mean a surprise ending (like Fight Club or Shutter Island ). I mean an idea that’s born of combining two classic film genres and subverting the expectations of both.

There are a limited number of genres, of course, but there’s a huge variety of approaches to each — especially if you mix and match them. Starting with a specific category can focus you by filtering everything through the same lens. A thriller gives you the opportunity to use intrigue and suspense; a romantic comedy sets the stage for the inevitable meet-cute.

You get the idea!

SHORT FILM IDEAS FOR BEGINNERS

13. use irony to brainstorm movie ideas.

Play the “what if” game when writing short films and see what happens when you add a character who seems out of place. Or an unpredictable event that throws a wrench in the gears of your story world.

Irony is key here.

It’s the difference between short film ideas people remember and ones they forget the second the movie’s over.

SHORT FILM STORIES

14. get inspired by other mediums.

Books, songs, photography, live performance — art is built on the shoulders of previous art — and writing short films is no exception.

Try visiting a gallery or museum and see if any of the paintings spark short film ideas.

You might discover that the most abstract images provoke the clearest sense of what you want to write in your screenplay.

Poems are great places to find material for shorts; they tend to be brief, and they leave plenty of room for creative interpretation as you brainstorm movie concepts.

SHORT IDEAS

15. find the essence of classic films.

Quentin Tarantino is a master of uncovering lost cinematic treasure and using it as currency for his own scripts.

This should be the easiest homework for short film ideas ever: Watch some classic movies and reduce them to their essence.

Pure imagination

Is there a core principle of that film noir or that Hollywood musical that you could adapt to a ten-minute telling? Or maybe there’s a single moment in that three-hour historical drama that grabbed you, but it wasn’t explored to its potential.

DON'T WORRY ABOUT BEING ORIGINAL (WITH A CAPITAL "O")

New short film ideas are all about putting fresh spins on old ideas. There are only so many plots, after all, but no one else will create the exact same story formula you will.

Short Horror Film Ideas

16. be a news hound.

Current events might not be pleasant, but they do tend to be rife with drama and tension. There are many ways to portray war, injustice, and political strife without hitting the nail too squarely on the head.

Again, narrow your focus to one specific person or one incident. Find the universal theme in the choice someone made, or didn’t make, and draft an outline based on that very simple situation.

Brainstorm movie ideas by scouring news sites  and take a deep-dive into some of the wildest stories of our times.

And don’t let the facts hang you up — the more you invent, the less you’ll have to worry about life rights or copyright issues.

BEST SHORT FILMS

17. rework an old headline.

If today’s news is too overwhelming, do a quick Google search for the headlines of yesteryear.

Limit your investigation to a particular subject or region. The easier it is to contain short film ideas within the limits of space and clock time (a minute, an hour, a day), the easier it’ll be for you to  write a compelling screenplay .

WRITING SHORT FILMS

18. listen to the voices.

When was the last time you were in a cafe and overheard a line too good to be true?

Except, of course, it was true. Stay glued to your notebook and write down those perfect snatches of dialogue. Then generate some character descriptions and see if they lead you to funny short film ideas.

Listen for setting-specific dialogue

Oscar winner Kenneth Lonergan is particularly gifted at catching these accurate snippets of dialogue, especially when it comes to writing exposition in film .

HOW TO WRITE A SHORT FILM

19. freewriting to find short film ideas.

Sometimes if you’re stumped, it helps just to write.  Writing longhand, “Stream of consciousness” style pages will give you unpredictable results.  It is a way of capturing ideas that you didn’t know you had.

Author Julia Cameron calls these  “Morning Pages” because she recommends writing three pages every morning.  The idea here is consistency.  The more you do it, the more ideas will come and the better they’ll be.

HOW TO MAKE A SHORT MOVIE

20. start writing short films, arc first.

Sometimes the form itself can lead to interesting short film ideas. Create a beat sheet with a clear emotional arc.

A tragedy will begin with the hero in a state of happiness or grace and end with an epic fall where he or she loses everything. A classic comedy will reverse this dynamic. Then there’s everything in between — but try focusing on a single trajectory with limited twists and turns.

By knowing where your story has to go, you can then strip away story beats that could inflate your budget. Keep your money organized and accounted for with a  budget template .

SHORT FILM IDEAS FOR STUDENTS

21. brainstorm movie ideas around life events.

Weddings, funerals, anniversaries, birthdays — these are all dramatic events by nature with the added benefit of being limited in scope.

Choose a central character who’s experiencing one of these events and you might be on your way to some perfect short movie ideas.

SHORT FILM SCRIPT IDEAS

22. transcribe the audio from a film you haven't seen.

Thinking outside the box is crucial for catching ideas. Writing something, anything, is better than a blank page.

So, find a film you haven’t watched yet on Netflix or YouTube and find a scene with limited dialogue. Turn away from the TV and write down what you hear. Here's a great clip to practice with.

What story does the audio tell?

Transcribing the sounds can unlock great ideas. At very least it will get you thinking about scene actions and writing them down. For fun, compare what you wrote with the actual scene. It will probably be pretty different but that's OK — what you described might be better!

SHORT STORY IDEA LIST

23. put yourself in the 1st ad's shoes.

This relates to the points about using physical places as inspiration to brainstorm movie concepts.

See how much high-pressure drama you can squeeze out of two or three people trying to escape a contained space (e.g., bathroom, cellar).

Think like a 1st AD

Many 5-minute short film ideas have been triggered by these sorts of forced crisis situations — and they tend to make for inventive editing and cinematography techniques .

Read up on script breakdowns , so you can budget how much your script would cost.

24. Brainstorm movie ideas around life events

Writing short films can be daunting, but a simple algorithm can help shake things up and delete your inner critic.

Try a Mad Libs-style randomizer online to see what comes up. It’s a bit like spinning a roulette wheel, but you might find a useful element or two in the suggestions. It’s the glue you put between ideas that makes your work stand out.

HOW TO MAKE A SHORT FILM

25. go way overboard.

The beauty about coming up with new ideas is that you are only limited by your imagination. Try this exercise when you brainstorm movie ideas: take a regular, boring character and image the most extreme situation they might find themselves in. 

An example of this would be Daniel from Mrs. Doubtfire who starts wearing a nanny’s outfit so that he can spend time with his children, which he otherwise would not have.

Mrs. Doubtfire...get it?!

How to write a script for a short film, 26. ideate with a shot list builder.

Just like storyboards, shot lists are easy ways to visualize your project before you type a single word. Thinking of camera set-ups before you’ve written anything may feel counter-intuitive.

However, you’ll know exactly what you need to accomplish. And what rentals you should pursue. Start sketching out your ideas with this storyboard template .

For example, maybe you just watched an Alejandro González Inarritu film and you noticed really unique camera angles. Why not recreate it?

Build your story with a shot list

In StudioBinder, you can easily  generate a shot list  without having an existing screenplay. Create a new shot list, add shots, and group them however you like. It’ll give your screenplay direction and make finding a DP a breeze with job sites like ProductionBeast .

HOW TO COME UP WITH STORY IDEAS

27. write a logline first.

This seems like a no-brainer for writing short films, or any type of film, but having a great logline can fix most of the problems.

Try making a logline and running it by your inner circle. Because it’s only a sentence, it’s easy to try out a bunch without much hard labor.

SHORT VIDEO IDEAS

28. fish out of water story.

This short film technique has been proven to work for many successful short films and feature films.

For this type of story, take a person out of their normal environment and put them in a radically different one. Their interactions with this new environment create endless comedic opportunities. This example from  Elf could function as a short film on its own.

Elf: a classic "fish-out-of-water" story

Short film topics, 29. analyze a film character.

Sometimes the best short film ideas are the simplest ones that focus on characters instead of extravagant scenarios.

Just take a look at  Pixar's Storytelling Formula which focuses primarily on building compelling characters instead of overly-complicated sequences. Or maybe even developing the most compelling antagonist .

SHORT FILM PROMPTS

30. stop writing short film ideas and get out there.

And connect with production freelancers to see what they’d like to shoot, light, sound mix, and color correct.

You can cut your budget in half, if your crew is working on your short film movie for free. The best way to attract high-quality talent is by creating a project that would be perfect in your crew’s respective reels.

As your list of things to incorporate (an underwater sequence, Steampunk costumes, etc.) increases, your screenplay will be begin to take shape.

Finding crew like this is as easy as searching on Facebook or using dedicated job boards like  ProductionBeast where you can immediately connect with film crew.

Best short films

If you're looking for more inspiration to help you brainstorm movie ideas, why not watch some examples of the best ever? Then you'll be to build your own short films that will win awards and get the attention of producers and executives. We have a list of short films in each genre so there is something for everyone.

Up Next: The best short films →

30 ways to brainstorm short film ideas.

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