What are the best topics on which a short film can be made?
There is nothing called as best topics, as a filmmaker you need to decide which topic is very familiar for you or in which area you are good at.As a filmmaker i would suggest a horror genres because you can have minimum number of actors or a single actor, single location.With good background music, sound effects and some disturbing visuals you can nail the audience.Some of topics that I can think of are:Humanity.No one born a racist.LoveSocial mediaLoyalty of the DogPsychoEducation systemChild marriageSafety of womenHaunted HouseBlind peopleAny persons life story that is not usually not shown in films but important to our survival, for example barber, truck driver, traffic police, street sweepers etcLove of motherMurder mysteryDepressionLifeHuman raceAI and automationAliensSurrogacyPS : here is our short film, do check it out.
Can I make a good short film by myself, filming and acting?
Of course you can! There is absolutely no circumstance in which it is impossible to make a good short film, and there are an infinite number of great stories that could be told with just one character. Plenty of filmmakers appear in their own films, and countless independent filmmakers do everything (or almost everything) by themselves. People will tell you that filmmaking is collaborative, but what they mean to say is that mainstream industrial filmmaking is collaborative. Can you make a blockbuster hollywood feature by yourself? Probably not. Can you make an awesome short? YES. What you're going to want to do is what's called reverse-engineering. Take the resources you have available, and then write a film to match those resources. So you have one character, that looks like you, and you wont be able to move the camera while you're on screen. Find an idea that fits within those restrictions, and you're good to go! I saw a great short once about a guy trying to record a new answering machine message. I remember a Pixar short about an old man playing chess against himself. These were memorable because the content was entertaining and relatable, not because of any grand concept with a big cast or crazy camera moves. Think of things that only require one person: painting, writing, rehearsing, making something, gardening, exploring, camping, photography. Make a comedic short of your character trying to meditate for the first time. Or a dramatic short about your character alone in a new place, feeling homesick and trying to connect with his roots. Think of things where there should be more than one person, but there's not: waiting for a blind date, a town with no people in it, etc. Use the fact that there's only one character to build the premise. Use things like phones and mail to bring in outside characters who we never see in person. Give your character a pet to talk to. The possibilities are endless. The fundamental part of a good short, like all films, is a good story. Keep it simple, capitalize on the fact that there is only one character on screen, give it a beginning, middle, and end, and you'll come out with something that you're proud of and people like to watch.
What is tbe best camcorder to shoot a short film on ?
Canon HV40 of your computer has a firewire port. Assumes the video editor can deal with HDV format video. Canon HF S200 if your computer can't handle firewire and has only USB. Assumes the video editor can deal with AVCHD compressed MTS files. Either of these will allow you enough left over to get a mic or two. And a tripod. And a high capacity rechargeable battery form the the camcorder manufacturer... maybe some other useful stuff. Something with a bigger lens and imaging chip array would be more appropriate - like a Sony HDR-FX1000. But it is outside your budget.
What do I do to become a film director in India?
I know the exact situation that you are in. The only difference was that my family did not oppose. The following worked for me, you might wanna give it a thought.Start your film making journey by joining a small part time course that has a duration of about 3 months and doesn't cost a bomb. What will happen is, instead of signing up a for a 3 or 2 year course in any institute where you will end up wasting your money as well as time, with a short term course you will get the clarity if film making suits you, and which part of film making attracts you the most [writing, directing, cinematography, editing, acting, etc]. You will even end up spending time with a few others who share your passion for cinema and you can start making short films together, Start small but aim big. Do as many short films as you can to polish your art and craft skills. After the short term course you can decide if you want to join an institute or not but i would recommend you use that money to buy a camera [canon 600d for around Rs. 30,000] is always a better option than spending it on an institute for creative flied such as direction. With a camera always at hand you can shoot whatever you want, you can shoot your mom making a roti but do it in a style that no one has seen before. Trail and error will polish your skills. If other technical flied such as cinematography or editing interests you then by all means you must join an institute as they will have all the technical equipment to help you polish your skills. Remember: Industry politics do not effect content driven film makers.
What are good ways to make a low budget short film?
I have made 2 low budget short-films so far with decent quality in output.First let us look at the list of things in making short-film which requires money to be spent!1) Cast and Crew2) Location3) Equipments We will see how we can reduce costs in these requirements.Cast and Crew: I write screenplay keeping in mind that I am going to use only my friends for my film. My friends will work for free for my film! ;) The important production aspects for a film is Camera, Editing and Music. One can easily learn camera techniques and video editing through online without spending money. And for music, there are lot of loyalty free music tracks available on internet.Royalty Free Music Sound recording and mixing also can be learnt easily. If your film needs animation works, then you may need to spend money for that.Location: I take care of this too while writing screenplay. But, if screenplay demands a location such us Hospital or University, we may have to go there and ask permission saying that you are making low budget short-film. You have to convince people to get things done. For my 2nd short-film I needed a building under construction. Though work was in progress in that building, I convinced the builder that I wont disturb anyone and it is for a good cause. He obliged me without asking for money!Equipments: Video camera: You can use any camera which records video such as DSLR camera, Handycam, Digicam or Mobile phone camera! You may need tripod for most of the shots! Camera techniques: For making trolley shots, you can place camera on trolley suitcase and can move suitcase! You can tie your camera with objects like bike or car to make chasing scenes! Use iphone to take underwater shots. Place a full transparent small square glass over camera lens and tie it with iphone firmly. Also cover the phone by binding it with huge amount of junk which wont let water pass in. Light arrangement: I used thermocol which reflects light smoothly over the objects. Also, you can use lamps that you can carry in hand and focus on objects. Live sound recording: This can be done by placing iPhone in shirt pocket of the characters on screen with sound recording on. Later you can remove noise using Goldwave or Audacity.This is the film which we made with almost zero cost!This is the film where I convinced people to oblige me for taking video in their locations!
Videos like don't hug me i'm scared?
If you haven't watched it already, the people who made that short film also made another weird video. It's not really disturbing, just odd. Doki66 is the channel that posted Salad Fingers, which i'm sure you've heard of. There are tons of other creepy and unusual cartoons on his channel. http://www.youtube.com/doki66 that's all I really know of for disturbing stuff. I'm sure once you go to the channel it can lead you to other similar things in the related videos. Or check the related videos on the "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" video.
Can you film public prank/interaction videos legally?
You have to get their written permission, in many cases. By filming the pranks or whatever you call them (pranks are something that all parties involved will laugh at), you put yourself at risk, legally, if someone gets hurt, or if the pranksters break the law while doing the prank. For instance, if someone points a realistic looking toy gun at random strangers, that's brandishing a weapon, and if that someone fires the weapon, that's another charge. You and the pranksters also run the risk of getting assaulted yourselves, especially if the targets feel that they are in danger. This is the sort of thing that will come back and bite you on the butt in a few years, too, when you're trying to get your career going. You might think that you've safely hidden your identity, but these sorts of things have a habit of coming to light just when you want to present a squeaky clean image for that dream job.
Is it acceptable to shoot short films in the houses of Airbnb?
In general, it’s not cool at all to bring in a full film crew into an AirBnB. If you do try filming in one, you probably should be up front with the host and tell them exactly what to expect, and get them to agree, having an honest conversation about insurance. It’d be best if you only hire people you’ve worked with before, so you’re dealing with a known quantity that you can personally vouch for.Frankly speaking, however, indie filmmakers often have to beg forgiveness rather than ask permission. It’s just a reality of people scrounging to make their own films happen. I was sharing an AirBnB, going to a Quora Top Writers meetup in Mountain View a couple years ago. Ben Fraser, one of my flatmates, suggested I shoot a short film. The owner’s policy didn’t allow guests, but, it was a spacious apartment with a gorgeous garden in the back, and there were sculptures everywhere, all rather sturdy! I decided to chance it, bringing only a handheld camcorder, inviting a few Quorans over (mainly fellow Top Writers), telling them to come in random costumes. I had a loose framework for a silent film I’d make. It worked out great, as expected.May I present to you, The First Upvote!
Where was the video of Snow Patrol's Open your eyes song shot?
The video for "Open your Eyes" is actual footage from "C'était un Rendezvous", a cult-classic short film made in Paris in 1976 by French filmmaker Claude Lelouch. The movie itself is very well known among serious car enthusiasts. As I remember, the story behind the movie is very simple and free of any "deep-rooted" meaning. The director, Claude Lelouch, simply thought it would be interesting to attach a movie camera to front of his Ferrari and film his high-speed trip through the streets of Paris to meet his girlfriend (the woman at the end of the movie was his real-life girlfriend). The movie quickly gained cult status. Over the years, so many have tried to read some deep meaning into this movie. But I remember seeing Lelouch in an old interview some time ago where he simply laughed off the idea that there was some secret, deep meaning behind this film. He basically just thought this would be a really cool idea and would make for some great footage. Now as for Snow Patrol...I'm a pretty harsh critic of music and videos. In my opinion, this is a lazy attempt at creating an "intriguing" video. Its not hard to find some obscure movie from the past that few people know about, and set your song to it then call it a music video. They could have done much better with an original concept. Love the song, hate the video. Or lack of a real video, I should say.