12 Short Film Ideas for College Students

When you are learning to be a movie-maker (or just have creative tasks assigned), you always need fresh ideas for your short films. We wish it was the hardest thing in college: besides these projects, you will also need to make presentations, do homework, and write papers. While you can always ask your groupmate, "Can you do my homework or recommend me someone who can?», you can't delegate your movie-making to someone else. Of course, it's not going to be the next Hollywood blockbuster, but choosing a great topic is crucial to convey your idea (and get a high grade). In this article, we will talk about the best short film ideas for college students and ways of their realization.

Top winning ideas for a college movie


Once you can always delegate other tasks to professional academic helpers (for example, you can get a great science homework helper for your next research work), you may concentrate on creating a movie. The simpler the storyline is, the cheaper, which is also a good point for students. If you are puzzled with how to get ideas for short films, check the top 12 topics that you may consider to produce a film:
1. There is no reason to commit suicide;
2. The freshman and his first college experience;
3. Drugs and their consequences;
4. The importance of sex protection;
5. How the last weeks of summer feel like;
6. School pregnancy;
7. The friendship between a guy and a girl;
8. The young girl that was raped;
9. Two days of life of an American prisoner;
10. How to get away with murder;
11. First breakup in college;
12. My coming-out.
While looking for creative short films ideas, remember that simplicity is the key. Don`t involve too many actors, tricky costumes, and some unusual background. You should also know that the best movies are based on real-life events. To show the skills you`ve learned during the film course, do the following:
1. Look through movies
Watch and analyze a pile of other short film examples to check how many shots you may need and which things can work out. Divide them into categories like festival winners, famous directors or popular genres to understand what you will focus on;
2. Watch time
Pick the idea that could be fully covered within twenty minutes. With several plot lines, a dozen actors, and locations, it is unlikely to succeed in revealing your main message. Producing a movie from 5 up to 20 minutes, you make it more appealing and attractive to the viewers;
3. Use a twist
As it is a short film, it is very important to keep the audience tense during all the time of watching. If your plot develops just a little and after that, the characters end up in the same location, it is not going to work out. A twist can shock the viewers in a good or bad way and make it more memorable;
4. Get outside
Even though the Internet is full of various ideas, sometimes you need to turn off your laptop and go out where it's much simpler to catch the right idea. Outside you can pay attention to real-time situations that can serve good material for your movie. You may also get an idea from watching the news or listening to the radio.

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