Summer is upon us, and it's no better time to get that camera out of mothballs and do some creative filmmaking. Haven't got any ideas? Here are twenty of them that could easily be used to make an entertaining five or ten minute short subject. A few are geared toward home movies, but the majority could entertain any audience, and most can be filmed silent and have a soundtrack added later in the editing process. Everything you need is right here -- just add film and batteries.

1. Family Album - Get out that shoebox full of pictures from the closet and film some of the better snapshots of your own family. Try filming one person from the earliest photos to the most recent. The film will resemble a slide show, but with the added bonus that you can zoom in on some of the pictures while filming, and can crop them anyway you want.
2. Your Hometown - Your hometown makes a great subject for a film. Maybe you want to show the history of the town, or some things that are happening today. What do people who have lived in the same area all of their lives think about it?
3. A History Report - Go to the library and find anything that interest you. Then write a two or three page report detailing a historical event, or your own views of that event. Then go to the library again, and check out the books on the subject with any pictures or drawings in them that you can film for your movie and use the written report for the narration.
4. Macrophotography - Nothing can be more fascinating than watching things close-up that we normally wouldn't notice. This could be anything that has an entirely different perspective when seen from a few inches away -- such as a few blades of grass, a brick's textured surface, or a steaming teapot. Be creative by finding things both inside and outside of the house.
5. Antique Automobile Shows - This time of year the antique automobile collector will bring out the buggy and display it at various antique or custom car shows. Some are fancy affairs, and others are just a few dozen "buffs" who get together on a weekend at a vacant parking lot to show off their "baby" to anyone who is interested. These people love to talk about their car's history, and the work they did to bring it back to its present status. Many of the cars are beautiful -- be sure to get close-ups of the cars distinguishing features such as radiator grills, nameplates, fenders, hubcaps etc.
6. A Day at the Park (or the Beach) - People can be very fascinating to watch and a day spent at the park or beach that is frequented by many will give plenty of filmmaking opportunities. Film children playing, even people catching a nap, or arguing with one another. Start the film with the sunrise and end it with the sunset to give the effect of a full day passing.
7. It's a Dog's Life (or cat) - They say animals and children are the hardest to film but that's only true if you are asking them to perform. Filming them in their everyday settings is easy. Film the typical day in the dog's life -- eating, sleeping, and playing. Then dub in your voice as the voice of the pet thinking whatever you want a dog to think. Include a few shots from the dog's point of view.
8. The French Impressionists - A look at the radical difference of art that began in the late 19^th century by French painters such as Manet, Renoir, Monet, and Van Gogh. The impressionist moved away from reality by using brilliant color and light to portray his work and what could be a better subject for Kodachrome? This might require another trip to the library to borrow some books with lots of pictures of the paintings.
9. A Local Author (or poet) - There's probably a local author or poet somewhere near you that has had something published. Even if this person has only had a few hundred copies printed, or had the book "self published", it's a tremendous accomplishment and is a story in itself. How does someone start writing a book, especially if it's fiction? And how does one go about getting a book published? These are the questions your film can answer.
10. The Pie Fight - Want to add a little zip into your next home movie? The cost for two dozen pie shells and whip cream to fill them is under $40, and what could be more fun? The family is at a picnic, and someone gets a pie in the face. Soon everyone's doing it. Don't really need a plot, and because it's people the audience of your family and friends know, it will be funny no matter how corny.
11. Changing Times - Big business moves in and most small businesses eventually move out. Film some of the larger enterprises that have moved into your area and contrast that with interviews of the smaller "mom and pop" shops that are struggling to survive. In the coming years many of these shops may be gone forever, making your film a valuable reference piece.
12. The Day We Met - A simple little reenactment (perhaps over dramatized) -- filmed silent, pantomime style, a la Chaplin, of the first time you and your spouse (or friend) met. It may start with shy passing glances at each other and lead up to the actual meeting.
13. Signs - No matter where you look, signs are everywhere. Large billboards, small signs, inside and outside. Even vanity license plates and bumper stickers. Some are funny on purpose, and others unintentionally humorous. A good mix and creative editing could make for an entertaining few minutes.
14. The Storyteller - Maybe it's time to record for posterity that one person in your family who always has a few good stories to tell about how the family used to live in another generation. Or perhaps there's that one person who knows how to tell a joke better than anybody else does. This film doesn't even have to be lip synch, as the stories can be recorded on audiotape and played over images of that person doing various everyday things.
15. Time Lapse Photography - A mini movie about time. If your camera has single frame capability, you can film the flowers opening their petals and show it all in only thirty seconds. Or watch the clouds zoom by in the sky, and people and cars passing by at ten times their normal speed. An audience can be entertained for a few minutes without a plot when what they are watching is something that would normally be impossible to see.
16. A Person and His/Her Work - Find a person whose work or hobby you find interesting. Perhaps there's someone you know who still makes or creates something that is quickly becoming a lost art, such as quilting. Interview that person, and show how that "lost art" is created.
17. A Visit to a Museum (or Garden) - What can be seen on a typical visit to a museum or garden? Any outdoor museum, garden, or zoo can be easily photographed in good weather. Look for the unusual and get plenty of close-ups. If it's a bright sunny summer day use a polarizing filter to enhance the colors.
18. A Day at the Home of…. - Most people take home movies only during special occasions -- such as birthdays or Christmas. Take a single day on a weekend and film the whole family around the house doing normal everyday things. Somebody is mowing the lawn, another person at the same time is organizing a bookcase, or cleaning out the garage, or washing the car, or unloading groceries. It may not sound very exciting but in coming years you'll remember these people most often in their natural everyday settings, and that will make this film have special meaning.
19. Sounds of Our Times - Film a variety of things and record the sounds they make on a separate tape recorder. Then edit the film with each shot lasting ten seconds and the sound associated with it starting five seconds before the picture. Start with something simple such as a cuckoo clock. The sound begins five seconds before the actual picture of the cuckoo clock. Halfway through the ten second shot, the next sound begins (perhaps of a microwave oven). Then the shot of the cuckoo clock is replaced by a shot of the microwave. Keep overlapping the sound and picture in this way for the duration of the film. When the sounds aren't really obvious it can be difficult to guess what it is in only five seconds, especially when looking at a picture not associated with that sound.
20. The Super-8 Enthusiast (or any amateur gauge) - The perfect short film. Film another person who is just as passionate about amateur movie making as you are. This can be an amateur filmmaker, or a Super-8 movie collector who periodically turns the house into a mini theatre to show those flicker memories we all love.

---  Chris Cottrill
        E-mail:  ^{chris_cottrill@yahoo.com}
 

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