Pinky Miranda Productions

I have a lot of rules that I follow when creating my videos, along with the standard set of rules, which I’ll probably explain in another post. But my rule for short films and commercials is the five second rule.

No, actually I’m not talking about the one concerning dropped food. My five second rule is that in the first five seconds of your video (after the opening titles) something must happen to drive the story and set the tone. Otherwise, you’ll lose your audience quickly, especially if your film is on the internet. There are so many things out there vying for people’s attention that the precious first five seconds of your film must pique interest, satisfy it, and bring up some sort of driving purpose right off the bat.

I know that this truth is daunting, but think of it as a challenge. Now since this will set the tone for the rest of the film, you need to know what you’re going to be showing the audience. Carefully sculpt your first five seconds like they are a miniature version of the main attraction.

There are several things to keep in mind when implementing the five second rule, which I like to call the “First Impressions Rule”:

• Keep away the cliches. Stay away from that dream sequence or bashing of the alarm clock shot at all costs.
• Use the voice over sparingly. A movie is all about showing the viewer what’s going on, not just telling them. Trailers are a different story, of course. You only have so much time to work in a trailer, and voice overs add a dramatic effect.
• Keep the scene short. The five second rule usually carries into the whole scene, so keep the scene relatively short- use it as a springboard to the next scene and the rest of the movie. The length on your scene depends on the movie itself.

Keep in mind that there are exceptions to every rule, and these are just simple guidelines, and I’m just trying to help here. Every movie is different and these may or may not apply. But you have to learn the rules to break them!

Remember, first impressions are important.

Also remember that it’s not the least bit sanitary to eat food off the floor, no matter if it’s been down there for half a second.

-Rika

Ideas are like soap bubbles- look at them directly and they seem to pop under your gaze. And coming up with ideas for videos- well that’s a whole different metaphor. The point is, when you find an idea, don’t overkill it with a rush of thoughts. Let it simmer for awhile and then put it to use.

On the other side of the coin, sometimes ideas come best from constant attention to a glimmer. Although my recent idea, came when I was eating breakfast out of nowhere, my entry to the Heinz Youtube contest was discovered from hours of thinking and idea research.

Idea research is using inspirational quotes, photos, or any kind of media whatsoever to develop a thought. An example is a short film idea of using inanimate objects to tell a story, any story. So, to develop this idea, I went on Google Images and searched ’sock puppets’. I spent ten minutes flipping through pictures of them and decided that I didn’t want inanimate objects. Realizing that I had three kittens and two cats in my house- I tend to forget about everything when I’m doing my idea research- I grabbed my trusty video camera and started filmed every action of my twelve-day old kittens. That project is still in the making, but I have a feeling that it will turn out well. Even though sock puppets and kittens are completely different, somehow my subconscious mind linked them together. Or maybe it was the fact that my cat Rika jumped on my keyboard at that moment.

Idea research can occur during our daily lives too- we just need to be more alert for them to come to us, more meticulous on describing random details in our heads. Simply describing a yogurt bottle can lead to the conclusion that Yoplait’s Passion Fruit yogurt container is the worst container designed ever and that whoever created it should reexamine the design and come to another conclusion that the so called passion fruit looks like a mutilated limb.

All mutilated limbs and soap bubbles aside, this is simply my method of dealing with a form of ‘writer’s block’ that cripples ideas before they ever get the chance to change into something good. (Writer’s block isn’t just for writers, folks) Every piece of advice you gather for helping you get better ideas all boil back down to idea researching.

Next time you see that faint glimmer out of the corner of your eye, turn your head and let your mind wander. Chasing down ideas military-style will get you in the same place that the yogurt bottle designer ended up.

-Rika

This blog is about movies, short films, and everything in between! I’m Rika, and I have spent the last four years filming, editing, writing and even starring in videos of my own. On this site you’ll see my videos, learn about video editing and independent film making, find new favorite movies, and basically be absorbed in the world of film.

You may know me from The Nearby Future, where my merry band of writers and I run around writing about the future. If you liked that site, you’ll like this one too although it’s on a different topic.

Posts will come out every week or so, without a staff of writers it’s difficult to post regular articles.

Thanks for visiting, and enjoy the site!

-Rika