Most of us pull out the trusty video camera for the standard occasions: birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and stuff like that. It’s always nice to chronicle those big moments, but if your video camera only sees the light of day during major events and holidays, it is being sorely underutilized as a device for escaping adulthood! Here are some home movie ideas to try the next time your inner Spielberg awakens:
1) A Day in the Life Of… Again, everybody films the major events of life. But what about the everyday occurrences? Why not make some movies involving cutting the grass, making dinner, washing the car, cleaning the house, or eating breakfast. Now, this may seem like a snoozefest (and we don’t recommend shooting hours and hours of this stuff), but we remember people most in their everyday settings. In the long run, short candid clips of the everyday will have the most meaning.
2) Family Storyteller. Everybody has one or two people in their family who are particularly good story or joke tellers. At the next family gathering, record their greatest hits. What a treasure to have some of Uncle Larry’s classic jokes or Grandma Emma’s timeless yarns on tape for future generations to enjoy.
3) Music Video. Remember when MTV played actual videos? Those days may be long gone, but there’s nothing saying you can’t make your own. Get a few friends or family members together and have everyone pick out their favorite song. Then grab some props, get into costume, and rock out! This is also a perfect opportunity to use some of those crazy special effects hidden in your video editor.
4) It’s a Dog’s Life. Pet lovers, why not film your pet in his or her everyday setting, doing things like eating, sleeping, and playing. Be creative and include shots from your pet’s point of view. For an extra dollop of fun, dub in your own voice as the pet’s inner thought process.
5) Pie Fight. This one might work better outdoors. Get a few dozen pie shells and plenty of whip cream. Launch the first pie at a family picnic and film the craziness as it ensues. Water balloons are also a fine substitute. In post production, you can add in a couple of announcers calling the play-by-play and doing color commentary of the melee.
6) Claymation. If you’re the patient and creative type, try your hand at a simple stop-motion animation using some figures made of Play-Doh. Just record a series of single frames, with each frame showing a subtle movement. Here is a great tutorial on making your own stop-motion masterpiece.
7) Magic Show. Have everyone in your family learn and perform a magic trick. Go all out and get dressed up, and come up with great stage names, like the Amazing Fran, or the Great Loudini.
8) As Seen On TV. This one is great with kids. Have them put together short, impromptu commercials. Have them sell your car, dish detergent, a breakfast cereal or their favorite stuffed animal.
Cool list! I love your suggestion for a pie fight – it would bring some “stooge-esque” vibes to your movie. I bet that video would be watched over and over.
An instant classic, methinks, Tim.
We have some old VHS tapes that need to be dug out and saved to DVD. Thanks for the reminder! They’re “Lame TV” (which is exactly what it sounds like) courtesy of our son, Jake, and his friend, Jason. They also did the claymation sort of thing with G.I. Joes. They had them in battle on our rock wall and very patiently filmed each pose to create the movie. Remarkably, his friend, Jason, graduated this week from actual film school in San Francisco and has three entries on IMDB.
Inspiring post. I always just included photos to my home movie. Pity that I do not have a camrecorder at present.
Marilyn…that’s why it’s always good to encourage kids creativity (as you well know.) You never know what to rudimentary beginnings will lead to!
Lee…Yup, adding still photos is a great way to spice things up as well.