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Ideas are the lifeblood of any great piece or art. Though the ideas in certain art forms might not seem as important as the technique, most people are not impressed by a well-made film full of boring ideas. Ideas can come from anywhere and everywhere and their originator is not important as the meaning they carry.

Toward the end of coming up with original ideas for your films, a few factors are important to consider. Some never even analyze their method for coming up with ideas and many feel it's counterproductive. There is no magic to creativity; it can be learned and can be picked apart and made better. With the following in mind you can make better choices about what ideas you accept, where you look for them, and in general what you try to do with your work.

Media Is Life Distilled

We go to movies for fun, without a doubt. We go for an escape of sorts and an experience we can't get otherwise. No matter how much people argue that they go to movies to get away from life, the more it proves that they are interested in real life. Nothing is ever NOT in relation to real life. It can be a comment on real life or a way to express things about real life in an oblique manner, but it's always about life. We go to movies for the experience of life that we rarely get in our every day existence. We want to get to know somebody in a way that mimics life but is more truthful. The way we know it to be but rarely see it in life. Good ideas will be made from life, but never completely like it.

Expressive Means True To Life

The more original ideas you can put into a film that come from real life the better. Not that any idea will do as long as it's true, but a solid grounding in fact will help your film reach toward greatness. It needn't be facts that are real, sometimes it can be feelings. We really don't have space travel and yet the driver of a spaceship might feel a lot like a long-haul trucker. Will you go to people that do something analogous to your characters and fill them with the spirit of life or will you go with the first things that pops in your head? Ideas that are based in reality have a satisfying, organic quality that is very difficult to fabricate.

Diluted Ideas Based On Existing Media

There is so much about life we don't know or understand. There are many people in the world that we don't know and many we wouldn't want to know. That is no reason to not bring these people into your movies. Just because it will take time and effort to interest people in difficult characters is not a valid excuse for not doing it. You can just recycle persons from other media that are already generally accepted by people and have an easier time of it, but this won't add to the knowledge we have of our world. This will be just splitting hairs on existing themes. Nothing new is added to the collective consciousness. Making movies about people normally not seen in movies has an inherent value, though it might take people a while to recognize it.

Not all ideas are equal. Some will be more quickly adopted by certain sections of the population and some take much longer. The important thing for you to decide is where you stand. If you want to do the easy thing, then take existing types and update them for a modern audience; use old ideas in new clothing and you will do fine. If you have a unique experience that requires new ideas to manifest your vision, then know that it's not simple but you will be rewarded. Know what you're about and take the right steps to help you get where you want to go.