HOW TO MAKE AN IDEA | 2024 Short Film | NSBHS Falcon Film

Overview

At NSBHS, a group of students is under pressure to finish a short film for a film festival. As deadlines loom, they keep stalling—repeatedly saying they “have no idea,” brainstorming in circles—until someone finally suggests a theme:

“Mirroring” — making the story’s highs and lows reflect real life, turning good moments into a kind of reflection and the bad moments into their “bad mirror” versions.

The Proposed Film Concept

The video then shifts to the group’s suggested/attempted direction: a boy-meets-girl romance with over-the-top melodrama.

They introduce the film’s “peaks” as part of the mirror/life theme, and the characters banter through increasingly absurd details, including:

• A running joke about something being “chest” / being into chest
• Awkward, comedic romantic lines
• Dramatic reactions that escalate the melodrama

The Brainstorm Spiral

As the group tries to “lock in” their concept, the ideas become more extreme and inconsistent:

• Expanding to a “whole mirror” idea—so literal they even suggest stepping on it
• Adding a library-based superpowers subplot (examples include time freeze and “untraceable DNA”)
• Rejecting ideas when they don’t fit (e.g., “recording ourselves” vs. needing a real concept for the Falcon film)

Ending / Devolution into Chaos

By the end, they essentially give up, reshuffle roles, and devolve into frantic, meme-like production. Someone even asks about voiceover within an editing program, admitting they’re “trash,” while the others push forward with whatever they can.

The “Falcon film” appears as a final chaotic sign-off as the project limps across the finish line.

Main Highlights, Jokes, and Reactions

• A repeating cycle: “no idea → big idea → it doesn’t work → worse idea → give up”
• The “mirroring” theme getting used to justify both:
  • romantic “peaks”
  • darker “bad life” moments
• Awkward comedic flirting alongside the weird recurring “chest”/interest joke
• Superpower brainstorming that ultimately gets shut down
• The final frantic editing/voiceover moment where they still try to “ship” the project despite everything

Main Plot (Short)

Students scrambling to finish a film at the last minute pitch increasingly absurd concepts centered on a “mirror of life” theme—trying romance first—before collapsing into chaotic, improvised filmmaking.

People / Roles Mentioned (From Subtitles)

• Students / film team (collectively)
• Tim (appears during the romance/meltdown segment)
• Mr. Med (credited with having an idea / suggested direction)
• Falcon film / voiceover speaker (a student asking about voiceover tools)