[Writing] Story Ideas

I went to college and got my Associates Degree in Digital Media (focusing on film). I've been out of school for near a year now and want to go back, but I have had a few people doubt my abilities and it's kinda making me rethink everything. So what I want to do is make a "movie" this summer with a few friends of mine.

I'll have to juggle both my work schedule and theirs, and of course weather if a lot of what I'm wanting to do needs the outdoors, so I don't want a huge project. But why do you care, you ask? Excellent question.

While I'm quite excited for this to prove both to others and (mostly) myself that I can, in fact, make it in the field of film. But I don't know what to make a video about. That's why I'm telling you this. I need help figuring out a plot for this shindig I'm trying to come up with.

I'm hoping to keep the cast/character count under 5 (at a time).
I've only got a few homes that I can film in, but can film around the neighborhood (small town of only about 800 people). I also have mountains and a reservoir/dam that I can film at. I have an old rundown shop I can use as well, but am trying for the most part to stay clear of it because I've used it for nearly all of my video projects in the past. And that's pretty much all I have to work with.
I'm wanting it to be between 15 and 45 minutes respectfully. My original hope was to hit 30 minutes, but with all the schedule juggling, it seems a bit unrealistic.

If anyone has any good, original ideas please feel free to share.
If anyone needs any more information, let me know that as well and I'll add it here.

How long?

Between 30 and 60 minutes I think would be about right.

I'm not super good at coming up with good, original ideas that aren't cliche'd up the butt.

What sort of genre and what kind of settings are you working with? It's one thing to write a screenplay for a good idea, but it's another to have to fit a screenplay into a schedule with limited resources.

I live in a small town with a very mountainous region very nearby.

Genre, I dunno, that's one reason I'm asking for ideas.

I also don't know about schedule, it's going to be done in the summer though, so good weather. It really depends on my work schedule and that of all of the people helping out with it.

I'm assuming that you have simply had a sudden desire to write a screenplay. What exactly caused that? There must have been something. Ideally, I'd say there needs to be something. Just writing for the sake of it doesn't generally lead to anything good.

If you are on your own, I'd probably try to do something much shorter than what you anticipate. Writing a 10 minute screenplay is already a hard task if you have nothing to work from, let alone 30 or 60.

What I'd suggest is finding some kind of inspiration to give some very basic and simple "feelings" about what you want to. Where you get this from can be anywhere and anything. Inspiration is all around; you just have to know what you are looking for. One good way that I get inspiration is from some instrumental music. It doesn't matter what it is, and doesn't simply mean listen to classical music either. Occasionally, music with lyrics can be good inspiration too if you use the theme of the words to guide you.

Simply asking for something to write about isn't going to end well. If you have no idea about the basics, let alone the direction and flow (and all the other things that are needed), you won't get beyond the first 10 seconds. Or at the very least, the work won't be worth reading.

I've been wanting to make one for quite a while as not only a piece to my resume but to really prove to myself that I can succeed at it. I've been fumbling around with ideas for quite some time and can't seem to find one that I really like. But yeah, you're right about the duration of it.  Anyway, that's my motives. I'll try some more ways that I get inspiration to see if anything hits me, but of anyone has ideas, still, feel free to let me know.

I went to college for screenwriting, and saw a LOT of bad ideas poorly done by people overly ambitious. For first timers, simplicity is key. Don't try to do a horror "OMG SOMETHING'S IN THE WOODS CHASING US" Blair Witch Project crap, do something closer to home for all of you.

Are you considering doing outside shots more than inside ones, if any inside ones at all?

It really doesn't matter to me, really. It depends on what the story calls for. I really can do both. I've updated the main post describing it a bit more what I'm looking at doing (Because I was on a cruddy phone when originally posting).