Crafting a Unique Vlog-Style Film for the '50' Theme

My friend invited me to join a student short film competition, and the theme is "50." The prize is huge—100,000 pesos for 1st place! Because of the large prize, it's expected that many student filmmakers will participate, and I know my entry has to be unique and unexpected.

I’ve been trying to come up with a story for days, but I haven't had any creative ideas. The theme feels so broad that I worry my ideas might be similar to those of other participants.

But yesterday, an idea popped into my head: a vlog-style film. However, I have a lot of doubts because it's not a conventional film format. I reread the guidelines, and there’s creative freedom when it comes to genre, but my idea feels very unconventional.

So, I asked ChatGPT for validation on whether it’s okay to submit a vlog-style film. Even though vlog-style content is widely accepted online, it's not common in traditional filmmaking. But my gut tells me to be unique, so I’m going to pursue this idea.

I do have a challenge, though: the structure of my film isn’t fixed yet. The flow will only come together after I interview 50 people and shape the story from their responses. My concept revolves around the importance of the number 50 to different people—what comes to their minds when they think of "50." If I can manage to capture that, I plan to connect the diversity of their answers back to the idea that even though my film may be unconventional, it is still a film—just as "50" can mean different things to different people, yet it remains the same number.

To me, "50" is the number that will help me achieve my dream of having people watch my film in a cinema.

I’m trusting my instincts on this. Even if my film turns out to be different from the others, I’ll finish and submit it because I believe it might offer the organizers a fresh perspective and show them my potential for greatness.