Find a picture involving one or two people in a dramatic situation. This could be a classical painting, a picture from a comic strip, or a photograph (from a newspaper, an advertisement or a book of photojournalism). Imagine that this picture is the last shot in your film. Devise a story of up to a minute which leads up to that final shot.

Do the same activity, but this time using two pictures: one is the first shot in your film and the other is the last shot. What is the story that links them?

Start with a picture featuring two or three people. Start by creating a 'tableau' - actors stand frozen in the positions of the people in the picture. Set up a camcorder on wide shot and start filming. The actors 'come to life' and improvise from the starting position. Use what you have filmed as the basis for developing a script.