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The Shocking Truth About Writing A Short Film (That You Need To Know)

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When it comes to writing a short film, I’ve seen a lot. Frequently I’ve been impressed by the visuals, the level of the acting, sometimes the innovative use of a mix of media. Can you guess what most often is the weakest link?

It’s the script. Or sometimes the lack of one.

In one case, the filmmaker decided that a short film can’t really tell a story, it can only create a mood. Then we suffer through long, long shots of the sun going down, the blinds casting interesting shadows on the wooden floor, and the smoke spiraling into the air as the protagonist smokes his French cigarette.

Don’t make us suffer. We want a story. Even when we watch a 30-second commercial, we want a story. If the moody shots serve the story, then use them (in moderation), but they’re not a substitute for a plot.

At the other end of the spectrum are short films that try to be feature films, 90 minutes of story struggling to fit into ten or twenty minutes. The result is that we, the audience, are confused or things go by so fast that we don’t have a chance to engage emotionally with the characters and what’s happening to them.

writing a short film

The Shocking Truth About Writing A Short Film

Feature films and novels often are about the transformation of the protagonist in some way, for instance from selfish to caring about other people, or from fearful to bold. Those are big changes and a challenge to make credible even with 90 to 120 minutes at your disposal. You can’t cover them adequately in ten.

When writing a short film, it is useful to think of the film like a short story. It can capture a moment in time, a phase of a transformation. It can hint at what went before or what goes after, but not reveal those at length.

For instance, let’s say that in a feature film we were doing the story of a man who is totally absorbed in work and neglects his family but assumes they’re fine and happy.

He loses his job and can’t find another one.

Now that he’s spending so much time at home, he realizes two things–his kids don’t actually like him very much and things are really screwed up–his wife is sleeping with the neighbor, his daughter is cutting herself, and his son is selling drugs.

Maybe at first he lashes out at them, blaming everything on them, but then something happens that wakes him up to the fact that he’s responsible for a lot of this (I don’t know what wakes him up, but let’s assume we’ll come up with something brilliant).

He starts working hard on changing, winning his kids over, learning how to be humble…

Then he gets the amazing job offer he’s always wanted, but it would mean going back to his rat-race lifestyle.

If it’s an American film he takes the job but on his first day, as he puts a picture of his family on his desk, he realizes he’s made a mistake. He tells the powerful head of the company that he can’t take the job because he’s got more important things to do. He races to his daughter’s school and arrives just in time for her ballet performance.

If it’s a European film (and especially if it’s a European film about Americans) he takes the job, convincing himself that he can handle both.  When he comes home from his first day at his new job the house is empty. Maybe they burned it down before they left.

When writing a short film you could show one part, but imply a lot of the other things. Here are three ways you could treat the same story:

  • You could start with his workaholic lifestyle, then show him getting fired and, at the end, show his horrible growing realization that his family doesn’t love him.
  • You could start the story where he’s trying hard to change (his former self is implied), but then the amazing job offer comes. Maybe you give a hint as to what he’ll do but you don’t show it or the consequences.
  • You could start at the end–the smoking ruin of the house. As he sifts through the ashes there are flashbacks to moments that, when you put them together, let you understand what happened.

Next time you start the process of writing a short film, allow the audience to do a bit of work to put everything together. Leave them with something to think about.

If you’re a writer, instead of trying to make a short film something that it’s not, embrace its qualities and make them work for you instead of against you. And if you like this sort of stuff, you’ll love my guide on how to write treatments that sell.

 

The Minimalist Guide To Leveraging Short Form Content

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Making a living as a filmmaker can be a tricky thing to pull off. Sure big-name directors can afford homes in Malibu and multiple ex-wives but what about the rest of us who are driven to make films but also need to pay the rent on a studio apartment in Burbank?

One of the best ways to eventually get put in charge of that big Hollywood release while still managing to put food on the table is by producing short form content.

short form content

The Minimalist Guide to Leveraging Short Form Content

Whether it be commercials, music videos, or anything else with a duration under roughly five minutes, many of the biggest names in film – David Fincher, Jonathan Glazer, Tarsem, Ridley Scott, among many, many others – got their start making short form content.

But why is this and how exactly does one go about becoming a short form filmmaker who gets paid for your work?

1. Short Form Content Is A Great Training Ground For Directors

Let’s start with why short form can be such a great place for directors to learn their craft. For starters, short form allows the aspiring director to hone her skills with relatively few headaches. Making a great film is a logistical undertaking of epic proportions – every independent filmmaker knows how making a feature is often less about the art of filmmaking and more about the art of line producing – but making a great music video might only take a you a couple of days and can be shot with an extremely small cast and crew.

For example, check out the legendary “Trumpets” ad by Tom Kuntz and you can see how simple amazing short form can be:

Producing short form content provides a great way to learn how to efficiently tell stories. In long form you have lots of time to get across information and evoke an emotion, but in short form every frame has to be working extremely hard.

As Sam Walsh, Executive Producer at Team One and formerly General Manager of Propaganda Films and Satellite Films puts it, “it’s all about storytelling discipline. If you can tell a story in 30 seconds, chances are you can tell it in 90 minutes.”

2. How To Make Money Directing Short Form Content

In order to make a living directing short form content it helps to be represented by a production company. Big names in the industry include Anonymous Content, Caviar Content, Iconoclast, MJZ, Park Pictures, RESET Films, and Smuggler, but there are hundreds of solid production companies out there that represent directors and help them get work while also taking care of the business end of productions.

How do you get signed by one of these outfits? One of the most common ways of getting noticed is to have your work shown at short film/advertising festivals such as The Saatchi and Saatchi New Directors Showcase or the SHOOT New Directors Showcase. In this day and age though, there are lots of ways one can get seen.

Online destinations such as Vimeo are followed closely by reps and others in the business, and if you make something amazing there is really no reason it won’t get seen if you put it out there properly.

3. Where To Find Short Form Content Jobs

This is where it gets interesting. As I note in my book, The Art of Short Form Content, advertising agencies and others in the short form ecosystem are going to be looking for very specific qualities in a filmmaker.

Since the vast majority of short form is, in one way or another, an advertisement, people in this world are going to be judging your work on whether or not it can quickly attract attention, skillfully evoke an emotional response, and subtly shape perception.

Directors like Michel Gondry excelled in short form before they were directing Hollywood films because they have a visually interesting style, a gift for hooking viewers from the first frame, and an ability to make viewers feel something very quickly.

It’s not enough to just be talented though, as production companies are going to be looking for directors who have a unique vision but who can also collaborate effectively. As Walsh states, “if you look at a director like Spike Jonze, who has worked extensively in short form and got his start in music videos at Satellite Films, he has a completely original vision – and always manages to stay true to this vision.

But he also understands the larger reasons a piece of short form is being created and can work within that. That is the biggest trick and the people who do it the best, like Spike, are the most successful.”

Lastly, people in the short form world are going to be looking for filmmakers who have mastered all the elements of the craft. Short form content can often be quite sophisticated, as in order to tell a story in 30 seconds one needs to be effectively utilizing imagery, editorial, motion design, sound design, color correction, and every other facet of film.

The most successful short form content creators are those who know the craft well enough to be able to reach for the proper tool at the right moment, so you need to be comfortable with all of these tools and understand, on a deep level, how to use them.

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Bryan Cook is Executive Content Producer and Director of Multimedia at Team One Advertising in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Team One, Bryan worked as an Editor and Post Producer for some of the best agencies, brands, networks and production shops in the world. Projects Bryan has worked on have been recognized by Ad Age, Adweek, Cannes, Digiday, The Effie Awards, The Facebook Awards, FWA, and The Golden Trailer Awards. Check out Bryan’s just released book, The Art of Short Form Content.

Making A Short Film: 5 Tips For New Filmmakers

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Making a short film is the rite of passage for many new filmmakers. If you have never made a short film, now is the time.

Seriously.

Not only are there a gazillion film festivals that offer a short movie program, but with websites like YouTube, you have the ability to reach a global audience.

making a short film

This is better than the old days. Back then, making a short film meant that your work would get projected in theaters before the feature presentation.

But that trend ended. The short film was replaced by trailers and advertisements.

In the decades that followed, there wasn’t much of a market for short films. It was almost impossible to make money with a short film. As a result, finding investors to back a short was super challenging.

While I can’t say that the economics of short movie making has improved dramatically, the emergence of crowdfunding, festivals and internet based video platforms offers hope.

But regardless, you’re a filmmaker. And making a short film is a great training ground for getting your feature made, seen and sold.

Making A Short Film

Here is a quick video outlining my tips for making a short film:

Many people in Hollywood bounce around for years pretending to do work, when all they are really doing is pretending. Many of these people call themselves producers, yet they have no screen credits and have frankly failed to do anything!

Don’t do that.

If you haven’t yet made a short, my suggestion is to get started!

For your first few movies, don’t spent time worrying about lighting or special effects. Just learn how to utilize your limited resources and make something cool out of nothing.

Making A Short Film: Gear

For around two-thousand dollars, you can buy a camera that produces cinematic results. And if you can’t afford to grab a professional camera, then just utilize any camera you can get your hands on.

(Yes, this includes camera phones.)

Again, making something is better than making nothing.

In the event you cannot yet afford your own equipment, then find someone who already has gear and make friends.

Short Film Ideas

You next step is to get an idea for a short.

I suggest you focus on a story you can tell in three minutes or less.

When I was managing a film program, I noticed a lot of first-time filmmakers created dramatic stories that focused on suicide or some guy staring into a mirror and talking, or some chick shaving her head while reminiscing about apples and spiders.

These movies sucked, but they were good practice.

Your initial movies will probably suck too.

Don’t worry about it.

Give yourself permission to suck. Here is an example of a bad short film:

 

Yeah. It is MY second short film and I don’t know what I was thinking.

But it was good practice. I learned a lot.

Keep in mind, I included this short film example this to provide encouragement. Odds are good you can do better than this poo. I challenge you to get started and do something better!

Just remember, the more you practice, the better you get.

And if you’re making a short film, but find yourself really low on short film ideas, then the next best thing is to create a music video… Which is essentially a short movie too.

The other things you can do is watch other short films. A while back, I stopped by the Haig Manoogian Screenings of the best short films.

The films represented the best of the best of the NYU film school and were presented by former NYU alumni Eli Roth.

101shortfilm125x125Shot in film (not HDSLR video), all of the movies looked expensive and awesome. But at the same time, guess what?

…Every film was serious and dramatic.

By now, I think this is the reality of making a short film – It seems like most student filmmakers create serious and dramatic movies.

I don’t know why this happens.

So in response to a short film festival market saturated with drama, my ongoing to suggestion for making a short film is this:

“When making a short film, DO NOT do drama!”

Okay… If you think you have something dramatic you just HAVE to share, by all means, make your movie!

Case in point, I thought the best movie of the night was Little Horses.

Skillfully directed by Levi Abrino, this movie has a ton of heart. Here is an excerpt:

While my review of Levi’s short film is slightly biased (I have been a fan of Levi’s work for years), the laughter of the audience was evidence that Levi’s movie offered a nice break from all the drama.

So anyway… Go Levi!

Keep in mind that your short film will probably end up on YouTube.

So if you can be funny and get Internet viewers to share your movie with other people who will then share your movie with other people, you will have achieved a great thing.

In addition to all the points mentioned thus far – Your audience is your business. Growing your own audience is up to you. And the process starts with making a short film, getting your movie online and exposing your work to the world.

Making A Short Film: 5 Tips For New Filmmakers

After making a few short films, you may find yourself getting bored. This is actually a good sign, because it shows you’re growing. When this happens, begin to come up with more complex short film ideas and then write a well crafted screenplay.

  1. In the event you have not yet made a short movie, write one or two page scripts and then produce your story on a borrowed camcorder.
  2. Edit the footage on a friend’s computer.
  3. Upload the footage to video sites like YouTube. Test audience reaction. Is it good or bad? Learn from it. Then make another video… Then another… Then another.
  4. Once you feel confident with short storytelling, move on to bigger and bigger projects.
  5. Keep pushing yourself. Keep refining and learning!

The short movie marathon exercise described above will provide you with a fundamental understanding of how to shoot scenes for minimal cost and still make them interesting.

Making a short film will help you save time and money when you create your feature, while providing you with endurance, experience and the confidence to make movies with greater efficiency.

When you upload your work for the world to watch, audience feedback will reveal areas needing improvement. Even though you’re working with non-professional equipment and talent, if you can learn to make great movies with a small camera, you can make them with a big camera.

Theoretically, if you make one or two three-minute movies like this every weekend for six months, you will have the equivalent experience of making a feature.

Then later, when the feature filmmaker in you is ready, the feature will reveal itself.

101 Short Film Ideas To Get You In The Action

Sometimes making a short film and coming up with short film ideas can be a pain in the butt. So I put together an action guide specifically designed to help you find short film ideas.

101 short film ideasTitled 101 Short Film Ideas. In addition to providing short movie ideas, this action guide also contains some extra bonuses!

The system is designed to help you overcome any creative blocks.

In addition to having an action guide that contains 101 short film ideas, As part of this system, you will also get my ten step audio program for making a short film

This is mp3 audio that you can put on your iPod or mp3 player and listen to it anywhere. If you are looking for short film ideas, check it out here.

How To Make Money On YouTube

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Back when I was a kid, there was this epic movie called Wayne’s World. The movie focused on these guys who had a television station in their basement.

Like a lot of filmmakers, I thought the idea of having my own television station was amazing! But at that time, VHS was all the rage, which says a little about the technological shortcomings of my youth.

YouTube has changed everything. Not only can you create your own mini-movie channel, but you can also make money from your content. This means that your short film or web series finally has a home.

make money on YouTube

How To Make Money On YouTube

If you’re wondering how to make money on YouTube, getting started is easier than you think. Here are five tips to outline the process.

1. Join YouTube: As a filmmaker, I assume you already have a YouTube account. If you do not, what the heck are you waiting for? All filmmakers should have a YouTube account. Sign up here.

2. Sign Up For YouTube Partner Program: Once you have your YouTube profile, your next step is to apply for the YouTube partner program. With the program, your goal is to build an audience and make money. Membership to this service is free.

3. Post Videos To Your Filmmaking Website: I am always amazed by filmmakers who do not have a website. To get a website, you need two things – a domain name and hosting. To use a real estate analogy, your hosting is your land and your domain name is your address. When you’re ready, start posting your YouTube videos right on your website.

4. Get An Adsense Account: While knowing how to make money on YouTube is importIn addition to the the partner program, your next goal is to sign up for a Google Adsense. Adsense allows you to place advertisements on your website. When someone clicks these ads, you get paid.

5. Drive Traffic To Your Site: In the Indie Producer’s Guide to Distribution, I talk a lot about the many ways to drive traffic to your site. In short, there are both online and offline tactics. Some are free. Some are not. My suggestion is to employ as many free tactics as you can. Examples of this would be writing relative and useful blog articles and including a title card at the end of each video with a back link to your website.

While there are no guarantees in the movie business, one thing is for sure. If your short movies are collecting dust in your closet, they will never make money. Upload those shorts so you can make money on YouTube. After that, make more and more movies!

Are You A Rebel Without a Crew?

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Working in film distribution, one of my previous jobs involved pitching a catalog of movies to the El Rey Network. Talking with those guys was surreal in a sense, because I totally remember reading and being inspired by (the founder of El Rey) Robert Rodriguez’s book Rebel Without a Crew.

Rebel Without a Crew tells the story of how Robert Rodriguez was able to fund and make his first feature by donating his body to science. The book is written as a diary.  And most entries revolve around Robert’s one definite purpose of making a movie.

Like most would be filmmakers, Robert Rodriguez was willing to pay a pretty ambitious price to achieve his goals. But the difference between Robert and most – He was willing to take action.

Even though the book is totally dated, it is still an important read for every filmmaker. You see, the book was written well before digital technology. Back then, film, film equipment, film processing, off-line editing and transferring film to video was completely cost prohibitive.

Yet despite his lack of resources, Robert shot his first feature on film and recorded dialogue ADR. The point is, if Robert Rodriguez was able to start his filmmaking career on a clunky and loud 16mm camera, well before the wonders of YouTube – Imagine what you can do with your iPhone?

(This assumes you don’t have a massive collection of camera equipment in your closet. If you do, then Rebel Without a Crew should inspire you to get off your butt and make something!)

When I first read this book,  I realized one idea that has stuck with me ever since. I realized the sooner I stopped asking permission to make my dreams real, the sooner I could accomplish my dreams.

Grab a copy of Rebel Without a Crew here.

rebel_without_a_crew

Are You A Rebel Without a Crew?

For your first filmmaking projects, you may have to carry out your productions without a crew. This will be challenging. But forcing yourself to create small projects (and finish your work) will help you level up to bigger and more ambitious projects.

How do you go from being a Rebel Without a Crew to a filmmaker with a (small) crew?

Once you have a short, two minute movie you’re proud of, consider putting it into some film festivals. Going to the festivals will help you network and find other people who complement your skill set.

If you want to direct, find yourself a cinematographer. If you are a writer, find a director. And if you have no idea how to put the pieces together, find a producer.

1. Visit film festivals.
2. Call your state film office and ask for a film guide. Call people in the guide.
3. Post an ad in Craig’s list.
4. Find a camera – any camera and recruit your friends.
5. Move to LA or New York City.

A word of caution. Create short films first. This will allow you to see the darker side of your team. In other words, if you work with a jerk on a small project, please don’t work with the person again. Call this your jerk filter.  Go become a Rebel Without a Crew and make a movie.