Short Films

...And How to Make Them

Nathan Parker

• Publisher: Creative Essentials
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781904048817
• eBook ISBN: 9781842434147
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

The advent of affordable filmmaking equipment and software, combined with the popularity of websites such as Youtube—which encourage the submission of user-created short films—add up to interest in making and viewing shorts being higher than ever. Experienced professionals are interviewed on all aspects of short film production process in this filmmakers' resource that covers screenwriting, casting, shooting formats, location scouting, soundtracks, computer effects, and how to get the final product distributed. Five award-winning short films from distributor Dazzle Films—including Being Bad and BAFTA-nominated Hotel Infinity—discussed as case studies in the book are featured on a bonus DVD, along with layouts for budget spreadsheets, release forms, contracts, and more.

1. TURNING YOUR IDEA INTO A FILM

Although there is no one filmmaking formula, there are many established filmmaking methods, some of which have evolved from the feature film industry and are often adapted and downsized for the purposes of short filmmaking.

Although a number may not apply to small-budget short films, several are extremely useful if not essential in planning and shooting a short of any length or budget.

Filmmaking protocol is of course always in flux. Established methods can suddenly become obsolete with the advent of a new piece of technology. Even well-established conventions are constantly being modified and tailored to suit the needs of an individual film. Most feature filmmaking methods have come about in order to make the process of production more efficient and minimise the potential for problems.

The result is a series of tried and tested methods, which are practiced in all areas of filmmaking. They aren’t rules as such, and no one is going to insist you adhere to them, but there is a great deal to be learned from the experiences of thousands of other filmmakers.

The methods described in this book are derived from established techniques. While films vary in style, content and duration, making it practically impossible to follow a specific model from start to finish, having a good understanding of conventional practices allows you to pick and choose which ones work best for you. For this, you will need to evaluate the specific needs of your film and work through a process of elimination to determine which are most applicable to your short. Ultimately they are designed to help you make your film with greater ease.

DEVELOPING YOUR IDEA

The concept for a short film can come from anywhere. There are no rules about what makes for good subject matter, no rules about the way in which you present it to an audience; both can be as direct or abstract as you want. While this freedom is short filmmaking’s obvious appeal, it can sometimes be overwhelming.

One of the most useful strategies for finding and developing ideas is to work out what limitations you will face during the creation of your film. The key to turning a good idea into a good film is to work within your means and you should carefully evaluate your potential ideas in light of the following considerations:

BUDGET

Although short filmmaking is a chance to let your imagination manifest itself on screen, more often than not you will find that imagination can be very expensive in practical terms.

Generally the main limitation when making shorts is budget. The budget – or lack of it – will dictate what kinds of ideas you can develop and eventually realise. Large casts and elaborate sets are expensive to incorporate; and while you should aim high with your overall production values, you need to be realistic to achieve optimum results within the boundaries of your budget.

DURATION

Short films can range from a few seconds to 30 minutes. You don’t have to squeeze your action into one minute or five, but can create a bespoke length, developing an appropriate pace and rhythm over an unspecified period. This means you can explore topics or events that would seldom sustain a feature-length film or follow more common structures; and this is something that you should try and use to your advantage.

When choosing a subject, try and think about a topic that lends itself to both the medium of film and the duration of a short. For instance, unlike a feature, you often don’t have much time to develop plots or characters. Trying to compress a significant amount of either can thus prove both futile and impossible. Shorts that attempt to shoehorn too much material can seem chaotic and leave an audience confused. Faced with a blank page, it’s tempting to work with an abundance of ideas, but it’s important as your film develops to eliminate anything extraneous and really focus in on what it is you’re trying to say.

TIME

The experience of watching a film is designed to be deceptive: the audience should remain unaware of the effort that goes into a production, which makes it easy to forget just how much time and energy is really involved.

You therefore need to consider not just how much time you can devote to the project, but also how much you can expect other people to give. The film will be a passion for you and hopefully this enthusiasm will be infectious enough to attract people to the project, but you have to be realistic about their commitments, particularly in terms of your budget.

DON’T LET YOUR IDEAS GO TO WASTE

Given the chance, most filmmakers would of course welcome a large budget, professional crew and talented cast, but only a few are ever given access to all these components; and the chances are they didn’t start out with them.

Your ideal story may be set on an alien space station or in the 16th century, but rather than shelve these ideas until a big budget materialises, knowing your limitations can actually help you turn your ideas into films. Try and locate what it is about these particular topics/situations that interests you, and then devise more unusual ways in which you can make them work within other, more feasible contexts.

Many successful short films are created from the most basic premise, and the simplest of ideas can be turned into extremely complex films; complex as a viewing experience doesn’t necessarily mean complex to make.

2. SCRIPTING

TREATMENT

A treatment is the name for a written outline of your film. More in depth than a synopsis but less precise than a script, it can range from a few lines to a few pages. It is designed to inform people of the film’s key elements and how they would play out. It should be easily readable and give people an idea of what your film will be like when it’s finished. Unlike a script, which often has a standard format and structure, a treatment can take the written form that most suits the material of the film.

DO YOU NEED A SCRIPT?

Many short film ideas may either have little dialogue or be purely visual. Creating a script may not be necessary. You might be able to convey your idea much more clearly with a fully drawn storyboard, or even a few sketches. However, creating a script, even if it is only a few lines long, or merely a list of directions, can often be very useful.

A script is essentially a reference tool for everyone involved in the making of the film and will often be necessary for much of the film’s pre-production. For instance, a casting director, or auditioning actor, will normally need to see a script in order to understand the nature of the project and what will be required of them. While on the shoot a script will allow both cast and crew to keep a track of the context of a certain scene and its direction. It provides a single point of reference for everybody, giving directorial information for actors and director, or technical information for a DP and sound recordist.

The process of turning an idea into a script also allows you to break the material down into its individual elements. Whether this is lines of dialogue, directions or actions, in doing this you will be better able to reshape and refine the structure of your idea.

FORMATTED SCRIPTS

With feature films, a script or screenplay needs to obey a specific style universally used throughout the film industry. Feature film scripts often exist for years before they ever get made and will be read by hundreds of people, hence the necessity of a generic format. With short films, however, where the process is often more immediate, it is not necessary to format your script in such a conventional manner. For people that think their film requires or would benefit from a formatted script, there is a huge variety of script formatting software available, the most widely used being Final Draft. http://www.finaldraft.com

Figure 1. Final Draft scriptwriting programme. www.finaldraft.com

3. STORYBOARDING

Storyboarding is one of the most important elements in the short filmmaking process. While a lot of feature-length films rely strongly on scripted dialogue and character development to drive the film, with short films the emphasis is often on the visual, with many films having no dialogue at all. In this last case in particular, the storyboard provides the keystone to the entire production.

The storyboard is the place where you first begin to visualise your film, to see how the shots and moves will work together to create the whole.

WHAT STORYBOARDS LOOK LIKE

Essentially the storyboard will resemble a comic strip version of your film. It will consist of a series of sequential images that shows each of the different shots. A good storyboard is often the key to a good film.

When you are storyboarding, you are not only working out what you want to shoot but also providing a reference for everyone else involved in the production. It will give the art department instant information about what they will need for the overall film, as well as the specifics of individual scenes. It will provide the DP the first concrete insight of your ideas for framing and lighting, as well as camera moves. It will also be a resource for the actors, and help them to see what kind of action they will be expected to take.

Whether your film has no conventional narrative, is only ten seconds long or has no script, storyboarding really is worth taking the time over. It’s often through the process of creating the storyboard that you will first encounter the practical problems in shooting a scene – an impossible camera angle, for instance, or the logistics of having too many people in one room.

The storyboard is also a great place to experiment and see how you can ma...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Table of Contents
• INTRODUCTION
• 1. TURNING YOUR IDEA INTO A FILM
• 2. SCRIPTING
• 3. STORYBOARDING
• 4. COMPOSITION
• 5. PRODUCER
• 6. PRE-PRODUCTION
• 7. PRODUCTION VALUES
• 8. CASTING
• 9. WHERE TO SHOOT YOUR FILM
• 10. INSURANCE
• 11. SHORT FILM FORMATS
• 12. VIDEO
• 13. FILM
• 14. SUPER 16MM (S16)
• 15. 35MM
• 16. LENSES AND FILTERS
• 17. LIGHTING
• 18. GRIP GEAR
• 19. HIRING EQUIPMENT
• 20. DIRECTING
• 21. CREW
• 22. DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (DOP/DP)
• 23. LOCATION SOUND
• 24. POST-PRODUCTION WORKFLOW
• 25. EDITING
• 26. SOUNDTRACK
• 27. FILM TRANSFER
• 28. GRADING
• 29. MASTER AND SCREENING FORMATS
• 30. DISTRIBUTION
• 31. THE DIRECTORS
• RESOURCES
• Copyright