Hot Topic: Short Films.

It’s always been one of the most difficult questions to answer in filmmaking: do I make a feature or a short film? I find myself asking this question now as, in an epiphany of sorts at 3am last night, I came up with a lovely idea for a short film.

Why make short films? Everyone has their reasons. Some do it as a calling card, others do it as a lead-in to a greater feature. Some make short films because that is all the financing will allow, others make them as purely artistic, personal expressions.

But, like feature films, making a short film is no simple task. While the time frame is smaller (maybe a three-to-five day shoot at most), the work is just as arduous. It requires the same planning and attention to detail that a feature does. So with that in mind, if you’re going to go through all the trouble, why not just make a feature?

As aforementioned, it’s a tough call to make. We can look at it from two perspectives, short-term and long-term.

In the short-term, doing a quality short film (meaning more an amazing story as opposed to feature-level production values, although production value will go a long way), will grant the filmmaker access to film festivals and thereby networking opportunities. And if your short is truly exceptional, it can lead to greater opportunities. I have the good fortune to know two filmmakers who have been nominated for Best Live Action Short Oscars, and one of them, the fabulous Ms. Lexi Alexander, who made the brilliant Johnny Flynton, has gone on to direct some wonderful independent and Hollywood features. It has also worked for filmmakers like Andrea Arnold (Wasp) and Taylor Hackford (Teenage Father).

But with the democratization of filmmaking via digital cameras and desktop editing, the volume of short films being made today is immense. (Theoretically every clip posted on YouTube is a short film). So the number of films competing for festival slots can be overwhelming. In a sea of content, the quality of a short must be spectacular, as the format cannot rely upon star power for obvious reasons.

Quality shorts that get nominated for awards can cost anywhere between $500 to as much as $50k, which is a significant investment for any filmmaker. And yet despite the daunting odds, thousands of short films continue to be made. Why do we do it?

It’s because of the long-term ramifications. Making short films is where filmmakers develop their voices and their craft. They are absolutely necessary to the growth of the film artist, and without them, we can never gain the experience required to make a career out of filmmaking. If one immediately jumps in and makes a feature right off the bat, there’s the chance it may be polished, but there’s likely a higher chance that it will be rough and amateurish. Short films will iron out a lot of those problems.

But we also have to think practically. In today’s distribution market, there is virtually no home for short films save for a handful of DVD compilations and online production companies (e.g. Wholphin and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s absolutely ingenious HitRECord), so when we make a short film, we have to accept that there is a very, VERY high probability that we’ll never see a fiscal return on that investment. And because of these distribution prospects, finding outside investors for a short film can be a never ending process.

But we still need to make short films, which puts us in a pickle. What do we do? Here are some basic pointers that have been passed on to me from other filmmakers and industry vets that might be helpful in this current climate, and make short filmmaking as productive and valuable as can be:

1) Make sure your short is short.

The 15 to 20 minute short is in absolute limbo. It’s too long to programmed with other shorts at a festival, and it’s too short to be shown on its own. The rule is to keep a short film approximately between 1 and 10 minutes. This limitation will also benefit the filmmaker in the long run, because if you can tell a complete story in 6 minutes, you’re beginning to master the art of telling stories in cinema time, a quality that can get you high-paying work in advertising or music videos. Making a short short film also increases your chances of finding distribution for the film.

2) Story counts.

This one is a gimme for any film, really. But the inherent advantage of the short film format is that is allows for radical experimentation of technique and narrative. I think of great shorts like Matthew Barney’s Cremaster films (which had the luxury of corporate arts financing), but the risks that Barney took were astounding, and there’s no reason a non-corporate funded filmmaker cannot take such bold visual and narrative brush strokes. A short film is a place for a filmmaker to flex their creative muscles, so write with invention and conviction.

3) Prepare.

Short film budgets can be even more restrictive than low-budget features, so plan and prepare everything as much as possible. Storyboard, make performance notes, scout, the whole nine and then some. If one is a filmmaker that likes to capture the moment in a more spontaneous fashion, still prepare as aforementioned, but then throw away your preparation one it comes time to shoot. But regardless, the short film is an exercise in guerrilla filmmaking, and even though their actions appear spontaneous, even guerrillas prepare meticulously for every eventuality. You don’t ever lose money and time preparing on paper.

3) Don’t skimp on sound.

Cinematography and animation are subjective to aesthetic but sound never is. Bad sound is just bad, and it’ll sink a short faster than anything. Invest in a good sound mixer and boom operator. And if shooting digital on a prosumer camera, NEVER use the microphone supplied. It’ll be an expense, but it is always, always a worthwhile one.

4) Apply to the festival circuit, wisely.

Applying to film festivals, especially with the advent of Withoutabox.com, has become an easy and efficient process. But is also is expensive, as festival fees add up exponentially. But here’s a trick, and it usually works about 50% of the time. If you are interested in entering a festival, call the festival offices and ask for the fees to be waived. Let them know that honestly, you poured all your money into making the film and you just can’t afford the fee. Some of the major fests are generous enough to waive the fee. But use this wisely and sparingly.

If you are accepted to a festival, it never hurts to invest in good artwork for your postcards and posters. Remember, you are trying to make your short stand out from the sea of short films, and on the festival circuit, a good poster and postcard can be worth its weight in gold. Not an artist or a Photoshop wizard and don’t have the funds for an artist? Then be a creative producer. Go to DeviantArt.com or to art schools and look for young artists with the talent to bring your concept to life. Make it a mutually beneficial partnership - you get their art, and they get work for their resume and portfolio. Pay for their art supplies (but not software and hardware) and get a unique piece of painted or photographic art for your short.

5) Comedy goes a long way.

This is more an observation than anything, but right now the film industry is in a dearth of good comedy. Today is there is Judd Apatow and everyone else who is doing potty / stoner humor. So doing a very solid comedy short will take you very far. The problem with this is that out of all the film genres, comedy is one of the most impossibly difficult things to write. But just like with artwork, you don’t have to write a comedy script. Find a local comedy club or improv school (The Second City or Improv Olympic for example) and put a notice out for a writer needed for a comedy short. These are people who live, breathe and study comedy. Hire your first writer, and again, make it mutually beneficial. Pay them a small amount, give them writing credit, but in the end, stipulate in your agreement that as a producer, you own every word that is written for the project. It’s not being an asshole, it’s just being pragmatic.

And naturally, of course, there is an exception to every rule, but I think these are pretty solid. So despite the odds even I am planning a short film to shoot this December. It’s a small, stylish film about fashionable women who steal the youth of handsome young men. It’s my haute couture version of a vampire movie, but without the vampires. It’s an exercise of techniques and storytelling devices I’ve always wanted to try, and it should be great fun, as I plan on shooting it in Las Vegas. Will it amount to anything? Who knows. But it has to be made, at least for my own sake.