A Little On Short Films

Making a short film is harder than what I think people think it is.

It makes sense though, shorter than a feature, must take less work. Sort of. The concept has to be strong enough out of the gate. It shouldn’t be gimmicky, like a one-note commercial. And you can’t rely on development of character arc. I’ve seen some pretty bad ones.

I’m not an expert in the least, when it comes to short films, but I can tell you one thing…no one wants to look at them. Unless there’s a celebrity who offered their time for a friend (as I saw one TERRIBLE short do at a film festival…guess how they got in), shorts don’t generate money. So no one cares. Except people who run film festivals to generate money.

But let’s get to the core of a short movie. By definition is should be short. It shouldn’t feel long. Too many of my classmates at film school would constantly make a LONG feature length concept crammed into a short film. It’s really odd. And people feel it. Or they get real ambitious and do something with gun play. Under 30 minutes, I don’t think anyone deserves to be shot (this from decades behind me of John Woo movies).

Having felt that short films are just…skits, is also a massive crap show. At the film festival I was at, there was a couple who had a huge concept, wife and husband becomes swingers with mailman (or something like that). This person clearly wanted to sell a pilot of some kind. The way it was shot, the acting…just pure single camera crap. THIS is not a short film.

See, what happens is…people have a great concept in their head. But it’s not that great.  Because for one thing, great concepts require a ton of money. Remember “Amazing Stories”? All short films. Million dollars per episode easily. For something already on the broadcast schedule…great! For newbies trying to get into the business…it’s your money.

There’ve been a few who have pitched their idea to me as well. Coming from now a few experiences shooting shorts, I have to soft pedal their ideas. I think logistically first. What can you afford? A few get defensive (which is always confusing, considering they asked me for a reason), others just go forward to regret later. Some aren’t even short films. You can’t give an opinion to someone who’s first response is to defend their work as “it really happened.” This is the most grueling thing to hear. I reiterate this point as well, YOU ARE NOT THAT INTERESTING.

I really don’t know what will work. I’ve just involved myself in so many projects, that I do see what doesn’t completely work. I can’t talk anyone headstrong into an idea that it simply isn’t a short film. A LOT of ideas are never short films. They’re good ideas. And it should sit as ideas. It’s a different animal with putting it to screen. And there lies the true tell…forget everything I say or anyone else says about your idea, you should just shut your face and write it out, then go make it and see if it works then. The one thing that kills EVERY idea destined for short film status is when they have to write it down. This is really what separates the whimsical to the serious. Put it down on paper and then tell me it’s worth spending time, money and effort. Otherwise, there is nothing but hot air, and there’s plenty in L.A.