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LEARN HOW TO MAKE GOOD SHORT-FILMS BY WATCHING EXCELLENCE IN THE FORM. 

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LEARN HOW TO MAKE GOOD SHORT-FILMS BY WATCHING EXCELLENCE IN THE FORM. 

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Make a short-film - not a feature film crammed into 5 minutes. The most successful short-films depict moments and are simple ideas.

Plan and refine the story that you wish to tell in ADVANCE of filming. The strongest short-film stories can be told in simple language and in a maximum of two sentences. Fine tune it by telling it to others.

Great stories start ‘in media res’ – ‘in the middle of things’. Hit the ground running so we can see your storytelling at its best.

The character should have a strong goal. The stakes should be high – achieving this goal  should matter. A lot. They should have a short amount of time to achieve this goal. Increasing obstacles should be thrown in their path.

Tell the story as visually as possible. Don’t waste time with dialogue about back-story and world-building – show it within the shot’s composition and in character behaviour.

Don’t rely too heavily on dialogue. Use every tool available to you - the character’s wardrobe, the objects that they handle and the objects within the composition of a shot - to show the audience who this person is.

All dialogue should move the story forward. If it doesn’t – cut it.

Aim for clear story-telling. Audience test your film and ask them whether the story is clear. If it isn’t, change it.

Don’t fall into the trap of having your characters become a vehicle for a point or a message you want to make.

BBC WRITERS" ROOM; SUNDANCE SHORT-FILM FESTIVAL; THE GUARDIAN CULTURE PROFESSIONALS NETWORK

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These Short Films, Of Less Than 5 Minutes, Will Take Your World By Storm.

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These Short Films, Of Less Than 5 Minutes, Will Take Your World By Storm.

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Films of Less than 5 Min That Will Take Your World by Storm.

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5 short films that are less than 5 min & guaranteed to leave you breathless. MUST watch.

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The Greatest Short Films, Of Less Than 5 Minutes, From Around The World.

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The Greatest Short Films, Of Less Than 5 Minutes, From Around The World.

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Sign Language by Oscar Sharp (2010) (UK) (3m)

Written by Stephen Fellows, Sign Language won both the reed.co.uk short film competition and the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2010 and it's easy to see why. It is a subtle and likeable romantic comedy narrated by a 'board guy' - who stand on London's Oxford Street holding up signs - who spends his life making announcements but is too shy to talk to the girl handing out flyers that he fancies.

Mac 'n' Cheese by Hankins et al (2011) (Holland) (3m) *

The animators on the craziness that is Mac 'n' Cheese were Tom Hankins, Gijs van Kooten, Guido Puijk and Roy Nieterau; all graduates from the Utrecht School of Arts in Holland, where Edwin Schaap's was also made. It's a mad chase through an arid American landscape and the inspiration was apparently the multi-player shoot' em up game Team Fortress 2. However, it clearly borrows elements from a whole gambit of animation genres!

I'll Wait For The Next One by P. Orreindy (2002) (France) (4m)

Co-written by Thomas Gaudin and its director, Philippe Orreindy, I'll Wait For The Next One ( J'attendrai le Suivant) was nominated for the 2003 Oscar. It is a bitter-sweet tale of a lonely woman being offered the chance of love on the Paris metro. A strange man is so desparate to find the right woman that he offers himself up to anyone who might like him in his carriage. I find it hard to watch it's so sorrowful!

No Support by R. Castillo & A. Urrutia (1998) (Mex) (5m) *

This stop-motion animation by Mexican duo René Castillo and Antonio Urrutia was nominated for a Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1998. No Support ( Sin Sostén) sees a suicidal man climb onto the rooftop between two billboards - one with a busty pin-up advertising a bra (the title is a play on words!) and the other with a mounted cowboy. When the time comes to jump, the huge advertisements come to life...

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Written by Stephen Fellows, Sign Language won both the reed.co.uk short film competition and the Virgin Media Shorts competition in 2010 and it's easy to see why. It is a subtle and likeable romantic comedy narrated by a 'board guy' - who stand on London's Oxford Street holding up signs - who spends his life making announcements but is too shy to talk to the girl handing out flyers that he fancies.

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The 49 Best Short Films That Everyone Can Learn From.

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The 49 Best Short Films That Everyone Can Learn From.

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49 Best Short Films That Every Filmmaker Needs to Watch

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What makes the best short films of all time? We'll take a look at what the best short movies that every filmmaker can learn from.

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“A small moment that changed everything.”

Between day-break and midnight on Tuesday 16th April 2019, one small moment changed everything for the character.

Your challenge is NOT to create a film about that day, but to create a short film of no more than 5 minutes in duration that tells the story of that specific moment of change.

It could be the story of:

·      The character experiencing something for the first time.

·      Discovering something significant about themselves.

·      Discovering something significant about another person central to their life.

·      Achieving something significant against the odds, or despite significant obstacles, for the first time.

·      A major relationship conflict is, against the odds, resolved.

·      Daring to reveal a secret.

·      Finding the courage to confess.

·      Finally accepting something within themselves or within their situation.

·      The last thing that they expected to happen, happens.

You can use a MAXIMUM of two different locations within the film.

Be specific with time. The film should cover no more than ONE hour of the character’s day.

The film should primarily focus on ONE relationship within the character’s life, although this person does not necessarily need to be seen in the film.

The film should aim to be faithful and accurate to ONE of the following genres:

·      A BBC3 ‘video-diary’ style short documentary.

·      A small camera crew-led Channel Four short documentary.

·      A short indie film.

·      A short ‘foreign-language’ indie film.

·      A short drama made for CBBC.

·      A Netflix Documentary short.

The character should be a convincingly real person and the life that they live should be expressed with authenticity. Although they can have a huge imagination and the film can express this.

The film’s story should have a beginning, a middle and an end.

The story should have a satisfying conclusion. You might even consider a ‘plot twist’ ending.

Although the film’s making is driven by you, the film will be ‘produced’ by your team’s company. So seek the artistic/technical help of your team members. Find opportunities to seek objective second opinions from your team. ESPECIALLY in terms of the clarity of your storytelling.

Above all, keep it simple. In short-film making, to be simple is to be smart.

Give the film a title.

Deadline for submission: Tuesday 12 th May 7pm.

MY ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASKED BY THE COMPANY:

Q: Can I include/use character voice over?

Yes – absolutely.

Q: Can the film be less than 5 mins?

Yes. The film can be as long as it takes to tell the story.

Q: Can I draw upon other characters played by actors in my team?

Yes – but as they’re also making a film, take care not to ask too much of their time.

Q: Can I include a flash-back to an event that happens before the one hour time-frame?

Yes. But it does become trickier to tell a clear story within the 5mins maximum brief if you do so. But have a go – why not?

Q: Locations. Can my film feature the character travelling from one location to the other?
Yes.

Q: Can I draw upon elements / ideas within my ‘Day In The Character’s Life?’ film?

Yes. Absolutely. It might be helpful to see that earlier film as a ‘demo’ for this more story-driven film.

Q: Can I be playful with my film-making?

Yes please!