"Why do you want to make a short --- they cost a fortune, nobody wants them once you've finished
and they'll make you no money."
(Liza Brown - Producer)
"I still want to make one, how do I do it?"
"Like an agony aunt, trying to answer the question, "how do I get a boyfriend?" I cannot give you a
point by point guide. However, I will start by counselling that, as in matters of love, passion and
energy are essential, a charming personality works wonders (but don't look too desperate) and never
forget that despite what you may have heard THERE ARE NO RULES."
(Liza Brown - Producer)
"-And what length is a short? Forty minutes; twenty? Ten? Two minutes thirty seconds?"
How Long is Short?
Short film length is as varied as the number of short films around. It will be less than feature
length, certainly. A short could be as long as 30 or 40 minutes. Ten minutes, or less, is common
and some film festivals have ten minutes or less as a condition of entry for shorts. The tv market
seems to prefer the ten minute slot for shorts, and ten minutes or less seems to be favoured in UK
cinemas showing shorts, but there are exceptions. It is also worth remembering that for tv broadcast
schedules, a ten minute slot means nine minutes twenty seconds only, not the full ten minutes (the
gap allows for continuity announcements, trails etc.) As Liza said, there are no rules.
High Production Values
Short on length should not mean short on narrative. Every film tells a story. If a feature is
compared to a novel then a short is comparable with a short story. Short stories are difficult to
write. Making short films is even harder. Production values need to be as high as possible, even on
a low budget short, so start with a good script. For a ten minute short the script will be about ten
pages long. Like every good story it needs a beginning, a middle and an end. Like any drama it needs
tension, conflict, apparent resolution, frustrated by fresh conflict before conclusion, good or bad.
Something like that. What you do not need are locations, characters, or properties that you cannot
provide easily and cheaply.
Budget No-No's
Unless your circle of friends is large and they all happen to be passable actors, avoid crowd scenes.
Having said that, computer editing can turn a group of ten into a crowd of fifty. Just don't look
too closely at the faces or you'll see how closely related they must be.
Sets, instead of locations are out. Effective sets cost too much for low budget. A set that is not effective is not worth having
and the camera picks up every naff and awful defect. Watch an old sci-fi tv series from the 60's or
70's and you will see why hardboard or stretched canvas sets are out, yet they were never cheap and
were built by tv pros. They come from the theatre tradition which got transferred to tv drama in its
infant period. The film camera sees all: film sets have got to look real, or your drama might
unexpectedly become a comedy.
Location, Location, Location
Instead of sets, go for good locations, but avoid impossibly high-tech or impossible-to-get-for
nothing locations. So hospital operating theatres are out, so are tube trains and underground
stations, usually (...but there's always someone around who has been there, done that.) Even a
supermarket should be a no-no.If you have ever tried to get permission to film in one you will know
why. One short we know of had to blow its budget on displays of melons and bananas in a mock-up
supermarket. No one would let them film in the real thing, but the story was set in a supermarket.
They had a very healthy, fruity diet, but almost no film stock to shoot with. The film was good,
despite the fruit gobbling up the budget. Many such places are no-no's, but on the other hand, if
you know someone who can get you in... or knows someone who knows someone..... There are no
rules, as Liza Brown states earlier, but make sure your production has insurance cover, wherever
you film.
"Amateur" Formats
You can use any film format to make and exhibit a short film, but the choice lies between
"amateur" and "professional" formats. There's a clear distinction in film, but in video the
boundaries are becoming blurred. Eight millimetre film -the "home movie" format- is still
available, camcorders have not killed it off. Good work has been produced on 8mm and still is.
Alternatively, you can shoot on camcorder and use a home edit kit with your computer. You will
save film and processing costs and save time waiting for prints from the film lab. Some high end
DV cameras are capable of providing images that can almost rival the picture quality of pro-video
equipment, at a fraction of the price. However the pro-lenses are probably worth more than the
entire DV camera and ultimately the image you capture is only as good as the lens.
"Professional" Formats
If you want your film to be considered seriously, in film formats you have to go to 16mm gauge
or, higher still, to the industry standard of 35mm. The gauge might jump by 100% between formats,
but the cost goes through the roof. You should be able to shoot a ten minute short on 16mm for
about £40K, for 35mm allow at least twice that, and yes, we are talking low budget here. In most
cases, to maintain quality, that's what you will have to spend. Of course, there's always someone
around who has done it for less, but was the project fully costed? Borrowed equipment and free
labour has a value in terms of cash saved. They allow the project to complete under budget,
they do not reduce the costed value of the end product. If everything happens to be bought in,
rather than borrowed, the film's costed budget would still remain the same.
Cost Compromises
There are some compromises you can make. Super 16 is a widescreen version of 16mm and works quite
well and you can "blow up" your final cut to 35mm . Some Hollywood directors, like Mike Figgis,
seem to like the slightly grainy look S16 can give a movie. You might want to go the digital video
route and save film stock and processing costs by shooting and editing on DV, then digitising to film.
Your alternative is to stay digital and use digital projectors to exhibit your film. Some features
are being shot using DV now and in the States there are some digital cinemas, but there are none we
know of in Britain and not many UK cinemas have video projectors of any sort. That may change of
course, but film as a final format is likely to be the universally preferred option for some time
to come, even if you shoot on DV. Many festivals specify a film print, even for shorts.
Where will your Short be Seen?
The next thing to consider is markets. Why not shooting finance? Well, you are asking someone to put
money into a project that they will never give a cash return on their investment, because unlike
features, which might make money, realistically, shorts can never make a profit. The tv market
pays about £100-£120 per minute for a short after all rights paid are off, so it is almost
impossible to make a profit from a short. This means private investment is unlikely, so you will
have to go to arts and public funders for capital. They want to know where the result of their
investment will it be seen, so we need to consider the market for short films.
Short Film's Debt to the Small Screen
A vigorous market for short films does not yet fully exist in Britain. It used to, and shorts
used to be seen in British cinemas supporting the main feature. Television has helped keep shorts
alive in Britain, but nearly always in a graveyard slot, or one that is a moveable feast. If the
sports event overuns, the short film gets bumped off the schedule. Of course, that may be why the
short film was scheduled there in the first place; as padding. Despite this kind of treatment,
shorts have gained a respectable tv audience. Not massive, but discerning, maybe. We have to credit
television with helping regenerate interest in shorts. It has sometimes gone about this actively
because, it is generally accepted that the next wave of British feature film directors will come
from todays short directors. This is confirmed by tv companies putting money into director showcase
series like Channel 4's Shooting Gallery and BBC2's 10X10 and similar schemes run by regional
tv companies. However, with tv payments for shorts running at £100 a minute, don't retire to a
beach house in the sun just yet.
British Shorts Revival
A shorts revival is now under way in Britain, assisted by an explosion of festivals that showcase
low budget shorts. The revival is helped also by new technology making filming more accessible
(and affordable) for computer-literate new film makers. For example, Shooting People, an email list
for new wave film makers was set up in November 1998. By the lists's first birthday, in November
1999, it had over 2,000 daily subscribers who use it to solve problems, answer queries, get
information, get shooting.
New Short Markets
Another market that is opening for the short film maker is webcasting. There are a number of
websites which stream short films in digitised format straight to subscribers' computers. Finally,
there is at least one distributor that is determined to get shorts back on British cinema screens.
The Short Film Bureau's catalogue is the source consulted by screen programmers who also see the
revival of the short as a way of enriching their screens. Shorts are different, they are quick,
often funny and usually, thought provoking. When audiences are surveyed most people seem to enjoy
seeing them. "Hooked", a recent short starring Ewan MacGregor, proved popular with British
cinema audiences. Thought provoking and beautifully shot, this classic, no-dialogue black comedy
lasts just three minutes but had everyone hooked. Those who have seen it know exactly what we mean.
Once "Hooked" has been seen, chocolate eclairs can never taste the same.
The Universal Short
In many European countries, the popularity of the short has never waned. Countries like France,
and eastern European countries, with distinctive national cinemas, have always supported short films.
Some observers believe they have elevated short films to an art form. This means there is a market
for shorts in these countries, but there is the pitfall of the language barrier. If you want to sell
an English language short to such countries, they will need a negative to cut a print with optical
subtitles. That loads extra cost onto the budget. In contrast, a film with minimal dialogue and
universal themes can be exported at little extra cost. If the dialogue is incidental, rather than
fundamental, subtitles will not be needed. The films of Laurel and Hardy are staple fare on Italian
television and immensely popular because they are readily understood. Many films of the silent era
hardly need captions to follow the plot. They too are popular in non-English speaking countries.
Cinema is international and if a short is to have the widest possible exposure, it should have
international appeal.
International TV Market
There is also a growth market for short films intended for cinema and television exposure in more
than one European country. Northern Arts is working on a project that, in 2000, should see a series
of shorts produced in Britain, Denmark and Sweden for cinema release and subsequent broadcast in all
three countries. Again these will have minimal dialogue to be universally understood. If a short
film is to reach the widest possible market, a ten minute film not reliant on dialogue would seem to
be a sensible option.
Hunt the Money
You have your script, you have your determination to make a short film and you need £40K or £80K to
make it. Where do you find the money? The short answer is, with difficulty, and not very quickly
either. The British Film Institute publishes a guide to funding short films, which is worth careful
study. There are a number of public funders, like Regional Arts Boards, who are prepared to invest
in short films, but the competition is fierce, so do your homework thoroughly. They all have
different application requirements, so be prepared to submit shooting schedules, budgets, casting
suggestions, director's notes, filmographies and biographies of production crew who might
be attached. In other words, be prepared to graft at the paperwork, because unless you do, you
will not be shooting your short.
Hunt Locations
There are lots of possibilities out there and you have allies. Local screen commissions exist to
help film makers find locations in their area, even no-budget film makers. They can often broker
a no-fee deal with a public institution like a local authorities. You may just have to indemnify
the owner through your own insurance package, so if a flood explodes and burns the location
down, your insurers meet rebuild costs. This is called "third-party indemnity" in insurance
jargon. Property agents and estate agents can sometimes persuaded their clients to make short-term
lets at favourable rates on otherwise hard-to-let empty property. Third party indemnity will be
a condition of lease. The agent's percentage should come from their client, who owns the property,
not from you.
Hunt the Headlines
Generate interest in your project. Use the power of the press to win publicity by giving them
press releases about your planned project. Start a cuttings file. Many public funders want to
see that you can generate publicity and want to get press coverage for their funding support.
Each time you make a step forward, publicise it so that you are seen to be making progress.
Nothing encourages a new funder like knowing that another funder has already agreed to help a
project. Success breeds success, so make sure your gains are known.
Hunt the Technical Talent
One way in which you can help contain costs is through donated labour, including your own. If you
can find people who believe in your project enough to want to work on it to further their own
experience, your outgoings can be more containable. But be fair. If they are giving you their
skills for the shoot, make sure they are not out of pocket. Pay a daily transport allowance and
make sure you feed them on the shoot. If they have come some distance to work with you make sure
they have a warm dry place to sleep each night. It is not uncommon for a house rented as a location
to become a crew dormitory at night. And do give them a VHS copy of the finished film for their
showreel. Donated labour can be costed and some funders, like the lottery, want to know the value
of such "in kind" payments, as they are often prepared to match that value pound for pound. A good
crew in these circumstances is, quite literally, as good as gold.
Keep the Cast Happy
Actors, even well known "names", will often accept work on a short film for Equity minimum rate.
If the script is attractive, and you offer a comfortable hotel, you can often swing a deal. Think
beyond the actor's performance though. There may be long periods during complicated set ups when
your crew are busy but your cast are not required. Give them a "green room" where they can retreat,
relax and take refreshment. Good performances come more easily from a contented cast.
Shoot on Paper First
Funders will require a shooting schedule and a budget, even a provisional one, before they will
consider investing their money, so shoot on paper first. Set out on a daily basis, which scenes
you propose to film. This forms the basis of the shooting schedule (and the budget, because crew,
kit, cast, costumes, properties etc. on hire, are costed by the day). Without a schedule the
producer cannot work out budgets properly or even arrange crew and casting calls, so the schedule
is an important piece of pre-production work by the director. It is probably a good idea to involve
the DoP and heads of other departments as well.
Shoot a Budget
Cost everything and if you can negotiate a discount, use the gain. Lottery funding for example
recognises discount gains as a payment in kind (which it is, someone is cutting their normal
profit to help you). They will match this as if it was a cash donation, so account for it in
your budget. Any discount on normal costs, including donated labour, can benefit your budget,
so make sure it is in there somewhere.
Finally, go and find the money, locations, crew, cast, and all the rest of the kit and caboodle
and having shot your film on paper, go out and shoot it on film instead.
Why Bother?
"To return to my boyfriend analogy you have to decide why you want one.
Is it to have someone gorgeous you can hang on your arm to make you look good at parties? Is it for great but meaningless sex? Or are you looking for a long-term relationship which, though demanding, has long-term rewards?
The answers to these questions will influence how you go forward and the same is true of shorts."
(Liza Brown, Producer)
