Just read an article that gives some excellent suggestions on writing and filming my own short movie taken from material already included in a full length screenplay. Don't know how any of you feel about this, love to hear your thoughts. Below is the link to the short article I cited, which btw mentions that the screenwriter to Whiplash, one of my recent favorite films, did just that, filmed a scene and turn it as a short into festivals and the rest is history. Peace fellow Stager's. Been really busy writing, but will be back here soon more often. http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/short-movie-scripts/#comment-9378
Screenwriting : Making a Short Film from a Screenplay by Jorge J Prieto
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Great article! Personally, I never wanted to be a screenwriter, and I still don't. I want to be a filmmaker who writes scripts. This is the route I'm trying to take.
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100% agree, shoot. Do it yourself. Whiplash script made blacklist 2012, Nobody was funding until he showed his filmmaking skills. 4 years later, same guy's gonna win Oscar for "La La Land."
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So many films started as shorts....Saw...Evil Dead....District 9....Mama....Pixels....Bottle Rocket....This is the End.....Twelve Monkeys....Boogie Nights....etc...etc.....sorry if I repeated any from the article....I didn't click on the link. Short films....PUT IT ON THE BOARD....YES!
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Yep! Making a great short film is a tried and true method of breaking into features.
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This was the case a few years ago. Now the technology is so advanced that it is possible to shoot a feature on a short film budget. Tangerine was shot on an Iphone. If two movie makers were candidates for a new project, who do you think would be a safer bet for a producer; the one with a feature under the belt or the short film director? When you have a feature length movie credit, you get in to a different league. Regardless of how good or bad it is, shooting a feature makes a huge difference experience wise. Besides of the experience, it is also easier to monetize a feature length film, opposed to a short. So, one should consider these before jumping on to making short movies.
Julien - I pretty much agree with you. I think the main reason to make shorts is to prepare yourself to make features... That said, I didn't get into filmmaking to make shorts. I got into filmmaking to make movies, and to hopefully make money someday. Also, as Dan Maxxx has said, the chances of someone watching a 3-5 minute short by an unknown filmmaker are probably better than someone reading a feature script by an unknown screenwriter. So maybe it's a good idea to make some shorts anyway. I think the danger lies in getting yourself stuck in a short film making loop and never making a feature.
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We kind of live in a world where people are making shorts to get the hang of it and then moving om to no budget features. I know people who have spent more money on a single short than others I know have spent on their features which sold to Lionsgate.
Keanna: great job! South Side!