Short films encapsulate many elements of the art, craft, and business of cinema as we know it, but one truth is predominant among them all — short films are important.
The Art
Cinema is an important part of our culture. Hollywood studios and their affiliates — distributors, production companies, foreign movie studios, etc. — focus on feature- length storytelling for the masses, consisting of entertainment, as well as offering platforms to connect and engage an audience beyond outright entertainment. They reflect the times, they reflect on what has come before, and they explore what could come to be. They make us laugh when we want to laugh, cry when we want to cry, cheer when we want to cheer, scream when we want the thrill of a scream, and be moved when we want to be moved.
Short films accomplish these very same things, but they can be even more fueled by artistic expression due to the fact that a majority of the time, they are not being developed and produced to turn a profit, as is the case all too often with features.
Short films are created by filmmakers to simply express their vision and to tell a story, often without the confines (and benefits) of Hollywood studios and their affiliates. There is a rawness to them, which enhances the art.
They come in all shapes and sizes. They transcend traditional storytelling due to the confines — and freedoms — of limited running times. They are documentaries, character pieces, animated tales, anecdotes, and brief glimpses into the lives of characters or a corner of society.
While the mass audience is used to the releases that come to the multiplexes, short films are usually only found within the smaller community of film festivals. However, particularly in this contemporary age, that community has grown substantially over the last couple of decades, especially during the boom of independent cinema in the 1990s. What used to be small local film festivals — Austin, Sundance, Telluride, etc. — are now major mecca events.
Thankfully, short films have come along for that ride, as audiences have embraced them. And now, with the advent of the internet and streaming technology, not to mention this digital camera age, short films are enjoying the most exposure they have ever had, benefitting not just the filmmakers, but cinematic audiences worldwide.
Short films are so very important to the art of cinema because they offer a different perspective than feature-length films found in most theaters. They are a different experience. And that just adds to the art of cinema for all.
The Craft
Short films are a rite of passage for all filmmakers to hone their craft, their skills, their experience base, and their overall knowledge of the process of filmmaking.
While many great film schools exist to nurture novice filmmakers, there is no better education than actually developing and producing films. Because the process of making a film is timely — and not to mention costly — short films are the key stepping stones into features.
They are more affordable to produce. There is more freedom without the structures of the studio system. And by and large, any and all can take on the task without having to circumvent a certain hierarchy.
Yet it is still no easy task.
Filmmakers quickly learn that it’s not simply about picking up a camera, pointing, and shooting. A script is usually needed, if not an overall layout of the structure of any given narrative that is being developed. Equipment is a must. People that know how to work that equipment are needed as well. Then there’s casting, finding locations, getting permissions (or working around restraints), etc. These are all elements of filmmaking that filmmakers need to learn if they ever want to get onto the feature film platform.
Short films teach that.
They teach it either via difficult trial-by-fire scenarios, where filmmakers can learn from their mistakes, or via novice filmmakers connecting with more experienced ones and learning directly from them.
Either way, short films are important because they ready the filmmakers for the next step. Each short film is a lesson learned for either more short films, or for features, depending upon the goals of the individual.
The Business
Short films are often a tool to break in through the Hollywood or feature independent cinema gates.
Look no further than the Sundance Film Festival, which has discovered some of our greatest filmmakers: Wes Anderson, Todd Haynes, Spike Jonze, Paul Thomas Anderson, David O. Russell, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Tamara Jenkins, Ted Demme, Tim Blake Nelson, Alexander Payne, Paul Dinello, Martin McDonagh, Jason Reitman, and many more. All of these now established and celebrated filmmakers started with short films.
You could include visionaries like George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese in the mix as well, all of whom broke through thanks in due part to short films earlier in their careers.
The business of short films is important to many filmmakers that are wanting to make the transition into features, and with the aforementioned advent of the internet, YouTube, and streaming technology, virtually anyone can share their stories and visions and use them as tools to break through doors otherwise locked.
ScreenCraft’s Short Film Production Fund
As mentioned above, filmmakers quickly learn that making a short film, or at least one that is worthy of an audience — as opposed to just a pastime of the filmmaker — is difficult to do. While digital cameras and technology have saved most filmmakers from the costly expense of film purchasing and processing, it can still cost a pretty penny to attain the equipment needed to make any given short film look and sound amazing and engaging.
This is where a program like ScreenCraft’s Short Film Production Fund comes in.
ScreenCraft is a Los-Angeles based media company dedicated to helping screenwriters and filmmakers succeed through competitions, events, and educational content.
They have partnered with BondIt, a film and media fund with recent film credits including “Sharknado“, “Wild Horses” (starring James Franco and Robert Duvall) “31” (directed by Rob Zombie), “By Way of Helena” (starring Woody Harrelson, Liam Hemsworth and William Hurt) & “The Invitation” (SXSW winner).
The objective for this joint partnership is to offer between four and ten production grants per year to talented filmmakers for short film and online series that display originality, vision, and exceptional potential. Grant amounts will vary from $10,000 to $20,000 depending on the scale and merit of the project.
This program includes creative development from the ScreenCraft team and production guidance and resources from BondIt and Buffalo 8 Productions.
ScreenCraft and BondIt will request a total 30% ownership stake in each funded project, per terms to be agreed upon at time of the award of the production funds. Writer credit and director and producer credit will always remain with the original filmmaking team. All ownership and rights to the material submitted to this grant program remains with the original rights holders until and unless other agreements are made.
They are currently accepting short screenplay submissions (in English) from around the world. Whether filmmakers have a screenplay or a short film that’s already in production, they want to consider them for possible funding.
Clearly, this is a unique opportunity for filmmakers to “plead their case” — via their submissions — for possible key funding that can get their dream projects off the ground and give them the proper guidance to do so in the best of ways as well.
This goes above and beyond any mere short screenplay competition, as the winners here will actually be allowed to make their film with the proper funding and support.
The next quarterly deadline for ScreenCraft’s Short Film Production Fund is September 30th. Click here to attain more details and submit your own short scripts or online series.
You can also visit ScreenCraft’s Official Screenwriting Blog to read in-depth posts on the art, craft, and business of screenwriting, and you can sign up for their free Screenwriting Newsletter as well.
Ken has worked in the film industry since 1999, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader/story analyst for Sony Pictures.
He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as two writing assignments with Larry Levinson Productions, including the produced miniseries Blackout.
Posted by a member of the London Screenwriters’ Festival team.
