You have piqued my curiosity.
Does a short devalue a feature
- Thread starter sfoster
- Start date
You have piqued my curiosity.
Okay, I'll play...
You have a short with an amazing twist. What is the audience for the
short? How many people will see it?
Scenario one: You don't make the short because you don't want to
devalue a feature. So you do what? Find financing for the feature?
We all know how hard that is for a writer/director without a track
record.
Scenario two: You make the short. It is accepted at a major festival
and is a huge hit at it's two or three showings. A grand total of 600
people see it including a producer who want to put up the money for
a feature version using the same twist.
What percentage of those 600 people who saw it at the festival will
not go see the feature version because they already know the twist?
What percentage of those 600 people will pay to see the feature
because they loved the short and want to see what you, a brand new
“discovery” will do with the feature version?
For argument sake change that number festivals to five and the total
number of people who say it at those festivals to 3,000. Does your
potential audience grow or shrink? A feature that makes even $50,000,000
means around five million people will see it. Does 600 to 3,000 people
seeing and loving your short film with the amazing twist mean 600 to
3,000 fewer people paying to see the feature? Or does it translate to
600 to 3,000 fans?
Let's make it personal; if you saw an amazing short film with a shocking
twist ending and then heard the writer/director had gotten the money to
make a feature would you not go see the feature? Would you tell your
friends to not do see the feature?
Scenario 1: I think a better alternative would be make a different short.. get attention from a producer and then tell them about this 'other great idea' that you have. I agree you would need some sort of track record.
Scenario 2: This is along the lines I was thinking when I made the OP. That it doesn't really devalue a feature. Although right now it's just a loose sci-fi idea and not a screenplay.
Personal: I guess I would have to feel that the feature had something more to offer. If they trailer showed me the story itself was expanded and not just relying on a surprise reveal .. then yeah I would definitely go see it.
Thanks
So the fact that you had seen the short film and really liked it would not
make you not want to see the feature. I suspect most people would feel
the same. So I think a short film would increase the value of a feature
rather than devalue it. People who attend film festivals and watch short
films tend to be people who really love movies. They typically watch for
more work from a filmmaker they like.
And even if all 3,000 people who saw the short decided not to see the feature
that still means there is a potential audience of several million people who
did not see the short.
SFoster..... it's a really really good idea to do a short of your feature... only instead of telling the whole story, what's an intro to the concept... like a 10 min short. Think of the best Bond films. They usually have a 10 min intro that's sometimes also action packed that sets up the story for the rest of the 2+ hours.
It's all in how you sell it... most importantly that you can set it up as a selling point to investors, distributors talent and a crew that you have a creative idea to present to the market that will sell. - yes I went the business minded response... as much as I love film and the arts, I'm also a business man by day... lol. I know that if you ever want to make a feature, you're gonna get the money from either an investor or group of investors that believe in your idea. (to get to their money, you'll have to think like them). Doing a short that is a set up to a bigger story not only sells your idea (without giving away the farm), it entices the viewer/investor to say "show me more"... if they wanna see more they have to pay~ budget forming.
Go for it man... lemme know if I can help.
It's all in how you sell it... most importantly that you can set it up as a selling point to investors, distributors talent and a crew that you have a creative idea to present to the market that will sell. - yes I went the business minded response... as much as I love film and the arts, I'm also a business man by day... lol. I know that if you ever want to make a feature, you're gonna get the money from either an investor or group of investors that believe in your idea. (to get to their money, you'll have to think like them). Doing a short that is a set up to a bigger story not only sells your idea (without giving away the farm), it entices the viewer/investor to say "show me more"... if they wanna see more they have to pay~ budget forming.
Go for it man... lemme know if I can help.
I think a short is a great way to test your ideas.
I've written out a series bible for my SF series, and my plan is to test out my scenes on youtube. This will allow me to experiment and, perhaps, draw attention to what I have in mind. So, to me, a short can actually increase the value of your feature-length film.
I've written out a series bible for my SF series, and my plan is to test out my scenes on youtube. This will allow me to experiment and, perhaps, draw attention to what I have in mind. So, to me, a short can actually increase the value of your feature-length film.
Living in Oblivion.
What if someone watching The Sixth Sense (for the first time) got ten minutes into it, and rolled their eyes and thought to themselves, "This is totally Jacob's Ladder all over again"...
I don't think that any given "big twist" is as uniquely original as most want to romanticise.
...and there was probably some dude/dudette at the Jacob's Ladder premiere rolling their eyes, too, summoning up comparisons to a similar previous film...
If you wanna make it a short, go make it. If you wanna make it a feature film, go for it.
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