from shorts to features

sfoster

sfoster

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how do you make the leap as a director of short films to directing a feature length one, with dvd sales on amazon and netflix?

i'm still new to this, but i figure if i can make a couple awesome shorts then my work would inspire confidence and open new doors somehow. seems nearly impossible getting anyone to watch your stuff though
 
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it would be fun to write a short for each major genre.. although some of these would be very challenging to pull off with no budget as a quick film.

Action/Adventure
Family
Comedy
Documentary
Drama
Horror
Musical
Romance
Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Thriller



first things first, the comedy
 
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sfoster said:
how do you make the leap as a director of short films to directing a feature length one, with dvd sales on amazon and netflix?

i'm still new to this, but i figure if i can make a couple awesome shorts then my work would inspire confidence and open new doors somehow. seems nearly impossible getting anyone to watch your stuff though
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DVD sales on Amazon here.

I didn't make a short per se. It would have been a waste of money.

I did however, practice and test over and over again, to master the filmmaking techniques needed to make a feature film. Read tons of books -- over and over again. A LONG pre-production (years) all the while collecting b-rolls and master shots along the way. Never went on line to ask a question. Trial and error during pre-production provided the answers I needed.

My belief is if one isn't up to reading A LOT on filmmaking and and end up having to come into forums frequently for things you can easily find in books or via google, you are going to need a lot of help and $$$ to get your feature film done. Without this kind of independent drive, you won't be able to see the way to make a feature film without being drawn to the dark side. (Gear over contents).

Good luck.
 
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sfoster said:
Okay so how long does a short film have to be in order to be taken seriously?

Can an awesome 3 minute short inspire enough confidence for investment? Does it need to be 10 minutes? 30?
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Just long enough to tell your story, and not a single frame more... oh, and less than 40 minutes.

If you want to be very specific, here's the Academy qualification requirements for a short:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/rule19.html

And an older list of academy qualifying festivals:
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/shorts/shorts-festival-list-2012.pdf


Granted meeting those qualifications and/or getting a nomination certainly isn't necessary, but if you're going to go for it, why not really go for it? Not to mention, meeting the qualification requirements and hitting one or several of the qualifying festivals will dramatically increase the odds of your short landing in front of the eyes of someone in a position to slingshot you into that bigger role. :)
 
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sfoster said:
Okay so how long does a short film have to be in order to be taken seriously?
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10-15 minutes, generally. I know that sounds odd to get an actual number since "short" is basically anything under 45 minutes. But more than 15 min or so, the story will really demand it be that length. If your story can be told in under that time, do it. Some documentaries are different, but narratives are usually around 10-15 min.

There aren't a ton of 40 minute shorts. But there are a lot of very serious 10 minute shorts. Similarly, there are not a ton of 4 hour features, but there are boatloads of ~90 minute features.
 
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stef said:
10-15 minutes, generally. I know that sounds odd to get an actual number since "short" is basically anything under 45 minutes.
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Doesn't sound odd to me. That's precisely the question I was asking.

I have a short that I estimate will be 6 minutes. I could attempt to double that length if it will help the film be taken more seriously.. but it is pretty awesome right now, as is.

What did you mean by this sentence "But more than 15 min or so, the story will really demand it be that length.." it confused me. Are you saying don't go more than 15 unless the story absolutely demands it?
 
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Will Vincent said:
If the story is complete in 6 minutes, then no you shouldn't try to lengthen it. Produce that, then work on another one that needs 15 minutes of screen time to tell its story.
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Will, that sounds very dismissive of the 6 minute script.

This isn't just another short that I'm doing .. it's a long-tiome contemplated masterpiece that is going to take an insane amount of effort and dedication on my part.

So if I need to add another 4 minutes to take this to the next level for financing, then I need to know. There is more to the story than I'm showing in the short, but right now it has a nice beginning, middle and end. It would be a challenge to expand without out snowballing into something much larger and more complex
 
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Sweetie said:
I think Will is saying, don't try to turn a 6 minute script into a 15 minute script. Your story will suffer. Don't make the short any longer than it should be.
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Perhaps it will suffer. Supposing it does, if no one is going to take a 6 minute short seriously anyway then what does it matter.. this isn't supposed to be going from short to longer short. it's from short to feature :)
 
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Sweetie said:
I think Will is saying, don't try to turn a 6 minute script into a 15 minute script. Your story will suffer. Don't make the short any longer than it should be.
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Exactly that, yes.


sfoster said:
Will, that sounds very dismissive of the 6 minute script.

This isn't just another short that I'm doing .. it's a long-tiome contemplated masterpiece that is going to take an insane amount of effort and dedication on my part.

So if I need to add another 4 minutes to take this to the next level for financing, then I need to know. There is more to the story than I'm showing in the short, but right now it has a nice beginning, middle and end. It would be a challenge to expand without out snowballing into something much larger and more complex
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It's not my intention to sound dismissive.

BUT, since you bring that up...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression you've not done much other filmmaking prior? If that's true, before you sink a bunch of time and money into this project, I'd suggest doing a lot of other projects that are not quite as important to you, whether shorter or longer.. because there's a very real chance of your first many films being total crap, regardless of your intentions going into it.

I don't say this to dissuade you or discourage you in any way. But knowing ahead of time that it's highly likely your first handful of films will suck before you build up and sharpen your skillset makes it easier to persevere through the often frustrating early work that likely doesn't live up to your expectations or match the quality your taste tells you you can and should be producing.
 
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I started this thread 8 months ago and at the time I hadn't done anything. since then I've produced a short dark comedy which is nearly ready for release.

I'll grant you this.. it was crap for a while. But I kept at it in the editing room and after another month or two it transformed into a work of ART.

And I've planed and done rehearsals for my next shoot coming up on the 9th. It's really given me a lot of confidence!
 
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