How short should a short be?

What's the optimum length for a short film?

  • shorter than 10 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • 10 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • 20 minutes

    Upvotes: 1 100.0%

  • 30 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • 40 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • 50 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • 60 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%

  • longer than 60 minutes

    Upvotes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    1
NicklausLouis

NicklausLouis

Hey guys and gals,

I am writing a short film that me and my partners are hoping to shoot in January or Feruary. We got to talking about how long we wanted the short to run. We are trying to balance the advantages and disadvantages of having a short film run long (60 min.) or short (10 min.). I'm just looking for opinions from you all. And please explain your opinion.

Thanks,
Poke
 
I've seen fests that accept shorts 5 minutes and under only (Miami) ... and others that consider shorts anything under 60 minutes.

I'd say write the script, and don't let the festivals dictate the length. When you've got it finished, then you will find festivals to suit your film.

Overall though, I would say you'll be eligible for 85% of fesivals if you keep it under 30 minutes.

:D
 
Agreed. Thirty minutes seems to be the cut off for most festivals. However, it's easier for them to program you the shorter you are, so make it as tight as possible. I try to keep it between 10-20 minutes depending on the story. If it's more of a "skit" or "concept" short, meaning just one clever idea and not so much as "story" based film, try to keep it to less than 5 minutes so it doesn't get stale.

Of course, I'm not a festival director, but I've been rejected enough times to know... :D

- Mike.
 
Thanks for the good advice.

What about personal preferences? When watching a short, whether at a fest, online, or on cable, do you like short or long shorts?

Poke
 
How Short is Short?

That's a really tough question. I could slap myself for the answer I'm about to give... but honestly, a short should be exactly long enough to tell the story.

It's a qualitative measure rather than quantitative. If a film is good it's no big challenge to watch it for several hours. If it's not so good, five minutes can be an eternity.

Just my $0.02
 
I know now in England they've started doing micro-shorts or rather super shorts which are either 2mins or less than a minute - hardly see the point myself as ads run even longer than that :)
I'd say 10-20 is your best bet but 30 would be fine. I think anything above that and you're pushing it a little.
Anyway, good luck and let us know how you get on :D
 
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