Short FIlm Question

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Monkey Chaos

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Short Film Question

So I am writing my next short. I am thinking it may be about 40-50 min in length. I am of the belief that a good idea (a cute or clever thought) in a film is worth about 10-30 sec of screen time... therefore one needs many in the film, instead of releying on only one or two.
So, back to my problem. I am thinking my film may be 40-50 min long.. so do I keep my film "short" or should I try to strech it out 20 more min or so for a feature length?
OR should I just write the film, shoot the entire thing and worry about the length while editing?

Thanks
MC
 
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I would say that a film needs to be as long as it needs to be, to tell the story. :)

That probably sounds a bit unhelpful... and most likely skips over any marketability advantages that making a feature may have. Just my opinion from someone that enjoys shorts.

I am of the belief that a good idea (a cute or clever thought) in a film is worth about 10-30 sec of screen time
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How did you come up with this, btw?
 
Yeah, I think that 40-50 minutes is kind of an odd length...it's too long to be considered a short, but not quite a feature.

If the original idea can hold up to it, I'd write in a sub-plot or parallel plotline that compliments the main story, and increase the length to 70-80 minutes. If you have all the resources to shoot a 40-50 minute film, you've pretty much got what you need to make a feature.

A feature will greatly increase the film's marketability, too. That should make raising funds a bit easier.
 
Oh, and I'm trying to post more messages so I can finally get rid of that "Newbie" tag under my name.

Sheesh, I've been a member for a year now, and I'm STILL a "Newbie"! LOL!
 
Zensteve said:
I would say that a film needs to be as long as it needs to be, to tell the story. :)

That probably sounds a bit unhelpful... and most likely skips over any marketability advantages that making a feature may have. Just my opinion from someone that enjoys shorts.



How did you come up with this, btw?
Click to expand...


Basicly my thought is: say you have a clever little idea or quip. Once it's placed in you movie, whether it is spoken or done, you have a short amount of time to relish in it (say 10-30 sec or so). Then you must move the story along and not congradulate yourself for it too much. My thought isthat a good film is filled with these little quips/clever anecdotes/whatever.
 
I'm not sure I understand the 10 to 30 seconds of screen time for a clever idea thing, but...

You could do two things, depending on a few different variables.

First of all, you are planning on shooting this yourself, so you have to think about budget. If you don't have enough money for a feature, you're gonna want to trim the idea down to a more comfortable short length (no more than thirty minutes). You could also use this shortened version to create interest with investors for a possible feature version.

Which leads me to...you can stretch it out to feature length, shoot what you can, and use the footage to get investors to help you finish the feature.

But if you have the money and the time, stretch it to a feature.

Poke
 
So what if i said that my ultimate goal for this film was to take it on the festival circut and get som exposure. I guesss other thought is which are there more of: shorts festival or normal festivals, and which are easier to get into. Obviously, the bigger names are all feature film fests, so there's that for exposure. It's all about telling my story to as many people as possible to get my name and films out there.
MC
 
Most fests have both a feature and a short competition. Then there are fests that are primarily for shorts. There are a few fests that only accept features, but their numbers are small.

My suggestion would again be to think about money and time...if you have limited of one or both, I'd suggest going the short route, and making it no longer than twenty to thirty minutes (and really try to trim it to less than ten to fifteen).

Also, think about what it would do to the story to stretch it into a feature. Will it add or subtract to the story? If it subtracts, I'd go with the short. By shortening it, the chances are that you'll be making your story tighter by trimming the fat.

But, if you enter a feature into fests (and it's good) then you will get more exposure than with a short.

Just some nuggets to chew on.

Poke
 
Yeah I was thinking about that. I was a little worried about diluting the story by adding more "fluff". I could probaby get it down to 30ish min. no way I could get the story I want in 15-20 though. As for TV submittions, which is more widely accepted "half hour" shows or "hour long" shows? For stations like IFC and the such...
 
More nuggets...

A film that is thirty minutes in length can get into fests, but it does have an uphill battle to climb. The thing is, fests usually group their shorts together in two or three different programs (usually keeping genres together) that range from an hour to two and a half hours in length. If a film is thirty minutes long, it decreases the amount of films you can stick into that program. A fifteen minute film just has a better chance of being selected because of programming than a thirty minute film.

The same holds true for shorts programs on IFC and Sundance, as well as Indie shows like Vegas's.

But like I said, it isn't impossible, it is just harder.

Poke
 
indietalk said:
Stretch it into a feature.
Click to expand...

I disagree. A feature is still a feature no matter how long it is.

Case in point: Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is 209 minutes long and there's not a second of fluff in it.

I believe that "time extending fluff" should be left out completely.

But then again, that's just my two cents. Ignore me if you wish ^_^
 
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