What makes a good short film?

What is a short film?

Short films can be described as films that are between the length of 1 and 59 minutes. However this will change according to the different countries in which they are made; this is because of the different distribution methods in the countries and the ability to get them distributed. The festivals will also play a factor in this, as there are many different festivals that will have requirements and filmmakers will fulfill these requirements accordingly.

The main concept of a short film is to portray something that is either fiction or non fiction and make it interesting enough so that people will want to see the short film. Because short films are so varied and do not take as much money as a full length feature film to produce, people who may not have the capital to produce full films have the chance to showcase their ideas and talents onto something that has a high amount of interest. This has lead to a high amount of people becoming involved with the film industry and trying to become established within the tough market.

The Times short film research-

To make sure our short film was a success, we tried to find something that would enable us to see if our film had some characteristics of short films that make them 'good'. We found a resource that is a set of questions that outlines the main conventiona and aspects of the characters and the story, so we could see if these were answerable and measure whether it was going to be good.

Most successful short films focus on one event or a moment of one character that is going to be the main emphasis and capture the audience. Also, t

here must be something that is pushing the main character through the story, like: a want, a need, an obligation. This is going to build up the anticipation and excitement for the main event and will help to keep the audiences attention.

The audience are the most important people for a film and so the filmmaker must make sure that the audience can see and understand

what the main characters inner problem is, not just from what we see. Therefore the filmmaker must understand and realise that the audience may not interpret what they had wanted them to and what the filmmaker interprets, as they have come up with the idea.

One main characteristic of a good film is to ensure there is something at skate and there is something to resolve. This will give a strong narrative and one that the audience can understand without much thinking. There must also be a meaning in the story, especially in a short film as this is what most of them are made for and will make them interesting and give some shock value at the end, especially in the more gritty films, like Cubs.

The set of questions we asked ourself in order to fulfill the conventions of a short film-

Who is the main character?

The main character in our short film is Lily, the daughter of the mum and half sister of the other sibling, Leon. She is the main focus in the film and most of the camera shots and angles focus on her actions and emotions.

What is their problem?

Lily is seeing her once loving brother become more apart and separate from the her and her mother as he starts to get involved with the wrong sort of people; and thereby endangering himself and the family.

How will the audience recognise the problem?

The mise en scene will be a key element in showing the problem clearly enough so that there is not confusion about who the main character is and what problem the film is focused on. Another way is through the script. There is not a lot of speech from the characters, but what is spoken needs to be harsh enough and precise so that the audience can recognise and understand the problem and what is going on.

The camera shot and angles will also be very important as this will capture the essence of the film and make it known to the audience how the problem is affecting everyone, and therefore is recognisable.

These aspects of the film must be thought through clearly so that we can capture what we want to, and portray our film in a cinematic way; which also means making it like other short films. This should enable us to meet our audience needs and make it so that people both in the industry and those who are interested in short films would see it as a 'good' film if we were to distribute and enter it into festivals.

Are the stakes high enough?

The stake in our film is the end of the story by which it is left as a bit of a cliffhanger as there is no clear indication of what has happened. This was done to let the audience think and use their different interpretations of what they think has happened. This makes the film just a bit more exciting and will make the audience ask questions which can build up the hype for the film which could make it a success.

Am I telling the story from the best point of view?

Showing the story through the girl of the family seemed like the best option as she is the youngest and is seen as an insignificant figure by her mum, as she thinks Lily does not know what is going on with her brother, but its the complete opposite. Therefore seeing Lily realise what is going on and coming to some realisation of how he may be in danger seemed like the best way to show the film; as we did not want it to be just showing Leon and having to bring in more violence which would have taken away the point and some anticipation for the film.

What is driving your character?

The drive for the character is Lily realising her brother is becoming more separate from the family and that he is in danger. She is therefore becomingly more inquisitive and anxious about her brother.

What is making it hard for them to pursue?

Leon is increasingly becoming more violent and hostile as the film progresses, for example him slamming the door on Lily and shouting. Therefore it is becoming harder for Lily to get close to him and see anything that may be happening, which leads her to becoming more stressful and somewhat scared.

What is the theme?

The theme for the film is mainly the way that the involvement with the wrong sort of people can have profound effects on the family as a whole and the individuals within the family. However along with this there is the theme of peer pressure as Leon's socialising with dangerous people are making him to do things which have caused trouble and pain.

What genre is the film?

The genre of the film would be drama as it looks more at the effects of the actions rather than showing them. The tone for the film is not violent or majorly gritty as many short films are, instead it is softer, but still has emotional effects and anticipation on the audience so that they still fell what we want them to.

Summary-

The story and narrative of My Brother Leon does have answers to the questions that The Times has used as a guide to making a good short film. There are some aspects that may be needed to look at, such as how parts in the film are going to be created so that the effects of the film do come together and make the audience react to how we want them to. However with these minor changes, we believe that My Brother Leon is a workable concept and that we have the material available to create a good film. The proof will be in the final production, but at the pre-production stage; it seems that we have made the right choice about what the film should be about and we can use this motivation to make a good short film that will please both the creative and aesthetical requirements of the project.

Resources-

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3336775.ece?token=null&offset=24&page=3

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3336775.ece?token=null&offset=36&page=4

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3336775.ece?token=null&offset=12&page=2

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Institute and Audience- why are short films made?

Why are short films made?-

Short films can be seen to serve many purposes, however the main reason to why they are made is that they are a platform for people to progress from and can create a career in the film industry. Creating a short film can be the first step for a filmmaker in order to build up their career and creating it will showcase their talent if they enter their film into festivals. From this they will hope to get recognised if it is a success and therefore this can provide a quick way into the industry.

However, there are no guarentees that creating a short film will open an opportunity for the filmmaker into the industry, as the film may not be seen to be good, and there are other obstacles such as funding. This can prove to be one of the main difficulties a producer will face, and so they must find places where this funding can accumulate from. From there, they can start to build up their career.

Funding for short films-

Funding for British short films may come from sources such as Film4, the UK Film Council, Film London and other funding for films which are specific to certain areas like Scottish Screen. The funding from these companies is usually distributed when people send their applications to the companies which includes copies of their film and budgets for the film. The funding that is provided varies, but someone like the UK Film Council has given £70000 for projects in 2010. An example of funding for a British short film is Wasp that was funded by the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund. They gave an amount of £53,250. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Live Action Short Film in 2005.

Funding for students such as ourselves would be a lot harder to get, but there are organisations like First Light which could be used. This is aimed specifically for school children of all ages and backgrounds. Through them, students can get funding from: The Young Film Fund, Mediabox and Second Light. The Young Film Fund is the UK’s Film Council Lottery funded activity which if for five to nineteen year olds. There are: script, pilot and studio grants which give out a maximum of between £3-30000.

Mediabox if for young people excluded from mainstream education, not in employment, young parents and lots of other disadvantaged people. Their grants start from £500 and are as high as £40000. Second Light is a continuation from First Light. However it is a scheme that has backing from Pinewood Studios and BAFTA and provides talented young film makers with mentoring and training. They hope to train young people to use the new technology available so that they enhance their skills and knowledge; which would be used if they go on to produce short films. These companies are set up to help young people to aspire to make short films and help fund them, so that great ideas can be put into practice and maybe create directors that will one day become well established.

Therefore although it would be difficult to find funding for films, there are many places in which it can come from. Also, for students such as ourselves funding would be more difficult to receive, however it is seen that there are places which distribute money in order for students to produce these films. This money that is provided can produce a film that will showcase the talents and efforts of the filmmakers, which can be life changing for some people. Getting the films to the festivals will involve some steps that take time and some will charge a certain amount of money which will need to be accounted for; but the reaps and benefits that can accumulate from entering the films into the festivals will definitely outweigh the costs and time involved in entering the films.

As seen, producing a short film and being able to find funding is a difficult task for all filmmakers, and creating such a film that will showcase the talents of us with the limited budget we have would be a difficult task. So, to produce a film that would be able to compete with other entries into film festivals would need some capital investment so that the aspects of the our project which make it seem to be of a lower level could be made so that they are of high standard. Then, the short film would have much more of a filmic feel.

Resources-

http://www.lotteryfunding.org.uk/uk/lottery-funders-listing/uk-film-council/ukfilm-wasp-case-study.htm

http://www.britfilms.com/resources/fundinginformation/

http://www.ukfilmcouncil.org.uk/shortfilmcompletion

http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk/funding/

http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk/funding/young-film-fund/

http://www.media-box.co.uk/funding/who-can-apply

http://www.firstlightonline.co.uk/funding/second-light/

http://www.britfilms.com/festivals/browse/?&c=73&skip=0

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http://www.channel4.com/interact/platform4/images/film4_170.jpg

How filmmakers get their films to festivals-

Filmmakers seek out to find the right festivals that will suit their types of films, and ones where they know people will be interested in their film. Also, they may enter some prestigious ones where if they are successful, may cause them to become well known and could build their career in the film industry. Cannes Film Festival is mainly the most known and respected film festival along with others like the Sundance Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. These top film festivals will show vast amounts of films. For example in the Cannes film festival in 2009, there were 999 feature films and 47 short films entered.

The media coverage at these festivals is huge and so this is why they are so popular. Filmmakers will want to get their applications in early and create a film that will stand out from many of the others, especially for short film makers. The method of entering the short film applications can take a form like this:

1. Complete the required entry form and attach all the necessary materials, like the preview tape and the press kit.

2. Include the required entry fee if needed, and read the instructions regarding the postage and customs requirements. Many festivals will ask the makers to write ‘No commercial value- for temporary cultural purposes only.’ If the customs forms are incorrectly completed, then the parcel may be returned to the sender and the producer may not have time to send it again before the deadline closes.

3. If the parcel does arrive to the festival, vital information should have been included in the pack, like: the film title, contact details, tape format information, film duration and easy identification.

Applications will vary according to the different festivals, but filmmakers will usually find that they take a similar form. The cost of entering the film into the festivals may cause trouble for the filmmaker, however there are many festivals out there that do not have a cost for entering films. The only problem with festivals that do not have a cost for entering films is that they usually do not take in as many films and there will be more fierce competition to get the film to the festival. Also, there are not usually big names in the audiences at these festivals, whereas at a prestigious festival you would find these big names.

Resources-
http://worldfilm.about.com/od/filmfestivals/tp/filmfestivalhub.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_festival

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Summary-

Creating a short film can be done for many reasons, however as explained earlier the main reason is so that the filmmaker can showcase their talent and try to ignite a career in film. For our project, this is obviously not the reason for creating a short film, however we could create another if we wanted to show our talents and abilitites to the industry. There are places for funding for students such as us, and with this funding, we would be able to use more sophisticated techniques to create a more cinematic and higher quality film. Also, there are places which could help us with aspects such as the applications for festivals and so there is always a scope of opportunity for people who wish to produce short films, and for students like us, there is an opportunity to let our creative side flourish.