One of my most frequent pieces of advice to would-be writer/directors is to make a short film. After all, with the wonders of digital technology, any monkey with a good idea and a long weekend should be able come up with something watchable. Right?
The next step is getting someone to see your miniature masterpiece. That’s where my knowledge comes up a little lacking. Fortunately, my assistant Chad Creasey has just been through the process. He and director Dara Resnik recently made a charming short film called “Great Lengths.” You can read all about it at their website.
Pretty much every weekend this spring, either he or Dara were flying to some festival across the country. With this in mind, I asked Chad to write up advice about short films and festivals. He was gracious enough to reply at, well, great length:
Take it, Chad:
You did it! Maybe you had to destroy your great aunt’s guest cottage and illegally tap into the city’s electric line because you couldn’t afford a generator. Maybe you had to bribe the local sheriff to NOT make his 3:00am rounds in order to get that awesome explosion shot. And maybe you subjected your body to experimentation to cover the cost of the final audio layback. But dammit – you are now the proud owner of a completed short film!
So what do you do with it?
Chances are, you want people to see it. Although the internet offers venues like IFILM with which to showcase your work, nothing beats the rush of the live audience screening. You can always rent a screen at the local multiplex (costly), but most filmmakers prefer to show their work at a variety of film festivals.
The festival circuit
The past five years have seen a tremendous surge in the number of festivals. It seems like every city from Ashland, Oregon to Dubrovnik, Croatia has one now. What’s fantastic is you have literally thousands of places to submit to — but the overall quality of these festivals varies greatly. I’ve been to ones that treat the filmmakers like they were A-list celebrities, and others that made me buy tickets to my own screening.
After going through it, I have a couple of recommendations. [Read more…] about Finished a short film: Now what?