How NOT to make a Short Film - Top 5 tips

Making a short film

In this video, I give you my top five tips on how NOT to make a short film. Making a short film is a great way to learn, experiment and get your name out there as a filmmaker.

Are you looking to make your first short film or have you been planning it for a while and never quite got around to it.

In this video, I'm going to tell you some of my biggest mistakes when making my first short film and I'm going to give you my top five tips on what not to do.

Let's get into it!

Ok, so a little back story. Probably a similar situation to quite a lot of people, I made my first short film while at University, roughly 8 years ago now. It turned out ok, I was happy with it at the time, as I got a decent grade and it was nominated for a student award. Looking back at it now though, I can't help but cringe, as I did every single one of the things I'm about to tell you NOT to do.

Tip No 1

Don't make the film by yourself!

The best part about filmmaking is being able to collaborate with other people. Just because you can make a film by yourself, doesn't mean you should. I'm not saying you can't ever do it, as experimenting with solo projects is a great way to test ideas and learn, but working with other people to create something is what it's all about.

Back then, as I was doing my short film as part of my final project at Uni, I did everything by myself, this included: writing the script, drawing the storyboards, directing, filming, editing, sound design, colour grading, everything.

Budget is always an issue with films of any size and so you may have little to no money for your project and not be able to afford to pay for additional crew, but there are plenty of people out there looking to help each other out with student and personal projects who will often be happy for the experience. You may not be able to pay them, but if you can offer your skills as a camera operator or editor in exchange for their time they may be willing to help you out. This is a great way to collaborate and gain additional experience.

Tip No 2

Don't be cliche!

I was pretty happy with my first short film when I finished it but because I was so attached and personally involved in every aspect, I overlooked how cliche it was, and it wasn't until I got unbiased feedback from someone completely unattached to it, I saw the film with fresh eyes from an outsiders perspective.

I actually submitted it to short of the week, and the feedback I got was a big wake up call. It wasn't mean or rude, but I did take it to heart as this was my first short film and I was proud of it at the time. It was constructive feedback which really helped me to realise where I went wrong and how I could improve with my storytelling.

One of the main points was don't be cliche. From an alarm clock waking upshot, time travel and black and white flashbacks, and a voiceover, my first short film had all of these incredibly cliche moments. You can, of course, include these things in your film but just be aware of what's been done before, time and time again and think of ways you can mix it up.

Tip No 3

Don't worry about the gear!

As I mentioned before, budget is always an issue. This can, of course, have an impact on what equipment you can work with.

My advice would be to focus on the story and work with what equipment you have. This could be just a phone, don't let that put you off.

If you are at Uni or college, take advantage of what equipment they have. When I was filming my first short, I knew there were going to be a lot of scenes in a dark attic and so I borrowed a Canon 5d Mark ii from the equipment room. This was roughly 8 years ago and so at the time, this is when the 5D took the world by storm for indie filmmaking and had the potential for impressive low light results.

You may also know someone who has equipment who may be willing to let you borrow it.

Remember, the story is key. Don't just use equipment because you have access to it though. Not every shot needs to be on a gimbal and you don't need a drone for every establishing scene. Focus on the story.

Tip No 4

Keep it simple!

This is a big one for me. I tried to keep my film simple but it ended up being this unnecessarily complicated mess.

Kiss, Keep it simple stupid.

The best short films I've seen have been about one simple thing or based in one location. There is no need for them to be overly complicated.

Keep the story nice, clean and simple.

One of my favourite short films that I found Vimeo is called "Moving Takahashi"

And the basic gist of the film is that a removal man finds himself stuck in this house he's working with a girl who has 20 minutes to live.

Simple right? there is a little more to it than that but I'll let you watch it for yourself if you want to.

https://vimeo.com/36731248

The simpler the idea, the stronger you can make the story and the better your overall film will be.

Tip No 5

Don't rush, take your time!

One of the main issues that I struggled with my first short film was time. I was making it to a deadline as it was for a project for Uni.

Now while this is good practice for the real world, it's not good when you a creating a passion project.

If you are making something just for yourself, take all the time you need. This could be weeks, months, even years.

There are plenty of short film competitions such as the 48 hour film challenge when you are making something to a deadline. These are great and you will learn a lot from these type of competitions but ultimately you will be making something on someone else schedule.

Make the film you want to make and do it in the way you want to do it.

Bonus tip

Find real actors!

For my first short film, my friend very kindly agreed to be my lead actor. he had no acting experience but was happy to help me out. Chances are you may be in a similar situation and working with friends that are happy to help is a great way to find actors for your films when you don't have much experience directing yourself either.

The main problem with this is of course, they are not actors.

When I first worked with a real actor I was blown away, their ability to take on a charter and bring them to life is incredible. I will always be in awe of this talent.

My friend did a wonderful job with my very poor direction at the time and I was pleased with the on-screen performance and the voice over we recorded. When I showed it to my tutor at the time, he told me how it didn't quite work.

He very kindly arranged for a young professional actor to re-record the voice over for me. This improved the film immensely just in time to submit it for the national film and television student awards.

The actor was able to bring the voice over to life with subtle emotion that just went over my head as a non-actor myself.

While you may not have the budget to pay for a professional actor, as with up and coming crew, there are always actors in training that may be willing to help you out as they appreciate being able to add short films to their actor's reel when looking for work.

Outro

We never stop learning as filmmakers, there is always something we can improve on and new methods to try. The key is to keep going and not let your mistakes and failures stop you along the way. As long as you keep you going, you will always be improving.

So go out there and make your short film, make mistakes, make lots of mistakes but keep going!

If you have any questions, please feel free to let me know in the comments below!