There are a lot of platforms out there in today’s climate to show a short film and it is has never been easier to make a short film if you want to have a go at becoming a filmmaker. Roger Wolfson often speaks to TV and magazines about his writing process and he is someone who’s tips really do hold a lot of weight. Roger is a TV writer who has worked on some of the biggest shows on TV such as Law and Order, Fairly Legal and Saving Grace. Impressive right?
Take Notes
Have you ever been thinking or talking to friends about a great idea you have for a short movie? If so don’t just talk about it, always take notes. Don’t let the idea disappear in your brain, even if you just bullet point your ideas it is a good starting point for your script. Notes will start to form a first draft of your script in which you can always improve and add to later.
Script
When you are making your first short film you will have the urge to just go out and start filming, even though it seems like the most exciting part you need a script. You need to fully focus on perfecting your script first, take your notes and start to pick away at them, discard anything you don’t like. Focus on the quality of your script not the quantity, for your first short, you don’t want it to be any longer than 5-10 minutes. If this is the first time you are writing a script go online and check out various different scripts so you get a general idea of how to proceed.
Equipment
Again with this being your first short, you don’ You need to make sure that you take everything into consideration, don’t just spend all of your money on a camera, you need camera tripod, editing software, audio equipment and in most cases softbox lighting. Spend your money wisely, you can have a fantastic camera but if the audio is off it’s not going to make a difference.
Location
Be smart when planning your location, think realistically. It is highly unlikely that you are going to be able to shut down a bar for the sake of short film so take that into consideration. Start small, start realistic.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Everyone needs to start somewhere, it is extremely rare that you first short film is going to be ground breaking but it is experience. Like everything in life, the more you practice the better you will get. If your short film doesn’t turn out exactly as you planned it don’t worry, keep going and the product will slowly but surely get better. All successful filmmakers started somewhere and I guarantee you their first projects had there faults.
