I think everyone should try and make a short film at some point in there life. OK I know that might sound a bit weird while also sounding a bit like a copy of the old line ''everyone has a novel in them''. OK as cliche as it might sound I am going to explain why I am saying it.
When I was sixteen I wrote, directed, acted in and did stunt work for a short film which I had called 'The Evil that Men Do''. I am really sad that this short film no longer exists. You see lots of young wiper snappers don't realize how hard it actually used to be to back up stuff like this. Nowadays if you made a short film and wanted it to get exposure then you'd slap it on YouTube, this wouldn't only help to get it out there and get more possible views but it would also mean that it existed online and you could come back to download it again if for some reason you lost the original. You can also get a whole bunch of different types of storage and easily and cheaply make copies either to pass on or for preservation purposes. My short film existed on one cassette, which was taken to various places and shown, a back up was never made and eventually as life moved on this got lost.
When I was sixteen I wrote, directed, acted in and did stunt work for a short film which I had called 'The Evil that Men Do''. I am really sad that this short film no longer exists. You see lots of young wiper snappers don't realize how hard it actually used to be to back up stuff like this. Nowadays if you made a short film and wanted it to get exposure then you'd slap it on YouTube, this wouldn't only help to get it out there and get more possible views but it would also mean that it existed online and you could come back to download it again if for some reason you lost the original. You can also get a whole bunch of different types of storage and easily and cheaply make copies either to pass on or for preservation purposes. My short film existed on one cassette, which was taken to various places and shown, a back up was never made and eventually as life moved on this got lost.
OK so I am sure plenty of people don't even know what short films even are well a short film is basically any motion picture which is not long enough to be considered a feature film. If you want to look at what official bodies say on the matter then any film shorter than 50 minutes qualifies as a short film as far as the Sundance Film Festival is concerned, while any film with a run-time under 40 minutes is eligible for the shorts categories at the Academy Awards. To my knowledge the shortest short film to really be taken seriously was an animated short film called Fresh Guacamole which has a running time of 100 seconds it is the shortest film ever nominated for an Oscar it was nominated in 2013 for Best Animated Short Film. Not all short films are made in the pursuit of glory though, they can in fact be made for a great many reasons, a lot of students will be asked to make some form of short film to demonstrate what they have learned during a academic course, other people will be trying to use a short film to demonstrate what they could do with a feature length movie if the time and funds were invested, they might basically be trying to use this film as a bargaining tool.
For a famous example of a short film which had a purpose you can look at Within the Woods which is a 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi, yes that Sam Raimi the guy who would go on to not only make the Evil Dead films but also go on to direct 3 Spiderman films started it all with short films.(Within the Woods wasnt his first short film he had previously made one called Clockwork). Raimi cast his friends and produced the film for $1600. It was shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods.
When the film was finished Raimi convinced a local theater manager to screen the film alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show, this short helped Raimi to get the larger budget needed to make the movie The Evil Dead (1981). The film was the first in the Evil Dead franchise, and launched the careers of both Lead Actor Bruce Campbell and Raimi himself.
For a famous example of a short film which had a purpose you can look at Within the Woods which is a 1978 horror short film written, directed and produced by Sam Raimi, yes that Sam Raimi the guy who would go on to not only make the Evil Dead films but also go on to direct 3 Spiderman films started it all with short films.(Within the Woods wasnt his first short film he had previously made one called Clockwork). Raimi cast his friends and produced the film for $1600. It was shot on location in a remote cabin in the woods.
When the film was finished Raimi convinced a local theater manager to screen the film alongside The Rocky Horror Picture Show, this short helped Raimi to get the larger budget needed to make the movie The Evil Dead (1981). The film was the first in the Evil Dead franchise, and launched the careers of both Lead Actor Bruce Campbell and Raimi himself.
My short film might not have led on to a full length film or any form of success but I have so many good memories of not only making it but of showing it to people, even now long after it has been lost I think back fondly of it , making that short film has given me a whole host of warm memories. This is the main reason I think that everyone should attempt to make a short film, because I think it is a wonderful exercise that will give you not only a whole host of experiences and new skills but it will also give you a whole host of hopefully good memories and lets be honesty good memories are what really makes for a good life.
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