Storyboarding is more about sketching shots and how the camera will be shooting sequences. Writing a script or screenplay tends to be done alone, with a typewriter or computer – even a pen and paper if necessary! Here you’ll develop story, narrative, dialogue, and each scene for yourself primarily, but particularly for anyone you may involve. What’s great is that this bit often benefits from being a solo effort. In formalizing the design of the film, assets like a script and storyboards will be invaluable from day one. For a first short film, you will find that the effort you give here will save struggle later.
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If filmmaking can be broken into 3 stages, then the first is pre-production. The New York Film Academy says 10-15 minutes is an ideal time reference, but there are no hard and fast rules, so stay modest! Keeping your film short will not only mean less production work but make it easier to share too. Biting off more than you can chew in terms of scope and duration is risky, so settling on how long a short should be is important.
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Keep in mind that this is a short film, not a feature. Think carefully about how restrictions on resources might inform the work itself. What is the aim, what is the concept for what I’m trying to achieve? Are vital questions to answer at the start and stick to throughout.
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If you are big on ideas but small on help, take comfort in the knowledge that the most celebrated filmmakers all started somewhere!Īny project in any medium begins with a vision. Some of the best artistic works get made when there’s a passion for telling a good story out of creative difficulty. Small to zero budget and a lack of crew, actors, locations, and equipment are all limitations, sure, but not prohibitive to success. However, this certainly shouldn’t deter you, not one bit. You might be a cinematography student or just an amateur enthusiast – either way, it’s unlikely to be an easy shoot. For any beginner filmmaker, the challenge of producing a first short film can be daunting, to say the least.