Step up
You’ve seen the films, you’ve come up with an idea and you know what makes a good short film.
Now you are ready to begin.
Dan’s Top Ten Tips for short film makers is a list of some of the most important elements to keep in mind when making a short film. These are practical and commonsense suggestions to help and improve your film making.
There are three phases in the production of a film whether it’s a Hollywood Blockbuster or a mobile phone video about your latest project.
This is the planning phase.
Look at the BBC VIDEONation network for practical hints and tips about making your video. Watch the videos about the ways to create a short film.
The Tools4U Adobe Premiere Elements 7 resource has information, tutorials and activities about video projects in the classroom. Check out the easy-to-follow instructions about creating, editing and exporting your video projects. It also has information about the jobs and roles of a film crew. Get a team together to share the vision and the work.
What makes a good story?
There is no magical formula to what makes a good short film but here are a few tips that might help.
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An exciting and original idea
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A strong script
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Good acting
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High production values
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Short, direct and engaging
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Strong beginning
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Exciting film techniques and styles
The story
Watch film maker Angela Clare talking about the key elements of a good story.
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A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end but not necessarily in that order. Jean-Luc Godard – French film maker |
For more help with scripting and plotting your video look at the Good Shooting Guide Before you shoot tutorials. These videos give practical advice about telling your story.
Develop your script into a storyboard by adding the visuals, shot list, special effects and audio. Learn more about script and storyboard formatting (.pdf 252kB).
Look at this storyboard template (.pdf 24kB) and start planning your short film. It will help your ideas develop into a shooting schedule.
Remember: Tell your story visually, don’t rely on dialogue.
Need help with setting out and formatting? Check out these websites:
Simplyscripts has examples of a variety of short film scripts.
BBC film network provides practical advice about writing your short film. There are links to many sites about formatting, writing for actors and legal issues.
Adobe contains advice and ideas about storyboarding and film making.
Titles include:
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Storyboards
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Video narratives
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Creating suspense
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Documentaries
This is the shooting phase
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You have your camera, a schedule, a script and storyboard, location and the ‘actors’. |
Haven’t got a digital video camera? You can use the camera in a mobile phone or the new compact camcorders.
Check out mobile phone films from the Tropfest Mobile phone masterpieces competition. Watch the 2010 winner and runners up.
Information, hints and tips about using a mobile phone go to: Mobile Cameras.
Look at these three videos from VideoNation about how to make your film more interesting.
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Top Tips on location
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Before you go on location make sure you have everything you need. This Film Makers Guide Checklist (.pdf 225kB) will help you plan for the location shoot.
Remember: Be flexible!
Sound is one of the most difficult aspects of video production. Take time to make sure you have the right equipment before you start.
Watch these videos to learn more about getting great sound for your short film.
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Check the advice in the videos about recording the sound you want. Getting the right microphone to record the dialogue is very important.
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Remember: If you are thinking of entering your film in a competition check the rules and copyright information about using commercial music and sound effects. |
You’ve shot the footage, now it’s time to edit your masterpiece.
This involves the editing of the visuals, sound, adding special effects and titles.
Download all your footage to your computer.
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Make a copy of your footage to a backup hard drive and keep it safe. If you delete any footage in the editing process you can retrieve it from the backup drive. |
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Watch and name each video clip
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Plan how you will edit your story.
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Do a rough compilation of the basic shots and story.
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Add any extra visuals.
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Mix the soundtrack with dialogue, music and commentary and add titles.
Check out Tools4U Adobe Premiere Elements 7 for advice and technical help with editing the visuals and the soundtrack.