Making a Winning Short by Edmond Levy

Author:Edmond Levy
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781466880986
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

* Abbreviate as much as possible words like: BLDG. (building), BGD (background), FGD (foreground), POV (point of view), VO (voice-over), CU (close-up).

10

Launching Production

THE SCRIPT IS WRITTEN, TESTED, AND REWRITTEN. In the chapters ahead, I’ll be discussing casting and working with cast, crew, and editor. But first, let’s take a look at the financial considerations.

The most important question is, how will you finance your short? Most student or amateur films are funded by the filmmaker’s family or by Uncle Sam in the form of a student loan, plus personal savings. There are some film grants available, but foundations take months to process applications and you may not be able to wait to see whether you are one of the lucky few. If you have “investors” who think enough of you to put in some money, that’s great. Just don’t tell them they will make money because only rarely does this happen. They may make some of their money back and may get a tax deduction as a capital loss if you do the proper paperwork. Keep track of your correspondence so that you can prove to the IRS that you made reasonable efforts to market the film. Even if you do make some money back, it will take years to recoup your capital and harvest profits. Investors should be able to write off their investment in a year or two, but ask an accountant for the final word.

If you are entering the film field, your short can become your calling card. It can demonstrate that you have a grasp of film, organizational ability, a talent to stir an audience with suspense, menace, humor, or whatever you do best. If you are an amateur who hopes to enter a festival and win a certificate or even a prize, so that you can travel, meet people, bask in recognition, plan your next film, then you are embarking on a potentially expensive hobby. But it need not cost a lot of money to make a short. The following tips will help you spend your money wisely, save time and money during production, and increase your chances of recouping costs.

Concentrate Locations

Design your film so most of it takes place in a compact area, one where your cast can ideally walk or bike to locations and return to home base for meals, costume changes, and phone calls. The time you save on moving from one location to another will result in more takes without interruption of your concentrated teamwork. Writer-director Danny Leiner said in an interview with my researcher and wife, Denny, that when he shot Time Expired, he and the cast all stayed in a borrowed house for six days. They used it for sleeping and cooking meals and also for maybe a third of the film’s scenes. The other locations were within a block or two of the house. The concentration of activity and shooting paid off. This fine and funny film won the Aspen Festival’s top honor for shorts, automatically placing it in nomination for a Student Academy Award.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.