1. Tips for making short films

2. Title sequences
• Think carefully about the title of the film and how you can cleverly incorporate it in to your
sequence.
• Consider how many titles you will show.
• Be aware of the pacing and what the sequence is serving, is it narrative or stylistic, and are
the titles part of the look?
• Do the titles start immediately or do they come in after big opening sequence?
• Think carefully about colour and tone - contrasting / bold / natural, what are the
connotations?
• Original music is always better, think carefully about it and the connotations. Remember,
sound is 50% of the experience.
• Think carefully about the use of editing; are you composing an exciting and energetic
opening with jarring cuts and snatched moments, or are you building up questions and
suspense with lingering moody shots and ambiguous images?
• Understand your tone and mood and shoot with that clearly in mind.
• Do not rely on editing to sort things out, good filming is essential!

3. Ideas and planning
• Remember it is a short film and the idea can be very simple.
• Try to write from some form of experience. Try to use events or situations you
have experienced to draw upon. It may just be a thought or a sensation; the
closer you are to it the more authentic it will feel.
• Rewrite, rewrite and rewrite again. Make sure your script is absolutely nailed
before you start storyboarding.
• Know your story and know your characters.
• Keep your story authentic and your setting authentic. You want your audience to
believe in your characters and your ‘world’.
• Storyboard your shots and ideas out, and try to do a paper edit. Even go as far as to film
your storyboard and do an animatic with basic sound effects to get a feel for the pacing and
story progression.

4. Filming
• Do not try to remake any films you’ve seen before, try and be original. It’s all about the story first.
• Think carefully about what genre your story is in and then utilize that genre’s conventions to maximize the
film’s effect.
• Try to cast properly with people who want to do it. Get some time with the cast so they have some time to
work out their approach. Workshop with them if you get time.
• Research your locations carefully. Make realistic choices and scout the location at the time you are likely to
shoot, to know about traffic noise and other obstacles that may not be initially apparent. Try to keep your
locations close together, so as not to waste shooting time traveling to all the different places. Think about
power outlets and ways of lighting and powering your location. What props do you need and are they easily
accessible?
• Break down your story into scenes and make sure you have all the props you need for each scene in
advance.
• Create a shooting list of shots from these broken down scenes and have them in order of priority. Expect to
lose some shots as your shooting day progresses; things always go wrong. If you have storyboarded it well
you will easily know which shots you can afford to lose and the ones you MUST get! Be realistic about
what you can shoot in a day. Better to have 10 very well crafted shots than 20 barely acceptable ones. You
will never use them.
• Learn your camera equipment. Try to go fully manual mode if you feel confident. It will create a more
professional look and the shots will have more continuity. Play with DOP (depth of field) in camera, a
longer lens will make the background fall out of focus and draws the eye to your in-focus subject. Use a
tripod and have clear steady movements when panning. Go handheld if the idea requires that immediacy
and twitchy feel.
• Think about your background when you are framing up your shots, don’t put something hugely distracting
behind your characters unless there is a story reason to do so.

5. Filming continued
• Consider your framing carefully, what are you trying to convey to the viewer.
• Wide establishing master shot will help your viewer understand the environment and
placement of people. Then actively go in tighter and tighter to grab your details. However,
think about how much information you want your viewer to have access to.
• Play around with different lens sizes, but remember the more you zoom your lens the more
unstable it looks, with every movement amplified. Use a tripod to help you achieve stability.
The wider the lens the more in focus the whole shot will be, the longer the lens the
shallower the DOP.
• Try to get your sound as clear as possible and remember you can re-record later if
desperate. Dodgy sound lets a film down, no matter how great the pictures look.
• Record ‘wild tracks’ in each location so your scenes have continuity in sound as well as
pictures.
• Record extra sound effects on a subsequent day if your shoot day is very rushed.

6. Editing
• When editing, try to do a very rough assembly first; do not get bogged down by fine cutting
little bits at a time. You always need to see the bigger picture and how each scene works
against the others.
• Imagine the edit from a profile view, where are the peaks and troughs pacing wise, when
does it slow down in your head, and then when does it pick up pace and race along?
• Your edit might not reflect what you had originally imagined but that is absolutely ok.
• Keep the edit as lean as you can. Short films have no fat. Everything in the film must push
the story forward.
• You make the film 3 times: Once when you write it, then again when you shoot it and finally
when you edit it. It will evolve and that is ok. As long as decisions are clearly explained then
it’s all relevant and valid.
• Spend a good deal of time on the sound; it is 50% of the film watching experience. Re-
record dialogue if it sounds too rough. Go out and get extra sound effects to fill your audio
space. Sound design can be as involved as the picture cut so make time for it. Think
carefully about your use of music and where it lies in your film. Usually less is more!