Short Films

There is a common misconception that short films are rushed, student driven, amateur productions with an unhealthy dose of ‘art’ and ‘angst’ splashed around and not enough substance laced throughout.

Now I’m not blind and I have seen a lot of short films not dissimilar to that description however I must point out that I’ve seen feature films which take ‘vacuous’ to a whole new level so I think it’s fair to say that there’s a balance of good and bad stuff out there in any style of visual media.

Any film can be placed on a scale of awful to brilliant and it’s not just short films that clog up the ‘awful’ end of that spectrum. There is a bell curve of quality which I think spans over short films as well as their Hollywood cousins (twice removed); there are some extremes either end of that curve but the majority sit comfortably in the middle.

I am an avid film maker and have created many short films myself. I have been told that there’s no money in short films and the only reason one would ever want to take on such projects is to make examples of bigger projects which can be promoted accordingly. Now I half agree with that although I must say that my reward for making such films hasn’t been as a financial income, it’s been as a professional network.

My opinion of short films used to be very much that of obscure, abstract (usually black and white) snippets of film makers frustrations fuelled by their inability to break into the mainstream, usually because they weren’t really that talented in the first place. Since starting out on my writing, directing and producing career I have reviewed my stance on all things short and filmy, and I must say I’m far more positive about it than I was.

Short films are a breeding ground for creative’s from all walks of professional and social life. They are a space for people to hone their skills and be creative risk takers, away from the constraints of budget (as there usually isn’t one) and authority.

For me, short film projects have facilitated some excellent friendships and even better professional connections. They have allowed me to expand as a writer, discover my strengths as a producer and work on my limitations as a director. I have learnt so much by rallying interest and enthusiasm in projects than I would have done simply sitting at home hoping that whatever I write will make it onto a screen one day.

My philosophy is and always will be to do things for yourself. If you’re a writer write, but more than that, get it up on its feet and bring it to life. If you’re an actor, perform wherever you can and promote yourself to the hilt and if you’re a technician, get the kit, play with it and work with us lunatic creative’s to make use of your talents…

Ricky Gervais once said he didn’t think there was ever a short film short enough. For me, I’d love to see more quality shorts peppering the TV schedule and actually allowing talent to flow more freely through the production industry. A short film is apparently anything up to sixty minutes in length, well that’s an hour on TV with or without ads… why not?

There’s so much more to the humble short film than you’d think, but if you’re still not sold on my argument then just consider this; isn’t it better to watch something wonderful for twenty minutes than something awful for two hours?