WHY YOUR FIRST FILMS NEED TO BE SHORT FILMS
Small things add up to big things, over time. Learn to do the small things well so when it’s time to do big things you do them better. Not perfect, but better. Let’s equate this with filmmaking.
When making a feature film the audience can give you the benefit of the doubt that it’ll take time for you story to build up, after all, they’re watching a feature film. However, that may not be the case with a short film. The audience knows that the film is short and they’re expecting the build up to happen at a quickened pace. You don’t have the luxury of time to develop your plot with all the shots that you want in your scenes. Your short film must be told coherently, poignant and moving! Nothing gratuitously, everything purposeful.
Short films may be short, but there’s no shortcut to making them if you’re going to make them to engage and captivate an audience.
SPEAKING OF CAPTIVATING
Can you captivate an audiences attention and maintain it for ten to fifteen minutes? If so, you’re on the right track and feature films could be just a few more short films away. If not, you’re still on the right track and feature films can still be a few more short films away.
The reason is because It almost makes no difference which of the scenarios your film falls into because your next step should be to make another short film and then another one and so forth. To do so until you’ve experienced enough trials and errors to prepare you for what you’re aiming for, feature films.
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THIS IS WHY SHORT FILMS FIRST
Short films give you leeway. You can fail big in a short film and still keep your head above ground. However, making a feature film can be so draining, so time consuming and financially consuming that failing big may demotivate you to never make another film.
Not to mention, if it was your “big shot,” then you may never be given another one. Thus goes the saying, an early blessing is a curse.
PRACTICE MAKES BETTER
It certainly does. Short films is where you practice filmmaking. And the more you practice, the better a filmmaker you become. The better a filmmaker you become the better you tell your stories. And the better you tell your stories, the better your feature films will be. After all, that is what you want to make, feature films, correct? However, don’t skip steps. There’s cuts in making feature films, but there’s no shortcuts.
Remember, first go shorts then go features, but we’re not mitigating the prestigiousness of short films. We’re only saying that their time frame puts them in a separate compartment of filmmaking than features and that they should be your intended start to making your first films.
VIEW THE FILMS
Below is a button link to preview and/or view some films on MarilynFilms.com. They include short films and feature films. If you’d be so kind to view the films, we’d love to hear your take on them. You can send us your comment(s) via our CONTACT page.
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