So after scanning the internet I've managed to gather five potential ways to distribute and exhibit a film once it's been made and completed.
1. Film Festivals.
2. Internet Self-Distribution (Youtube, Myspace etc)
3. Competitions.
4. Internet Distribution (Websites such as Coffee Shorts)
5. Compilation DVDs (Some festivals team up the strongest short films and will distribute them as one DVD, great exposure!)
Friday, 5 February 2010
Funding and Production of Short Film.
From researching this area, a few key points have cropped up as far as funding and producing a short film is concerned. To begin with, funding is the part of filmmakers that amateurs will worry about most and more often than not it's the hardest part to master. There's the option of an investor, who may provide funding with the return of credit and/or a cut of the profits, there are also whole organisations dedicated to funding film, for example the Hackney Film Fund.
As far as production's concerned I've gathered three simple instructions.
1 - Always keep yourself one step ahead of your filming schedule.
2- Make sure there's enough in the budget to keep the crew and cast happy.
3- Keep yourself free during filming as something is bound to go wrong or need to be swiftly corrected so it helps to be on hand.
As far as production's concerned I've gathered three simple instructions.
1 - Always keep yourself one step ahead of your filming schedule.
2- Make sure there's enough in the budget to keep the crew and cast happy.
3- Keep yourself free during filming as something is bound to go wrong or need to be swiftly corrected so it helps to be on hand.
Short Film Festivals.
All you have to do is type 'Short Film Festival' into Google, and instantly you're hounded with thousands of results offering opportunities to either attend, participate or even submit your own work to these events. These festivals are one of the only places that Short Films will be publicly presented on a cinematic screen to a large audience, and have proved especially helpful to aspiring directors looking to elevate their career, or even vice versa, to a studio looking to scout fresh, and potentially ground breaking talent.
A great example of this is 'Raindance', the Uk's largest Independent film festival established in 1992 by Elliot Grove. Prestigious awards at the festival include Best International Feature and Short, Best UK Feature and Short, Best Documentary Feature, and the Tiscali Short Film Award. It was the first festival to screen 'The Blair Witch Project' and has attracted the likes of Alan Rickman as well as had judges such as Judy Dench as has Ewan McGregor as a patron.
120 films, screened on a total of 22 different formats, seminars and a whole lot of partying and networking, easily establishes Raindance week as a 'must attend' for any diary.
Other noted film festivals include: Sundance, London Short Film and L.A. Short Festival.
A great example of this is 'Raindance', the Uk's largest Independent film festival established in 1992 by Elliot Grove. Prestigious awards at the festival include Best International Feature and Short, Best UK Feature and Short, Best Documentary Feature, and the Tiscali Short Film Award. It was the first festival to screen 'The Blair Witch Project' and has attracted the likes of Alan Rickman as well as had judges such as Judy Dench as has Ewan McGregor as a patron.
120 films, screened on a total of 22 different formats, seminars and a whole lot of partying and networking, easily establishes Raindance week as a 'must attend' for any diary.
Other noted film festivals include: Sundance, London Short Film and L.A. Short Festival.
Director: Shane Meadows
Shane Meadows is a very personal inspiration for me. Best known for his film 'This is England', Meadows has a very distinctive, down to earth style, with pretty much all of his films simply highlighting a part of everyday life or shining light on a reality that we all see. I think that popularity was bound to follow this style as people can feel they relate to it and at no point does Shane Meadows give the impression that he positions himself any higher than the working class bloke. He begun his career making short films, however unlike many aspiring and professional directors, he continued to make short films even after the jump to feature length. In an interview at a school, he explains that his decision to continue making short films, comes from the his personal belief that transferring to feature lengths and leaving shorts behind, is the equivalent of a band becoming successful off their debut album, then forgetting the original sound they had with the second one.
This film entitled 'The Stairwell' is a short film made by Shane Meadows in 2005 on his mobile phone! The film shows two members of the public; one looking like a working class female evidently in a rush, and the other a young man who similarly seems to be moving at a pace. As they're both going in opposite directions, and the with the stairwell positioned in a way that you're not able to see round the corner, a collision is inevitable, and this short simply captures the build up and climaxes in that very moment. The colours and mise en scene of the piece are in keeping with Meadows normal dull, gritty style and continues to show those easily identifiable flairs of creativity such as the titles positioned next to a light switch that signals both the start and end of the short. Sound is used very effectively, with non diagetic sounds prominent at the beginning, and only returning at the crucial moment where the two characters collide. Overall the very short film simply shows how easy it is to think up an idea, create it, and shoot it with minimal expense and equipment. Shane Meadows in an inspiration to all budding directors, especially in Britain, and will continue to create brilliant depictions of life for years to come.
This film entitled 'The Stairwell' is a short film made by Shane Meadows in 2005 on his mobile phone! The film shows two members of the public; one looking like a working class female evidently in a rush, and the other a young man who similarly seems to be moving at a pace. As they're both going in opposite directions, and the with the stairwell positioned in a way that you're not able to see round the corner, a collision is inevitable, and this short simply captures the build up and climaxes in that very moment. The colours and mise en scene of the piece are in keeping with Meadows normal dull, gritty style and continues to show those easily identifiable flairs of creativity such as the titles positioned next to a light switch that signals both the start and end of the short. Sound is used very effectively, with non diagetic sounds prominent at the beginning, and only returning at the crucial moment where the two characters collide. Overall the very short film simply shows how easy it is to think up an idea, create it, and shoot it with minimal expense and equipment. Shane Meadows in an inspiration to all budding directors, especially in Britain, and will continue to create brilliant depictions of life for years to come.
What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This? - Martin Scorsese & Short Film
'What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing In A Place Like This?' is a short film made by Martin Scorsese as a student in 1963. Short film has always been seen as a brilliant and effective way of gaining appreciation as a director, and attracting the awareness of major studios who would be prepared to through you a big budget and move you on to more feature length films. Many directors such as Scorsese, Spike Lee, Quentin Tarantino, and Steven Spielberg would make short films during their time as a student and from that create a platform for greater things.
Martin Scorsese made a few short films as a student and this one isn't his most famous, however it's my personal favourite.
From the very start you're immediately greeted with narration and thrown into quick edits and rapid transitions. The narration itself is interesting, as this style of narrating, one that has the main protagonist talking and then the film itself becoming a visual aid to what they're describing, can be seen in Scorsese latter and much, much more popular films, such as 'Taxi Driver' which launched the career of Robert DeNiro.
The audience is just about given enough time to take in each shot, many of them beautifully framed, before the narrator moves on to the next part of his dialogue. The visuals correspond very literally with what he's saying, which subtly adds comedy value and gives the audience the feeling that this short film is maybe being presented to them on a very informal level. The style in fact is incredibly New Wave, with frequent jump cuts and no real concept of relative time. For me personally in reminds me of French New Wave feature lengths such as 'Breathless' and 'Jules et Jim' which unsurprisingly were made around the same time.
The Big Shave (1967) is a more popular short film made by the now incredibly successful director as a student. The film depicts a young man shaving himself to the point of incessant bleeding with seemingly no intention to stop. The six minute long film is completely in contrast with Scorsese's previously mentioned earlier work, with obvious and hard hitting drama and a solid amount of political intent. Many believe that the short is in fact a metaphor for the choices that the American government made in regards to the Vietnamese war and is still to this today popular, with internet video sites such as Youtube flooded with amateur remakes.
Martin Scorsese made a few short films as a student and this one isn't his most famous, however it's my personal favourite.
From the very start you're immediately greeted with narration and thrown into quick edits and rapid transitions. The narration itself is interesting, as this style of narrating, one that has the main protagonist talking and then the film itself becoming a visual aid to what they're describing, can be seen in Scorsese latter and much, much more popular films, such as 'Taxi Driver' which launched the career of Robert DeNiro.
The audience is just about given enough time to take in each shot, many of them beautifully framed, before the narrator moves on to the next part of his dialogue. The visuals correspond very literally with what he's saying, which subtly adds comedy value and gives the audience the feeling that this short film is maybe being presented to them on a very informal level. The style in fact is incredibly New Wave, with frequent jump cuts and no real concept of relative time. For me personally in reminds me of French New Wave feature lengths such as 'Breathless' and 'Jules et Jim' which unsurprisingly were made around the same time.
The Big Shave (1967) is a more popular short film made by the now incredibly successful director as a student. The film depicts a young man shaving himself to the point of incessant bleeding with seemingly no intention to stop. The six minute long film is completely in contrast with Scorsese's previously mentioned earlier work, with obvious and hard hitting drama and a solid amount of political intent. Many believe that the short is in fact a metaphor for the choices that the American government made in regards to the Vietnamese war and is still to this today popular, with internet video sites such as Youtube flooded with amateur remakes.
Experimental/Avant Garde
Experimental cinema resides in virtually another planet in comparison to Hollywood cinema, however it's still a visual form of expression and so is very much a form of short film. In fact, experimental cinema or avant garde has a massive underground following, and originated when artists and the like decided to complete disobey the rules of cinema and create something completely different mostly in the name of art. One of the first and most noted of these was Stan Brakhage's 'Mothlight' (1963), in which not even a camera is used, just fluid motions strung together in colour and shape with no clear narrative, however it's speculated that due to the title and images used it simply tells the story of a moth drawn to a light and the result of the two combining.
Despite the extreme forms of expression as well the freedom to run wild that comes with Experimental cinema, there is just about enough regularity to be able to make experimental a little genre of it's own. From research I've been able to find the following as common traits with Avant Garde:
- The films are either made completely alone or with minimal crew.
- Experimental films are often under 30 minutes, which is why they fall under Short Film.
- Films often focus on abstract imagery.
- Verbal communication is often avoided.
There are of course exceptions to these 'rules', for example Andy Warhol created a film called 'Empire' in 1964 which is over 8 hours long!
An important figure in experimental cinema was Maya Deren. With a love for arts from an early age Deren actually adopted the name Maya (which is Hindu for illusion) in 1943 and went on to create 'Meshes of the afternoon' which was an inventive, symbolic and intriguing interpretation on repetition that in turn reignited a buzz for avant-garde in America.
After creating several more films, Deren became a legend within Greenwich Village (New York), for her skill as a filmmaker as well her interest in voodoo! She eventually created the CFF (Creative Film Foundation) which actually went on to fund Stan Brakhage!
Despite the extreme forms of expression as well the freedom to run wild that comes with Experimental cinema, there is just about enough regularity to be able to make experimental a little genre of it's own. From research I've been able to find the following as common traits with Avant Garde:
- The films are either made completely alone or with minimal crew.
- Experimental films are often under 30 minutes, which is why they fall under Short Film.
- Films often focus on abstract imagery.
- Verbal communication is often avoided.
There are of course exceptions to these 'rules', for example Andy Warhol created a film called 'Empire' in 1964 which is over 8 hours long!
An important figure in experimental cinema was Maya Deren. With a love for arts from an early age Deren actually adopted the name Maya (which is Hindu for illusion) in 1943 and went on to create 'Meshes of the afternoon' which was an inventive, symbolic and intriguing interpretation on repetition that in turn reignited a buzz for avant-garde in America.
After creating several more films, Deren became a legend within Greenwich Village (New York), for her skill as a filmmaker as well her interest in voodoo! She eventually created the CFF (Creative Film Foundation) which actually went on to fund Stan Brakhage!
Director: Karel Reisz
Karel Reisz began his media career as a journalist for 'Sight and Sound', and then went on to found the documentary film movement entitled 'Free Cinema'. His film 'We Are The Lambeth Boys' iconically gave a natural depiction of members of a South London Boys Club. This unusual take of film, documenting the leisure life of working class teenagers went on to represent Britain in the Venice Film Festival.
His first feature film Saturday Night/Sunday Morning used similar techniques to his early documentaries and put him firmly in standing as one of the great innovators of British Cinema. He went on to become a patron of the BFI (British Film Institute), and published a book entitled 'The Tecnique of Film Editing' in 1953.
His first feature film Saturday Night/Sunday Morning used similar techniques to his early documentaries and put him firmly in standing as one of the great innovators of British Cinema. He went on to become a patron of the BFI (British Film Institute), and published a book entitled 'The Tecnique of Film Editing' in 1953.
The History of Short Film (Short Film On TV + Video Acitvism)
So I did a little bit of research on Short Film.
1895 and the Lumiere Brothers' 'Sortie de l’Usine' is considered to be one the first ever pieces of cinema and subsequently due to it's length, short film. At this time technology was incredibly limited and so films weren't really expected to be very long and this early stage was mainly used to experiment and see what was possible.
It wasn't until 1910 when the name 'short subjects' was used mainly in American cinema to describe any film using only 2 reels with a duration of 20 minutes or less, as feature lengths had become very popular. It appears the first to flourish in the practice of short film were comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton as well as Laurel and Hardy.
This one or two reel film was similarly adopted in Britain and reined supreme within the industry around the years 1908-1913. This was mainly down to the fact that British cinema was willing to be innovative and push boundaries which the Americans weren't so willing to do. British cinema was all about new ideas and the Americans were all about creating stars.
The 1930s saw a huge decline in short film and by the late 50s, the rise in television saw the viewing of short films plummet. For the next quarter of a century or so, short film was predominantly for Independent film-makers and studio projects.
It wasn't until the late 80s when short film began to find it's feet again, after gaining late night and filler slots during the 70s, filmmakers began to realise that short film was a brilliant medium to cover topics and express opinions. Short film began a symbiotic relationship with video activism, and the emergence of concepts such as the 'witness video' began to blossom, a famous example of this being the footage of Rodney King which consequently caused the L.A. riots. Organisations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty would commission short films in an attempt to use real footage or documentary based work to gain followers and showcase their beliefs.
In 1993, the BBC launched 'Video Nation', which saw the rise in video based film, in which the creator would address the camera; this concept was famously taken on by Michael Moore, director of successful documentaries such as 'Bowling for Columbine' and 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Nowadays, short film is a fantastic way for amateurs to gain acknowledgment and pull themselves into the industry. With more affordable technology, and more and more film festivals harvesting talent, it seems that short film can only go from strength to strength.
1895 and the Lumiere Brothers' 'Sortie de l’Usine' is considered to be one the first ever pieces of cinema and subsequently due to it's length, short film. At this time technology was incredibly limited and so films weren't really expected to be very long and this early stage was mainly used to experiment and see what was possible.
It wasn't until 1910 when the name 'short subjects' was used mainly in American cinema to describe any film using only 2 reels with a duration of 20 minutes or less, as feature lengths had become very popular. It appears the first to flourish in the practice of short film were comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton as well as Laurel and Hardy.
This one or two reel film was similarly adopted in Britain and reined supreme within the industry around the years 1908-1913. This was mainly down to the fact that British cinema was willing to be innovative and push boundaries which the Americans weren't so willing to do. British cinema was all about new ideas and the Americans were all about creating stars.
The 1930s saw a huge decline in short film and by the late 50s, the rise in television saw the viewing of short films plummet. For the next quarter of a century or so, short film was predominantly for Independent film-makers and studio projects.
It wasn't until the late 80s when short film began to find it's feet again, after gaining late night and filler slots during the 70s, filmmakers began to realise that short film was a brilliant medium to cover topics and express opinions. Short film began a symbiotic relationship with video activism, and the emergence of concepts such as the 'witness video' began to blossom, a famous example of this being the footage of Rodney King which consequently caused the L.A. riots. Organisations such as Greenpeace and Amnesty would commission short films in an attempt to use real footage or documentary based work to gain followers and showcase their beliefs.
In 1993, the BBC launched 'Video Nation', which saw the rise in video based film, in which the creator would address the camera; this concept was famously taken on by Michael Moore, director of successful documentaries such as 'Bowling for Columbine' and 'Fahrenheit 9/11'.
Nowadays, short film is a fantastic way for amateurs to gain acknowledgment and pull themselves into the industry. With more affordable technology, and more and more film festivals harvesting talent, it seems that short film can only go from strength to strength.
Textual Analysis - The Use of Sound in 'Roach'.
Roach is a short film commissioned by the Hackney Film Fund and one of my personal favourites from the films that I've viewed. As the short starts, the audience are subconsciously encapsulated by the subtle non diagetic sounds, that lead you into the setting and introduce to the main protagonist. This then cues the increase in the volume of the soundtrack, which in my personal opinion couldn't be more appropriate for the scene, and immediately we're given an idea of where we are and what we're dealing with. Diagetic and Non-diagetic sounds are then smartly blurred, as while the soundtrack plays with the main instrument being a harmonica, the protagonist seems to have an item in front of his lips in the same fashion as one would play it. A few seconds later however, the audience is shown that it's in fact a 'spliff' and the protagonist is getting high, which had already been hinted with the use of a fish eye lens on the camera and awkwardly angled camera shots. Once it's revealed that the main character is high it also highlights the fact that the title 'Roach' is a play on cockroach you see entering the room as the film starts, and the item used to smoke his spliff with.
Moving on, the use of sound is key to the success of this piece for a number of reasons. Firstly, at no point throughout the whole film are any words spoken, and the absence of dialogue is used effectively. Secondly, the diagetic sounds that are used, such as eating or shuffling around, are heavily accentuated which not only adds value to the comedy, but beckons similarities with cartoons such as 'Tom & Jerry' which too used no dialogue. As it happens, the narrative depicts the battle between Man and Cockroach so that technique was maybe intentional.
All in all, I feel the use of sound in this particular production was incredibly effective, and is a significant part of what I think is an all round great short film.
Moving on, the use of sound is key to the success of this piece for a number of reasons. Firstly, at no point throughout the whole film are any words spoken, and the absence of dialogue is used effectively. Secondly, the diagetic sounds that are used, such as eating or shuffling around, are heavily accentuated which not only adds value to the comedy, but beckons similarities with cartoons such as 'Tom & Jerry' which too used no dialogue. As it happens, the narrative depicts the battle between Man and Cockroach so that technique was maybe intentional.
All in all, I feel the use of sound in this particular production was incredibly effective, and is a significant part of what I think is an all round great short film.
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