Has anyone had success using a well made short as a "calling card" to get a foot in the door of the industry? There are some really great (and not so great) shorts out there on some of the curated sites, in particular, but I'm wondering how often they actually help launch careers?
Filmmaking / Directing : Short Film Success? by Sarah Kennedy
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Great question. I’ll be keeping an eye on this thread as I’ve been thinking along these very lines.
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Winning a contest with my short got me access to an A list FF (expenses covered)...but no career boomed as firstly I do not see myself as someone who could dive into filmmaking for a living...but it works for those who do...
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Congratulations on getting into a top festival, Kiril. I was thinking seriously about producing one of my shorts, but it needs to at least have the potential to be a means to an end. Otherwise, it's time and resources not well spent.
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Kenneth, if you come to any conclusions on this, please share and good luck!
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One thing I feel fairly sure of in regards to filming a short versus a feature is that a short may be written in such a way as to make it affordable to make, whereas the mere length of a feature is often cost prohibitive. I've got a concept for a film which could be winnowed down to a short without losing the impact, so in such a case one could do the abbreviated version as a calling card, but also have a contingency plan for using the interest generated to springboard the longer version.
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Hi there. I did a short film in 2019 (The Gesture and The Word.) The pandemic certainly wasn’t a great time for it being on a primarily online festival circuit. I was hoping that it would help my career and I wasn’t sure if or how it would - but it has definitely opened some doors and has led to me talking to a UK production company that now wants to sponsor me to come to London to shoot my first feature. So it may not open the doors you are hoping for, but it’s definitely opens others. I think it really is about how you push your film and use it to open those doors. You might find something you didn’t expect to get.
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My first professional television credits as a cinematographer came from a producer noticing my work in a regional film festival. Of course everyone's journey is different. But, think of it like this. What you could spend on a pitch deck, or proof of concept, or contests, you could just finance a short film and get it out there. Most producers don't want to read our scripts. They are too busy. But if you show them a previous body of work, that might impress them enough to want to read a script. Especially if you don't have a track record. Best wishes with whatever you do!
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Kenneth, I think the premise you have for Lots Brewing is so clever. I hope you get it off the ground.
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Helen, your short won 67 awards! Not surprising a door (or ten) opened for you. I hope you'll occasionally update us on your feature and thank you for the encouraging response.
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Stephen, exactly! When I added up what I'd spent last year on subscriptions and contests, I realized I would have had excellent sound, a nice original score, and something better than cheese pizza for the wrap party.
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Stephen Fokker, thank you for the benefit of hearing your story. I’m always gratified to learn of a path to success, and that it came together for you is encouraging. At times one can get discouraged to the point where they no longer are willing to put themselves or their work out there. I think we’d all be of the mind that not trying is a whole lot less likely to yield results than giving it some sort of effort.
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The moral of the story is, put your money where your mouth is. Nobody is going to take your dream project and finance / film it and get your name out there. You need to do it! If you don't have the money, save up for a few months or year or however long it takes. Your project could be what generates interest in your next great story! As writers, filmmakers, actors, we need to be realistic as to what's feasible. Nobody is going to give a newcomer 5 million dollars, let along 50k for a first time film...unless you are related to someone with too much money to blow.
And never get discouraged. Part of any success is the failures you have on the way.
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Stephen, that makes so much sense! Thanks so much for your insights.
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One of the most famous examples was Christopher Nolan starting his career with a short film (Doodlebug), You can get so much recognition from short films. I was just at the Cannes Film Festival and one of the award categories is for short films. It's an amazing calling card if you do it right!
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Amanda, thanks so much for that. Had no idea Christopher Nolan launched with a short! I really enjoy how a compelling short film can tell a story and pack an emotional punch without the big investment of time we sometimes just don't have. Surprising to me it's not a more profitable art form.
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Last Fall, I produced/directed a 22-min doc about my Dad, showed it to a PBS exec -- and now we're now developing a docu-style show together. So, yeah, I'd say it can be effective if the strategy is right.
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Awesome and inspiring thread, everyone! Looking forward to getting behind the camera and shooting a couple shorts later this summer.
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Fran, that's awesome! Is your 22-minute documentary online?
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Keep us posted, Ty! I'm, big gulp, looking at doing the same in September... well, I certainly won't be behind the camera, but I may serving up some street tacos or something essential like that, lol.