Screenwriting : Writing rules ... by Alfredo Masin

If by "rules" you mean format and story structure then yes; the same rules apply. If you will be showing the script to others (actors, DP, director, crew) the standard format is essential.

yeah, format yes, makes sense ... what about the "storytelling" rules? i think thats what i was mostly referring to

What rules?

Ex: giving your main character a HUGE problem/opponent that will have changed him/her by the end of the movie

Not the same way they apply to features. Since you have very limited time in a short, it IS different IMO.

I think Dan's input was most spot on.

Thank you for all your feedback! :)

That's not a rule. That is the story. If your inclination is to do otherwise then maybe you should try something else.

A short still needs a beginning, a middle and an end. Everything has to be really tight. Anything written needs to be there for a reason. The protagonist needs a challenge and they must compelling enough to draw the reader and/or viewer's interest. I've written four features but I love the challenge of writing shorts when I want to exercise my mind in a short time span. I have written three award winning shorts (5, 5 and 1 page- yes, a 1 page script). The two 5 pages were produced in New York. Keep writing and then write some more. Cheers!

Loved and "get" what you say Randy ... thanks man! cheers back at ya

In a short, we don't have to love the protagonist. We're spending 15 minutes with him, not two hours. Also short film can focus on the conflict of one incident where features need to build and have multiple conflicts. And most successful shorts are simpler, the biggest crime of most short films is they try and take on too much story.

Bart: hmmmm .... makes a lot of sense too!! What i'm concluding is: as long as your hero as a "conflict" thats pulls your audience in, your short can be/should be interesting to watch

Never said that you have to 'love' the protagonist- you do have to identify with the protagonist on some level however. There are many movies that I have not 'loved' the protagonist, yet felled compelled to watch and in some cases, cheered for. Alfredo, send me a private message with your email and I'll send you an example. Cheers!

Alfredo, A short film to a feature film is like a short story to a novel. You don’t have the time to develop the character to the point you would in a feature, so they don’t necessarily have an arc and learn something, and there probably aren’t any B or C stories. All the major beats are the same – set up, inciting incident, act 2 break/decision, midpoint/reversal, all is lost, act 3 break/action, conclusion, but some of them get combined. So you really have to be efficient. Tell us who your character is in one line of dialogue, or one image. Start the movie as late as possible, in the middle of the problem. Think about compressing everything up to and including the inciting incident into the first page. Shorts give you the chance to tell stories that aren’t big enough for a feature but are interesting anyway. I’ve watched hundreds of shorts at film festivals and have made my own observations. It could be a slice of life, where you just peek into someone’s life for a moment and have to infer what came before this moment and what comes after. It’s usually better if what happens is unexpected and has something to say like “without dreams, we fail to truly live,” or “we all wish we could be something more than what we are.” There are also shorts that have the structure of a joke. Big set up, high stakes and an unexpected punchline. Boom, you’re out. There are visual shorts that might just be a “what if” scenario. Have you seen the trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? Just one of his fantasy sequences could be a short film. Set up: Man unhappy with his humdrum life. Inciting: He has the chance to live, through a fantasy life. Conclusion: He is somehow changed or satisfied by his fantasy and it shows in his real life. You can also do a “mini feature film” but in my opinion, it’s hard to do in less than 40 minutes and once you’ve watched for that long, you want the full story. If you go this route, I would look at episodic TV. They accomplish a lot of story and character development in 40 minutes. Of course, the rules of “Why are you writing this story?” and “What do you want to say?” still apply and that is where I’d start. And watch Oscar nominated shorts on Netflix, they have collections from every year. These are very often tackling controversial subject matter or trying out experimental filmmaking, which two more good reasons to make a short. Good luck! Angelique

Beautifully written Angelique

Thanks, Ozzie. :)

Angelique ... wow! Thank u soooo much for taking the time to share your knowledge! :)

I do however have to admit that even in a short film ... i want my main character to have at least a small arc. At least a slight change.

Absolutely! Change is the essence of story. Watch a movie like Love, Actually, where there are a dozen stories in one film. Each of those storylines has the basic story arc, there are just fewer scenes in each.

Beautiful post, Angelique (6 up). Simply perfect.

Thanks RB for making it possible!

My pleasure, Angelique!