Every aspiring film-maker knows the value of a good short film. It’s your calling card, your chance to condense your artistic brand into one five minute window and grab the attention of someone that matters. For this reason it should show your stylistic quirks, your methodology, and most of all it should show that you can deliver a polished product. It’s a business at the end of the day, and influencers in the industry want to see a commercial potential in what you show them.
Even if you have talent, it can be difficult to have this mind-set, and it helps to have guidance from people in the know. Pulse College plays host to some of the most renowned film courses Ireland has to offer, and our instructors have extensive hands-on experience in the market – why not check our courses out? Here are a few more tips to guide you when putting together a short film.
Make PR and Marketing an integral part of your project
You may be the next Scorsese, but that’s no good if no-one can see your work – get on social media and start generating buzz around your project! People love to see the creative process at work, so make your process journal public and blog about it. It creates a narrative around the film and tells people what you’re all about as a director. If you have the resources to set up a website then get on that too: anything that raises your profile online can only be a good thing.
Youtube and Vimeo can also be great avenues for disseminating your work to a wide audience, but bear in mind that online publication of the full piece may make it ineligible for many film festivals. Instead, why not put out a knockout teaser and trailer to drum up excitement for your film? There are even websites that will do the promotion for you.
Don’t overcomplicate things
You may have ambitions for a historical metafiction spanning five hundred years, but in reality you have at most ten minutes to make your point. So keep it simple and ask yourself the following questions:
- Where’s the impact, the pay-off?
- Is there a coherent plot or message?
- Are there engaging characters?
- Is there a distinct and consistent visual style?
Being able to achieve these within the narrow restrictions of a short film is impressive in itself, and shows people in the industry that your ideas don’t outstrip your abilities to put them into practice. Once you’re on your feet and have the luxury of a longer run-time, then you can begin to let loose with your more outlandish ideas.
Make sure it looks professional
Competition is fierce in the industry, and to get ahead you really need to be able to show you can do the job: this means making the film look professional. In ideal conditions, you would have good lighting, multiple cameras and the right video editing software at your disposal. For cobbling together simple projects Windows Movie Maker and similar would do the job, but if you want to use any advanced editing techniques you’ll also need to invest in Adobe Premier or another software package of a similar calibre.
Pulse College: one of the best film courses Ireland has to offer
It certainly isn’t easy to put together a great short film and in reality it takes years of hard graft and practice. With the world class facilities of Windmill Lane at their disposal as well as the help and guidance of experienced industry professionals, Pulse students have everything they need to develop essential skills and to produce outstanding work. Get in contact with us today to find out which course would suit your needs best.
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