How to Write a Short Film

Keys to Writing a Short Film:

Short films are a great way to start your career as a writer. They provide many positives that can help boost you into the world of film. Not only do they provide great practice for writing, as they can be simpler and short writing pieces, but are also fun projects that can begin to teach you the fundamentals of writing for Film and TV. Short films can also provide an excellent opportunity to produce your first films at low cost. Which brings us on to the keys of writing short films, starting with:

1. Budget

The first key to writing a short film is budget. Of course, you can write a short film with an unlimited budget that would require immense CGI, explosions and a cameo from Tom Cruise, if it’s just to practice writing. However, writing a short film can be a great way to start producing the films you write and even directing them should you choose. With that in mind, you have to think about the budget even at the writing stage.

There are a few things to think about regarding budget, starting with location. Location will often be the hardest aspect to think about when writing. As writers, we want to let the script go where it needs to in order to create the story, be it an apartment, London streets or something as extravagant as Buckingham Palace. However, we must be realistic about our locations, keeping them to places we know we can film. Use where you live, use the streets, use anywhere that you know you can film. Try to focus on the quality of the story rather than the extravagance of the locations.

Another aspect of the budget to think about is the cast and crew. Ideally, we would all write characters that are perfect for Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, but the chances of casting them are slim to none. But of course, you're going to need actors. The two things to think about with actors is try to keep the cast minimal and think about who you’re casting. A story doesn’t need to be a Guy Ritchie thriller with ten well thought out amazing characters, especially for a short film. You can have the script surround one or two well developed characters that fuel your story. When thinking about who you're casting, use people you know will work for free. Be careful, however, you still want to cast people that can act well and don’t ruin the film. A great way to get round this is using theatre companies or performing arts courses, you may also know people that can act well if you give them a chance. Moreover, your crew can be made up of people you know. Just make sure everyone knows their roles and how to operate their equipment. You don’t want someone who doesn’t know how to work a camera, shooting your film.

2. Length and Structure

Another key is the length of your script. A short film can range from one page to forty and beyond. This gives you a lot of room for your ideas. Of course, the shorter the simpler. You can create a compelling story in five minutes or less, which will also be easier and quicker to film. This will also help with location like we said before, you may only need one location.

This will mean you have to think about structure too, as you won’t be able to fit a classic three act structure in a short film as well. So, think outside the box! Maybe it’s a five minute thriller filmed in real time. Maybe it’s a twenty minute drama with each quarter of the film set in a different time period. Maybe it’s one story with non-linear parts throughout. Try and keep your structure simple and interesting.

3. Concept and Characters

Like we said the concept has to be simple. You won't have the budget for a Sci-Fi action film with CGI, so try to keep the concept simple. A good rule of thumb used for all films is the twenty five word log line. If you can’t explain the concept in twenty five words or less, then the concept is too complicated or just not good.

Moreover, this affects characters as you won’t have the same time as a feature film to develop your characters. This means you should limit the characters you do use. To help you can throw us straight into the middle of the action and we see the character at the worse from the beginning, or maybe the film ends with them at their worse and there's no resolution.

Another great way to look at a short film is as a small section of a feature film. Pulp Fiction is a great example of this, as each section of that film could be its own short film. This allows you to focus on a short story rather than the full development of a three-act structure or the individual characters.

4. Keep it simple and have fun

The final takeaways are to keep it simple and have fun. Short films are a great way to practice without the time consumption of a full feature film. Try, try and try again! Your first short film won’t be Oscar worthy, no one’s is, but short films allow you to practice constantly. Start thinking about ideas now and get pen to paper, or fingers to keyboards, and then grab a camera and film it. Good luck!

By Gareth Starr