Comments on: How to Make the Leap from Short Films to Features

By: Biagio

Biagio — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:28:27 +0000

@Brian: Thanks for the comment! Advice for new filmmakers (and this may turn into a longer post)
1. Do something absolutely unique to you. Don’t rip off Tarantino, Fincher, Kevin Smith, etc…who are YOU as a filmmaker.
2. Work on that first piece as long as you have to in order for it to look like something that could play in a theater…even if that means reshooting most or all of it. Only one chance at a first impression. If you’re not bursting with pride about the finished piece, either do it over or put it on the shelf and move on to the next one.
3. Have a feature-length script (or at LEAST a pitch) for a feature version of your amazing short, or a feature-length script that would make sense for you to direct given the look and style of your unique short.

Best,
Biagio

By: Brian Bowers

Brian Bowers — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:25:36 +0000

Hey guys–I love the blog! There are not a lot of producers who can actually talk about the business end of filmmaking with the focus and enthusiasm you do! I work with a lot of newer short filmmakers through the 48 Hour Film Project, and I’ve seen a lot of these same filmmakers take the same path that the two of you have–use their short films as sort of a launching pad to work on bigger projects like features. If there were one piece of advice you could give to a newer filmmaker working on their first few shorts, what would it be?

By: Len Esten

Len Esten — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 04:19:40 +0000

I won’t even pretend to know anything about making money and just talk logistics: making a feature is alot of work and shorts take less.

Since a movie is mostly just a series of short films stitched together with a unifying theme a filmmaker could just make a series of shorts (the scenes in a feature script) and get a movie out of it in the end. I guess it could be seen as extending your shooting schedule to like… forever. Or indefinite.

By: Beyond Exhaustion « Cuban Nomad

Beyond Exhaustion « Cuban Nomad — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:23:05 +0000

[...] How to Make the Leap from Short Films to Features ~ Joke and Biagio – For many aspiring filmmakers the path to success is 1) Make Short Films 2) ??? 3) PROFIT! without any real idea how to play with the big boys. Joke and Biagio give solid advice on how to leverage the short film medium to your advantage while avoiding the pitfalls of the "short film rat race". [...]

By: david baker

david baker — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:40:20 +0000

I think shorts are great for practise, learning, but if you want to make features, I do think a short should be made with the premise of the feature film. If you just make a great short that is not related to a movie you want to make, that does not prove you can make a good feature.

Neill Blomkamp made a short that turned into “District 9″, so its doable. I shot a 5 minute promo trailer in the states to show the premise for my first feature film. Having this with a biz plan, poster, storyboards etc, definately got me the deal for the film. They could already see the feature because of the promo.

I also recommend making no budget features to attract money for bigger features. Thats what I have just done wth my latest film. I think its all about showing you have passion, commitment, bit of talent, vision. We have no excuse today, so I really beleive more filmmakers should be making features. Not with the premise they are going to be massive hits, but just to show your potential, and in the worst case scenerio, you can sell it to keep you running in development cash.

If I was a financer today, I would not really care if you made a feature, short, I want to see someone with a strong vision, drive, passion, whatever it is. Good filmmakers should be entreprenuerial today. Why? If you don’t get noticed with your first few shorts or features, at least you can possibly earn from them until you can get to the bigger league.

By: Biagio

Biagio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:54:46 +0000

Sean,

Thank you for your kind words and the opportunity to answer your question. We’ve been in your shoes: just starting out, with a lot of questions, and no one to turn to. That’s why we started this blog. Hopefully, this was helpful to a lot of folks, and people will share it with their filmmaker friends.

By: Sean Duran

Sean Duran — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 06:00:30 +0000

Thank you so much, Biagio. You and your wife are an inspiration. This information is invaluable! Really gives me hope

By: Biagio

Biagio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:59:09 +0000

I think, if you have a feature script, a trailer is a totally valid way to go–with a couple caveats.
1. It helps to be the Coen brothers.
2. An unknown director may have better luck with a short film. Studios and producers want to know a director can make a movie and not just a trailer. A lot of great trailer/music video directors lack the skills to direct narrative.

As producers, we are actually more focused on making trailers than shorts. Trailers pack a lot of punch, and probably keep the short attention spans of busy execs and successful directors better than a six minute short.

By: Andrew Mayne

Andrew Mayne — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:40:23 +0000

What are thoughts on the approach the Coen brothers did with Blood Simple in making the trailer for it first?

By: Biagio

Biagio — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:39:04 +0000

Candy,

Like we mentioned above, there are many places for short films, and you are correct…internet marketing is one of them. While I’m not an expert in the subject, there’s no doubt that videos on the web have the ability to make money. However, using shorts for internet marketing is very different than using them to break into feature films. It’s an interesting topic, and maybe one we’ll explore in a future post!

By: Candy Collins

Candy Collins — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 05:29:40 +0000

What do you think about using short films in internet marketing?
I think here is a potencial to make money using short films.
What do you think and what would you recommend?