Short Films: Open Ended or Stand Alone Story?

Shinobi

Shinobi

Active member
Hey Guys,

I'm lookin for some opinions on a matter that I keep thinking about. A lot of people, including myself, write and produce short films in hopes it will lead to a feature length version of the short.

So here is the situation: I have some close friends in the process of doing just that. But they have written the script so that it ends "open ended". The movie builds up to one twist and then ends. The final line is "this is only the beginning" alluding to more to come. (in their minds in the feature length version) Nothing is resolved, no characters arc, but homeostasis is lost and then it ends. Its kinda like just Act I.

So my questions are: Is this normal? Should a short be able to stand on its own? Will the audience be let down with an open ended short, where a conflict is set up but nothing is resolved??

P.S. They are planning to show it to investors and send it to festivals etc..
 
It stinks when no one wants to reply to your post. Maybe it was a lame question. :Drogar-BlackEye(DBG
 
Just my 2 cents -

If they already have a feature length script written which ties into the short and resolves the conflict then that may be an interesting tool for investors. Many people shoot trailers of their feature projects to show investors, and this is just going a step further in giving people a good idea of the mood and style of the potential piece.

As far as sending it out to festivals...that's going to be tough.
Festivals (and audiences) don't want to see the beginning of a story, they want to see a full story.
You asked if an audience is going to be let down if the conflict is set up but nothing is resolved... and I think the obvious answer is yes.
How many times have all of us been frustrated when we are watchign a TV show and we realize there is no way they are going to wrap up the story in the last 5 minutes....and then the dreaded "to be continued" comes up on the screen? Not fulfilling at all for an audience, especially in this case where they can't just 'tune in next week' to see how it ends. Also, because of that, a festival isn't going to be likely to screen what basically amounts to an extended teaser for a larger story. That's my gut feeling anyhow.

So while it might be an interesting investment tool - I don't think its going to have much of a life past that.
 
Thank You! I think, I just needed, what I already knew to be recomfired, because its been feeling like I was the only one thinking that way. Thanks for your opinion
 
Not completing your story is a copout. If you can't sum up your story succintly in a short, then no one's going to be looking at your feature. You can parlay the events into a feature, sure, but your short should stand on its own. If it doesn't, you won't be attracting any investors
 
Why is no one thinking of making serial videos, by the way?
It's more cost-effective to promote a serial. For each customer
you reach, you get to sell several DVDs instead of just one.
 
Serial or not, the point still stands.
Serials still have a conclusion to each episode, even if the overarching story continues.
 
seunosewa said:
Why is no one thinking of making serial videos, by the way?
It's more cost-effective to promote a serial. For each customer
you reach, you get to sell several DVDs instead of just one.
Click to expand...
Because as hard as it is to sell a feature, it is ten times harder to sell a series.

It is definitely not more cost-effective. I don't know what gave you that idea. You need to create more content, and if you can't make a good feature, you are going to struggle with 6-12 hours of content. It will end up costing more than the feature, and people are not going to want to pay that much more than for a feature.

A hit TV show can definitely make more than an average feature, but we're talking a network / cable show with syndication. As tight as the feature market seems to be, TV is much, much worse.



Now if you could make a good short-form series (5-10 minutes) and send it out as podcasts, you might be able to make that work, but you aren't going to make any money until the show is big enough to attract advertising.

At least there is a market for low-budget features in the direct to DVD market. There is no such market for a low-budget TV series, except for your local community access channel. But you aren't going to make any money there.
 
Short stories need a strong ending just like long stories.

People who think you can't write a short script (5 pages) with a beginning, middle, and end aren't trying hard enough.
 
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