Anyone having trouble with....

Zacatac

Zacatac

Well-known member
Creating a story that can fit into a 6:02 min film? right now im writing my first script for a contest, im much more used to writing everything that comes to my head... already in the third scene, im about 6 mins...

so is anyone writing and slowly realizing that your script can't fit into such a small film?

I mean i know some write for the short film, so right now im writing as though a short feature... then going to fine tune it, slowly and surely


z
 
I have written three scripts for this fest so far, and have had no problem fitting them into 6 minutes. The way I do it, though, is write and keep in mind the limits and some how it always comes out perfect.

If you are used to writing longer pieces, this could be your problem, but if fine tuning works for you, do it. That technique does not work for me at all because I never know what to take out.

Part of it is the story. If your story is too complex/detailed you can't fit it in under 6 minutes and make it good. You need a good story that can be told quickly, and therefor you often have to leave some details out, like background.

Good luck!
 
If anyone needs help, I would be glad to lend a hand. I am actually working on a number of TimeFest scripts, but if you have patience, I will be happy to help out with yours. Let me know.

:beer: Cheers,
 
Brevity in all things short film is key. You have leave out much of the detail, cutting down to the very bare bones of a story. Only what's really important goes into the script.

There is a plus side, and that is you now how license to do almost anything. It sounds paradoxical, but now you don't have to go into a huge amount of explanation. You don't have to come up with how or why a time machine was created; it simply exists in the film for your characters to use. You don't have to explain how somebody's brother became a zombie and how come his friends never knew about him; he's simply there for the character's interaction. You don't have to explain how Aldo talks to himself in the mirror and his image talks back to him; the audience accepts it because the film is only six minutes long.

So, consider the time constraint to be literary license.

One tip I can pass along to you: in feature-length scripts, one page of script translates to one minute of screen time. However, my experience shows that's not the case with short films. Short films tend to run longer than one minute per page, so seriously consider limiting the script to five pages for a six minute film.

I've read scripts for dvxuser festivals (time limit six minutes) that have been seven, ten, or even twelve pages long, and in those cases I've found that either the film never makes it to completion, or the film isn't anywhere near as good as the filmmaker hoped because he has to make unpleasant choices about what to cut out in post-production. A film designed to run in the allotted time is much better. If you get the script down to five pages and work from that, you'll end up with a much better product. Six pages is too long for these fests IMHO.
 
My rough draft is actually a little over 7 pages but I'm not worried. I find that as I go through my scripts, it becomes shorter and shorter. Its just a matter of determining what's necessary and whats not.

I truly believe that if you can write a great 6 minute short, you would have no problem writing a full feature. I find that its harder to write shorts than it is writing a feature. Writing shorts helps train you know what is needed to move your story along and whats "junk".
 
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