How to make a Winning short for LossFest...

great advice. i think sound is especially important after a good script and decent actors. it's amazing how much you'll forgive in terms of what you're seeing if the sound is professional. but no matter how good what you're seeing is, if the sound is bad, i find it just makes the whole thing seem really amateur.
 
i'm surprised no one has mentioned sleeping with fest master, larry r. not that anyone has done that or anything... okay maybe one guy did it once. but i swore not to mention that. i'm not going to reveal his name. no matter how hard you twist my arm. okay it was mark.. mark harris!

man does that feel good to get that off my chest.
 
Guideline to makin a winning short.

I cannot tell you how much we, I, appreciate your help in providing all this very helpful information and useful tools to improve our products.

Wayne
 
ugafan said:
i'm surprised no one has mentioned sleeping with fest master, larry r. not that anyone has done that or anything... okay maybe one guy did it once. but i swore not to mention that. i'm not going to reveal his name. no matter how hard you twist my arm. okay it was mark.. mark harris!

man does that feel good to get that off my chest.
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Well I must not have been that satisfying cause I've never gotten higher than second place :)
 
yeehaanow said:
I don't know how to do it through experience, only through observation. Presented here is a list of suggestions only, based on my short time here for the last two fests. I'm sure other's will have additions...


How to make a winning short

1. Write a GREAT script. Duh... The winners have great scripts. It is your template, your bible, and your ticket to attract talent. What is a great script? I don't know, but they usually follow a basic formula- A Story, problem, or question is developed early on so that it keeps the viewer interested enough to follow the character(s) on a journey that often concludes with a twist, or otherwise satisfying resolution. All 6 winning entries followed this formula, because for a 6 minute movie It works.

2. Cast great ACTORS. If you're successful at #1, #2 is much easier. Every actor wants to work with a great script. It might take some bribery $$, depending on where you live, but get actors that knock your socks off.

3. Immerse the cast, crew, and yourself in the script. This means rehearsals with cast and crew, production meetings, story-boarding, equipment tests, CC test, music choices...etc. All with one goal in mind- Support the story and the script through artistic and technical choices. Rehearsal with the cast is the most beneficial, so if you can only do one thing, do that.

4. Plan everything. Very little is left to happy accidents in movies; most everything is intentional and rooted in the script and story. There's enough to think about as it is on set. You will do yourself big favors to have: a shotlist, in shooting order with storyboards, sketches, or test-shots and approximate time to allow for each shot; lighting plan, sound plan, set dressings and props, makeup plan, costumes, food, equipment checklists, and jokes. Sure, why not have a few jokes ready when the vibe turns bad. :)

5. When shooting, use "problems" as opportunities for creativity. Being too rigid with your plan can lead to disaster. Be flexible and keep the creative energy flowing. This is when happy accidents occur most.

6. Make the technical side invisible. This covers getting good sound, lighting, camera operation, angles, movement, color, framing, makeup, continuity, rules and conventions, music, sound fx, and anything else that is used to support the story, but will detract if it is noticeably bad. These technical skills are very knowledge and experience intensive. It takes years to develop skills in so many areas, but luckily you have a vast support base right here. Just ask, or browse around, and you will find answers to all your questions.


Lastly, Have fun. If it's not fun at least most of the time, why would you do it?

I hope this isn't too preachy and helps somebody.
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7. Write and conceive for YOUR resources. Look around you. What can you use to build a story around. If you're a 3D effects wiz, or best friends with Sean Connery then it's probably cool to write that post apocalyptic mutant story with the 65 year old Scottish detective that must come out of retirement. If your hometown wasn't recently leveled by a hurricane and you don't know a COMPETENT 65 year old that can do a FLAWLESS Scottish accent, then don't write and expect to pull off that movie. If all your actors are your age, write something for actors your age. In theater we'll suspend our disbelief and by that a 22 year old is a 65 year old. In film, everything has to be believable enough to not be distracting. OR and it's a big or, be part of a consistent style that's believable within its own set of rules.
8. Don't forget Art Direction. You're film's look is not only determined by what lights you use and where you put the camera. Do not forget art direction. You don't have millions of dollars. But if yuo follow rule #7 and write a scene in an old rusted bus abandoned in a field of wheat because you pass one on the way home from work everyday, then half the art direction will be done for you. But along with camera angles / moves / lenses and lighting WHAT you put in front of the camera is EQUALLY important as where you put it/ how you light it. Don't leave it to figure out on set. How can the environment serve the story - cleaner, dirtier, slicker, more chaotic? etc.
 
Yes. The 5th Red camera doesn't actually get used to shoot the film, you just use it as a cheap prop (it actually has to get destroyed though). "The death of a 4k camera"
 
8. Don't forget Art Direction. You're film's look is not only determined by what lights you use and where you put the camera. Do not forget art direction. You don't have millions of dollars. But if yuo follow rule #7 and write a scene in an old rusted bus abandoned in a field of wheat because you pass one on the way home from work everyday, then half the art direction will be done for you. But along with camera angles / moves / lenses and lighting WHAT you put in front of the camera is EQUALLY important as where you put it/ how you light it. Don't leave it to figure out on set. How can the environment serve the story - cleaner, dirtier, slicker, more chaotic? etc.
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That is a rule that so many of us forget to follow. We take whatever locations we have and don;t bother with dressing the set appropriately, forgetting that real life doesn't play very well on camera.

One thing we have to remember with set design is that "WE'RE NOT SHOOTING A DOCUMENTARY". It doesn;t have to be the way it looks in real life. THe set should always work to elevate the look of the environment. It's a heightened reality. So that plain white wall you were planning to shoot in front of, or that tiny bathroom that is plain in life and even plainer on camera becasue we're only seeing parts of it? They don't work and most times just serve to kill the feel of the scene dead in the water.

$20 in a dollar store goes a long, long way. Hell, $30 in the fabric despartment, even in odds and ends, or even from a thrift store.. those go a long way to creting a scene. Take a look at the environment you;re going to be shooting in and then plan on how you;re goign to dress it up.

Remember Walmart has a GREAT return policy,and if you;re using a credit card it's like you never spent it.
 
puckthemad said:
Remember Walmart has a GREAT return policy,and if you;re using a credit card it's like you never spent it.
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on both features WHITE KNUCKLES and HEART OF NOW, we made thousands of dollars in purchases AND RETURNS to Home Depot, K-Mart and Anna's Linens for art direction and things like extension cords, etc.
 
Zak Forsman said:
on both features WHITE KNUCKLES and HEART OF NOW, we made thousands of dollars in purchases AND RETURNS to Home Depot, K-Mart and Anna's Linens for art direction and things like extension cords, etc.
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Oh yeah! I forgot about Home Depot and their return policy as well. I only have good words to say about it! Excellent and highly recommended. Okay, it's not the kind of recommendation that they;d like, but what the heck.
 
On "THE TRADE" we needed a cave, and of course we're in the heart of Atlanta, so we just created something "cave-like" in the basement. Created more the "environment" of the cave than the reality. Fabric draped here and there and silhouetted looks so rock like.

just be creative with the materials you have at hand. You'll be surprised what you come up with. It's what a lot of Art Departments do anyway: they use what thay have in different and creative ways.
 
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