how do short films make money?

mjdorris

mjdorris

Well-known member
Hey All,

I have just finished a short film (27 min) that is getting a great reception. I would love to move on to Festival Submissions or distribution, but I am really lacking funds (spent so much on producing it).

How, in general, do short films make money? Do they? What are some great ways to get exposure without violating any hope of festival acceptance?

Any help would be appreciated.
 
You're gonna have a hard time with festivals and a 27 minute short. They don't like long shorts.

I hear people are putting shorts on iTunes these days but I doubt any kind of significant money is being made anywhere with shorts.
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Generally speaking, it is difficult and nigh on impossible to make money on a short. If anyone knows how, it's Zak Forsman - look him up. He's the only one I know of who has got distribution (I think) on a short.
 
I got my short distributed through a variety of outlets including amazon, itunes, hulu.com, and a dozen others. turned down netflix because there is no money in rentals, it's a one time sale to netflix. i received no advance from my distro, but I split gross revenue with my sales agent 90/10 in my favor. that being said, i've recouped the film's miniscule budget and the money that went into promotion and festival submission fees. I've just about broken even. we are talking about $3000 tops. I make that every week as a freelance editor.

first question to ask yourself is this.... how many shorts have YOU paid to see? now compare that to how many features you've paid to see. now ask yourself why.

because there is so much going against the short filmmaker, the advice I give is to concentrate on building an alternative means of value with it. use it to create a fanbase, get the names and addresses and email addresses of those fans. if the numbers are substantial enough, you can approach sponsors and advertisers. or use the film to win awards and garner favorable reviews. Third party validation will go along way toward being taken seriously on future endeavors. if I were you, I would give it away for free within a framework that allows you to capture the metadata of your audience. being able to present that as part of a business plan will prove valuable. more valuable than making a few bucks on a DVD sale.
 
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thanks so much for the replies!

i feared the short was sort of a loss no matter what. i thought i would investigate ways to make money on it anyway, in hopes that I could find a way to pay festival submissions and recoup my money. I'm not quite making 3k a week as an editor-still pretty much check to check at this point in my life.

What is the average length a festival is looking for in a short?

are there any ways you can recommend or that are commonly used to raise money for shorts?
 
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Festival programmers tend not to like shorts that are longer than 10 or 15 minutes.

Most people tend to finance shorts themselves and (as mentioned) use them to promote themselves or to promote a feature length script that the short is based on.

I'd say it's a losing game trying to make money with a short. I'm guessing that if you factored in time spent using a short to make money, you'd find that you could have made the same amount bagging groceries.

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Shorts making money is an oxymoron. Sad, but true. You make shorts either because you got a script you just love, or you want to practice your craft on something small.

Matthew
 
You can do self distribution. I'm doing that with my short 'The Book'. Also check out VOD sites.
I just signed with a site called behemoth.com. You won't get rich but you will get an education for when you do a feature.
JM2C
 
I guess I'm not really trying to make money on a short, but have it at least pay for itself, or for festival fees.

Thank you for the answers, as always DVXuser proves to be an invaluable resource.
 
Macville said:
Shorts making money is an oxymoron. Sad, but true. You make shorts either because you got a script you just love, or you want to practice your craft on something small.

Matthew
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Yup, that's pretty much where I stand. I have a script I wrote, I like the idea and I want to see it made into a small comedy, it's only 7 minutes, won't cost much, and I want to practice working with actors more. I have the visual side of fimmaking down pretty well, I mean I know how to make something look good, know what tools I need, who to hire, etc. That's from doing music videos. But as for working with actors, aside from reading a lot of books on it and doing a few really lousy amateur shorts, I don't have the professional experience so might as well practice. It is a "waste" of money in some ways, I mean it's an investment in your future, but not an investment you expect to be paid back directly by any means.
 
If you ask me, short films are a big waste. If you make it over the 60 minute hump, you got yourself a feature film. At least that way you could make a few bucks.
 
I used to feel the same way. Then i made one on a whim and it created a ton of opportunities for my feature to take advantage of. They're not a waste if you know what to do with it. They are a waste only when matched with a failure of imagination and intent.
 
I know a lot of filmmakers locally who want to skip shorts and write thier first big feature.

It's like trying to write the "Great American Novel" without writing so much as a singe short story. It just makes no sense.

Shorts are where you learn, and where you make your mistakes, and how you can promote your career without demanding 90 minutes of someone's time.

And yes, you *can* make your money back, but don't ever count on it. Hell, don't even put effort into it. It's a waste of your time, especially when you can be working on your next project instead of questing toward the distant hope of breaking even.

But *do* promote it. It's just that when you're trying to get a short out there, you want it to be seen by as many people as possible via festivals and perhaps TV distribution, you don't do it with even the intent to make any money.
 
The Noble Robot said:
I know a lot of filmmakers locally who want to skip shorts and write thier first big feature.

It's like trying to write the "Great American Novel" without writing so much as a singe short story. It just makes no sense.

Shorts are where you learn, and where you make your mistakes, and how you can promote your career without demanding 90 minutes of someone's time.

And yes, you *can* make your money back, but don't ever count on it. Hell, don't even put effort into it. It's a waste of your time, especially when you can be working on your next project instead of questing toward the distant hope of breaking even.

But *do* promote it. It's just that when you're trying to get a short out there, you want it to be seen by as many people as possible via festivals and perhaps TV distribution, you don't do it with even the intent to make any money.
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I agree. That's how I look at it. I want to direct my own feature, and I have an idea for a feature, I mean an outline actually, of something I have the funds to shoot if I desire. But I don't have the experience. I've directed a few totally amateurish short films, I absolutely lack the experience to shoot a feature and I know it. You can't just think you can do it, if you really can't, and then end up wasting a ton of your money and time, and other people's time, when you're unprepared.

I want to be confident that I'm a good narrative director before I embark on a feature, and for me that'd be at least 3 very well done short films. I've done 5 shorts now that were all amateur, now I want at least 3 that are very good. I would have higher standards, and say that before a feature I should do like 7-8, but the fact is I've directed pro music videos as well, with stories, and visually speaking I feel I know what I'm doing so it's really the experience with actors that I'm looking for more, and that is what I will get out of my next short. It will tell me a lot about where I stand and what I still need to know.
 
THE ORE was made for just over 3k. It was twenty minutes won a pile of awards and the special edition DVD made a nice profit.

So much for you can't make money from a short.
 
I don't think people have said you CAN'T just that you really shouldn't go in expecting to do that. If you were a businessman and your business plan was to make 20 shorts per year, and you expected to make a profit, umm, you'd be a really bad businessman. Unless somehow you had A-list directors as all of your buddies who for fun wanted to direct these shorts for free, and you then had easy distribution, maybe.
 
Hypothetical situations are always totally pointless because they are just that, hypothetical. I think its more important to realize why a particular production was successful in the marketplace regardless of whether it was a short or feature length.

Nick Park also made an absolute mountain of cash long before he got anywhere near a feature. There are more channels to sell material to than at anytime in history and they're insatiable for content, but it has to be good.

The fact is people are making short subjects and making money doing it. Television is in fact filled with programming that is 22 minutes in length and it is very profitable.
 
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