Short Film Questions

[cannon]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this is in the right topic, so move it if it's wrong.

I'm getting ready to shoot a short film I wrote, in about a month and a half. I'm not familiar with breaking down the script and scheduling what to shoot and when to shoot it. Any tips?

Thanks a lot guys for all the help.

If you want to check out the film im doing, you can view the website at www.amberalert.fadedproductions.com

 

[Loki]

go through your script and count the number of different locations. Make a list or use some of the scene functions in the script writing programs to do it for you.

once you have that, start grouping all your scenes together that have the same location.

When you have all of em grouped up, go through the scenes and figure out which would be best to shoot in what order, whatever will maximized your time.

I find that is the best you can do without someone solely dedicated to planning (ie: a production manager).

Scheduling sucks.. but is so important.

oh ya... your site has a spelling error, should be "Trailer" instead of "Trailor".

peas.

 

[kiyong]

the phase you're in with breakdowns and scheduling is also when you do your budget. figure out what elements you need (props, locations, cast, etc).

besides loki's suggestions for grouping locations, also group according to cast, and any special equipment (dolly, crane, etc).

with scheduling, a general rule of thumb is to shoot exterior shots first. that way in case there's bad whether, you can always move to the interior location and shoot those shots.

 

[Hairy Lime]

There are several good books on film production that you might consider reading as you prepare to produce your short. I've never read any of the short film production books, but the book that has helped me most is Independent Feature Film Production: A Complete Guide from Concept Through Distribution by Gregory Goodell. It covers virtually every step of the process and while much of it does not apply to shorts, a lot of it does, just in a vastly simplified manner.