How to Make Your First Short Film: A Crash Course

Summary

In this crash course, filmmaker Kent Lane offers a step-by-step guide for beginners to create their first short film, emphasizing the importance of storytelling over technical aspects. He advises focusing on a specific audience, using available resources, and keeping the film under five minutes. Lane covers writing, pre-production, shooting, and post-production, including tips for audio quality and editing. The goal is to produce a short, engaging film that leaves viewers wanting more.

Takeaways

• 😀 Focus on creating a film that entertains yourself or a close friend to ensure personal investment and specificity.
• 🎬 Use available resources and settings to inform your story idea, like a barn owned by a relative or a friend with a big personality.
• ⏰ Keep your film short, ideally five minutes or less, to simplify the production process and maintain viewer engagement.
• 📝 Write a simple outline of your story with a clear beginning, middle, and end to guide your scriptwriting.
• 📱 Use whatever equipment you have available, like a smartphone, to shoot your film, prioritizing storytelling over cinematic quality.
• 🔊 Pay close attention to audio quality, as poor sound can significantly detract from your film, using off-screen microphones or creative solutions.
• 🎞️ Edit your film ruthlessly, cutting out any dead moments and ensuring the story flows smoothly and engagingly.
• 🎵 Incorporate sound effects and music to enhance the mood and atmosphere of your film, using free resources where possible.
• 👥 Collaborate with a small, dedicated team and involve them in the planning and shooting process to maintain focus and efficiency.
• 🔄 Be prepared to iterate on your film based on feedback, making necessary edits and even reshoots to improve the final product.

Q & A

What is the main focus when writing a short film script according to the video?

The main focus when writing a short film script should be on entertaining yourself or a really close friend, making the audience very specific to create a more specific film.

Why is it important to keep the film simple and small for a first-time filmmaker?

Keeping the film simple and small is important for a first-time filmmaker because it makes the production process easier and less overwhelming, and it's more manageable for a beginner.

What is the recommended maximum length for a first short film?

The recommended maximum length for a first short film is five minutes or less, as it's easier to manage and ensures the story remains engaging without being too long.

How can one utilize personal resources when brainstorming ideas for a short film?

One can reverse engineer their story idea based on things they already have access to, like a barn for a horror film or a friend with a big personality for a comedic role.

What is the significance of having a specific shooting day for a short film project?

Having a specific shooting day is significant as it sets a clear timeline and commitment for the project, ensuring that all involved parties are prepared and available on that day.

Why is audio quality considered more important than cinematography for a first short film?

Audio quality is considered more important than cinematography for a first short film because bad audio can significantly detract from the viewer's experience, whereas storytelling and content can still engage the audience even with less polished visuals.

What is the advice for handling audio during the shooting of a short film?

The advice for handling audio is to use a friend with a microphone off-screen, or have actors hold their phones to record audio if no microphone is available. If neither option is possible, record wild audio after the take to match the scene.

How does the video suggest improving the editing process for a beginner?

The video suggests that beginners can improve their editing process by watching tutorials on YouTube to learn the basics, using free editing software like iMovie or DaVinci Resolve, and focusing on cutting out dead moments to keep the film engaging.

What is the role of feedback in the post-production process of a short film?

Feedback plays a crucial role in the post-production process by providing insights into what engages viewers and what doesn't, allowing the filmmaker to make adjustments and improve the film based on trusted opinions.

Why is it recommended to keep the final film under five minutes?

It is recommended to keep the final film under five minutes to ensure the story remains concise and impactful, leaving the audience wanting more and avoiding the risk of losing their interest due to a longer runtime.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Introduction to Making Your First Short Film

The speaker introduces a crash course on creating a short film, emphasizing the importance of starting small and focusing on entertainment. They share their experience in filmmaking since the age of 11 and suggest that beginners should aim for a five-minute film to keep the project manageable. The speaker advises focusing on a specific audience, using available resources, and keeping the story simple. They provide an example of a short film script and encourage the audience to write their own, focusing on a compelling narrative that can be visualized within the time constraint. The importance of getting feedback and being prepared for production is also highlighted.

05:02

🎥 Audio and Post-Production Tips for New Filmmakers

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to the technical aspects of filmmaking, particularly audio quality. The speaker stresses the importance of good audio over cinematography for first-time filmmakers and provides creative solutions for capturing clear sound, such as using a friend's help with a microphone or hiding a phone in the scene. They also discuss the use of 'wild audio' for recording sound effects and dialogue after the initial take. The speaker then moves on to post-production, suggesting free editing software options and emphasizing the need to cut out any dull moments. They advise on using sound effects and music to enhance the film and recommend getting feedback to improve the final cut. The paragraph concludes with encouragement to export the finished film, share it, and objectively analyze it for future improvement.

Keywords

💡Short Film

A short film is a brief motion picture used for various purposes, including entertainment, education, or artistic expression. In the context of the video, the theme revolves around creating a short film, which is defined as a film with a runtime of five minutes or less. The script emphasizes the importance of keeping the film concise and focused to ensure a compelling narrative that can be easily produced and engaging for viewers.

💡Originality

Originality refers to the quality of being new, fresh, and inventive. The video suggests a counter-intuitive approach to writing a short film by focusing on entertaining oneself or a close friend rather than striving for originality. This approach is meant to create a more personal and specific story that can resonate with a targeted audience, as opposed to trying to appeal to everyone, which could lead to a generic and clichéd outcome.

💡Reverse Engineering

Reverse engineering, in the context of the video, is the process of deconstructing or analyzing something to understand its components or workings. The script advises using this method to develop a story idea based on resources one already has access to, such as locations or people. For example, if one has access to a barn, they might create a horror film set in that location, leveraging existing resources to shape the narrative.

💡Pre-Production

Pre-production is the phase of filmmaking that occurs before the actual filming begins. It includes activities such as scriptwriting, casting, set design, and planning. The video emphasizes the importance of pre-production in preparing for a successful shoot, including setting a shooting date, gathering a minimal crew, and making necessary props and wardrobe available.

💡Storyboarding

Storyboarding is the process of visually planning a film by creating a series of images or drawings that represent each shot. The video encourages the use of storyboards, even in simple forms like stick figures, to help organize and visualize scenes before shooting. This aids in planning camera angles, shot types, and the overall flow of the film.

💡Cinematography

Cinematography is the art of capturing and composing motion picture images. The video advises beginners to focus more on storytelling than on achieving high-quality cinematography in their first short film. It suggests that while visuals are important, the narrative and how it engages the audience are more critical for a successful film.

💡Audio

Audio refers to the recorded sound in a film, which includes dialogue, sound effects, and music. The video stresses the importance of good audio quality, as poor audio can significantly detract from the viewer's experience. It provides tips on how to capture quality audio on set, such as using off-screen microphones or recording wild audio to match the visuals.

💡Post-Production

Post-production is the phase of filmmaking that occurs after the filming is completed, including editing, visual effects, sound design, and color grading. The video discusses the importance of post-production in shaping the final film, emphasizing the need to remove any non-engaging moments and to use sound effects and music to enhance the storytelling.

💡Feedback

Feedback is the process of receiving and incorporating comments and critiques from others. In the video, the script encourages filmmakers to seek feedback from trusted friends or colleagues to identify areas of improvement in their film. This feedback is invaluable for refining the film and addressing any issues that may not be apparent to the filmmaker.

💡Exporting

Exporting in the context of video production refers to the process of converting the edited film into a final format suitable for distribution or viewing. The video mentions exporting as the last step in the filmmaking process, after which the filmmaker can share their completed short film with others, such as collaborators and audiences.

Highlights

The course aims to teach making a short film, even for beginners with no prior experience beyond casual video recording.

The instructor has been making films since age 11 and has produced around 50 short films.

Emphasizes focusing on entertaining oneself or a close friend rather than aiming for originality.

Advises making the film's audience very specific to avoid creating a boring and clichéd product.

Suggests reverse engineering a story idea based on available resources, such as locations or personalities.

Recommends keeping the film simple, short, and within five minutes for beginners.

Advocates for smaller-scale films as they are easier to manage for first-time filmmakers.

Provides an example of a short film story that is simple yet emotionally engaging.

Instructs to write out the story's beginning, middle, and end in simple sentences.

Encourages expanding the simple story into a more detailed script without worrying about format initially.

Highlights the importance of reading the script out loud to ensure it fits within a four-minute timeframe.

Stresses the value of collaboration and getting feedback from trusted friends on the script.

Advises planning the shooting day and assembling a minimal crew to maintain focus.

Instructs on marking up the script with director's notes for visualization and organization.

Suggests shooting in the most logical order and having a plan for each shot.

Warns against over-focusing on cinematography and instead prioritizes storytelling in the first film.

Stresses the importance of good audio quality and provides tips for achieving it without professional equipment.

Recommends using free editing software like iMovie or DaVinci Resolve for post-production.

Advises cutting out dead moments and focusing on engaging storytelling in the editing process.

Encourages seeking feedback on the rough cut to identify areas for improvement.

Suggests being prepared to remove favorite parts of the film if they do not serve the story.

Reminds to keep the final film under five minutes and to export it for sharing.

Encourages objective self-assessment of the first film to identify weaknesses for future improvement.

Transcripts

going to give you a full crash course on

how to make your first short film even

if the only thing you've ever shot

before is funny videos of your cat

i'm going to do it in only 5. so we

better get started fast a little bit

about me been making films since i was

11. i've probably made like 50 short

films for a while i was doing one every

month on my youtube channel i've made a

couple of no budget features about a

couple of things go viral so i

definitely know how to get my hands

dirty get a film made and help you make

yours so let's begin

writing this may sound a little

counter-intuitive but rather than

originality when you're writing your

short film i want you to focus on

entertaining yourself or a really close

friend of yours

make your audience really specific so

that you can make your film more

specific if you try to be

everything to everyone you're gonna end

up with something that's really boring

and flat and probably really cliched

maybe you already have an idea for your

short film but if you don't try to

reverse engineer your story idea based

on things that you already have access

to let's say your uncle has a barn maybe

you can do a cool horror film out there

maybe you have a friend or a family

member that has a really big personality

that would be great in a movie and you

convince them to be in it very important

point make your film

simple and small you want this thing to

be five minutes or less

do not make your film longer than five

minutes if you've never made a movie

it's probably not going to be good

enough to justify being longer than five

minutes also every aspect

of making this movie is gonna be so much

easier when you keep the runtime low as

a beginner the smaller the scale of your

film the better it's gonna end up being

think about it would you feel more

comfortable making a short film about

storming omaha beach on d-day or

a short film about a guy who

accidentally super glues himself to his

own toilet seat one of them is going to

be a lot easier to pull off that's all

i'm saying go ahead and write out the

beginning

the middle and the end just a few simple

sentences it'll basically just be your

whole story in a paragraph and if it's

not an interesting paragraph then you

might want to go back to the drawing

board here's an example for a short film

that i wrote and never ended up actually

making a little girl is crying because

her dad isn't home on her birthday her

mom plays a vhs tape that he made him

apologizing and wishing her the best

birthday he has a bad cough in the video

but he's goofy and heartwarming and by

the end of the tape the girl is happy

again the mom

puts the tape away but she starts crying

herself we then see that the stack of

tapes is other birthday tapes labeled up

to age 18

and realized that the dad has actually

already died and he made these tapes in

advance for his daughter

so you got a beginning that's setting up

things you got a middle that's

obstacles and the journey towards the

ending and that ending is going to be

something that's a little surprising but

definitely satisfying and definitely

makes me feel good about having just

watched the other four minutes of your

short film so now you got this paragraph

time to write it out just expand it

don't worry about proper script format

yet just write out what happens

where it happens and who says what in a

format that makes sense to you if you do

want to learn proper script format it'll

probably only add an extra hour to your

life and then you can go the link in the

description for some free screenwriting

websites and use that to make your

script

take that written out story and you're

gonna read it through in your head

visualizing it as you do

try to do it in real time as much as

possible as if you were watching the

final film you're gonna run a stop watch

while you do that and make sure that you

end up around four minutes i say four

not

five because inevitably the final film

is gonna end up being longer than what

you picture in your head if possible

take the story and get some feedback

from some friends some people that you

trust

collaboration is so key with film two or

three or four heads is always going to

be better than one

and you're going to have a lot of blind

spots especially when you're first

starting out as to what you think is

interesting or how a certain thing is

going to read to another person

versus how it actually comes off

congratulations you're out of writing

and you're into pre-production you're

going to go to the calendar you're going

to find a day that makes sense and

you're going to mark that day that's

going to be your shooting day from now

on when you tell people you're making

your movie you're saying i'm shooting it

on this day

go find the bare minimum number of

people that you can to actually make

this movie and you're going to tell them

hey we're shooting on this day

can you do it it's going to be really

fun i'm going to give you some free food

bare minimum number of people on the set

you don't want other people just hanging

around it's going to distract you you

need to stay focused on the film get

your props your wardrobe any other

special things that you need to actually

make your movie you're going to take

your script print it out

start making handwritten notes all over

it about how you envision the scene how

the actors might perform it what the

pacing is going to be like what the

energy of the scene is going to be like

specific

shots that you're thinking of anything

that comes to mind just mark that script

up if you know how to draw that's great

i highly recommend making storyboards

they don't have to be fancy or cool just

use stick figures if you can't even do

stick figures then just do little shot

descriptions but it's important to be

organized and prepared for your shoot

day especially when you're starting out

now take all the shots figure out what

the most logical order to shoot them in

is if it's possible definitely try to

shoot them in order chronologically

according to the script but if that's

not possible a lot of people like to

shoot the wider shots first and then

shoot all the shots pointing in one

direction and then shoot all the shots

pointing in another direction that way

any lighting changes or whatever your

shots just stay more consistent write it

all down

that's going to be your instructions for

the day so no matter what comes at you

on shooting day i can follow my

instructions and i will get to the end

of this film now let's get down to

actual production

if you have a camera great use it if you

don't use your phone if you have a

camera but you're not really comfortable

with it

use your phone the point is don't focus

too much on cinematography for your

first short film no matter how much

attention and time you spend on it it's

not going to be the revenant and it's

not going to be what keeps people tuned

into your film it's going to be the

storytelling so focus on that

more important than that cinematography

you need to be worried about the audio

bad audio is going to hurt your film so

much more than bad cinematography for

example how long would you watch this

video if it all sounded like this

get a friend to help out with a

microphone off screen don't have a

microphone these are great and just be

strategic

about it and be creative if you're

getting a close-up like let's say i

punched in like this your actors are

holding their phones like this you're

going to get really nice audio if the

shot's too wide for your actor to hold

the phone then just

hide it in the scene i'm going to get

great audio but you're not going to see

it if none of those are options then

what you're going to want to do is do

the take

and then go back maybe immediately after

you did the take

and record wild audio which is audio

that's recorded after the actual shot to

try to match what you just recorded so

play back the video so your actor can

try to match exactly the way that they

set the line and get your phone or mic

right up on them so you get some really

clean audio and then you can match it up

in editing and then you can match it up

in editing and then you can match it up

in editing do the same thing for sound

effects remember movie sound effects are

just a lot larger than life now follow

your instructions go through each shot

make sure that you have all the puzzle

pieces you need to assemble this

together later in editing finish that

shoot day be very gracious to all the

people that helped you out give them

some food take your footage take your

audio dump it on the computer make

two copies put it on a hard drive put it

somewhere else there's nothing more

depressing

than losing an entire day's footage or

audio congratulations that was probably

the hardest part you're already moving

on to post production now if you don't

know how to edit that's okay you spend

about an

hour on youtube watching tutorials you

can get up to speed enough to start

cutting your film just get the basics

down how do you bring the clips in how

do you cut them and you'll figure it out

as you go

i recommend imovie if you're on a mac

it's free it's really

intuitive and easy to learn if you don't

have a mac i'd recommend davinci resolve

it's free it's a little more complicated

but it's a very powerful program

number one principle you'll need to

abide by is to cut out

any dead moments

it's not entertaining or engaging to the

viewer get rid of it throw in those

sound effects that you recorded on the

day or if you don't have enough go to

freesound.org there are links in the

description you can get a bunch of free

sound effects for your project or you

can go make your own now you can use

music from the youtube audio library

i'll link to it my description it's all

free tracks that you can use to score

your film or if you want to have fun and

you don't care about copyright just

throw a bruce springsteen track in there

and have a ball focus on that audio try

to clean it up do a little cross

dissolves between cuts and the audio

just to get rid of any distracting

changes in background noise now finish

that rough cut

get to a point where you feel like it's

pretty good and then show a couple of

friends that you trust

watch them watch your film see where

they're engaged see where they're bored

and then get their feedback after see if

they have any opinions about how you can

improve it or things you could cut out

or things that weren't clear didn't make

sense don't take any of this stuff

personally this is all

really valuable information it's going

to make your film so much better take

that information adjust your edit

accordingly if you need to do it and

you're able to do it go out and do

reshoots go back and pick up shots that

are going to clarify your story or make

something more emotional or just work

better be prepared to kill some darlings

some of your favorite parts of the film

might just be the most indulgent parts

of the movie and would actually be

better left on the cutting room floor

keep your movie short and sweet and

leave people wanting a little bit more

you kept it under five minutes right

now export your movie put it on youtube

send a link to everybody that helped you

along with your sincere thanks

pat yourself on the back congratulations

you made your first short film now look

objectively at this first short film

there's going to be a lot of problems

with it analyze it figure out what your

real weaknesses were on the project and

then do a bunch of research go to

youtube i'm going to be uploading videos

every week that'll help you i hope but

there's also

tons of other creators out there that'll

have all kinds of advice for your

specific weaknesses i know it can be

scary and overwhelming to go out and

make your first film even if you've been

thinking about it for a long time i

guarantee you that the feeling of

satisfaction that you're going to get is

going to make it all worthwhile

i'm kent lane from standard story

company tune in next week for more

unsolicited filmmaking advice i'll go

make a short film