Making a Short Film — Pre Production Workflow Step-by-Step

You’ve got some money in the bank, some time on your calendar, and a great short film idea to produce. You’re ready to start making a short film. Now what? If you’ve read our overview of short film pre-production, you already know not to jump too far ahead. Much as you might be tempted to hire your cast and crew, there are a few important things that you need to do first. Let’s go through the whole process step by step, and as we parse it out you’ll find that it’s not so daunting after all.Continue reading Making a Short…

The Top Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee

  Filmmakers looking to get publicity for their films have a lot of festivals to consider. Understanding the full range of the top film festivals is critical to finding the best fit for your film. Each fest comes with its own vibe, history, and entry fee. But where do you start? With so many choices, finding the best film festivals for your film is like finding a needle in a haystack. Don’t worry, we’re here to be your metal detector. We've done the research, we've curated our findings, and today we’ll break down the 21 top film festivals in the…

How to Write a Short Film Script Without Dialogue

How do you write a short film script without dialogue? There are plenty of reasons why someone might want to keep dialogue out of their short film from stylistic choices to technical limitations. In this post, we will walk you through all of the necessary steps to write a short film script without dialogue from research through execution.Continue reading How to Write a Short Film Script Without Dialogue

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film — Full List

F rom the whimsical world of talking animals to the heart-tugging tales of abstract emotions, animation has the power to transport us into realms beyond our imagination. This magic is celebrated every year at the Oscars, where the Academy Award for Animated Short Film shines a spotlight on the most innovative and emotional mini-masterpieces of the industry.  In this article, we are going to delve into the fascinating universe of these award-winning animated shorts, with a comprehensive list of all winners and an in-depth ranking of the top ten that have left a lasting impression on audiences worldwide. Continue reading…

Ari Aster Short Films — Munchausen, The Johnsons Explained

In 2013, Ari Aster released Munchausen, a short film about the proxy disorder of the same name in which a caregiver torments people in their care. Munchausen made waves upon release in large part due to Aster’s impressive direction. In the years following the release of Munchausen, Aster became a household name in cinema circles for writing and directing Hereditary and Midsommar. We’re going to revisit Ari Aster short films to analyze his early writing/directing style. Fans of his work may be surprised to see just how much he worked on in such a short time before his Hollywood breakthrough.Continue…

How the ‘Whiplash’ Short Film Became the ‘Whiplash’ Movie

Normally, filmmakers write a short film before they write the feature script for the short film. They shoot it, cut it, and hope to god it gets a run in the festival circuit. But Damien Chazelle’s, Whiplash short film, was born in a unique way. The short script actually came after, and really, from the feature length Whiplash script. How did this happen? And because this happened, what can we learn from the short film vs feature? Let’s jump in.Continue reading How the ‘Whiplash’ Short Film Became the ‘Whiplash’ Movie