Lacy & Kevin asked me this question a while back:
What's your take on making a short film as a means to getting your writing out there?
Even if it's well filmed, are you better off querying, or do you think it's a waste of time?
I think it can be useful, but you're better off if there's a clear hook to the idea. That might mean that doing the short film version of your feature script might be problematic. Instead, make sure you choose a premise that makes the best use of the medium.
One of the best examples of this is the short film
George Lucas in Love. Written by Joe Nussbaum, Timothy Dowling &
Daniel Shere, and directed by Nussbaum, the film was produced in 1999. This was right at the time that anticipation was building for the release of
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and also right around the time that Shakespeare in Love won the Oscar for Best Picture. The creators saw an opportunity to make something timely that would get them noticed and have a built-in audience. If you're interested in finding out more about the film, check out
this interview.
I've had 3 short films made from my scripts, by three different sets of filmmakers (I'm strictly a writer). I'd say it's useful if you have some money to travel to festivals. Two of mine have played festivals this past year, and I went to seven or eight of them. I made some good contacts with industry people who, after seeing my short, were willing to look at other work of mine. Nothing definite has happened, but having made these new contacts may help in the future. Also, the festival run is nearly over for these two films, and after that I hope we'll post them on the Internet and get more viewers. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. Anyway, regardless of all else, the satisfaction of seeing my work on the screen, and watching people enjoying the films, helped renew my motivation for writing, and I recommend writing short scripts if only for the reason that it's easier to get them made.
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