Anyone can make a short film, right? Just grab some friends and your handheld and you can do it in a weekend or two before being accepted to a slew of film festivals, right? Wrong. Roberta Munroe screened short film submissions at Sundance for five years, and is an award-winning short filmmaker in her own right. So she knows a thing or two about how not to make a short film. From the first draft of your script to casting, production, editing, and distribution, this is your one-stop primer for breaking into the business. Featuring interviews with many of today's most talented writers, producers, and directors, as well as revealing stories (e.g., what to do when the skinhead crack addict next door begins screaming obscenities as soon as you call "action") from the sets of her own short films, Roberta walks you through the minefield of mistakes that an aspiring filmmaker can make--so that you don't have to make them yourself.

Fully revised and updated practical and inspirational guide for students and independent film-makers, describing and explaining the whole process - from creating an original or adapted script, through producing, directing and editing, to finance and distribution.

Writing Short Films is one of the bestselling university text books on writing short film screenplays. This updated and revised edition includes several new chapters.

Where does a young filmmaker begin? With the right short-film concept and this book! The right short can be a filmmaker's "business card" in Hollywood. Here's the authoritative handbook by one of Hollywood's most connected insiders that offers a step-by-step guide through the entire creative process of shooting a short film, as well as expert advice from established filmmakers, and a final game plan for promoting and selling the film once it's in the can.Topics covered include: € Concept € Budget € Finding equipment € Assembling a crew € Casting € Arranging for location € Locating festivals and ancillary markets € Working with the unions € Film vs. digital video Plus:€ A list of film schools € Oscar-winning shorts and nominees € A selection of short-film festivals € Actual short-film budgets € Sample scripts and shooting schedules € A helpful short-film glossary

The short film is a unique narrative art form that, while lending itself to experimentation, requires tremendous discipline in following traditional filmic considerations. This book takes the student and novice screenwriter through the storytelling process- from conception, to visualization, to dramatization, to characterization and dialogue- and teaches them how to create a dramatic narrative that is at once short (approximately half an hour in length) and complete. Exercises, new examples of short screenplays, and an examination of various genres round out the discussion. NEW TO THE THIRD EDITION: new screenplays, a chapter on rewriting your script, and a chapter on the future of short films

Making a Winning Short is the first book to give hands-on instruction on how to write, direct, edit, and produce a fictional short in film or video. Edmond Levy guides the beginning filmmaker step-by-step through the stages of making a short: writing the script (from developing the idea to fine-tuning the final draft), launching production, casting, and working with the actors, working with the crew, directing the camera, editing, and other aspects of post-production. He devotes a separate chapter to Hi-8 video and gives a list of short-film festivals, both domestic and international.

Producing and Directing the Short Film and Video is the definitive book on the subject for beginning filmmakers and students. The book clearly illustrates all of the steps involved in preproduction, production, postproduction, and distribution. Its unique two-fold approach looks at filmmaking from the perspectives of both producer and director, and explains how their separate energies must combine to create a successful short film or video, from script to final product. This guide offers extensive examples from award-winning shorts and includes insightful quotes from the filmmakers themselves describing the problems they encountered and how they solved them. The companion website contains useful forms and information on grants and financing sources, distributors, film and video festivals, film schools, internet sources for short works, and professional associations.