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.

One of the few screenwriting books on the challenging short-form genre

Kooperman's "Writing Short Film Scripts" is an invaluable practical resources for teachers and students of media, film studies, screenwriting, drama, and English.

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.

Every award-winning short film begins life with a clever idea, a good story and a screenplay. Patrick Nash analyses the process of writing short film screenplays and gives advice on: Story and structure Ideas generation Plot and pace Screenplay format Dos and don'ts Eliciting emotion Dialogue and subtext Character design Protagonists and antagonists Character motivation and goals Conflict, obstacles and stakes Cliches and Stereotypes Beginnings, middles and ends Hooking the viewer Screenplay competitions Loglines, outlines and synopses Rewriting and length Practicalities and budgets The book also includes a number of award-winning scripts and interviews, advice and contributions from their award-winning screenwriters and a discussion of the benefits to writers of writing short screenplays.

This book will help you to write short films in different ways: the Hollywood (or classical) style, and the European form - 'miniplot' films where apparently nothing happens. Both options can result in beautiful films for the audience. But also boring ones. Here you'll find some tips to help you make them properly.I've been teaching Screenwriting for 10 years. Every season I read tens of scripts that are soon converted into short films, so I see both my students' achievements and their failures. And my own. Here I talk about common mistakes that I see in class, on the internet and on the big screen. The book includes 7 INTERVIEWS with successful screenwriters of feature films - Zdenek Sverak (Oscar winner with Kolya); Alejandro Hernández (Goya winner and co-writer of Amenábar) - and short films - Maryna Vroda (Cannes Palm d ́Or winner), Borja Cobeaga (Oscar nominated) and Carlos Violadé, Roberto Pérez Toledo and Kaveh Mazaheri, authors of short films that have achieved worldwide success.You'll also find LINKS to 100 GREAT SHORT FILMS recommended by people from different countries and positions in the film world.Even if you don't have a budget, when beginning a project you have the same weapons as a blockbuster: two hands, a computer and your imagination. Nowadays you can make great small films with a few banknotes, it's all about the story and knowing what you can do.About the AuthorDiego Fandos is a Spanish filmmaker who works as Screenwriting instructor in Prague Film School. He has written and directed award winning short films (Under Pressure, Aurora), documentaries, commercials and the feature film Cosmos.

Every award-winning short film begins life with a clever idea, a good story and a screenplay. Patrick Nash analyses the process of writing short film screenplays and gives advice on: Story and structure Ideas generation Plot and pace Screenplay format Dos and don'ts Eliciting emotion Dialogue and subtext Character design Protagonists and antagonists Character motivation and goals Conflict, obstacles and stakes Clichés and Stereotypes Beginnings, middles and ends Hooking the viewer Screenplay competitions Loglines, outlines and synopses Rewriting and length Practicalities and budgets The book also includes a number of award-winning scripts and interviews, advice and contributions from their award-winning screenwriters and a discussion of the benefits to writers of writing short screenplays.