My Short Film Philosophy

Below I have posted 3 point which I feel are very important when creating a short film. Personally, I feel that they should always be followed, however I am not naive in thinking that every film maker thinks or feels the same. Therefore any philosophy that I apply is a personal preference.

1. Popular Culture Doesn't Always Have To Be Avoided.


There is a real tendency, especially with indie products such as short films, to really shy away from that which is very popular. This is often due to filmmakers or sometimes even fans thinking that because a certain thing is popular means it isn't clever or challenging to the audience. With short films this was often the case with Rom-coms. They were never attempted in short films because they were really popular as feature length pictures, and a lot of writers and film makers believed that they didn't have enough depth to them. Face it, we've all got annoyed because we liked a band before they were 'popular'. However, I feel that if something is popular, it is so for a reason. Therefore the techniques or elements that make a cliched/popular film are not something to avoid. They should be enhanced and manipulated. This can be seen more recently in short films such as 'Post It Note Love' and 'Signs' which are both Rom-coms. This innovation is - in my opinion - something that needs to be carried on and furthered.


2. The Storyline Has To Be Solid Before Even Considering Making The Film. 


I definitely feel that in the 21st century a titanic influence has been put on special effects like 3D and CGI instead of the storyline. I personally think this is an awful thing to happen to the film industry. Take 'Avatar' for example, an entire film with what is essentially the story of 'Pocahontas' in space. This film broke records. Why? Not because of the amazing story behind it, but because it's as if the gigantic blue people on the screen are 'real'. But they're not though are they, as an audience we are very aware of the fact there is not a planet called Pandora out there, where everything in nature connects via an evolved USB cable. So once you get over the fact the CGI is quite cool, you stop enjoying the film because the idea is tiresome. We've now even got to the point where films are being re-released just so they can be seen in 3D, this is ridiculous in my opinion. If you didn't like it the first time, you're not going to enjoy it when it's coming straight at your face. Anyway, rant over. The point is behind any film you must have a good storyline to warrant the film being made, otherwise the audience isn't going to enjoy it. End of story


3. Don't Make Things Over Complicated.


My final point of my philosophy is more of a guide. Every now and then I feel a writer/director/editor should check back through their production and ask themselves "Is the audience going to understand what's happened here?" If the answer is 'maybe not' then that part should be re-worked. There are thousands of hours worth of footage in existence from deleted scenes; and it is guaranteed that a lot of these scenes were deleted because they were just not necessary. When things get too complex you're going to lose your audience. To see an example of this just compare the success of the first and second 'Matrix' films to that of the third; at which point the stunning trilogy manages to disappear inside itself.