What makes a successful short film?
Activity – successful short films
Director Genevieve Clay-Smith provides an overview of the conventions and unique genre short films. She discusses their defining characteristics and qualities of a successful short film, highlighting the importance of understanding your limitations as a filmmaker and how to engage your audience.
Access 'Video 1 – What makes a successful short film?' and then answer the questions below.
Glossary
- Writer
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someone who creates stories or screenplays
- Producer
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hires the crew and manages the budget of a film, managing the project from start to finish
- Director
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oversees the actors and technical crew in a film; person in charge of creative vision from during pre-production, filming and post-production of a film
- Conventions
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the expected elements or ingredients in a film
- Genre
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a style or category of film, music, art or literature
- Episodic
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broadcast or presented in short portions (not the structure of a short film)
- Creative vision
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big picture ideas for a large, creative project
- Feature film
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movies for entertainment that last more than 1 hour
- Script
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written text, descriptions and instructions for a film or play
- Green screen
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a green back-drop that allows filmmakers to import and super-impose another background
- Mise en scene
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props, colour and items in a filmed scene that communicate feeling (such as costume, make-up, performance and non-verbal expression)
- Acts
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sections of a play or film, like chapters in a novel
Questions
- A ’convention’ refers to the way in which something is usually done. What conventions does Genevieve Clay-Smith describe for short films?
- Why can short films be considered as their own unique genre of film?
- What makes a short film successful? Consider Genevieve Clay-Smith’s insights as a director as well as your own experiences and perspective.
- Why has filmmaking become more accessible in our contemporary world? How has this influenced the selection of films for film festival programs?
- How can audiences experience short films?
- What is an ideal time length for short films? Why?
Consider this quote from Genevieve Clay-Smith:
Working within your means is a key ingredient to making a successful short film. You want your audience to believe the world and the story and you want to make a film that successfully realises your creative vision. So, write a film you can make.
- Explain why it is important to understand your limitations first before writing a script for your film.
- Summarise the qualities of a successful short film.
- As a filmmaker, what should you aim for overall when creating a short film?
- Evaluate the qualities of a successful short film demonstrated in Be My Brother (2009).