.but the rest seemed only one peg up from the imagination of a child or teenager. They were as intellectually bland as a soap opera or MTV insert.
Ouch! but yes, this is probably true for the majority of short films and most features as well. I mean, does the world really need another horror/slasher/gangster film?? It's so depressing to read an interview with some young director waxing lyrical on the new and imaginative ways he's thought up to kill a character with a spade (then again some ofmy own short scripts just leapt to mind). But back to shorts; why do people make short films at all? For the most part I think the exploration of ideas would come very low down on the priority list. The obvious one is 'I want to make a feature but can't spare the minimum £100,000 (yes, we've all heard about the feature shot for 40 quid, but come on!)' - so shooting a short is the next best way to flex those creative urges - but that only leads us to 'why make a feature?' 'Because it's cool!' you cry (well maybe not you, but millions would). Yes, it is 'cool' - for my part there is no more fun to be had than when you're working on a film set (as I wrote that, a couple of other things occured to me but this isn't the forum to share them) - and maybe that's reason enough. But again, can't afford to make a feature! So make a short, someone will see it and give you loooots of money to make a feature...maybe...but probably not...UNLESS...your short goes on to be selected into lots of festivals, wins BAFTAS/OSCARS/GOLDEN WREATHS OF VARIOUS ORIGIN! then yes, you're in with a chance...as long as you have that feature script ready roll (wow, I'm rambling)...
What I wanted to say was 'exploring your thematic interests' is an excellent reason to make a film any length (and my prefered reason to see one) and you should do more because your talent with film is obvious. Stepping up (or sideways) to a more traditional narritive structure using actors (gasp!) would be a good stretch of your skills. And maybe think of using genre to sneak in a few ideas while the audience isn't looking. I made a short last year because having spent 20 years on sets I wanted to hold the reins for once. My approach was 1,2,3 - one location, two actors, no more than three minutes (restrictions are good - that's why I like 'global cities' - and shooting on s16 means expense!) It's not amazing, and it's certainly not philosophical in nature - I like to think of it as Ian MacEwan meets John Fowles 'The Collector' - but I got it made and learnt from it and it's on to the next one (hmmm...maybe a comedy...with a twist...haven't seen THAT before...)
matt
