Short films

[Chad Peter]

I'm curious - what, in your minds, makes a good or great short film? What are your favorites of all time?

[Lance]

Now you're going to make me think? Fuck. Let me circle 'round here 'cause there's spectrum depending on the genre within the genre.

If I had to narrow it down to one thing for myself, across all genre, it would be atmosphere. Nailing the atmosphere of any scene immediately grabs my attention.

[Chad Peter]

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought "atmosphere", but you're right. If you can nail that, it means you've probably succeeded at almost all the other checkboxes of what a short film needs to achieve. Strangely enough, though - I'm not sure I've ever seen a short film that achieved 100% atmosphere in their tone - maybe because of the limited amount of time, or my audience brain doesn't expect to be changed by something so short? Not sure.

As an aside, I think I figured out some of what I want to do in my next short. Been mulling over that same "cyberpunk" concept I was trying to put together when I was still considering Seattle as a location (maybe I'll return to that thinking).

[Lance]

Everything is harder to achieve in a short but yeah, that combination of ambiance, audience relatability, and suspension of disbelief through the sum of all of the parts working cohesively, *chef’s kiss*

I thought the Lucy Hale short you did nailed the atmosphere so, there’s that. I’ll dig up a couple links of shorts that I thought hit it.

On the side, you know I’m down to do what I can. Just let me know what you need and I’ll see what I can do.

[Chad Peter]

I thought the Lucy Hale short you did nailed the atmosphere so, there’s that. I’ll dig up a couple links of shorts that I thought hit it.

On the side, you know I’m down to do what I can. Just let me know what you need and I’ll see what I can do.

D'aww, thanks dude. I was super happy with the grimy atmos of "Waiting on Roxie". That abandoned theatre we rented in downtown LA was perfect and thankfully Lucy was a good sport, letting us dress her up in some great outfits. I only wish we were able to shoot more than 50% of the planned shotlist for that day hah...

Highly possible I'll still try to film something in Seattle. I have a feeling I'll have to bounce around to a few different cities to capture what I can within the realm of a "cyberpunk" setting. Los Angeles has a few locations, here and there, but ultimately I won't be able to afford everything. This short will be pricy.

[Faldor]

I'm curious - what, in your minds, makes a good or great short film?

I fell down a rabbit hole a few years back trying to figure out what made good shorts work and found they were so varied I couldn't really say.
What matters is it tells a complete story and isn't simply a comedy sketch or an advert.

I can't remember any favourites off the top of my head, which is terrible as I've probably forgotten more short films than most people have ever watched, but if I did, it would probably be one of yours which wouldn't help you much anyway.

[Chad Peter]

I'm curious - what, in your minds, makes a good or great short film?

I fell down a rabbit hole a few years back trying to figure out what made good shorts work and found they were so varied I couldn't really say.
What matters is it tells a complete story and isn't simply a comedy sketch or an advert.

I can't remember any favourites off the top of my head, which is terrible as I've probably forgotten more short films than most people have ever watched, but if I did, it would probably be one of yours which wouldn't help you much anyway.

Hah, well... fuck. You're right, that doesn't help.