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

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.

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).

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.

Lance wrote: ↑Sat Jan 01, 2022 7:52 am 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.

Chad Peter wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 7:57 pm 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.

Faldor wrote: ↑Mon Feb 21, 2022 6:12 pm

Chad Peter wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 7:57 pm 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.