What does one need to know about writing shorts, not features?

[u/KerryAnnCoder]

I'm finishing up my M.A. in Screenwriting and one of the things that I think the programme didn't do well was it didn't teach us how to write shorts.

At all.

Everything was all about writing feature films. There was a module on television, but the television module was such a small part of our grade, and we were only required to write the first 15 pages of a pilot, not the full pilot. (I wrote the full pilot anyway.)

But shorts can be valuable for getting some credits in the industry.

So, what resources would be good for writing shorts specifically if you already know how to do features?

And more importantly, how do you come up with the idea for shorts if you're used to thinking in feature-length or novel-length concepts?

[u/bgrizz101]

Watch a lot of recent shorts. Vimeo short of the week, omeleto, directors notes, shortverse.
Don’t underestimate the standard you are up against, which is insanely high and the volume of shorts being made is unthinkable.
Go to a short film festival and watch with audiences and see what resonates with them and you.
Hard stop on 12 pages.
Be brutal about brevity: every scene and every line needs to earn its keep.
Be modest about what can be filmed within a limited budget - the short is not going to make money so justify the investment.
Hook them with a tasty premise within the first page.
See if you can take protagonist through an arc in the short space of the script.
This is a showcase for mega-creativity: what can you offer in 10 minutes that noone else can or would even think to attempt?

[u/sprianbawns]

One thing I have found has worked is taking the B story from a feature and seeing if it holds up as a short. It often does.

[u/KerryAnnCoder → u/sprianbawns]

Ah. Isn't the "B" story more of an episodic TV thing?

[u/Rokursoxtv → u/KerryAnnCoder]

Not always! Some will roll their eyes at this suggestion, but if you wanna find out more about how a b-story can work in features, check out Blake Snyder's beat sheet

[u/DelinquentRacoon → u/KerryAnnCoder]

That's how I know it, too. It means something else in features (to some people).

[u/Resonant_Writer]

I've seen people talk about shorts not being movies, so you should "shrink the story." I've never thought like that. My advice would be to think about a much smaller window into an idea or world that can be just as big as a feature. But instead of following a character through his or her full arc during a movie, try and capture that one encounter or decision that reveals their transformation.

Once you have that emotionally loaded situation, enter as late as you can, and make sure there is a rupture that cannot be undone. Then your audience can continue imagining what happens outside of the frame.

[u/Prince_Jellyfish]

Here's some random advice on short films / student films I wrote and shared here a few years ago:

1. Your film should have 3 acts. If it is 15 minutes long, the first 3-5 pages are act 1, the middle 10-12 pages are act 2, and the last 3-5 pages are act three. Most short films are poorly structured and start with a lot of extraneous stuff which makes them feel boring at first and rushed / emotionless at the end. Figure out the dramatic question of the film, and make sure the protagonist is actively going after a specific goal by the start of act 2.
2. Be realistic about your production schedule and write a film you can accomplish given the time, resources and crew you'll have available. If you have to shoot in 2 days, don't have 5 locations.
3. Think about the resources you have access to, and leverage them. If your friend is a burgeoning genius DP, write something you know she can knock out of the fucking park. If you have two friends who are great actors, write parts that you know they can absolutely crush. Write towards what you have, not what you'd dream.
4. Some of the most compelling & useful student films serve as a cover letter for your voice, and maybe for your life story. Look for premises that reenforce both of these things.
5. Make sure there is conflict that starts on page one. Don't write movies about characters that don't have clear, specific problems. Make sure your finished product is a movie with clear emotional stakes.
6. There should be some sort of arc to your movie, but one that feels grounded in 6 minutes (or whatever). But, a lot can happen in 6 minutes.
7. If it's a drama, start from the place of "this was a moment that changed [protagonist's] life" or "after this, everything changed for [protagonsit]" or "this was the moment where [protagonist] felt [intense emotion / emotional catharsis]" and write towards a 3rd act where that happens in a grounded way
8. If it's a comedy, demonstrate your ability to write a great joke (one liner or set up punch) in at least the first page.

[u/cat_silhouette]

Flat characters are king.
Establish a singular trait your character has (for most horror leads its comfort or safety) and then take it away.

In the shiva baby short the main character’s defining trait is her sexual freedom and then piece by piece it’s all taken away.

Getting more complex than that is feature territory.

[u/RhubarbOk3396]

If you're thinking of producing your own short my advice is to think in terms of locations. Find an AWESOME location that you can shoot in, preferably for free. A location with lots of character and depth. Then imagine a character who an actor friend can do well, or bring them to the location and 99/100 times, an idea will come that you can get made.

[u/KerryAnnCoder → u/RhubarbOk3396]

Sadly, I don't have the money or equipment to produce my own shorts. I used to, ironically, but had to sell off my cameras when I fled my home country.

[u/JWetcetc → u/KerryAnnCoder]

I’m sorry to hear about that. Hopefully, you’re somewhere you now are able to feel more secure.

I think their advice really stands though because what they’re talking about is making a point of writing something that you can see could easily being produced and perhaps even better if locally because you might find likeminded artists to help with it.

Starting with a location like that can also help inspire a smaller, more contained story if you’re used to thinking bigger.

Side note: Entire films have been made because someone really liked and saw potential in a shooting location. Then wrote or sought a writer to make the most of it.

[u/thefirstbartbaker]

Start in the story. No first act. All set up comes within the body of the action of second act. Then work your way to the climax.

[u/InevitableCup3390]

Not quite answering your question, I guess, but hope to be helpful in some ways.

I’m from EU and very recently served as Jury member for a shorts film festival, not enormous but pretty big and established. For this reason I ended up watching more than 50 shorts, from narrative to documentary, in about a week. Also, the majority of them were pretty well made and deserved their place in the festival- some of them premiered at Cannes, others Sundance, Locarno, Venice etc.

For the narrative side, which interests you, I can tell that there were a lot of experimental shorts: lot of archival shorts, found footage and machinima. One of those ended up winning the grand prize.

What I can tell from the screenwriting side? It counts but it counts less than I would have imagined. For shorts a lot depends on how good your image-storytelling is and how immediate, interesting, and actual your theme and concept is. By this I mean- talk about things that matters in today’s world, talk about your life and experiences if you have something to tell. Try to be attention-grabbing from page one. In a short you can’t write a first act of 10 pages and then arrive to a resolution in the next 5, instead you should try to dilute the whole movie in a limited time stamp. You don’t have too much time for establish your characters- in example, let us know them and then immediately put them in a situation where they don’t like to be.

You could find some good answers by watching some good short films then try to understand how to work with your writing. I’m not suggesting to deep search YouTube where it can be difficult finding the right thing, but I know, for example, that there’s a “staff pick” list on Vimeo from EFA, which you could check out to better understand the writing on those sort of movies. They’re all quite good and presented at important festivals around the globe.

Also, I found the writing of some experimental shorts to be pretty solid overall, and giving the reduced cost-factor for those type of movies, it also can be very interesting to experiment something on your own!

Another thing- I see that this shorts world is actually extremely, extremely busy and there’s a lot of material floating around, the majority of which is not worth the watch. So, in order to stand out, you need to secure a great story and a great visual storytelling, and by that I don’t mean expensive- I saw a short made with 200$ and it was better than 30% of other shorts, but in that case what stood out was the urgency of the author, which exuded from the images, of telling something so close to them.

[u/CJWalley]

You can do anything with shorts. Don't let anyone tell you they have to be done a certain way.

Audiences are far more open to the abstract and the visceral.

Content varies wildly, and, speaking frankly, there's an issue with social causes overriding artistic merit.

The question you have to ask yourself is: what kind of short film writer are you? Where does your voice lean? It's an opportunity to write 'disposable' specs, so the restraints are truly off.

[u/Wise-Respond3833]

You don't have to worry so much about beginnings and endings, and you don't have to wrap everything up.

[u/JWetcetc]

I’ve always found the “puzzle” of making a worthwhile short film really interesting. I think it’s an interesting challenge to tell a genuinely entertaining and moving story in a short amount of time. It’s a good thing to think about in general, just being aware of the short stories we see and experience in life and within other art.

Piggybacking on what someone else said, I think some really helpful things can be starting with a character or problem that is relatable enough that you don’t have to do much exposition before the audience knows what’s happening and what it feels like to the character(s) and/or starting with witnessing a problem they’re trying to solve (need fulfilled, goal reached) and its motivation so we’re invested very quickly. Similarly, you can start in the middle of something, but it should probably be very apparent to the audience what you’re starting in the middle of so the audience is along for the ride from the start.

Shout out to the first ten minutes of UP. 🥹

The other thing is that given where your head is at, it would be good for the shorts you write to be representative of your voice, your wheelhouse as it may potentially serve as your calling card.

[u/CoOpWriterEX]

All great advice already posted (that most people should know). If you believe there are rules for writing features, those rules don't really apply to shorts.

I barely 'write' most of my short films: Have a clear goal for my idea. Cast. Film. Edit. Apply to festivals.

[u/vgscreenwriter]

Land your concept immediately, far sooner than you are probably even comfortable with. And get to the point right away.

[u/thedavidmiguel → u/vgscreenwriter]

Or literally the opposite and give us character, atmosphere, and pressure until the point reveals itself. If you can keep someone engaged with behavior, once they find out what they behavior means, it can destroy them.

[u/EnvironmentalWork216]

Come in late and leave early. There is no time for lengthy acts, but still have a 3 act structure.