There are shorts that are mini movies, with a beginning/middle/end, then there are some which are a great set up to something larger.

My question is whether or not it's a good idea to write a short, even though you have a feature planned, to try and get some attention behind it.

It's easier to complete the short, easier to get it looked at during festivals, and easier to be filmed.

Just a thought.

I have never done this so not sure if it work towards your objective or not. Personally, I would not use this approach. And it doesn't sound like you are really writing a short - it sounds like you are writing the first part of a feature. Interesting to say what peeps views are.

I actually have heard of this but there is a catch-

You would have to essentially turn your entire feature into a short beginning, middle, and end with no cliffhanger.

It has happened before with people doing this approach, it's rare but has happened.

So would have to decide if you can condense your script enough where it won't be noticeable.

Hope that helps.

Don't know about cliffhanger ending... That would just Piss people off.

But using shorts as proof of concept for a feature is common enough.

That's how Saw started.

You need to make the short feature standard though as investors will presume that the feature will be more of the same.

Thanks for everyone's input.

I'll post my short in the work in progress thread sometime later today. I already had most of this written, but I decided that I wanted to do something fun, and not so serious. So I took elements of the story and tweaked them around a bit.

This is also a "longer" short, around 20-25 minutes.

The movie Lights Out started out as a short film.



https://youtu.be/tOI4bJ0-IrY

I'll scratch the cliffhanger aspect and got for more of a traditional route, only shorter.

Maybe you can consider turning it into a series if it's that long. It doesn't have to be a long series either. Lately, one season shows have become popular.

Good luck!

This is true.

It's a pretty absurd concept, with humor thrown in, so hopefully it's well-received here.