Quoted from Old Time Wesley In fact, do what you want. I do not really care, listen to me or don't it's all the same. You'll do what you want anyway and well when it all goes wrong I'll be here to say "I told you so"

I'm currently having two short produced.  THese two will be placed on a DVD and labelled Phil's resume.  I'll be sending this out instead of a paper resume.


Phil

And I will label it as Phil's Greatest Hits.


Phil

I once had this idea to write a bunch of shorts and get them filmed. There would be about 10 or so, and I would place them all onto a DVD. I would then format the DVD to be identical to a CD. The DVD would have a title, and the shorts would represent the songs. It would be a visual album of sorts...

...Hmmm, maybe I'll revisit this idea.

Do what you want, time will tell.

Whatever makes you happy.

A short is also a good way to get your foot in the door.  An agent or a director may be more willing to read a ten page script than a 120 page script.  Even if he has no intention of producing it, he'll (or she'll) get a taste of what I can do, which may open more doors later on.


Phil

For me, I write shorts in between feature length projects.

Sometimes I have a good idea, but it's only plausible for a 15 min short. It's not strong enough to last a full script.

Maybe I misrepresented myself here on this subject, if that is even a word. I meant I think people should release compilation screenplays with shorts kinda like Midnight Moves, the scripts didn't have anything to do with each other and yet they are released together and work.

I just think the more you are out there the better chance you have of gaining an audience, how are people supposed to know what's by one person if it's spread throughout many, many pages?

Andy had a good idea with that thread in I'm Looking For where she added works by some people, if that thread comes back I think that would be another way of seeing this stuff.

I kinda made it sound like I hated short scripts which is not what I meant to do but I did.

In regards to the length of a short.

I think a short needs to be less than twenty to thirty pages.  If you can't tell the story in twenty to thirty pages, chances are you have enough material to expand it to feature length.  

The reason I say this is because the audience for a short is small, most shorts only play at film fests and on indie TV shows.  The longer the short, the less time a producer has for other shorts, thus the longer the short the harder it is to get accepted to fests and the like.

This is not a hard fast rule.  I have seen some extremely long shorts do well.  It's just some helpful advice.

In regards to why write a short.

Wes you are wrong to think that a short can't help you improve.  The majority of novelists start out writing short stories.  The majority of filmmakers start out shooting short films.  Hell even surgeons don't start out with major brain surgery.  The point of writing shorts is to learn the little things...dialogue, basic story structure, character development.  If you can master that for ten or twenty pages, then you can start trying to master it for 110 pages.

And as above this is not hard fast.  Some screenwriters have never written a short, and if you can learn without ever starting small, then more power to you.  But don't look down on us who realize there is good logic in starting small.

Also, as dogglebe stated, some stories don't call for the feature length treatment.

Poke

EDIT:  I did not read page two of this thread...stupid Poke.

I agree with what you are saying about packaging similarly themed shorts together as a feature.  I don't know if many producers would be willing to look at an unsolicited spec on something like that though.

If it's not all about selling like it should be well than it doesn't matter, but of course we live in a world of greed and ego's so I wouldn't question the fact that for most it's allabout selling and money.

I am not in this for money, no hidden agenda, just being real... Can we say the same about the rest of you?

Quoted from Old Time Wesley I am not in this for money, no hidden agenda, just being real... Can we say the same about the rest of you?

This statement is offensive.

I am working at being a professional screenwriter, and there ain't a thing wrong with that.  We all got to do something to make a living, why not do something you love doing?  I work a low paying job and struggle to get by, thus I realize that there is nothing wrong with wanting money.  Wanting to get paid for my work does not fall into the category of "hidden agenda."

That is keeping it "real."

Poke

i believe shorts are a good learning tool for beginners.

Shorts are good if you have a short story.  The two shorts that I have on Simplyscripts could not be stretched out to feature length.  Doing so would ruin the stories.


Phil

Wow, Wes, you really are on about his one, aren't you? I have only written a handful of shorts, and as Phil points out, they are as long as they need to be to tell the story. One short only ended up being a short because the story ended at 43 pages. That was all there was to tell. The only other shorts I wrote were deliberately short because I was writing for a theatre that did one acts at the time (a one act is the play equivalent of the movie short).

One I wrote because I wanted to write a story that could be shot in one long continuous camera shot. It was one set, the camera followed the characters around without a break, and it used very basic special effects. It was a kind of Twilight Zone thriller called Forgotten, and I never posted it here, but it's on my website. I wrote it to shoot in my house, but my wife dissented.

Forgotten was an exercise and a challenge to keep one single shot since every single line someone would speak had to be written and yet kept within the boundaries of not wasting the audience's time.

The other main short I had was around 30 pages (I think), was also one set, and was actually written as a play. I've never posted it anywhere, but I mght drag it up just for fun sometime. It was also a thriller with a single set. The guy kills his wife an hides her under he couch when the cops come sniffing around. Now my wife says if she eer disappears, look under the couch.

I don't have a problem with shorts as long as they are not detracting from writing something bigger. They work well as a jumping off point to bigger and better things, in my opinion, and it is important to move beyond them. But sometimes if you have a crazy idea, it is also a good ideato write it down, and if it is a short, so be it. At least you wrote it down. The important thing is writing is not only to write, but also to grow. If you write a short, pat yourself on the back for completing something, but I don't thinkyou should set out to write a short. I think you should set out to write a story and see what comes of it.

Note: As with Poke, stupid George didn't read page 2 of the thread either, but I guess the reply still works. Oh, well. Not the first time; won't be the last.

Quoted from George Willson I don't have a problem with shorts as long as they are not detracting from writing something bigger. They work well as a jumping off point to bigger and better things, in my opinion, and it is important to move beyond them. But sometimes if you have a crazy idea, it is also a good ideato write it down, and if it is a short, so be it. At least you wrote it down. The important thing is writing is not only to write, but also to grow. If you write a short, pat yourself on the back for completing something, but I don't thinkyou should set out to write a short. I think you should set out to write a story and see what comes of it.

Keep in mind that it's easier for a new writer to get a short produced than a feature length movie.  Producers (usually newbie producers in this case) are more likely to take a chance with your short if they think it can be done quickly and cheaply.  A producer is also more willing to take the time to read a fifteen page script over a 142 page script if you're not established.

Film festivals would rather take a couple of shorts (over one feature film ) from new people as they can split up the shorts in between the big-name films.


Phil

I started writing my first feature length, but it was a slow long process (it took about 3 years on and off). While I was doing this, I wrote a couple of shorts...mainly for fun...something to take away from the serious side. I posted them here, they are not my best work, but I've had lots of inquiries from independant filmers.

So yes, it is good to write shorts (IMO)...but to further a career in the writing industry, you'll need to develop the skills to produce a 100-120 page script.