How to Make a (Professional) Short Film
So you’ve finally wisened up to the power of visual storytelling, aye? Seeking to capture the hearts and minds (and eyeballs) of your customers, clients, and community? We might be just slightly biased, but most people realize the potential for short films to produce a profound impact. How else would you have found this most informative slice of knowledge on the internet?
Regardless of your motives, we at Otherworldly Productions are proud to present some of our expert insight into the video production process. If you’re wondering how you can take on this challenge alone, or if you’re curious about how the pros get it done, read on for a glorious overview of how to make a professional short film.
Required Time
It’s always good to set expectations, and knowing how long it takes to create a professional short film hinges on a solid variety of factors. The two primary variables to consider are:
A) the production crew (one person vs. a team vs. inexperienced vs. professional)
B) the total length of the end product itself (10 minutes vs 1 hour).
Take yourself, for a blessed, nostalgia-filled moment, back to grade school. Remember those X/Y variable graphs in Math and Science class? Well, your plotted production time is going to increase as those two variables above change. The more experience and members you have on a production team, the total production time will decrease; the longer the final length of the short film, the total production time will increase. Simple right?
As a general rule of thumb, many short films under 30 minutes can be made in 4-8 weeks of concentrated production work by a professional production crew. But several other factors might influence this, such as specialized film locations, and if you include the entire process from early development through post-production editing and even until release, you’re talking closer to a range of 3-6 months. Inexperienced, small crew, and a longer film? That’s up to the fairies to calculate, and there’s no guarantee of ‘professional’ quality.
Required Equipment
If you want to create a professional short film, you’re going to need a bit more than your iPhone.
Camera
Okay, this is an obvious one, but imagine creating a short film without a camera. Impossible, of course. You’ll need to decide between shooting on film or digitally, to DSLR or not to DSLR, the gauge of the film, whether it's black and white or color, the resolution, and the FPS (frames per second), to name a few variables. Each will impact the type of camera you need to purchase. Expect a price range between $1,000 and $50,000 just for the body.
Lens
Next up is the lens. Pay attention to what type of camera you purchase because this will be directly relevant to the types of camera lenses and other accessories that can be used with it. Professional lenses can range from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand. Multiple different types of shots in your short films means having multiple lenses on hand, but this piece of equipment is not one to skimp on.
Sound
Like lenses, sound equipment will run you a few hundred dollars to several thousand. It is also similarly vital to the result feeling ‘professional’. But along with sound equipment, you’ll likely need sound design software and even a hired sound engineer if you don’t know what you’re doing - you can add another several thousand for professional-level quality in each of those aspects.
Camera Movement
Professional short films (except the occasional “self-filmed” horror flick) will avoid a shaky camera. To do this, you need to invest in camera movement equipment. This includes tripods ($500-$2,000), sliding mounts for pan shots ($3,000), and smooth/ stabilization handheld mounts ($3,000-$15,000).
Post Production
Post-production usually includes editing (visual and audio), among other fine touches that require the help of specialized equipment and software. As a guiding rule, many film producers reserve 35% of their filming budget for post-production alone. We’ll leave you to do the calculations.
Of course, there are additional things to consider, such as lighting, set design, and costumes, but if you remember one thing, keep in mind that these are only tools. No matter how fancy and powerful, it comes down to your skill to be able to utilize this equipment to its full capability. We’ll be completely transparent in that if you don’t have any experience, it may not be worth acquiring the most expensive equipment (unless you intend to spend a fair amount of time learning how to optimize their use).
The Video Production Process
The video production process can be broken down into 7 simple steps that are usually more complex once you get into it. Anyhow, your journey will usually go as follows:
1. Ideation
There’s an old saying about not putting the cart before the horse - well, your horse is the idea, and the cart is the film. Before beginning, consider why you want to create a film in the first place. Is there a story you want to tell? How about an emotion you want to share? Give this a good ponder before moving on to step 2.
2. Script Writing and Storyboard
The most important part of a professional short film is the story and, therein, the script. I’m sure you can think of a few films that had it all - the cinematography, the actors, the music… but it still fell short. Chances are it was because of a poor story and writing.
Once you have the story in mind, including the genre and tone, the next step is to write a script for the film and create an accompanying storyboard. These are the foundations of what your film will ultimately become.
3. Pre Production
Pre-production includes acquiring funding, scouting for locations (and getting permission), hiring actors, recruiting a production crew, and purchasing/ renting equipment. Let’s just say that even this step benefits from having a team.
4. Shooting the Film
This step is fairly self-explanatory. Depending on logistics, the production crew, and the director, this could pan out in any number of ways.
5. Post Production
Post-production includes editing the scenes visually and adding in/ matching all audio designs. This is your chance to analyze each scene so that they meet your expectations, and it is also the step where editing techniques such as transitions, fades, and pacing all come together.
6. Review
Next, review your short film with producers, beta-viewers, editors, directors, and funders. Getting that last bit of input will allow you to implement any details you may have previously missed or remove anything that detracts from the quality or desired finish.
7. Release
When all producers agree on the final product, it’s time to share your creation with the wider world.
Trust the Experts
Making films can be a fun and fulfilling hobby (it’s how many of us at Otherworldly Productions found our passion in video production), but to create a short film of professional quality, there are numerous bars, financial and operational, that need to be met.
If you’re looking for the most efficient and effective way to bring your creative vision to life, inspiring the imagination of your fellow neighbor and welling the emotions of Earth’s populace, consider entrusting your project with the experts at Otherworldly Productions! Contact our team today, or check out some of our previous projects to get a bit of inspiration yourself.