"Short films are big time," states the cover blurb for Shooting People's shorts directory Get Your Short Film Funded, Made And Seen, edited by Tricia Tuttle and with contributions by over 30 leading figures from the short film world. Broken down into six sections (Define Your Idea; Get It Funded; Get It Ready; Get It Made; Get It Seen; and Resources), the book offers lots of advice on how to make a short and, equally importantly, getting the world to see it. We asked Tricia Tuttle six questions about the Shooting People Shorts Directory...

Tell us where the idea for the book came from, and why you feel it's necessary?
Tricia Tuttle: It was a collective idea from Shooting People. There wasn't a short film resource like it, one which combines craft advice and interviews with exhaustive contacts and resources aimed directly at short filmmakers working in the UK. Recognising that there are as many different ways to make a short film as there are individual filmmakers, we wanted the book to combine experience and advice across the production process from filmmakers who have been there and done it well. This approach to the book was rooted in the belief that there is no one 'right' way of making a short film, but good advice can help you to make your own short film the best it can be.

There are lots of 'how to' books about filmmaking. What's so unique about shorts that means they need their own book?
Precisely because there are so many 'how to' books, we didn't want this to be just another technical guide. The book covers idea/script development, funding, production/post and distribution/exhibition, all specifically from the perspective of a filmmaker making a short. For instance, the type of story you can tell, or idea you can explore, is very different in the short form. There is little time to develop multiple narrative strands or characters. A good short film idea is not a feature script in shortened form (shorts can actually yield some interesting creative story possibilities too as you can explore a single concept, image, experience or moment). Finance is also distinct from feature film financing, and there is very little of it available out there! However, you can quite feasibly self-fund a good short film if you are creative and efficient. There are also many sales and exhibition channels, especially new media channels, devoted specifically to short films, and we outline these in the book.

Tell us about some of the key contributors you've used, and what they brought to the book...
The interviews are with key people from most of the major short film players (from Sundance and Aspen Shortsfest to MySpace and Revver). The Blaine Brothers contributed a brilliant extended interview to the book which runs across all sections. Theirs is one of my personal favourites. Chris and Ben know the joys and limitations of making shorts better than any filmmakers in the UK, having made 11 short films of huge creative variation, and ranging from £50 to more than £50,000, self-financed and funded by regional screen agencies and the UK Film Council. They are also clever, witty and extremely generous in sharing their insights.

The book is almost as much about what to do with a short once you've finished it as the production process. Tell us why that's so important...
Again, there are so many 'how to' guides out there. We wanted to focus on what is specific to short filmmakers. Ten years ago, if you made a short it would play a few festivals and then disappear. That's changed but no book in the UK explores how. As filmmakers interested in the developing short film industry, we wanted to reflect on this, and also show new filmmakers the many ways to reach an audience with a short.

The films more likely to get public funding are those whose makers have already made films on favours, gumption and credit cards

What advice would you give to filmmakers seeking public funding? And are there any type of films which are 'shoo-ins' with funders?
My advice would be to NOT expect to get it and be prepared to make a short film without it. There are lots of filmmakers competing for very limited funds and you probably won't ever make a short if you wait for someone to give you money to do it. Shoo-ins? No, but the films which are more likely to get public funding are those whose makers have already made films on favours, gumption, micro-budgets and credit cards.

Finally, you asked contributors for their favourite shorts but didn't include yours. So... which shorts do you love?
I didn't name mine because there are so many which were already mentioned by other people and many appear on the volumes of short films I produced for Shooters (Best v Best). In recent years, I've loved La Prueba (Diego Lerman); Bugcrush (Carter Smith); Two Cars, One Night (Taika Waititi); Wasp (Andrea Arnold); Love Me Or Leave Me Alone (Duane Hopkins); and Family Portrait (Patricia Riggen).

Get Your Short Film Funded, Made And Seen is published by Shooting People and is available priced £23.

Adrian Hennigan | Published 24 September 07

send to a friend 

start a new discussion