GEORGE TOWN: Go for quality over quantity – that is the advice from Oscar-winning animator Adam Elliot for aspiring short-film ­makers.

He said one of the biggest problems short-film makers often face is when the story gets too long.

“Short is better. There are no rules to making short films, only principles.

“You have to know what to leave out,” he shared at the Roughcut Film Symposium at E&O Hotel yesterday, held in conjunction with the Tropfest South-East Asia 2014 Short Film Festival.

The 42-year-old Australian also said that with short films, it is difficult to have a complex plot with too many twists and turns.

“However, the wonderful thing is one does not need to have narration, unlike feature films.

“Short films are also cheaper to produce and give more creative freedom and control,” he said.

In his keynote address during the sympo­sium, the filmmaker also took the audience through the journey of his success and shared his experience in winning the Academy Award.

He said the story for his films are based on events in his life.

“Look inwards to get your story and forget about the latest trends or genres,” he said.

Elliot’s five films – Uncle (1996), Cousin (1998), Brother (1999), Harvey Krumpet (2003) and Mary and Max (2009) – have collectively been shown in over 600 film festivals, winning over 100 awards.

Harvey Krumpet, the 23-minute film produced with a A$300,000 (RM870,000) budget, won him the Oscar in 2004 for Best Short Animation against productions by Disney, Pixar and Fox.

He is noted for his usage of traditional in-camera techniques: every prop set and character is a real miniature handcrafted object.

He does not use digital additions or computer-generated imagery to enhance visual aesthetics.

His films have been voiced by notable actors, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Geoffrey Rush, Eric Bana, William McInnes and Barry Humphries.

He is also a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was awarded the Young Achiever of the Year for Victoria in 1999.

On Tropfest, Elliot said the short-film festival was the first in South-East Asia and a great platform to propel and showcase the work of aspiring short-film makers.

“It has been in Australia for about 20 years and each time there will be some 100,000 audience members turning up for the event.

“Tropfest has the atmosphere and an incre­dible buzz,” he said.

He added that even though the films could be uploaded to YouTube, “it’s not the same if the film is screened to a live audience”.