Things I Learned at a Film Festival

I recently attended a small film festival. I watched a lot of short films from both local filmmakers, as well as filmmakers around the world. Some of them were really, really good, and some of them were really, really, bad. After watching a lot of bad films right in a row (and several unsuccessful attempts to time travel to the future at an accelerated rate), I saw a good film, and I realized, “Hey! By contrasting this one good film with several bad films, I’ve learned a lot about filmmaking!”

I’m here to share some of those realizations. Also, while we’re realizing things, realize this: I make movies, so I realize how hard it is. Because of limitations of time and money, sometimes you have to make sacrifices. In the heat of the moment, you can make all kinds of decisions that you later wish you could change. My point here is not to be Mr. Know-It-All, or act like I have never made these mistakes (or never will in the future). My point is that these are the kinds of things I observed, and, in my stupid opinion, should be followed, in general. Some of these are minor and nitpick-y, and others are major, overall issues. While it is only my opinion, you’re a complete idiot if you don’t agree with me on absolutely everything.

Don’t do post-credit sequences, or (even worse) during-credit sequences after your movie. I know you couldn’t fit that amazing crane shot or hilarious joke into the real movie, but the audience is not going to miss it. Don’t have entire scenes or montages where characters are just wandering around aimlessly. Would the story still make sense if we don’t see five shots of the protagonist walking next to a lake? It would? Then get rid of it! Don’t make a movie about a character observing other characters doing stuff, unless the movie really is about that observing character, and it’s actually written from that character’s perspective. If you don’t want the movie to be about that character, then don’t try to use this trope. Give us an interesting protagonist that has a motivation the audience can understand. (S)he needs problems, he/she needs a clear goal, he (or she) needs a personality. If the audience isn’t given that, then there isn’t much reason for them to care about what happens. Sound is just as important as any other element. First, we need to be able to hear the characters clearly. Second, good sound design will help the audience be immersed in the scene. Third, music is important and stuff (I’m talking about music more in the next point. I don’t really feel like finishing that thought yet). Be consistent with music. Figure out what the sound of the movie is, and what kind of instrumentation and genre fits your film. If you’ve been using weepy violin music the whole time, don’t throw in Skrillex for the action scene, no matter how fat the beats are. Be consistent with the color/look. Figure out what the overall look of the film is. This should start with production design, costume design, and location choice, and end with color correction. Pick a color pallet and make all your scenes match that. Don’t use the actor’s head shot in the film as if someone just had that framed. Film is a visual medium, so make sure your movie is visual. Avoid long sections of dialogue and exposition dumps. Avoid writing your movie like it’s a play. Don’t just have your characters sit and talk for long periods of time. Do things with the blocking. It’s excruciating when characters don’t move for minutes on end. Watch out for the little things in dialogue, and rewrite anything that’s awkward. There are lots of things that make sense in writing that don’t make sense when it’s played out. In one scene I watched, a character hands another character half of his sandwich. Long after the sandwich has transferred hands, he says “here, have half of my sandwich”. “Always explaining fractions” is not supposed to be part of that character. Make sure every second of every scene has a justification for existing. This is especially true of short films, which should be a strict “no fluff” zone (hint: “because it looks cool and was really hard to do” is not a good reason). Make something people would want to watch. Know why you’re making the film, and why someone would want to watch it (hint: “because it looks cool and was really hard to do” is not a good reason).

Let me know if you disagree, or think some thoughts need more development. That’s all I have to say about that.