By Lee Hamilton.
One of the most obvious avenues for a short film is putting it through the festival circuit, but with increased submissions year on year and with tough competition to beat, we thought we’d get some inside tips from Festival Director, Paul Bruce, of the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, on just exactly what makes a stand out short film.
- A good short film expresses one concept or one idea in a complete way without unnecessary diversions and then gets to its point. The ending is important in a short film and the short film filmmaker needs to make sure their ending is satisfying, coherent, and works with the rest of the film. I don’t mind complexity in a short film as long as it holds together and ends well!
- Short film filmmakers aren’t bound by market interests or target audiences or production interference from other entities so it’s a chance for the film-maker to express themselves creatively and find out what they’re saying, it’s a chance to take some risks, see what you can do that’s new or different.
