Exam

Why are some directors driven to write their own scripts?

Frustration at the time taken having to wait for other opportunities.

You shouldn’t make an intense character study if you are scared of what?

Actors.

What should you be careful of if you only have 5k to make your film?

High action/drama (e.g. car chases).

If a feature film might be described as a novella, how might a short be described?

A Hiatus.

What are the length boundaries different film festivals stipulate in their short sections?

They stipulate between 10-20 minutes.

If the function of your short is to make your audience laugh, how long should it be?

Between 2-3 minutes.

What are the three basic elements any kind of dramatic story requires?

A World

A Character

A Problem

Why can it be useful to set your film around a familiar event/ritual?

The audience may already have basic knowledge involving the event.

The issues/themes felt by the audience can be put forward towards the short.

Dramatic tension and story events are created.

Why can a literal journey be a good setting for a short film?

The story takes the character on an emotional journey.

The setting works well.

What are the 5 most important questions to ask when you begin to develop your story?

Who is your main character?

What is their problem?

How will the audience recognise the problem?

Are the stakes high enough?

Am I telling the story from the best point of view?

One of three things must drive your character through the story. What are they?

A want

A need

An obligation

What crucially must accompany this element?

Barriers towards the character reaching it.

External obstacles are in the way.

If there is no problem, there is no film.

Why are a lot of short films about children and teenagers?

The lack of experience associated with children and teenagers is recognised to all audiences.

What is one of the most important ways that you can demonstrate your skill as a filmmaker and not just a storyteller?

The direction of what the characters are doing.

Characters into problem.

What does ensuring that something is at stake in the story mean the audience can do?

Make them think “what can we loose”.

Understanding why the journey really matters.

How can a different POV change a story?

The audience sees the story from a different perspective.

How the problem is displayed is different.

This can either strengthen or weaken the story.

Why do many short film scripts fall down?

Establishing a character is a difficult task.

Script writers often move on to another character without establishing another.

Why does an awareness of the meaning inherent in your story matter?

There is only time for one clear message to be made.

It helps the script writer make the choices he wants to make.

What is tone intimately connected to and what are the implications of this?

Tone is intimately connected to the genre.

It is important to think about what kind of film you are writing in broad terms.

Genre is less of an issue in shorts than in features.

How does tone emerge in a film?

Through the underlying elements, which work together.

Examples of elements include lighting,

What is a common flaw of most short scripts submitted for funding?

They have not had enough drafting, so it is not yet worthy of funding.

What is the ten point plan to test the spine of your story?

Title Genre/tone Setting Main Character A want, a need and an obligation Opposition Catalyst for change Climax Resolution Theme

What point does Marilyn Milgrom make about unity?

Each scene should help develop the story.

How can we make sure that what happens in the end could not have happened earlier?

Each scene must move the story on.

What is the step outline and what does it ensure?

One sentence summarising what happens.

What is revealed that is significant to the plot.

What is revealed that is significant to the audience’s understanding.

Check you have no slack in your film.

Every scene of significant action should deliver something on at least two out of three possible fronts. What are these fronts?

A plot

A character

A theme

What is signified by the “order” in which to tell the story?

A beginning

A middle

An end

What do audiences instinctively know?

Whether something is pretentious or dishonest.

As a writer what is the crucial thing you are looking to ensure?

Keeping the audience engaged with a story that has meaning.

How do we establish the world and the character?

Through maximum speed, and minimal dialogue.

What advice is given for making the film cinematic once you have a good story?

Establish a world and character. Use visuals and sound; sound is able to suggest a world outside

the frame you can’t afford to shoot and enhance the impact of your story.

Establish a consistent tone. Keep an active main character (make choices, do things that

allows us to understand them). Show character changes, via relationships, props, etc., instead of

through dialogue. Use cinematic devices, which can build tension and moves the

story forward with maximum economy) Revise your step outline to check that all significant things

created manifest to your audience in the most visual way possible.

What final advice is given for ensuring that a short is more cinematic, less televisual in feel?

Leave writing the dialogue until last, and keep it minimal.

Who is the first audience of your film?

A reader of the script.

How can you help the reader see the film you are intending and not get irritated?

Follow screenwriting conventions (http://www.scriptfactory.co.uk/ )

Familiarise yourself with scripts (www.scriptpimp.com, www.script-o-rama.com )

Avoid writing camera directions

Avoid writing things the audience cannot see◦ (What you see is what you get)

◦ (What you hear is what you get)

Why is simple a useful descriptor for your short?

It can make a big impression if told with cinematic flair.

Name some of Daniel Mulloy’s shorts and the awards they have won?

He has won a BAFTA Cymru Award for his first film, Dance Floor, for best newcomer.

His second film, Sister (2005), was awarded the ARTE Grand Prix in Hamburg and another BAFTA.

Antonio’s Breakfast won the Short Film BAFTA in 2006.

Dad (2006), premiered in the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Compare/contrast Antonio’s Breakfast with Dad.

Antonio’s Breakfast is shot in one location, as Mulloy knew money was non-existent.

Dad was also shot in one location, but as the antidote to Antonio’s Breakfast; the characters were almost in reverse.

The main protagonist was a middle aged man in Dad, which contrasts with the young man focused on in Antonio’s Breakfast.

Explain what Mulloy is “aware” of and has a “strong sense” of when developing his scripts.

He is aware that only minimal funds are available.

He does not depend on the producer to pick up scripts.

He has a strong sense of what needs to be communicated.

What does Neil Hunter suggest is the best way to tackle a short which covers a lot of ground?

Covering ground has to be part of the point and part of its style.

What idea did the short film The Sickie develop from?

A character overhears the voiceover of the film he’s in.

The script keeps things simple, direct, funny, short and with a point.