5 ways you'll ruin your first short film

If you're writing / directing your first short films, don't make the same mistakes I did! These are the 5 worst beginner filmmaking traps.

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I've been making short films for 20 years, starting at age 11. I directed my first feature film, Bad is Bad, in 2010. Made for only $6,000, the film went on to reach over 7 million views and garner critical acclaim. More recently, my short film, Will "The Machine", screened and won awards at film festivals around the world. Released online in 2019, it reached over 1 million views in just a month. I also work as a video editor, cutting ads for clients such as Apple, Netflix, and Beats by Dre.

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0:00 DON'T DO WHAT I DID
0:12 USING YOUR FIRST IDEA
1:23 MAKING A LONG SHORT FILM
2:53 BAD AUDIO
3:32 LOSING FOCUS ON ENTERTAINMENT
4:54 TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH

[tbip]

There is something amazing about being young and thinking 'I have' no money, but I'm going to make a Vietnam war film and its going to be 20 mins long'.

[GeorgeTudu]

There are so many filmmaking gurus on YouTube and all they speak about are the latest cameras, gimbals, this gear and that stand; your channel is probably the only one I found, where ideas, experiences, mistakes and suggestions are discussed.
Glad I found your channel.

[moaath]

I disagree with “Using your first idea” tip, especially when you’ve never made a film before. You need to start, and that’s all you need at this moment. So I’d suggest to all starting filmmakers there, make whatever comes up to your mind at first, big possibility it’s shit, but just do it and learn from it. Overthinking the idea might not get you anywhere.

Having said that, you’re great man, I love your videos and I have learned a lot from you! 🙏🏼

[billlynchfilms]

"Less history. More mystery." Genius.

[Paul.McGhie]

You can always take your first idea and write down the most obvious parts of it. Then try and come at it from a new or different angle that starts to make it more interesting. For example - you might want to make a film about a bank robbery gone wrong (obvious). But think of a character who could tell that story from a entirely new perspective, such as… the Etsy creator that made the masks for the robbers in the first place - she’s now making a fortune in merch because her masks were all over the news. 🤷‍♂️

[paranormalpicklejar]

“Less is more” is such good advice for short films.

[ilghiz]

Shooting the first idea that comes to your mind isn't as bad as you might think. It's not about the end result, it's about the way: scripting, acting, shooting, putting together. Having fun. And the result will sure have an audience: a bunch of friends, relatives etc and even some unknown viewers on YouTube. It's totally fine. You just have fun, you get to taste it and think for yourself whether you want to do more or switch to other fun. And the taste of it boosts your imagination, you come up with better ideas. Your first shorts are cool, they're part of your experience, they made you – you. There's probably thousands of shorts like those on YouTube, it's ok. I've made a few shorts with a friend. He generated ideas, some great, some not really, I thought of ways to implement them. We had fun. And they're fun to watch again once every hundred years. You might find them dull and clichéd but they are mine, my personal experience, they stir memories to a degree that I don't really want strangers to see them.

[jabumabaya]

Give a character something they want and make them try to get it, that's the bones of an entertaining story, PROFOUND!

[dancedjk]

Honestly, I had a hard time making it through this video due to the first advice you gave, was possibly the most destructive advice ever given. As a film maker you ALWAYS consider your first idea when making your first short film. The reason being is it will get you to shoot and DO SOMETHING. Every professional will tell you to just do something, anything, but don't be dormant, don't just sit around and wait for a great idea. Keep the film 5 minutes or less so you can work on it and get moving to your next (and possibly better) idea. It is the experience and the ability to learn, change and adapt, that helps you get better with making movies.

[jaycemcqueen]

As good as this is, I love seeing short films that are “short” films. Short films under 20 minutes feel more like the slice of universe stories, but I love a good 40 minute mini movie. I guess they could be different categories but they’re always fun. I also like sequels to short films or episodic ones those are so fun.

[Skyler_Momoko]

OMG YES to the second point. I remember making 30 minute short films when I was 13-15 and they are SO BORING. I really wish someone told me "Skyler, nobody wants to watch you talk to yourself on Skype for an unfriended remake for 31 minutes!!!"

[m.williams.actor]

I love how you add in lessons learned from your past experiences. The war film insert cracks me up every time. Thank you for the information! Truly is appreciated.

[slipoch]

a 2x2 board is good (I use trello) - so you can have cols for 2 seconds, 2 minutes, 2 hours, 2 days, 2 weeks.
When an idea strikes, think about it for 2 seconds and dump it into that column, when you have time at a later date pop it into the 2minute column and try to flesh it out, if it doesn't work, dump it.
When it has passed 2 mins, pop it into the 2 hour column, and flesh it out for 2 hours if it doesn't work dump it.
2 days, 2weeks + should operate the same way.

You can also combine the items in your list, this will narrow down the feasible ideas. I got this from Kevin Jump in a programming conference.

[rello]

"Two Distant Strangers" is a 32-minute short film on Netflix that won awards. So your short doesn't always have to be just 12 minutes.

[AnqiGeng]

Not using the first idea is a good tip throughout all writing, because I've come up with tons of good first ideas and then looked at how the logistics would work out, and it really makes you contemplate "is this really what I want to write?". That tip has helped with my essay writing, play writing, and definitely when it comes to my screenplays! Not saying your first idea won't be good, but if you think about it some more, a better option can always come to you.

[realbadger]

Apparently festivals prefer shorts being ten minutes or less... my first short _Bucky_ came in at a hiccough under eight and a half minutes (we received a bare bones budget with the script winning a screenplay competition).
It was cool not only to premiere at a film festival at the Hollywood Chinese Theatres, but it won at that first festival right out of the gate (and won at several festivals during its film festival run).

[jebatman]

Audio is 51% of any film from a technical perspective, 100% Agree

[eliah_lefferts]

You're so funny and informative- I love your videos. I value your content so highly as I progress in making my first short film (first any film). Thank you so much Kent!

[bienbagui]

I disagree to some extent with your third idea – as long as generating profit isn't a motive. I think it's acceptable to focus on a film not geared towards entertaining and appealing to a general viewership, as long as you yourself enjoy the creative process and can use it as a building block for growth. That said, you make great points regarding the rest of mistakes to avoid. Much appreciated!

[kenshinhimura]

I am a professional procrastinator. As a teenager I came up with many short films/feature length film ideas. I tried to improve on them over the years. After couple of years I realized most of them are predictable and unoriginal. So I kept working on them. After almost 2 decades later I can safely say that I think I have finally shaped at least 1 or 2 of those ideas into something original (out of like 100). I hope I get to make them someday so people online can tell me how bad they are.