Ramblings of an Amateur: Short Films

A scene, a story, or an image. These can appear in the mind of anyone at anytime. A frustrating fact as these subjects can enthrall a person for the remainder of their day. I personally obsess over stories I could write. Scenes for a film that could be shot. Even, a picture perfect view that could be captured on camera, often left stuck in the world to pass by.

Recently, on a bike ride I came up with the concept for a short film. My friends and I had been discussing the rather simplicity of short films, along with the benefit of their brief run time. These recent talks combined with the sudden inspiration of a story brought me to the completely reasonable conclusion that I should write and shoot this short film!

The biggest issue was, of course, that I had never shot a film before. Nor, did I have a screenplay. So, the only logical course then would be to write one. I can buy the filming equipment later and everyone loves the amateur's aesthetic that comes from second hand equipment (or so I tell myself). To the screenplay!

Which, then leads me to find out there are rules to writing a screenplay. The usual template is courier 12pt font, scenes are bolded with the number of the scene at the beginning of the scene name and the end. Then you describe what is in the scene. When a character talks you center their name (maybe add some descriptors of how they are talking in parenthesis next to it) hit enter and then write the dialogue of the character.

The plus side is at least there are plenty of resources available on writing a screenplay. Looking up the template or finding websites dedicated to this exact task is quite easy. Writing the scenes are the toughest part.

For the scenes stuck in my head, it was a quick process to put them on paper. However, making a story of the scenes is the challenge. Furthermore, how will I shoot some of these scenes?

I wasn't too worried about filming mainly due to the stylistic choice I will be taking with many scenes. But, the rules and regulations for a short film are the last things you think of when writing the script.

Originally I had a scene including a gun range and the protagonist participating at it. Well, with no onset armorer, police officer present, or using the right blanks/prop guns one can say goodbye to that scene. With everything that happened on the film set for "Rust" last thing I wanted was to go against any on set safety regulations.

Even thinking of having a "set" was a thrilling and dreadful thought. The reality of what can be from the creativity of the mind is just that, thrilling and dreadful. How will I get the footage I want? Will every business I think of utilizing give me their permission to shoot there? If I want to use drone footage would it have to stay away from anyone's homes or backyards so as not to step across any privacy laws?

This is an undertaking I am confident to shoulder. With it being a short film, half the fun will come from learning everything that goes into it. It is always exciting to turn your creativity into reality. And this is a fruitful endeavor I plan to follow through. Perhaps I will continue these ramblings on here as I move further into this quest of making a short film.