If you're thinking of getting into the short film business, our Advice section will give you a few pointers - but remember, starting small is fine. It's the bright ideas that will get you noticed...

Turning your big idea into a workable script

The inspiration for a short film can crop up all over the place. Stuck for an original storyline? Real life is a good place to start, whether that means an issue you feel strongly about or something you’ve heard or seen in the street. Songs, poems, pictures, news reports or short stories are another way in… It's a case of finding that special something that gets you going.

You've got an idea. Now what?
Writing your script
Giving it structure
Legal stuff

You’ve got an idea. Now what?

Before you get bogged down in the right way to put your idea on paper, sort out the basics.

• Get your story straight from start to finish. This calls for a plot outline.
• What’s your genre? It could be comedy, animation, horror, action or romance - or any combination of a hundred different styles. Once you know your style, you can get the right tone and pace for your film.
• Who are your characters? Make notes on each one, building up a profile. Think about their age and appearance, personality, background, likes/dislikes and any relevant personal history. Give them a name too - if you don’t believe in them, no one else will.
• What are the themes? Does your film have a message? Is there a sub-text eg. the relationship between father and son, or what it means to live in foreign country?
• Do your research. If one of your characters is a doctor, don’t let them get their medical jargon wrong. Make them believable.
• Get feedback – even running your ideas by friends and family will help you get your head straight about what works and what doesn’t.

Writing your script

There’s a standard industry way of doing things and if you’re planning to get your script out to production companies or directors, it’s a good idea to get the format right if you want to be taken seriously. Get a handle on what’s what by drinking tea and:

• reading other people’s scripts, online or in books, particularly the ones you really like
• talking to scriptwriters. If you’re nice they can be quite helpful
• getting hold of some scriptwriting software which will provide you with a template
• taking a scriptwriting course
• using a script reading service for lots of feedback and suggestions

Even if you’re not planning to submit your script to anyone, following the standard format will help you judge the length of your film – as a rule of thumb, one page is about a minute of screen time - and make sure you include all the relevant detail.

Be prepared to do quite a few rewrites!   

Giving it structure

With so little time to play with, the best short films grab people right from the start.

Each scene should be engaging, have a point, move the action on and have its own dramatic moment.

Rules are meant to be broken, but it may help to divide your film into the following sections:

1. Introduce a character with an issue or problem
2. Show the obstacles that are in the way of your character achieving their ultimate goal or the way their issue is affecting their life.
3. Present a moment of crisis and a climax when things come to a head.
4. Show the resolution, whatever that is.

Legal stuff

If you’re adapting someone else’s written work, eg. a book or a poem…
Find out who owns the copyright – and it may not be the author. You need the rights holder’s permission to make your film. Alternatively, you can stake a claim on the film rights.

To hunt down the rights holder, try talking to the author, their agent or the publisher. Get written consent in a document that outlines the terms of the agreement. In some cases, you may need to fork out some cash to get those rights too.

Copyright gives exclusive rights to the creator of that original work. For a book or play, the rights of the author or writer extend to 70 years after their death.

Moral rights are an extension of copyright. They are the rights of a writer or author to control how their work is used and exploited. You will need to find out if the author has waived their moral rights. If they haven’t, your adaptation may hit some seriously limiting opposition.

Obscenity

A rare shout, but if your work is hardcore and likely to ‘deprave or corrupt’, you could get stung. And obscenity isn’t just about sex – it could mean drugs or extreme violence too.

Defamation

This means publishing material that damages the reputation of a person or an organisation.

You may be hit with a libel suit if your script opens someone up to hatred, ridicule or contempt, or discredits them in their line of business.

You don’t even have to name names. Add a character who bears a significant resemblance to a well-known figure or who acts in a way that will prompt viewers to make the association and that could be enough to get you done for libel.

You can’t defame someone who is dead.

Know your rights

Make sure you pin down exactly what you have rights to; particularly if the script is the finished work of co-authors, joint authors or you and another writer have worked independently on separate drafts.

For more about your rights, take a look at our Legal section.

What next?

You've crossed the t's and dotted the i's... Now's the time to make your script come to life. Now's the time to find your Crew and Cast.