Short Films: a Key to Big Hollywood Doors?
Some great film and TV careers in Hollywood and around the world were launched by short films.
Stephen Spielberg cast Vin Diesel in epic WWII film, "Saving Private Ryan," after seeing him in a short film called "Multi-Facial"(1994) at a film festival. Vin Diesel, a struggling actor at the time, had scraped together resources to produce, direct, and star in this film. The investment paid off.
"Bottle Rocket," (1994) a 13 minute crime caper shot in Texas, launched the film careers of famous brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, and was Wes Anderson's start as a movie director. It was later expanded into a feature film of the same tite, co-written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, directed by Wes Anderson, starring Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and James Caan.
After producers saw the short film, "The Christmas Cowboy," a musical directed by Canadian director James E. Taylor (www.jamesetaylor.ca) they approached him to direct the TV series, "Madison."
Horror film "Saw" was a short film which so impressed audiences at film festivals that director/writer team James Wan and Leigh Whannell were able to procure funding to make it into a feature. The feature went on to become a sleeper hit, and was followed by two sequels!
"Jeux interdits" (1952) (Forbidden Games), directed by René Clément, was originally a short film that explored the fantasy world of children in WWII France. Great French filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati was so impressed with the short film that he pushed René Clément to expand it into a feature film. The feature film that Clément went on to make from it is now widely recognized as a masterpiece.
"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" was originally a six-minute animated science fiction film with a retro style, that writer/director Kerry Conran had spent years making. It so impressed Paramount Pictures that they made it into a 70 million dollar heavily-animated feature released in 2004, directed by Kerry Conran, starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Sam Raimi wrote and directed short horror film "Within the Woods" (1979), shooting it on super 8mm film, in the hopes of eventually making a feature film version of it. They utilized a glowing review of this short film by a film critic who saw it on a double billing with another film, to successfully procure funding and resources to shoot it as a feature film called, "The Evil Dead," a cult classic horror film, starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker.
Whether a short film makes a big splash or a little ripple, producing one offers many rewards, though maybe not immediate financial ones. A screenwriter certainly gains valuable insights from involvement in the making of of a short film.
Filmmaking is a collaborative medium, and films begin with a screenplay. Since a film script is meant to be a blueprint for a film, understanding its intended meaning is more important than, say, short stories and novels which can go in more abstract directions. Screenwriters benefit from networking and getting feedback from others, if not for suggestions on how to improve a script, then at least getting an idea of how they interpret it. Seeing the actors deliver lines and hearing their questions on what motivates the characters is also very useful and revealing for screenwriters.
The production of short films presents opportunities, not only for writers, obviously, but for all parties who contribute to its production. In particular, a film has networking value for everybody involved in the making of it, from the screenwriter, to the producers, to the cast, to the make-up person, to the cinematographer, to the set designer, to the sound engineer, and everyone else in the crew. Later, if it gets shown at film festivals, all sorts of connections can be made with people in the entertainment world.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Palindrome
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This is an interesting short film by the talented Imemine-Media guys. Not sure what it means. Sort of experimental. A bit of an optical illusion with a nice musical score. Subtle off-key humor. I expect great things in the future from this filmmaking team.
Pelicans Dive Bomb at Fish
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This is an entertaing fast-paced video featuring great shots of pelicans diving into water grabbing fish and great shots people catching fish too, edited with a Rap music score. Great fun. The fimmmaker spent a month and a half filming Pelicans attacking schools of mullet.
Redemption
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This is the trailer for Redemption, a dramatic short film by Dina Arsenault, Jet Film Productions, James E. Taylor's movie company, and PAVI, the Pacific Audio Visual Institute. Redemption is a very intense and emotional story about a street kid (superbly played by young actor Matthew McClellan) who visits a priest who is up for an award (actor Beau Daniels).
Monday, January 15, 2007
Praying Mantis
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The praying mantis pounces on mouse three times its size, beats it into submission, then devours it. No wonder a Kung Fu style -- 7 Star Praying Mantis Kung Fu -- was inspired by the praying mantis.
Very Cool Heineken Ad
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Very entertaining Heineken commercial with neat effects when soccer players kick ball amongst a bunch of birds. Cool aerial shots taken from a remote control
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