On Filmmaking

I have watched a lot of short films lately. I was rather apprehensive about watching them because I thought that maybe they would put me to shame. Instead, they made me feel like I was the most talented filmmaker of all time.

I know that at least a couple of filmmakers visit this site, so I want to offer a few pointers based on the mistakes that I saw repeatedly:

-Poor dialogue. Never tell the audience exactly what you are stating through the film through the characters' dialogue. It should never be straightforward. Allow for subtlety. Also, if your short is 10-15 minutes long you probably don't need exposition. Exposition is generally reserved for a two hour feature.

-Lingering on meaningless things. I have probably noticed this error more than anything else: in a masturbatory manner, the filmmaker lingers on trivial things too long because he thinks that it looks cool or adds to the mood. In most cases, it DOESN'T. For instance, if you want to show a guy who is seated at a desk move in a slow, deliberate manner don't show him stand up slowly then follow him with the camera as he walks 12 paces to a doorway unless there is a great payoff involved with it. Get a wide shot of him as he stands up deliberately then walks slowly off screen then cut to him near the doorway. There is a reason why our directing and editing teachers stressed "KEEP IT TIGHT!"

-Lingering on bad acting. I think that more than anything else, the ability of a director to recognize who is a good or bad actor distinguishes the good directors from the bad. Identify your best actors. Sometimes you will realize that you made a mistake in casting. Don't linger on that weak point. Your coverage of the bad actor should extend only to his/her lines. You should probably even work to cut his lines down to a few sentences or focus on a different actor when he is delivering some of his lines. Don't get a close up of him or her during a dramatic moment then linger on him for ten seconds. Also, don't allow him to improvise. The odds are good that he doesn't know enough about the character to add anything of value to the story.