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Indie Filmmaking Death Match: SHORT FILM vs. WEB SERIES!
Monday, Jul 4, 2011 3:15AM / Standard Entry / Members only
4 comments"What should I make? A short film or a web series?"
I get asked this question alot by budding filmmakers, and a recent discussion with a friend about the death of the film industry as we know it sparked me to hammer out some of my thoughts on this topic. For the record, I've done both (LUMINA the Web Series and my current short film Bloodtraffick, which premieres in the US in August, both projects featuring fellow AnD talent!) So without further ado:
WEB SERIES PRO's:
1. To me, the absolute best thing about a web series is that as soon as you finish it, you can pop it online for everyone to see. This is also cool for everyone who worked on it, since how many of us have worked on projects that never got finished or that no one ever saw?
2. Web series is all about disintermediation - no filters, no middle man. Just you and the audience. And your potential audience is limited only by who has internet access and isn't IP-blocked. That's alot of people, folks!
3. Use audience feedback to evolve as a filmmaker. I'm not saying listen to every YouTuber who wants to pick a fight, but take some time out to connect to your audiences, listen to the constructive comments, and improve things for your next episode.
WEB SERIES CON's:
1. Even for popular web series like the Guild, budgets for web-based entertainment is low. So get used to fetching your own coffee, love!
2. The "serial" aspect doesn't link up with "short form" easily. I found that I was trying to cram a traditional story arc in every three to five minute episode, and that meant find a memorable beginning and ending to each, but once you add in the intro and the end credits.... that meant BAM! BAM! episode was over. It didn't allow me the luxury of having those low points that make the high points more memorable.
SHORT FILM PRO's:
1. Nothing beats sitting in a cinema with the lights off, surround sound, and your images absolutely HUGE. Go ahead and tell me that most people will watch films on their TV's, computers, mobile phones (why is the screen territory getting smaller and smaller and smaller!) I'm old school: Silver screen, I still love you.
2. You can take as much time as you want to tell your story. No arbitrary deadlines (well unless you're entering a 1 minute film festival), and no lightning fast edits unless that's the style you want to achieve.
3. Festivals are great places to meet fellow filmmakers and industry people who can help you. Sometimes getting out from behind your desk and seeing other people face to face is a good thing.
SHORT FILM CON's:
1. Waiting for festivals feels like waiting for colleges again. Thick or thin letter? Long or short email? Though I have to say, getting acceptance letters is AWESOME.
2. This is still an uncommercial product. It's tough to get your money back for making the short.
WHAT YOU STILL NEED NO MATTER WHAT YOU CHOOSE:
1. Good story. All the pretty special effects from that fancy plug-in you bought will dazzle your audience for a few minutes. Then they'll turn it off. A good story will stick with them long after they stopped watching.
2. Evangelist friends. There's a reason that PR people are good to have, and if you can't afford them, the next best thing are to have friends who help you spread the word about your production.
3. Perseverance. Filmmaking isn't an easy process. Yes, the technical side has opened up (cheaper digital cameras, cheaper editing software) but making a good product will still take good old-fashioned effort. It's easy to be an arm-chair Scorsese, it's much much freaking harder to go make an original film on your own.
My personal answer: I like both mediums, and respect their differences. If I was starting over again, I'd probably do bunches of ultra low budget online videos first to get the hang of it (stand alone's or series, doesn't matter), and then if I made a short that I felt was strong enough, keep that offline and enter it into film festivals and chase that feature!
Hope this helps!
- J.T.
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