A Great Short Film

Since Quick Film Budget started its short screenplay contest, we have been asked several times "what is a good short film?" There are many different good storytelling approaches to short filmmaking. Most importantly, remember that there is not one way to make a great short film.

Over the weekend, the Big Bear Horror Film Festival invited me to give a talk about film budgeting. While I was there, I saw many short films and feature length films. There were many good movies but one really stuck out as great. "The Unfun House" is a computer animated short film by Paul Carty about a trip through an unsafe, "legally challenged" dark ride. Life threatening props and zoning issues are just a few of the problems management ignores everyday. To make things worse, a disgruntled former employee of the ride comes back to wreak havoc during your tour!!! I loved the film for many reasons

1) It maintained a scary and funny tone evenly throughout its entirety.
2) The animation looked professional.
3) The story was perfect for a short film because it presented a few different consecutive experiences from the doomed riders' perspective. Even though each rider's story had a quick beginning, middle and end, the arc of the short film was really about the ride to tell the story about why the ride went from the fun house to the unfun house.

I encourage everyone to watch the short. I could only find a website showing its trailer http://futuremoon3d.com/id5.html

I hope this posting helps give at least a little direction about making short films. Click here more information about the Short Screenplay Contest.

Also, check QuickFilmBudget.com for a sample film budget.