arranging(&shooting)shorts back-to-back?

Whether you want to do a two minute short, a TV series or a feature film it's all about Management - financial/resources management, time/scheduling management, personnel management.

All three are interconnected. Financial/resources management is just what it pertains to be - listing equipment resources and determining after the initial preproduction what capital will be required to fill the gaps. The more limited your resources the more important time/scheduling management becomes. Why does time/scheduling become so important? Because you will be asking people to work for free. (BTW, a token stipend as a gesture of respect goes a LONG way.) As people consider their time valuable they do not want it to be wasted, which is bad enough when you're being paid, but makes you feel like a total sucker when you are unpaid. That's personnel management. Unfortunately, limited budget/resources also means that you will have to spend more time on and off the set getting the most out of what your do have. And, of course, you have to think about "life after the film" before you start shooting. Why are you shooting them, for what audience, etc.? That's the "Art vs Commerce" debate that endlessly rages inside creative spirits and boardrooms alike.

You asked about the advisability of the project - how the hell should I know? I don't know if the scripts are good, or great or if they suck. And feasibility? What are your resources and what kind of capital do you have? How well do you know and trust your collaborators? Process? The process is very simple - preproduce, shoot, post. Your professionalism, management and creative skills, and those of your team, will determine how efficiently and creatively the process works.

I guess that I'm the cantankerous old fart around here. I'm not going to tell you" Yes, you should" or "No, you should not"; only you can make that decision. What I and the others here will do is assist you with the practical logistics and offer suggestions to surmount creative roadblocks. Working on a limited budget means that you will have to make all kinds of compromises. What they are is completely unknown until you start work on the project. Your first step is a breakdown of the script(s). Once that is completed you can determine the resources required and make further plans - and requests for advice - from there.

"a token stipend as a gesture of respect goes a LONG way."

Could not agree more. Even if you can only pay somebody $50 a day, it proves you value their contribution.

Just a thought (Im a noob) ...

If you do all your preproduction work around doing all three movies back to back, when will you have time to apply what you learn as you finish each?

Most of the mistakes that iv made in my little endeavors are fixable in pre production.

wheatgrinder said:

Just a thought (Im a noob) ...

If you do all your preproduction work around doing all three movies back to back, when will you have time to apply what you learn as you finish each?

Most of the mistakes that iv made in my little endeavors are fixable in pre production.

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Yep, I went shorter in length from my 1st movie (34 minutes) to my second (12 minutes). Part of that is is being festival friendly, but part is also using it to focus on fixing all the little things I was unhappy with on the first film.

I'm in the same boat, my school is shooting 3 shorts back to back over the next two weeks. Actually things are so tight because we are sharing equipment and crew and even one actor that i am filming on a sunday between two shoots lol. One shoot goes tomorrow threw friday, and mine is on sunday. What i did was look at their equipment list and added what i needed that they didn't have. So we loaded up the truck with all the equipment we needed for moth shoots, so as soon as they are done they just hand the tuck off to us and we start shooting ours. And then we give our truck back to the next guy when we wrap. The way I see it making 3 ten minute shorts is not much different than producing one 30 minute short.

niik000 said:

The way I see it making 3 ten minute shorts is not much different than producing one 30 minute short.

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Not so fast. It depends on what quality of short you are in the business of making. It's like writing a screenplay - anyone can crank out x amount of pages in a few hours, but in the end what have they done? It all comes down to quality. See the amount of competitors you have on this site alone? What can you do to set your self apart? How can you make your work stand out and get noticed? Quality does not necessarily mean using the best actors or equipment (though those can be an awesome starting point). It is about using what you have to its BEST. Making the best darn movie you can with what you have available to you. Why get caught up in the quantity when you should be striving for the best quality? We are artists too you know.

Alcove was speaking to the various considerations that are essential to the pre-production process. Glossing over such things just exposes you to all kinds of problems after wards that can/will haunt you from the shoot to editing to the final product (if you manage to get that far). Ours is a detailed oriented business and you'd be amazed at the cascading effect of one "minor" oversight.

I say take your projects on one at a time - giving each project be it a 5 min short or a feature your maximum energy, everything you have and then some. With that kind of honesty you will start off making good movies which can only get better. Plus your crew and talent who will be working for free in your first couple of outings will appreciate and respect your commitment, determination and professionalism - which will serve as the fuel and empowerment for theirs (hey, it's not like you're paying them...much, if anything). Cause like Momma says, "Why bother doing it if you ain't gonna do it right?" Good luck.

I think it's a good idea to shoot them at the same time instead of back to back.

Last summer, we wrote three 10 page shorts and since I set them in the same town with the same actors, I just shot them all at the same time and they came out pretty good.

I've done it... for a competition here a couple of years ago. I recommend tons of preproduction time, careful scheduling, and very little sleep. One short per weekend would do well... we shot 3 in 2 weekends, it was a little tight.

Typically, you'd prepro a short, shoot it, then post it... in this case, you'll be doing all your pre before shooting any of the 3, then shooting all 3 before looking at the post at all. It's just rearranging the typical schedules. The problem will be with keeping your head in one project at a time on set and not worrying about the others until it's time to do so. Don't produce and direct all three yourself, you'll want someone else producing the things so you don't have to think about the logistics while shooting each.

It's difficult, but doable.