How do you guys add depth or deep characterization in a short film? I'm curious coz, its kinda hard to achieve some depth when you have so little time to build the story or the characters given the limited amount of time. I'm thinking like 10-20 mins?
Depth to a Short Film
- Thread starter charles827
- Start date
In my experience it's hard to do much beyond your protagonist. Some of the other characters may have to be a bit two dimensional. It's always true that everything, every action, every word matters, but in a short, it REALLY matters. Every move he makes, every word he speaks has to reveal the character. There's no time for throw away lines, or action that's just there to be there.
I'm not a director - and I don't even play one on TV - but an awful lot of shorts go through my studio. So here's what I've noticed about the shorts that really work.
The concept is simple.
The script is solid.
The acting is very good. (I'm sure that the direction and the editing contribute to that.)
A lot of attention was paid to wardrobe, hair/make-up, locations and set decoration.
The production and post sound was solid. I'm not praising myself, but noting that the dialog was very clean (intelligible), and that sound design can reveal as much about the characters as the above (wardrobe, etc.).
The score was evocative and source music carefully chosen.
What it all comes down to is attention was paid to all of the details, which means a great deal of planning was done during preproduction. Then patience was exercised on the set to insure capturing all of those subtle nuances. This gives the visual and sound editing teams a lot to work with. As always a successful project is revealed as an integrated whole from script to final credits, a team of talented craftspeople responding to a director who clearly communicates his/her vision and motivates them with his/her passion.
The concept is simple.
The script is solid.
The acting is very good. (I'm sure that the direction and the editing contribute to that.)
A lot of attention was paid to wardrobe, hair/make-up, locations and set decoration.
The production and post sound was solid. I'm not praising myself, but noting that the dialog was very clean (intelligible), and that sound design can reveal as much about the characters as the above (wardrobe, etc.).
The score was evocative and source music carefully chosen.
What it all comes down to is attention was paid to all of the details, which means a great deal of planning was done during preproduction. Then patience was exercised on the set to insure capturing all of those subtle nuances. This gives the visual and sound editing teams a lot to work with. As always a successful project is revealed as an integrated whole from script to final credits, a team of talented craftspeople responding to a director who clearly communicates his/her vision and motivates them with his/her passion.
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it's tough. you just gotta try and dive right in. it's like when you watch a woody allen film, he doesn't bother taking ten scenes to tell you a character is middle class, a writer, and having relationship problems-- instead, he has the opening shot on a well dressed guy who's arguing with a woman about his problems as a writer and how he might not be able to afford his lifestyle anymore.
bingo. that's it. just keep it short. get there quick. follow your instincts. good luck!
bingo. that's it. just keep it short. get there quick. follow your instincts. good luck!
Christmas Greetings-
I can only add to the others' quality comments; my experience in making a short and watching tons of others is that it is indeed hard to do enough character development and get through your plot. Seems to be a balance between "just enough" information and "not too much" (beating the audience over the head).
I've only done one short film, but could have set up the main character better. Take a look at the first five / six minutes for an example:
http://vimeo.com/17494577
pwd: HHill03
I can only add to the others' quality comments; my experience in making a short and watching tons of others is that it is indeed hard to do enough character development and get through your plot. Seems to be a balance between "just enough" information and "not too much" (beating the audience over the head).
I've only done one short film, but could have set up the main character better. Take a look at the first five / six minutes for an example:
http://vimeo.com/17494577
pwd: HHill03
There is a way. Just Google the terms "Layered characters" and a "layered story" for details on how to achieve it. You have to carefully sculpture the character to connect into every level and direction of your story.
I'm coming at this as a screenwriter. Obviously acting, sound, and lighting play huge roles in non-verbal layering. Visual items and reflections can convey a great deal. A woman kissing her husband and seeing lipstick on his collar. By having slight contradictions, it suggests a character is more than s/he seems. It may never be addressed but the audience begins to add more in their own imagination. A man is watching boys play baseball. Later he's in the garage picks up his own mit then lays it back down. You create more speculation. Small incidentals in the script that aren't acted upon but which make the audience wonder.