Old Shorts

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Re: Old Shorts

    Originally posted by Bono View Post
    This is second time you said this -- and you got a movie made -- but I don't think this is true. I mean no one can MAKE you send them.

    Also I'm assuming this producer is up and coming and not established if we are talking about student films.

    Also the easiest excuse ever is "MY MOM THREW THEM OUT." "OH CRAP THEY'RE ON 16MM..."
    I've gotten a dozen made. My point is they asked for them. Yes, you can do the "my dog ate them" thing... But you still need to show them something. Honest.

    Selling writing is one thing... selling yourself as a director with no past successes, even with shorts, is another. It's not just actors who want this information, but finance people who get nervous with new directors want to be comfortable trusting their money with them. But hey.... I have no idea exactly what the circumstance is here really.... He should trust his gut and do what he thinks is best for him....

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Old Shorts

      Originally posted by TravisPickle View Post
      Comrades,

      I made some short films in grad school for loose change (10 years ago or so).

      Anyway, I am talking to a producer about one of my projects and he keeps pressing to see the short films.

      Would you just go "ehhh fack it" and send him the shorts, maybe with a humorous intro about how old they are ?

      Or would you just point blank refuse and explain that they are not a fair representation of where I am at now?


      So on a practical level I feel like it wouldn't make that much of a difference whether this guy sees my shorts or not. But it's stressing me out a bit.

      just curious
      This ambivalence is how I feel about my reel, too. When I made the award-winning versions of the short documentaries (years ago), they seemed fine (they did win, after all). Not even two years after they were made, though, for me to look at them was almost like being waterboarded; I saw things that I could have done better or could have done differently to better effect. Viewing them later, they seemed “unfinished” and it made me cringe.

      Then one day (also years ago) on the street near the National Geographic building, I happened to meet a world-famous, A-list documentary filmmaker. In the brief exchange between us, he encouraged me to keep going, to pursue my goals, and I would only continue to improve. To summarize the gist what he said in those few minutes was that a true craftsperson is never truly satisfied, but always striving to improve upon their work.

      Satisfy the producer’s curiosity by unapologetically sending the short films. There’s something of you in them—your shot choices, your editing choices, their production value (albeit limited), all locked in time and place—that the producer believes that they are able, and probably would like to attempt, to divine from them. Their aim may be to see where you were then and where you are now. The only thing you might be able to say to introduce the short films is that you made them when you were a xx-year-old student and that they were made on a shoestring budget, but say little else (unless asked).

      Otherwise, if you play hard-to-get (as Ed Fury and Klazart suggest), eyebrows and suspicions will be raised, which could be the first behavioral indicator of a precipitous slide downhill in your professional relationship with the producer.
      Last edited by Clint Hill; 08-24-2019, 05:15 AM.
      “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Old Shorts

        FTR - I'm not suggesting playing hard to get.

        I think I misunderstood where TP was at in the process with this producer. I thought they were already working together. If not, prob true that you just gotta send 'em. But, yeah, I'd be clear on how old they are etc.
        Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Old Shorts

          Part of the problem is I don't think the OP has cleared up all the details. We all could be right and wrong!

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Old Shorts

            Maybe this producer only needs to be able to tell others who are going to be involved in the project—those who trust the producer’s judgment—that the producer has seen TP’s work. All (my/our) suggestions may only be shots in the dark without complete details, which in this forum is not necessary or desired.

            But when someone who has twelve film credits under their belt offers great advice, I would take it regardless of what I paid for it.
            “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Old Shorts

              Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
              But when someone who has twelve film credits under their belt offers great advice, I would take it regardless of what I paid for it.
              Same... whomever has the most credits wins the debate (and that def ain't me).

              My best advice is on the agenting side (how they think/what they do). I have no clue what it means to be produced.
              Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Old Shorts

                Originally posted by GucciGhostXXX View Post
                Same... whomever has the most credits wins the debate (and that def ain't me).

                My best advice is on the agenting side (how they think/what they do). I have no clue what it means to be produced.
                I wrote and wrote and marketed myself and my work relentlessly for over a decade, with countless rejections, doors slammed in my face, predatory producers looking to fleece me, getting close and having projects vanish, before my first produced film. Let me tell you... it was worth it.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Old Shorts

                  I think that's right.

                  I directed a bunch of shorts in grad school, got signed as writer/director, started writing for a living, and didn't direct anything since grad school.

                  and you are absolutely right about people directing without prior experience. In fact, I definitely don't feel like I am a noob at the directing thing. It's just that my writing samples are MILES ahead of my directing samples (for obvious reasons) and the two don't really match up. Especially if you're a producer who, as someone mentioned, can't see potential.

                  Originally posted by Bono View Post
                  So you're currently working on a feature to write and direct?

                  You made other stuff (with footage?) but never finished a short film since college which you don't want to show?

                  Is that right?

                  Many first time directors make feature films and they didnt' do anything beforehand.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Old Shorts

                    sorry, Bono. what should I clear up?

                    Originally posted by Bono View Post
                    Part of the problem is I don't think the OP has cleared up all the details. We all could be right and wrong!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Old Shorts

                      So can you clear up if this producer has credits or is up and coming as well? Did you mention the shorts to him/her or did the producer say "show me a short film."

                      I feel you're leaving out like the 10% of the details that would solve this issue easier if it still is an issue for you... maybe you already made your decision.

                      This happens to us all on here -- either we don't give enough or give way too many details which confuses the other people trying to help because we don't know the things you know. It's even worse when people give so many specific details and you want to shout "wait, who the hell is Derek???"

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Old Shorts

                        lol okay! here are the missing clues...

                        - Producer is an Exec at a production company. young guy- early 30s.
                        - He asked me if I have directed before, I said yes, he said "great - send me the shorts so I can show them to my Boss"
                        - we went to the same University and he knows exactly where these shorts land, in terms of budget and scope.

                        Originally posted by Bono View Post
                        So can you clear up if this producer has credits or is up and coming as well? Did you mention the shorts to him/her or did the producer say "show me a short film."

                        I feel you're leaving out like the 10% of the details that would solve this issue easier if it still is an issue for you... maybe you already made your decision.

                        This happens to us all on here -- either we don't give enough or give way too many details which confuses the other people trying to help because we don't know the things you know. It's even worse when people give so many specific details and you want to shout "wait, who the hell is Derek???"

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Old Shorts

                          RE: whether or not a writer MUST have directed shorts prior to pitching himself as director... here's what I have learned based on my experiences:

                          - A writer's biggest asset is his/her ORIGINAL screenplay. 101%. You can adapt something, of course, but it helps immensely if the material is completely out of your own head and you chain yourself to it as the director. In other words, it's you making the movie or it's nobody else.

                          - For me, having a great DP vouch for my technical knowledge and see my storyboards has been incredibly helpful.

                          - As someone else mentioned, there are plenty of people who made the leap from no shorts to feature, or from so-so shorts to fantastic feature. Richard Kelly, Tarantino, Aronofsky... their shorts are all pretty bad but their first features are incredible. So it seems that it's more about someone TRUSTING you rather than you working your ass of to try and create that one-in-a-million short film that's going to wow every single person in town.

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Old Shorts

                            I mentioned that many first timers have not made short films prior. Maybe someone else here did. So I agree on that front. You don't need it. But since it came up....

                            Anyway now that I have all the clues, unless you have a film that is so embarrassingly bad or has outdated jokes or pop culture like a Trump joke like my old spec from 2013, then send it to exec because he gets it.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Old Shorts

                              Originally posted by EdFury View Post
                              I wrote and wrote and marketed myself and my work relentlessly for over a decade, with countless rejections, doors slammed in my face, predatory producers looking to fleece me, getting close and having projects vanish, before my first produced film. Let me tell you... it was worth it.
                              Good to hear!

                              This biz is friggin brutal!

                              Thus, I'm super stoked for anyone who's actually been produced. What a feat!
                              Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Old Shorts

                                Originally posted by TravisPickle View Post
                                RE: whether or not a writer MUST have directed shorts prior to pitching himself as director... here's what I have learned based on my experiences:

                                - A writer's biggest asset is his/her ORIGINAL screenplay. 101%. You can adapt something, of course, but it helps immensely if the material is completely out of your own head and you chain yourself to it as the director. In other words, it's you making the movie or it's nobody else.

                                - For me, having a great DP vouch for my technical knowledge and see my storyboards has been incredibly helpful.

                                - As someone else mentioned, there are plenty of people who made the leap from no shorts to feature, or from so-so shorts to fantastic feature. Richard Kelly, Tarantino, Aronofsky... their shorts are all pretty bad but their first features are incredible. So it seems that it's more about someone TRUSTING you rather than you working your ass of to try and create that one-in-a-million short film that's going to wow every single person in town.

                                I know a dude who went from a $10,000 short to a $6,000,000 feature. Incredible. I was slated to score it, but he fired me. D!ck. LOL

                                TIP: If you direct a feature know what composing the score is going into it (Swear, I had to teach the guy. Worst position for a composer to be in). He wouldn't meet me to 'spot' it. I'm like "Dude... I haven't been able to get ahold of, you can't ghost me, we HAVE to meet to spot it, that's what a director DOES." He's like "Dude, I can't, I'm so stressed!" I'm like "Bro, just relax... take a deep breath... everything's gonna be fine, I'm here to help you. Let's meet today and go over the cues, we HAVE to. No choice." He's like "Dude, just write whatever and I'll have the editor check it out... okay? I gotta go!" I'm like "Bro, you sound like you're about to hang up on me, don't fukkin hang up on me, stay with me... Hello? HELLO?? Fukker hung up on me!"

                                Don't be that director. Keep your sh!t together or don't do this. The mental breakdown will pass. LOL
                                Bruh, fukkin *smooches*! Feel me? Ha!

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X