Short Films Probably DO Suck Ass! But…
April 24, 2007 by clive
Hey, comedy titles aside, on the days of the week I’m not being a preachy iconoclast here at the Church Of Micro-Cinema, I’m actually really open minded. (Except on the days that I’m not)
So, despite the fact I’m certain that 99% of short films bite, I am open to being convinced otherwise.
So, here’s the deal, anyone who thinks they’ve either seen or made a good short can email me with the url and I’ll stick a link out to it from this site. Not only that, I’ll watch it and I’ll be perfectly honest about what I think.
I honestly believe if anyone has the stones to send me a link, the short will just be more of the same old toot! But I’d be thrilled to be proved wrong. I’m also big and pretty enough to say I like a film, if I genuinely like it, even if that means admitting I was wrong.
And don’t be shy about shouting me down, if you disagree with my review.
James, you’re not barred from this — [Just so you know, James still makes shorts and I'm trying to cure him of this nasty habit, but his insistence that he'll stop making shorts when I stop wearing cowboy hats is too steep a price]
It’s not a matter of stones or conviction, I believe it’s a matter of definition of the term “quality” and yours is definately different than mine, sir.
So insofar as that’s the set up, for anyone and not just yourself, feeling they *must* watch short films and tread towards finding ways that they do or do not suck (ugh, what a loaded gun to enter a viewing) for whatever personal definitive reasonings then please feel free to scoot over to my site at unsafefilmoffice.com and eat your heart out.
Or not.
Feedback is not required and I’d rather have none if it’s not honest. And certainly don’t expect me to defend or offend my work on this site or any other as a result of any potential discussion about the state of suckiness in short films. I’m not a martyr. I’m a microcinema filmmaker.
The patronage and time spent by the adventurous is appreciated in advance regardless.
Peace!
Look I’m really not here to knock anyone’s work, seriously. That’s not the kind of filmmaker I am.
I’m very, very interested in the possibility of there being some good shorts out there. This is an exercise in me challenging my own prejudices.
I also believe that good, honest constructive criticism is an important part of filmmaking.
When I used to make shorts, I’d show them to people and they’d all pat me on the back and tell me they were great. Which is all well and good, but I knew they were all very flawed creations (My short films sucked ass! Yes, they did — even the one that won the Royal Television Society award)
So, I will find time to check out your shorts and I won’t review them here, because you’ve asked me not to.
Thanks for the offer — I do appreciate it.
But getting back to the thread — if anyone does find a short they think really is worth watching, let me know — let’s spread the good news.
I thought about this a lot and while I feel like I should disagree with the whole “short films suck” motif. I keep coming back to thinking that some short films do suck.
However, I don’t feel this is a flaw of the short film format so much as the simple fact that a lot of short films are done when people are still learning, or figuring out their style, or figuring out if filmmaking is *really* what they want to do. If everyone made a feature first then a lot of features would suck (Oh wait, a lot already do suck). Plus, it’s easier for those starting out to push a bunch of shorts out without too much of an investment.
I guess that is what it really comes down to. How much time and money are you willing to invest. If you can’t make that investment, for whatever reason, then shorts are a good place to hang out for a while.
Things are changing too. With viral video and online video ads, it is now possible to make money from shorts. So the shorts will have to improve to get traffic, thus creating a new environment of short films that don’t suck.
Anyway, The first few shorts I have done have been me as the crew and my kids as actors. Like you, people pat me on the back saying how good/cute it is, but I look at it and say, “are you kidding me, its crap!”
But hey, I’m always up for constructive criticism! My shorts are at: http://me.josh-j.com … and yes, they suck.
I made this short film and I’d like to know what you think:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsHp6CR2Doo
You might be interested in my 3 min short as I had no money whatsoever and shot it in one morning, but it turned out pretty good, I think. I would have loved a DP and stuff, but the whole point of it was to see what I could do for absolutely nothing. You can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJGvllQDmcI
Keep them coming and I’ll stick the links in a post over the next couple of days.
I’ll also watch them.
Clive,
By all means, sir, put your review(s) up of my short films for others to read. I’m far from thin-skinned and fairly self-deprecating. I’m confident in my work and that their consumption by the public will be generally understood.
I’m merely stating in the overall arc of the conversation that it’s just your opinion. A valued opinion nonetheless as I feel you definately know what you’re looking for - which is more than I can say about most people I’ve met in my own life as of late.
So if it helps stimulate the conversation then I’m all for it. Heck, I’m interested in all opinions should anyone else care to chime in with their own review too.
I guess I just want everyone who does offer an opinion to know that I’m not one of those filmmakers that will flip out with pages long diatribes tracing the cinematical roots of my “work” back to the stone ages and how said reviewer must have grown up in a cultural vaccuum.
It’s just a short film, folks. One should get a sense of how people are in a short film. Use a feature to explore who they are instead.
So without further ado, I feel anyone can pick up on a sense of my preferred style and story interests from the top three short films posted on the right hand side of my page at unsafefilmoffice.com
Specifically, RED SEVEN, Nice Guy Blues, & To Have and to Hold.
Peace!
I’m not sure if you got my email, so here’s the link for all to see:
http://filmflap.blogspot.com/2007/01/my-short-films_12.html
These are four of my shorts, but the most recent one (”Middle of Nowhere”) is the one I’m most proud of. It was also my highest budget to date (about $800) which I obviously need to rethink if I’m going to fit into the $1000 Film ethic.
Do your worst!
Thanks Guys,
I will post the links on the main blog and work my way though these.
Scott,
One of the points which I never made about shorts was that these days they’re not necessarily cheaper to make than features!
The truth is James and I are working on a short script at the moment (this is what sparked the post) and we’re expecting to spend $1,800 on making it.
Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
CALL FOR ENTRIES
Final Deadline MAY 26, 2007
Submit Online: http://www.lashortsfest.com
323-461-4400
11th Annual LA Shorts Fest is the largest short film festival in the world, screening 700 films of every category. We are accredited by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. In past years, 25 participants have earned Academy Award nominations, this years Oscar winner for best animated short film “The Danish Poet†made its Los Angeles premiere at LA Shorts Fest in 2006 continuing our streak of the last 8 Oscar winning short films having screened at LA Shorts Fest the previous year. Last year’s award winners received prizes totaling over $100,000. The festival annually attracts more than 10,000 moviegoers, filmmakers and entertainment executives looking for the hottest new talent We have honored some of Hollywood’s legends of the past: Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Robert Wise; along with actors Martin Landau, James Woods, Gary Oldman and directors Tim Burton, Bryan Singer, Jan de Bont and Paul Haggis. http://www.lashortsfest.com 323.461.4400
I normally wouldn’t hype a festival, but when I’d finished laughing at the irony of the above comment I read it again and saw they show Harold Lloyd films — and actually I love them — so maybe there are some short I like. The thing is they were all made pre 1940!
By the way, they haven’t asked me to judge either! LOL
Oh, and one final thing to all you who blog — if you use the expression “suck ass” in a post title you get the most hilarious spam comments! LMAO
[...] Do short films really suck ass? Submit your short to $1000 Film for a detailed and very public critique. [...]