Three ideas, two quotes, one question.

3 ideas from me

Make It Their Fault

There’s usually a moment where your protagonist loses the thing they want most. Is that loss caused by their own doing? Is it traceable to a flaw in their own character that they’ve been avoiding? It’s much juicier if the cause of a character’s suffering can be attributed to themselves (imagine me French with a cigarette: how like life) rather than some external coincidence.

The Right Length for a Short Film

I strongly recommend 5 to 7 minutes of runtime if festivals are the goal. Contrary to what artists may think, the goal of a festival programmer is NOT to collect the best pieces of art together into one premium show. The goal is to get butts. In. Seats. A half-hour short could take over 3+ other short film spots, which means losing out on 3+ groups of people buying tickets. The shorter the short - the better your odds of making it in.

Put Your Phone Away

When you set your phone on the table, you signal that whatever may show up on that phone is more important than the person in front of you. Not exactly something that strengthens a relationship. Do people keep their phones out all the time? Yes. Be better. Get a watch if you’re worried about time. Figure it out.

2 quotes from others

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.”

Georgia O’Keeffe

“Done is better than good.”

Elizabeth Gilbert