Short scripts

So how long does it have to be? Length decides whether the script will be a setup and denouement quickie with a single plotline, or a longer journey possibly with subs and arcs.

-Derek

Jim McLain said:

Okay this is a little strange. I know how to write a feature script and have written several. It even appears that a couple of them are going to be filmed soon. My problem is that I have been asked to write a short and I don't have any experience in doing this. I can find any number of feature length scripts to read and have in fact read many. I understand arc, I understand the hero's journey, I understand the process of how to deal with plot and sub-plot. What I don't have a really good handle on is how do you write a short. It seems you are limited by length if nothing else. Is there a place where I can find a number of short scripts so I can get a feel for the process involved in crafting a really good short. I have seen a number of shorts and frankly I haven't seen too many that impressed me very much. I would like to do an analysis of some scripts so I can see how a really good screenwriter deals with the brevity of such a short script. I don't need to draft the screenplay for a number of months but I would like to start the process now. Any suggestions?

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Well, I'm not sure about a source for short film scripts, but youtube and the web are full of award-winning short films of various lengths which certainly ought to give you a clearer sense of the structure of such things.

I think that you will find that, while you can break some of them down into a traditional three-act structure, many of them, especially very short shorts, tend to structured much more like "gags" -- and you'll find that this is true whether you're dealing with something that is serious or comedic.

That is, the structure is -- Set up -- mis-direct -- Pay off/sting.

You can do that for comedic effect, for tragic/sentimental effect, for horrific effect. Whichever you want. But you'll find that the structure is essentially the same.

You're telling a story. The audience isn't quite sure where it's going, but you're sort of creating a sense that it's going in one direction, but at the same time setting up the *real* direction that it's heading only they don't realize it. Then, at the end, the real direction is revealed -- and the reveal is funny, or it's horrifying, or it's heart-warming, or it's heart-breaking -- whatever you want.

Now, this sort of thing can be done with remarkable simplicity -- just the way you can tell a gag that's only a few lines long and get a laugh.

But the funny thing is, you can do the same thing -- use the same construction, and invoke other emotions just as simply and as succinctly.

I remember seeing a PSA -- which I only saw once and it must now be close to twenty years ago, but which I still remember and it couldn't have been simpler.

It faded in. There was a medium close shot of a young man looking at the camera and he said:

"I came home from school that day and I saw my Mom talking on the phone. And she was laughing.

And I knew she hadn't heard."

Fade to Black

And then it Faded in the following:


John Fitzgerald Kennedy

May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963

Now, I don't know how that affects people today, but for people of my generation and older, who lived through the assassination, that's incredibly powerful. You hear what the guy is saying -- you don't really know what he means -- and then when the words appear you know *exactly* what he means and the full force and implication of what he means hits you in an overwhelming way.

That's what you can achieve with that set-up pay-off/sting structure in something like ten seconds.

So go on-line, check out a bunch of shorts on youtube and elsewhere. They're all over the place and go from there.

NMS

I can PM you a couple of scripts I did for a producer that's around 5 minutes long each. They've gotten me three different gigs used as a sample piece and on a first name basis with a very busy producer.

It's still like a feature, you want a first, second, and third act. You just handle it extremely fast. You're going to probably only have one story thread, very few characters, few locations. What I would suggest is to practice. Get some topics and practice writing shorts. Think less than about five scenes.

Also something to consider, what are the budget constraints? You need to know this because it will depend on whether or not you have any special effects, how many characters, locations. If they're on a very limited budget you'll want to stick to two maybe three characters, one to two locations, no effects, that sort of thing. Those will in turn effect your story. These are all things you have to know to be effective.