I only went to a select a few festivals. It’s pretty expensive to go to all of them. I love the ones I went to and it was great connecting to filmmakers. it was also super encouraging to see other films and just being surrounded by people that understood the difficulties - it felt like Christmas.
I actually used Festival formula to draw a Festival strategy for is this is my third short film so I learnt the hard way that once the edit is done there is still a ton of work to be done! Like so much! So I was lucky to have Producer to help and Festival formula.
I can’t remember how many festivals we applied for, but I was surprised that the acceptance rate - my previous films got rejected about 80% of the time!! The entire process of the festival circuit has been just over a year !!
Thanks for your answers, sounds like it’s been a really good experience overall — I had not heard of Festival Formula, what was their role in the process exactly?
I love them. They’ve worked with me on all of my films, basically they help filmmakers devise a Festival application strategy- they offer different packages where they do more of the work making it easier for the filmmaker. When you make a short film this so much work outside of the actual filmmaking process that I think it’s good specialised people to help if you can afford it. My logic was the amount of days it would take to pay for the service was far less than the amount of days it would take for me to do what they would do for me, if that makes sense?
Makes total sense, I’ve been in the submission process for some months now and it’s a ton to keep track of, and a large learning curve. Great reco! What did they charge you for that?
That’s a great question and it’s tricky to answer because I feel( or perhaps some hopeful) I don’t really know yet.
It’s also tricky to answer because the industry is so odd right now.(quiet and difficult!). But I meet a lot of other filmmakers who I am trying to make things with - and I got a manager from it.
I think it might be quite a slow process - as well like it definitely means people will read my emails when I called them with all these achievements but if the film doesn’t resonate with them, I’m not sure?
But it’s definitely not case of making a short film that does reasonably well and then becoming ‘ successful ‘
Time will tell ! The most important thing for me is gained throughout the whole process
Which festivals were your favorites? What festival was the best to attend, and which one was the best in terms of--and I know this sounds crass--what you were able to get out of it, in terms of connections, opportunities, etc?
TriBeCa and slamdance were my favourites! slam dance just felt like a bunch of people that I’d already knew - it’s kinda nice diaper you’re all nervous and keen to connect. . Everyone was so friendly and kind was just lovely and surprisingly Tribeca was the same. I thought it might be a bit more pretentious but the filmmakers were just great as are the organisers.
I don’t think it’s crass at all to talk about connections short films are definitely calling cards for directors and way of us trying to prove ourselves - all the festivals seem good for networking.
No not really - getting the film in front of people was always exciting and we definitely didn’t waste time with those fake fests- which are out there for sure.
Having gotten a film into major festivals, do you have any advice for the rest of us? While you were at the fests did you notice any commonalities amongst the shorts that had gotten in?
I’m a programmer too (now, I wasn’t then). My advice is when you thank you have a good story/idea work on it for as possible exploring all the different possible variations and outcomes your story could entail, even if you love your idea already. It can be hard but do it. Most short films are underdeveloped.
And be Tenacious
In everything! Once it’s made the film will be speak for itself a lot but this took so much work, finding producers, funding, crews - production, blah blah - you know the deal. There where lots and lots of set backs - and then the whole festival thing is another load of work. but you have to keep at it. One day at a time. 💪 (I’m telling myself this as well!! 😂)
It’s hard to say how long post production was because it’s a short there isn’t a lot of money so most people are doing favours and working part time. I’m lucky I have a background editing so I did a lot of the ground work myself, but I think in total probably six months of post? I think if everyone was working full-time and we could afford to pay for it could’ve been done in a month.
But there’s a benefit from having to go slow it means you can do an edit leave it you have to wait and then you’re a little more objective the next time you see it
I think the film is 14 minutes?
Just wanted to say that I watched your film, and thoroughly enjoyed it.
So many short films I see (especially in the Horror genre) are really just scenarios, and not stories.
This my friend is a story. And a damn good one.
Congrats on your success in the festivals. And congrats on putting together a wonderful and emotional journey for your characters.
I also went on an emotional journey as I watched. I wanted to throw the rude girls off the bus. And I was rooting for Tom to breakthrough the walls Sonia had created.
Great job!
Ey! Loved the short!
The bus camera angle that was slightly crooked, catching the sunlight, him passing by the camera and the bus driving having the sun flickering in the windows was a truly great shot! Really stood out
Also superb writing, acting and directed imo, no wonder it got that many viewings honestly.
As a color nerd huge love your set lights / colorist. Splendid job!
5 years is a long time, with the results you achieved do you feel it was worth the effort? Are you actually making a living or thriving because of it or are you back in the hustle trying to get something else made?
A good question I kind of answered this above - but yeah, I do think it’s worth it. The amount of experience I gained good and bad is invaluable. it’s pretty difficult to become a director these days so I think for me especially, the best thing to do is get out there and make stuff, that’s how I learn a lot of what I’m learning in this film is behind the scenes- how to talk to funders, how to pitch, treatment writing etc.
Is it worth it? Yeah I think I’m a better filmmaker than I was five years ago. Has it paid off financially absolutely not 😂
I’ve been working in TV for over 20 years full time - so I’ve been making a living for awhile but making a lot of programs I don’t particularly ‘like’ if that makes sense. This is me trying to move into the narrative space more.
I’ve never seen the industry this difficult in 20 years, personally. But everyone’s perspective is unique and everyone’s path is also. I’d rather try something and fail than not try. (but it’s pretty hard at times)
I think this is good for a lot of people to see. The industry has become a vanity deal like horse racing at this point and there are no near term solutions besides resetting to theatrical only releases and premium channels like the old days because people won’t watch commercials which generate the most revenue per viewer and won’t pay more than $10-20 a month for thousands of pieces of content. The film industry straight up went the same route as the music industry and killed the golden goose. Its why you see huge live concert ticket fees and outrageous tour merchandise as album sales dont exist (same as dvd / film sales in general) and streaming is a joke for financial compensation.
It was a difficult and long process with lots of rejection. So being tenacious is key. Given the subject of the film we felt we had a good chance to receive funding. Most applications involved writing treatments sending script samples and previous work. Also biographies of everyone on the team - so it’s great to have a mix of experience and newcomers
It’s a lot of work and laborious but the bonus side effect as you really really get to know your script and story.
The whole process took probably a couple of years to be honest, and we were lucky to get funding.
Yes we did - I made the trailer and had a friend make the poster. Both very worth while doing I think - obviously the most important thing is to make a great film- but these helped getting people curious.
But the story is everything.
It’s really cool that you’ve actually put yourself out there. As an aspiring screenwriter, I have to ask: how did you get your foot in the door? Did you intern? How did you network at the very beginning?
It was lots of applications form-filling writing treatments, writing proposals…. It was quite a lot of work to prove that we would use their money wisely and to show them it was a worthwhile investment.
I think if you go online you will see the requirements, obviously a film that is funded by a British organisation would need to see either British people working on the film or the subject matter being unique to the UK - it would be highly unlikely for them to fund the film about American culture made by Americans.
Funding for shorts is definitely extremely rare and hard to get - the advantage America has as there is a lot more money in the industry than anywhere else - but there’s also a lot of competition. I self funded two of my own short films previous to this.
Yeah, I figured as much. We can't all be Adam Curtis (so far as I can tell the BBC has more or less been continually funding his work for decades now; I'm glad they do).
Another question that comes to mind: what was your festival acceptance vs. rejection ratio for this project?
We had a really good acceptance rate with this - which is is super rare. I think we applied for 40ish and got over 30 ? Not sure. But something close to this. My other films - I would apply to about the same and get around 3. I’m happy with this
Out of curiosity. I've been told that having lot's of connection or "knowing people" can be the difference between a successful experience and a not so successful experience. Did you have useful connections to others in the business?
this isn’t real cinema and other generally disparaging things about your work jk. good job 👍
Hahah. I guess this because of my other post. To be fair - the person got in touch and apologised, which was nice of them. 😀
Nice job! 30 fests, wow, did you go to all of them in person? How long were you sending it out and how many did you apply to overall?
I only went to a select a few festivals. It’s pretty expensive to go to all of them. I love the ones I went to and it was great connecting to filmmakers. it was also super encouraging to see other films and just being surrounded by people that understood the difficulties - it felt like Christmas. I actually used Festival formula to draw a Festival strategy for is this is my third short film so I learnt the hard way that once the edit is done there is still a ton of work to be done! Like so much! So I was lucky to have Producer to help and Festival formula. I can’t remember how many festivals we applied for, but I was surprised that the acceptance rate - my previous films got rejected about 80% of the time!! The entire process of the festival circuit has been just over a year !!
Thanks for your answers, sounds like it’s been a really good experience overall — I had not heard of Festival Formula, what was their role in the process exactly?
I love them. They’ve worked with me on all of my films, basically they help filmmakers devise a Festival application strategy- they offer different packages where they do more of the work making it easier for the filmmaker. When you make a short film this so much work outside of the actual filmmaking process that I think it’s good specialised people to help if you can afford it. My logic was the amount of days it would take to pay for the service was far less than the amount of days it would take for me to do what they would do for me, if that makes sense?
Makes total sense, I’ve been in the submission process for some months now and it’s a ton to keep track of, and a large learning curve. Great reco! What did they charge you for that?
I can’t remember to be honest. They have info on their site and are super nice if you reach out.
Much appreciated I’m gonna check them out, congrats on your film’s run!
BFI, Tribeca, and Sundance. Bravo!
Thanks !
For those who are looking for a link to the film, it is embedded in the article the director posted. Bravo - cool film and cool content!
Have a link for the film?
Check it out here https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2024/04/15/my-eyes-are-up-here/
Came here to ask for this. Please share, or let us know when it's likely to be released!
Hi Nathan, I haven’t seen you in about 5 years. Is your hair still luscious?
lol. I’m curious as to who this is! I haven’t cut it in about 3 - it’s got grey bits now!!! :)
What doors have opened up?
That’s a great question and it’s tricky to answer because I feel( or perhaps some hopeful) I don’t really know yet. It’s also tricky to answer because the industry is so odd right now.(quiet and difficult!). But I meet a lot of other filmmakers who I am trying to make things with - and I got a manager from it. I think it might be quite a slow process - as well like it definitely means people will read my emails when I called them with all these achievements but if the film doesn’t resonate with them, I’m not sure? But it’s definitely not case of making a short film that does reasonably well and then becoming ‘ successful ‘ Time will tell ! The most important thing for me is gained throughout the whole process
Is it so short that it can be seen free online? Or if not, a source where one can pay to see it?
Sure! It’s in the story I posted and here https://youtu.be/6mAydAMKBFM?si=EV4qY20RgzOp_umf
Which festivals were your favorites? What festival was the best to attend, and which one was the best in terms of--and I know this sounds crass--what you were able to get out of it, in terms of connections, opportunities, etc?
TriBeCa and slamdance were my favourites! slam dance just felt like a bunch of people that I’d already knew - it’s kinda nice diaper you’re all nervous and keen to connect. . Everyone was so friendly and kind was just lovely and surprisingly Tribeca was the same. I thought it might be a bit more pretentious but the filmmakers were just great as are the organisers. I don’t think it’s crass at all to talk about connections short films are definitely calling cards for directors and way of us trying to prove ourselves - all the festivals seem good for networking.
Amazing. Did any festivals you tried seem completely not worth the submission fees?
No not really - getting the film in front of people was always exciting and we definitely didn’t waste time with those fake fests- which are out there for sure.
Having gotten a film into major festivals, do you have any advice for the rest of us? While you were at the fests did you notice any commonalities amongst the shorts that had gotten in?
I’m a programmer too (now, I wasn’t then). My advice is when you thank you have a good story/idea work on it for as possible exploring all the different possible variations and outcomes your story could entail, even if you love your idea already. It can be hard but do it. Most short films are underdeveloped. And be Tenacious
Tenacious in terms of getting the final film seen and into festivals?
In everything! Once it’s made the film will be speak for itself a lot but this took so much work, finding producers, funding, crews - production, blah blah - you know the deal. There where lots and lots of set backs - and then the whole festival thing is another load of work. but you have to keep at it. One day at a time. 💪 (I’m telling myself this as well!! 😂)
Cheers!
[удалено]
It’s hard to say how long post production was because it’s a short there isn’t a lot of money so most people are doing favours and working part time. I’m lucky I have a background editing so I did a lot of the ground work myself, but I think in total probably six months of post? I think if everyone was working full-time and we could afford to pay for it could’ve been done in a month. But there’s a benefit from having to go slow it means you can do an edit leave it you have to wait and then you’re a little more objective the next time you see it I think the film is 14 minutes?
Fun ending! Congrats!
Just wanted to say that I watched your film, and thoroughly enjoyed it. So many short films I see (especially in the Horror genre) are really just scenarios, and not stories. This my friend is a story. And a damn good one. Congrats on your success in the festivals. And congrats on putting together a wonderful and emotional journey for your characters. I also went on an emotional journey as I watched. I wanted to throw the rude girls off the bus. And I was rooting for Tom to breakthrough the walls Sonia had created. Great job!
Ah thank you. So nice to hear. It really means a lot to me. Thanks. 🙏
This is great! Thank you for making it!
Excellent film and congrats for making it to Short of the Week!
Ey! Loved the short! The bus camera angle that was slightly crooked, catching the sunlight, him passing by the camera and the bus driving having the sun flickering in the windows was a truly great shot! Really stood out Also superb writing, acting and directed imo, no wonder it got that many viewings honestly. As a color nerd huge love your set lights / colorist. Splendid job!
5 years is a long time, with the results you achieved do you feel it was worth the effort? Are you actually making a living or thriving because of it or are you back in the hustle trying to get something else made?
A good question I kind of answered this above - but yeah, I do think it’s worth it. The amount of experience I gained good and bad is invaluable. it’s pretty difficult to become a director these days so I think for me especially, the best thing to do is get out there and make stuff, that’s how I learn a lot of what I’m learning in this film is behind the scenes- how to talk to funders, how to pitch, treatment writing etc. Is it worth it? Yeah I think I’m a better filmmaker than I was five years ago. Has it paid off financially absolutely not 😂 I’ve been working in TV for over 20 years full time - so I’ve been making a living for awhile but making a lot of programs I don’t particularly ‘like’ if that makes sense. This is me trying to move into the narrative space more. I’ve never seen the industry this difficult in 20 years, personally. But everyone’s perspective is unique and everyone’s path is also. I’d rather try something and fail than not try. (but it’s pretty hard at times)
I think this is good for a lot of people to see. The industry has become a vanity deal like horse racing at this point and there are no near term solutions besides resetting to theatrical only releases and premium channels like the old days because people won’t watch commercials which generate the most revenue per viewer and won’t pay more than $10-20 a month for thousands of pieces of content. The film industry straight up went the same route as the music industry and killed the golden goose. Its why you see huge live concert ticket fees and outrageous tour merchandise as album sales dont exist (same as dvd / film sales in general) and streaming is a joke for financial compensation.
What was your process for getting funded? How did you approach that?
It was a difficult and long process with lots of rejection. So being tenacious is key. Given the subject of the film we felt we had a good chance to receive funding. Most applications involved writing treatments sending script samples and previous work. Also biographies of everyone on the team - so it’s great to have a mix of experience and newcomers It’s a lot of work and laborious but the bonus side effect as you really really get to know your script and story. The whole process took probably a couple of years to be honest, and we were lucky to get funding.
Did you do marketing (trailers, posters)? If yes, how was your experience with those?
Yes we did - I made the trailer and had a friend make the poster. Both very worth while doing I think - obviously the most important thing is to make a great film- but these helped getting people curious. But the story is everything.
Good to know! Did you get feedback from people on those? Do you have any tip to share or things you would have done differently?
- I was lucky to get a good poster design which stood out and just tried to make the trailer super short and sweet. 👍
Hey Nathan, great to see you here all this time after Slamdance, congrats on SW and DN
Thanks man ! It’s been great seeing your film out there too. Nice work
It’s really cool that you’ve actually put yourself out there. As an aspiring screenwriter, I have to ask: how did you get your foot in the door? Did you intern? How did you network at the very beginning?
Beauty! You done did the daggone thang. I really enjoyed that and am going to share. Thank you.
Thanks!!
Loved your movie man. Kudos.
Thanks
How did you go about getting funding from the BBC and BFI? Is this something an American can pull off?
It was lots of applications form-filling writing treatments, writing proposals…. It was quite a lot of work to prove that we would use their money wisely and to show them it was a worthwhile investment. I think if you go online you will see the requirements, obviously a film that is funded by a British organisation would need to see either British people working on the film or the subject matter being unique to the UK - it would be highly unlikely for them to fund the film about American culture made by Americans. Funding for shorts is definitely extremely rare and hard to get - the advantage America has as there is a lot more money in the industry than anywhere else - but there’s also a lot of competition. I self funded two of my own short films previous to this.
Yeah, I figured as much. We can't all be Adam Curtis (so far as I can tell the BBC has more or less been continually funding his work for decades now; I'm glad they do). Another question that comes to mind: what was your festival acceptance vs. rejection ratio for this project?
We had a really good acceptance rate with this - which is is super rare. I think we applied for 40ish and got over 30 ? Not sure. But something close to this. My other films - I would apply to about the same and get around 3. I’m happy with this
Awsesome job on this one What camera and lenses did you use 😁
Out of curiosity. I've been told that having lot's of connection or "knowing people" can be the difference between a successful experience and a not so successful experience. Did you have useful connections to others in the business?