Independent Short Film

August 28th, 2008

First Entry.

This blog is dedicated to the sharing and study of Independent Short Films. Hence, the title.

This topic fascinates me immensely. Questions flood my mind, like: How do you go about telling a compelling story as concisely as possible? What elements and techniques are often used? Are they perhaps overused? And which are powerfully effective but underused?

Filmmaking is in many ways similar to writing. There are a handful of authors who can get away with writing excessively long novels, most are praised for their brevity with words. In other words, works like James Joyce’s Ulysses (250,000 words), Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables (513,000 words), Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace (460,000 words in the original; 560,000 words in English translation), Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged (645,000 words), Samuel Richardson’s Clarissa (969,000 words) and lastly Marcel Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu–English title: Remembrance of Things Past/In Search of Lost Time–(1.5 million words published in 13 volumes) are the exception rather than the rule.

In the same way, some filmmakers use miles of film to tell a story (Gone with the Wind, a 418,053-word novel translated to almost 100 miles of film used, and the final edit is almost four miles long) or take a long time telling it (like the TV miniseries Stephen King’s The Stand, around 6 hours in duration). In some cases, the style and tone of the production make the films seem longer than they actually are, as is the case with Mia aioniotita kai mia mera–English title: Eternity and a Day which is a two hour film that feels like four hours when viewed.
My intention for this blog, Independent Short Films, is to engage in lively discussions, share links or embed video, host prize contests and otherwise create an online community devoted to Independent Short Films.

Please join me in this endeavor.

Until next time,
Chad

P.S. Here are some great articles you might want to check out:

TCM’s Classic Movie Blog – The World War II Years like the earliest period (1927-1933), I think it would be unfair to label or judge this time-frame too harshly. Movies laced with propaganda were both prevalent and necessary as we united to confront and defeat the evil in Europe and the Pacific. 1946-1950 these postwar years were particularly strong, featuring film noir and more mature dramas, Westerns and war movies than those from the prewar years, but great comedies and musicals were in short supply.
Watch “Water Calling” films on Seattle Channel starting this Thursday – In case you missed the free screenings of our Water Calling short films last summer, Seattle Channel will broadcast the films on its cable channel in a two-part series beginning this Thursday, Feb. 25. Featuring works by Seattle …
Bix sees green in online contests – Speiser believes that controlled sponsorship of a legally sanctioned online contest, be it karaoke, short films, photo essays all of which the Bix engine supports, is a powerful brand advertising concept. As someone who has faced the very problem Bix is trying to address, I think he’s right. Online contests present not just a branding opportunity, but open a new direct channel for the marketer, allowing multiple opportunities to deliver coupons and offers.
science is fiction: the films of jean painleve – jean painleve. format: dvd release date: 11 june 2007. distributor: bfi director: jean painlevé. idiosyncratic french filmmaker jean painlevé was a poet in celluloid and a pseudo-scientist in brine. with friends such as jean vigo, …
JibJab’s “Great Sketch Experiment” – JibJab is now leveraging their brand to expand beyond a few self-produced parody videos. In April 2006 they launched JokeBox, an area of the site where users can upload their own video, photo, audio or text jokes. Over 15,000 jokes have been uploaded and are categorized by most popular and other categories.
on character and motion – this post is more like an essay i always wanted to write for the machinima magazine, but felt like i don’t really have the time to get a new issue out the door, so it would never see the light of day… …
Comment on Top 31 free alternatives to YouTube (video hosting … – This site gave me exactly what I was looking for. We have started producing a 30 minute HD show every other week. We had hoped originally to have it on YouTube but realized after the fact that they limit videos to 10 minutes and/or …
comment on how to define web 3.0 by futurama episode – a detailed great post about web3.0……wow!!! keep up the god work..
Who’s Afraid of Online Advertising? – Publishing 2.0 – Ryan Sholin says: Comedy: Woot bills AP $17. 50 for “the content you borrowed from our blog post” about the company’s sale to Amazon. Scott Karp says: Google CEO Eric Schmidt: “You have to plan your corporate strategy around what the internet does.
Ypulse Essentials: Marvel To Develop Short Films, Teen Blogger … – Marvel may test drive secondary characters (in a series of live-action short films to help pick out potential big-budget franchises. Meanwhile a Doctor Strange movie is apparently already on the way. And in rival comic news, …
Marvel may make short films with second-tier characters – A while back, CHUD reported that Marvel was meeting with directors about smaller-scale movie adaptations of some of their second-tier characters (Really?
Marvel To Produce Short Films Featuring Lesser-Known Characters? – According to Latino Review, Marvel is rumored to be considering properties like “Doctor Strange,” “Black Panther” and “Luke Cage” for 10-minute short films that would introduce the characters to moviegoers without taking the financial …
Students Turn Life Experiences Into Short Films – City Room Blog … – Students show off films that range from a chronicle of abuse to an imagined trial of Col. Sanders.
Marvel Studios Short Films to Introduce Secondary Characters … – Could Marvel Studios introduce the likes of Black Panther, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Dr. Strange through short films placed before their upcoming tentpole movies?
Are There Marvel Short Films On The Way? | Disney Dreaming – It is being rumored that Marvel is planning on releasing a number of 10 minute short films before its upcoming movies in theaters in order to introduce a number of secondary comic book characters that may end up with their own …
attention student filmmakers! – the purple violet student film festival at kean university is dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of emerging filmmakers. the one-day festival features the screening of student short films in four unique categories (comedic, …
Complete Series of Winning Local Short Films – Hera Gallery Presents: Free Public Screening of Complete Series of Winning Local Short Films Saturday April 28th 7PM On Saturday, April 28, 2007 at 7 PM, Hera Gallery, Rhode Island Council for the Humanities (RICH) and Rhode Island PBS …