6. Spend Time Visualising Your Short Film
If a director's job can be boiled down to a small job description it would be "to visualise a screenplay". The director is the person who can see the finished film in its entirety in their mind's eye before even stepping on set. This doesn't happen automatically. While you may have some strong ideas about what key moments might look like, it takes serious work to figure out what every scene is going to contain. This is hard to give solid tips on as this is really a personal exploration for the director that wil change from person to person. So all I can do is give you some incite into some of the things I do. For me a story is most satisfying when it communicates an idea, feeling or message concisely. Rigouressly reading the script and figuring out why you were drawn to it and what its true meaning is to you should be one of the first things you do. The meaning will act as a mould that will inform all your decisions in the film. After that you need to get ideas down to paper by writing up a shot list, doing a storyboard, doing floor plans etc. These will allow you justify your choices and also consider your scenes beat for beat. After that? You are on your own. You may like to do it on your own or by talking to your crew, in a dark room or on a walk through a park, while you are travelling or while you have carved out some time dedicated to it specifically. This is your process and as a new director, the time you spend forming ideas will be important to your success.
Patrick Dane
Contributor
Patrick Dane is someone who spends too much of his time looking at screens. Usually can be seen pretending he works as a film and game blogger, short film director, PA, 1st AD and scriptwriter. Known to frequent London screening rooms, expensive hotels, couches, Costa coffee and his bedroom. If found, could you please return to the internet.
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