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by Adam Fulford

A number of amazing and TV careers in Entertainment and performing arts around the globe were triggered by well-crafted short films.

Stephen Spielberg cast Vin Diesel in epic WWII film, “Saving Private Ryan,” as a result of seeing him in a short film called “Multi-Facial”(1994) at a film festival. Vin Diesel, a struggling actor at the time, had scraped together resources to produce, direct, and star in this film. The investment paid off.

“Bottle Rocket,” (1994) a 13 minute crime caper shot in Texas, started the film careers of famous brothers Owen Wilson and Luke Wilson, and was Wes Anderson’s start as a movie director. It was later expanded into a feature film of the same tite, co-written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson, directed by Wes Anderson, starring Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, and James Caan.

Producers were impressed by a little film shot on 16mm (approx. 20 min) called , “The Christmas Cowboy,” a musical directed by Canadian director James E. Taylor (www.jamesetaylor.ca) they approached him to direct the TV series, “Madison.”

Horror film “Saw” was a short film which so impressed audiences at film festivals that director/writer team James Wan and Leigh Whannell were able to procure funding produce a feature film version of it. The feature went on to become a sleeper hit, and was followed by two sequels!

“Jeux interdits” (1952) (Forbidden Games), directed by René Clément, was originally a short film that explored the fantasy world of children in WWII France. Renowned French filmmaker and actor Jacques Tati was so impressed with the short film that he pushed René Clément to expand it into a feature film. The feature film that Clément went on to make from it is now widely recognized as a masterpiece.
“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” was originally a six-minute animated science fiction film with a throwback style, that writer/director Kerry Conran had spent years making. It so impressed Paramount Pictures that they made it into a 70 million dollar heavily-animated feature released in 2004, directed by Kerry Conran, starring Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Sam Raimi wrote and directed short horror film “Within the Woods” (1979), shooting it on super 8mm film, in the hopes of eventually making a feature film version of it. They utilized a glowing review of this short film by a film critic who saw it on a double billing with another film, to successfully procure funding and resources to shoot it as a feature film called, “The Evil Dead,” a an iconic classic starring Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss and Betsy Baker.

Whether a short film makes big waves or a little ripple, producing one offers plenty of rewards, though maybe not immediate financial ones. A screenwriter certainly gains valuable insights from involvement in the making of of a short film. Internet movie downloads have dramatically expanded filmmakers’ forums for exposure.

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Filmmaking is a collaborative medium, and films begin with a screenplay. Since a film script is meant to be a blueprint for a film, understanding its intended meaning is more important than, say, short stories and novels which can go in more abstract directions. Screenwriters benefit from networking and getting feedback from others, if not for suggestions on how to improve a script, then at least getting an idea of how they interpret it. Seeing the actors deliver lines and hearing their questions on what drives the characters is also very useful and enlightening for regarding the art of creative screenwriting..

Making mini films whether they’re less than a minute or fifteen minutes long offers many chances, not only for writers, obviously, but for all parties who contribute to its production. In particular, a film has networking value for all participants in the making of it, from the writer of the script, to the producers, to the cast, to the make-up person, to the cinematographer, to the set designer, to the sound engineer, and everyone else in the crew. Later, if it gets shown at film festivals, lots of with players in the film and tv universe.

Every film begins with a script and writing one is of great merit in and of itself, and how it unfolds can be inspirational..