it depends on what the CONTENT of the movie is.
Insert Quote
If your short movie is too long, the cost will be close to the cost of making a movie. But the returns will still be zero. So you have to ask yourself - what is the point? Also, many venues for exhibiting short movies prefer the shorter ones.
which venues for exhibiting short movies? there are no commercial venues that exhibit shorts, really . . . unless you're talking about film festivals and the like, and 20-30 minutes is perfectly fine for them. Sundance, for instance, accepts films with running times of up to 69 minutes as shorts!
(i personally would not want to run over 40 minutes, though; after that, i feel you enter that murky territory which is the cinematic equivalent of the novella--which is too short to be a novel, but too long be a short story)
as for cost . . . what is really the difference between 12 minutes and 20? yes, if you are shooting on
film, every minute is a significant expense, but if you're using 60-minute videotapes, what difference does 8 additional minutes really make?
well, obviously it depends on the script and the
content of those 8 additional minutes. if it's 8 minutes of a huge music and dance number, or of a superheroine with mental powers fighting a serial killer, then yes . . . of course you're looking at considerable expenditure.
but if it's 8 minutes of a guy walking down a street, or a family sitting in a parlor talking, or two people lying in bed . . . then most likely, it will cost you the same thing as 12 minutes.
besides, jemit said he's "financially ready" to make a 20-30 short, until he actually tells you how much he has in his budget, we have to assume that he has sufficient financing for 20-30 minutes rather than telling him to make it shorter to save money.
![Nairaland [Nigerian Forum] Home](http://www.nairaland.com/Themes/default/images/english/home.gif)
Author
