student filmmakers Tagged Articles at Cinematical

This week on Eat My Shorts, we're going to do a little something different. Instead of coming up with a theme and finding a few short films that relate to it, I figured we would talk more about the vast resources available online for people interested in creating their own shorts.

While I'm definitely no expert, I've been involved in the making of a few short films and I'd like to offer this as my first piece of advice: Don't waste money on stupid things. Budget isn't everything. Lighting is a nice touch, but it's nowhere near as important as, say, your story and cast. Another key aspect in filmmaking is coverage. As defined by Wikipedia: "Camera coverage, in filmmaking, is the amount of film footage shot and different camera setups used in filming a scene. When editing, the more coverage shot means that there is more footage the editor can work with in assembling the final cut." Trust me on this one folks -- coverage is everything. Shoot the crap out of your film. In the end, while your day may be longer, you will be that much happier once you hit the editing room.

As always, feel free to keep sending me your shorts ... so long as I can watch them online. When it comes to a short film, any exposure is good exposure, and I'm always looking for something to watch. Please send all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Okay, let's go talk some shorts ...

Because I think it's important for everyone to gain at least a little exposure, this week we're focusing solely on short films created by student filmmakers. Yes, we're spanning the globe in search of some quality student-related content. (Okay, we're not exactly spanning the globe, just sort of hopping around a bit with stops in the UK, Canada and the United States.)

I enjoy watching student films because there's a ton of passion, creativity and energy put into each one. With not much time and a very small budget to work with, these kids must learn to perfect, in my opinion, the most important aspect of a film: Its story.

The following short films all feature students utilizing whatever they have in front of them to create a compelling story. And they certainly succeed. As always, if you know of any fun little short films available to watch online, feel free to send all links, tips and suggestions to shorts AT cinematical DOT com. Now, let's go watch some shorts ...