Before you film your film

One of the key elements to consider when making a film is audience. Ideally, well before you begin writing the script, you will have decided who you audience will be, just from your ideas.
Family and friends are obvious, but above and beyond this…..

What kind of people may be interested in your story?
Young people, older people?
People from different communities?
Specific groups of people?
What else might your target audience go and see?
What would they watch at the cinema?
What would they watch on television?
Would you want to watch your film?
How would you rate the content of your film?

Another consideration is the length of your film

How long does your audience want to sit watching your film?
Could you tell your story more succinctly in less time?

Shorter films help vary the pace in a programme of shorts, keeping the audience interested and potentially break the monotony of a long, short film programme. Exhibitors and festival programmers always like a variety of lengths when programming short films – after a 10 minute film the audience will really appreciate a snappy short-short!’

Shorter, short films also work better for the internet, the shorter the film, the smaller the file and the easier and cheaper it is to digitise it, host it on a server or stream it on the internet. Plus in an age where you only have a few seconds to grab the attention of a cyber audience, short films that tell their stories and get messages across in a quick and engaging way make perfect online content.

Once you have answered these questions, you can plan where & how you can get your film screened.