short film
Episode 1 and 2
1) The courtmetrage, a French exception / 2) The CNC
Everything you need to know about the short film and self production
This week I got a question by email to a user ” How to Make A Movie “. His question was : Why should we not put personal money in a short film self-produced ?
To be clear, auto-generate does not self finance ! It simply means that you do not call for a production company to produce your film but you use an association, which you created or already existing, in order that your project sees the light of day. You’re going to have to find the funds. And of course, a ban from typing in their own economies, those of tata Suzanne or Grandma Mireille !!!!!
So why not hire your own personal money to realize your dream of cinema ?
Because it is simply money thrown away through the windows…and, above all, money that you do not see…ever ! Of course you can say that you “invest” for the future. This will make a good card and it might be possible to convince a producer to trust you !
In itself the idea is not bad…A short film “successful” can be sesame or at least the business card that will allow you to open a few doors and, a fortiori, to be taken seriously. Even if a few bridges exist between the production associations and production ” tout court “, they remain rather rare.
In short, in general, to make a film and making movies is expensive. But are you saying that the money from a short is unlimited funds ! You will not get ever in your fees ! So keep your savings in the hot for something else : An apartment to rent in Paris, your studies, buy a camera (and again… ), you pay for training, going to the cinema etc…
Ditto for the credits ! Do never, NEVER credits for a short film !
And then today there are a number of important regional and national structures to find the money, not to mention the internet with the crowdfunding.
If you’re in the case where you want to turn all price : you tell yourself that You don’t need a structure or that : as you make a genre film, no commission give you money. You are, therefore, decided to ” bet ” a little bit of money for me. In this case, here is THE advice to follow :
Don’t spend all of your savings, and do not type tata machin. The money that you will put into your project, it is money that you can spend and where….it all depends on your financial abilities…
Especially be clever and inventive ! Sometimes with only 100 euros, we can make believe that in the screen there are 10 times more. And then the most important thing is to find partners for the gear, sets, etc… and yes, putting money in does not mean pay for everything…
To be clear, you can spend the money for your projects, but you do not need to take risks in financial and it is the most difficult because obviously you believe in your talent, in your projects….and with a little more money, we said that this would be easier….but believe me, you will always be missed…to all movies or tv movies that I did he was always short of money ! “There’s never enough, it is always necessary to make choices and concessions.
I found some interesting videos that talk about the short film. They are derived from the short-circuit broadcast on ARTE. The videos date back to 2007, but after having viewed it for you, I can tell you that few things have changed. They are, therefore, still relevant. I’m going to put on two or three different articles so that you can more easily find in the themes.
First Episode : The short film, a French exception
Episode 2 : THE CNC
I invite you to watch these videos that last only 6 minutes, but that will allow you to understand how does the short film in France and what are the weapons that you have at your disposal to reach your purposes.
I always try to be as clear as possible in my explanations but if you have any questions please do not hesitate to leave me a little message. You can return to the site map to find other articles by clicking on the link. You can also read the article on how to find financing in the regions for your projects.
If you liked this article on the courtmetrage and self-production, the best way to tell me that it is to click the “Like” button at the top of the article. To read part two : personal Money and short-film 2 here ;o)
Soon,
Tom W.