.seo-fallback{max-width:46rem;margin:0 auto;padding:2.5rem 1.25rem 4rem; font:16px/1.6 Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;color:#EDE9F5;background:#0E0A1B} .seo-fallback a{color:#FFCA3A} .seo-fallback h1{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;margin:.5rem 0 1rem} .seo-fallback h2{font-size:1.05rem;margin:2rem 0 .5rem;color:#9C93B8; text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.08em} .seo-fallback ul{padding-left:1.1rem;margin:.5rem 0} .seo-fallback li{margin:.3rem 0} .seo-fallback .seo-meta{color:#9C93B8;font-size:.9rem} .seo-fallback .seo-note{margin-top:2.5rem;color:#9C93B8;font-size:.85rem; border-top:1px solid #2A2340;padding-top:1rem}

FilmSkool — a free film school

Oscar Winner Chris Overton on Writing Short Scripts and Producing Short Films

A long interview with the director of an Academy Award-winning short, covering how the script was built and what producing one actually involves. The most authoritative voice here on the form.

Outstanding Screenplays · 65 min · Intermediate · SCR · Screenwriting · 2025

What you take away

A short that wins anything was almost always over-written and then cut hard.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for screenplay

Books on screenwriting

Writing Short Films — Linda J. Cowgill
Making Short Films — Clifford Thurlow
Crafty Screenwriting — Alex Epstein
Writing the Pilot — William Rabkin
Screenwriting Tips, You Hack — Xander Bennett
The Coffee Break Screenwriter — Pilar Alessandra

Kit for this lesson

Sony a7 IV — The all-round full-frame hybrid
Canon EOS R6 Mark II — The affordable full-frame RF hybrid
Nikon Z6 III — Partially stacked sensor, N-RAW internal
Fujifilm X-H2S — Stacked APS-C, F-Log2, open gate 6.2K
Fujifilm X-S20 — Small, cheap, 6.2K open gate
Rode VideoMic NTG — On-camera shotgun that doubles as a USB mic

More Screenwriting

Gone Girl — Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter — Lessons from the Screenplay · 12m · Intermediate
Screenwriting Plot Structure Masterclass - Michael Hauge [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 68m · Intermediate
Anatomy Of Story - John Truby [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 60m · Intermediate
THR Writer Roundtable: Chloe Domont, Andrew Haigh, Cord Jefferson, Tony McNamara, Eric Roth & More — The Hollywood Reporter · 40m · Advanced
12 Stages Of The Hero's Journey (Narrated By Christopher Vogler) — Film Courage · 23m · Beginner
Pedro Almodóvar | BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series — BAFTA Guru · 60m · Advanced
Céline Sciamma | BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series — BAFTA Guru · 55m · Advanced
Essential Skill Sets Screenwriters Need To Write Professionally - Corey Mandell [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 75m · Intermediate
How to write amazing endings for your film. — Standard Story Company · 11m · Intermediate
Mike Leigh | BAFTA Screenwriters' Lecture Series — BAFTA · 62m · Advanced
Writing Subtext — The Secret to Writing What's Under the Surface — StudioBinder · 22m · Intermediate
Anatomy Of Story - Television Edition: The Complete Film Courage Interview with John Truby — Film Courage · 55m · Intermediate

This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.