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FilmSkool — a free film school

How to Make a Short Film the Smart Way

What an experienced short filmmaker would do differently if starting again, covering scope, casting and the writing decisions that make everything downstream cheaper.

D4Darious · 8 min · Beginner · SCR · Screenwriting · 2025

What you take away

Almost every expensive problem on a short was created on the page.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for screenplay

Books on screenwriting

Making Short Films — Clifford Thurlow
Screenwriting Tips, You Hack — Xander Bennett
The Screenwriter’s Bible — David Trottier
Writing Short Films — Linda J. Cowgill
The Coffee Break Screenwriter — Pilar Alessandra
The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters — Karl Iglesias

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

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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

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