How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer
- ISBN13: 9781401309541
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
“Roberta Munroe is that rare person in the film world who can not only recognize an inspired, great film, but she can actually help you make one.”
–Mark Duplass, Sundance and SXSW award-winning filmmaker.
“Roberta Munroe is brilliant. Her advice and insights on our project, The Tribe, from rough cut to completed film were instrumental and invaluable to its success. It is exciting to think that all filmmakers will have access to her incredible mind and experience through this book.”
–Tiffany Shlain, award-winning filmmaker
Anyone can make a short film, right? Just grab some friends and your handheld and you can do it in a weekend or two before being accepted to a slew of film festivals, right?
Wrong.
Roberta Munroe screened short film submissions at Sundance for five years, and is an award-winning short filmmaker in her own right. So she knows a thing or two about how not to make a short film. From the first draft of your script to casting, production, editing, and distribution, this is your one-stop primer for breaking into the business. Featuring interviews with many of today’s most talented writers, producers, and directors, as well as revealing stories (e.g., what to do when the skinhead crack addict next door begins screaming obscenities as soon as you call “action”) from the sets of her own short films, Roberta walks you through the minefield of mistakes that an aspiring filmmaker can make–so that you don’t have to make them yourself.
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Written by a former Sundance programmer, this book will give you a clue about getting into THE festival. If you’re all about the films of John Cassavetes and aspire to Sundance, get it. If you’re about the Toxic Avenger series put off getting this until after reading the works of Lloyd Kaufman.
Rating: 3 / 5
I finally finished reading this book over the weekend during a trip to Colorado. I like it very much! I’ve always been more about the story and creative side of film making, so I appreciated the practical way the book outlined all of the jobs necessary to actually make the work of creating and finishing a short happen. I never really considered hiring an assistant director nor casting director but the book is making me at least think about it and make a conscious informed decision whatever I decide.
I also liked the shout-outs to people who have helped Roberta Munroe with writing her book. It’s nice to see names familiar to me, like Eric Escobar’s, peppered throughout the book. I also liked how Roberta mentioned specific shorts which made an impression on her, such as “Bugcrush.” I remember seeing that one at Sundance 2006 myself. Makes me feel I have some connection to the scene and maybe, possibly, could become one of those who finishes a film. I’m probably right smack-dab in the middle of this book’s target audience in terms of need and affinity to the subject matter.
I’m now re-reading the beginning of the book which I had started in January to refresh my memory. I was so relieved that my script wasn’t one of the glaringly obvious clichés Roberta had listed. The script is now in its third rewrite and I think it’s getting close to final. Roberta, thank you very much for your book!
Rating: 5 / 5
The information in this book is stuff you need to know as a filmmaker. Reading this will help you make better films and feel more secure about the process that goes into making that possible. Your creativity and artistry is something you will have to bring to the table, but if you follow Roberta Munroe’s advice you will be a few steps further on the path to success. You will get more value than the cost of this book and you would be a fool not to read it!
Rating: 5 / 5
As cinematic artists, how do we know when an idea really hits a mark? Sure, we’re going from our gut, it feels intense, it feels captivating. We’re ready to invest thousands of dollars and turn it into a short film. What we don’t know is that thousands of other filmmakers have gone from the same emotional gut and have recycled the same ideas over and over ad nauseam and make the same consistent mistakes. How does the inexperienced filmmaker get out of these common pitfalls and start making good decisions? Roberta Munroe’s book provides solid, practical information that gets us back on the right path.
Rating: 5 / 5
As a working film and television producer (yes, that includes shorts), I have always been looking for books that teach you practical how-to about filmmaking. Unfortunately, vast majority of them seem to be too theoretical about the craft. They would tell you “find a good producer” and “attach good talent”, but they never tell you how. And funny enough, the keep rambling for the rest of the book as if you already have “attached a producer” and “good talent”.
Read my lips people! WHAT A DIFFERENCE Roberta M. Munroe has created with this book.
I am in complete awe of this work. Never have I read a book on filmmaking written with such lean approach and completely no fat. Without a single unnecessary word the book is delivering a film school on its 200 pages in a multi-layered way whereas it’s kind of up to the level of laziness of your butt of how much you would like to achieve as a filmmaker. Curious people would enjoy the pace and the stories, more hands-on would learn of resources and those who are hardcore (like me) would write all those names down and contact them and refer them back to the book.
It’s arguably the only book on filmmaking I would recommend (and already have) to people who want to learn the craft from a book. 5 stars! Incredible work!
And yes….if you buy the book as a possible bridge from dream to screen, by applying the information found within HOW NOT TO MAKE A SHORT FILM, you’ll get to the screen point. Guaranteed!
Rating: 5 / 5