Embracing the limitations of short filmmaking

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Embracing the limitations of short filmmaking --

Mon, 12 Oct 2015 13:54

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SCREEN AFRICA EXCLUSIVE: Palesa Shongwe is the director of Unomalanga and The Witch, a short film which won the Best South African Short Film award at the 2015 Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) in July. Funded by the National Film and Video Foundation in partnership with production company Blingola Media as part of an initiative to develop emerging female writers and directors, Unomalanga and The Witch was part of a slate of female directed/ written films entitled Negotiating Spaces . Shongwe shares with Screen Africa her experience of creating a short film and how other filmmakers can benefit from working in the genre.

Can you generate profit or break even with a short?

I don t believe you can treat a short film as a profit-generating product but there are ways to make some of the money back. I think one could generate some returns from a short film, but I am not sure about making a profit.

One could at least break even. Short films cost less to make than feature length movies, and because they need less apparatus to move them around I mean in terms of marketing, distribution and exhibition you could sell your short film directly to your audience and conceivably make the money back.

The challenge with short films is that they are difficult to programme (they vary too much in duration for broadcasters with schedules to fill), so they mostly move through the festival circuit and through hands-on distribution. For broadcasters, a set of films that share similar themes could be programmed in the place of one feature film, which is one way that a short filmmaker can recoup costs.

What are some key points to consider when creating a short with regards to characters, story structure etc? Especially for a new generation of online viewers.

Viewing content online inevitably works differently from TV or the cinema. Arguably, the online viewer is more interested in control and instantaneity we want to choose what we view, when and how we view it and often, how much we view.

When writing a short film, however, I do think the writer should not limit their idea of where their film will be seen. The most important thing to consider for me is the story which needs to fit neatly into a short duration, capture the imagination, interest of the audience and move them in a short space of time. There are no formulas, I think, only parameters For me these have to do with finding the essentials of your story what are you saying and what do you need, in terms of scenes, characters and location, to tell this story?

The trick is to find the essence of your story and the most dramatic, high-impact moment(s). It s a great exercise in limitations and getting the most story out of the elements before you.

On which platform has your short received the most viewership or attention?

My film is still doing the rounds . It was well-received at DIFF, which is a select audience. It will be broadcast on SABC too.

Why create a short film? What is the take away for you as a filmmaker?

The short film is a great narrative exercise you have limitations in resources that translate to limitations in how you tell your story but not in what story you choose to tell. You can still achieve a powerful, provocative story, present compelling characters and say something important about yourself, society, etc, in this short duration. It does not limit your imagination and intention, but shapes it to take account of the limits in time and resources.

Shorts are a great way to keep making work when access to large budgets is limited. They are an important format in their own right and allow you to practice the story-telling craft more frequently and with more freedom. Because you can make more of them, they also present great opportunities for experimentation and aesthetic practice.

Because of the limits they place on you as a story teller, they encourage you to concentrate your abilities to tell better stories and to tell stories better. The visual medium is profoundly effective in conveying meaning and when you have less time to say what you intend to say, you have to find the most efficient, and hopefully, the most elegant way to do this.

How does creating a short differ from creating a long format film or programme?

I think the work that goes into a short is very similar to the longer format. The difference will be in how much time and money you have in preparation and in the creation of the film. All the steps are pretty much mirrored except for these differences.

Who do you really want to watch your films?

I look forward to making work that speaks to a wide cross-section of viewers. I consider myself a film scholar as well as a filmmaker, so my work will exist in both academic and commercial spaces. I also make work that will sit more comfortably in experimental or art spaces. I would like to look back on a body of work that appeals to a wide audience with different projects attracting audiences that are unique to them rather than on a career in which I have created work for pre- determined audiences.

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