ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the shorts as a starting point in filmmaker's career. They can write a fabulous short that is atmospheric, poetic, or slow paced. And as they are developing their story, they need to decide whether their story works better as a short or a feature. Stories that can be told simply, need little or no augmentation or subplot, are powerful in their own right, have no need of extraneous characters or multiple locations, and can be related with a great amount of energy from beginning to end make great shorts. If filmmakers follow the character, the actions that character takes will lead them into a series of events they can mold into something useful. Sometimes, the image blasts can give them an entire first act, a second act, or even the entire short. Their challenge is to work toward making them significant in their story development.
