Want to shoot your horror short, but don’t know where to start?
I didn’t either. But I knew I had to stick with the resources available to me.
Here’s the story of ASK FOR HELP, my first multi-day shoot with a professional crew, and Killer Shorts Quarterfinalist script.
The unusual route that worked for me? I didn’t start with a script.
First: WRITE A SCRIPT. Not yet. IDENTIFY YOUR GOAL.
I wasn’t dreaming of the red carpet at Sundance. My goal was to learn. And the best way to learn is by doing. I viewed the process as a rehearsal for a more ambitious short, and eventually a feature. I wanted to shoot a story I wrote while keeping everyone safe and taking notes for next time. Your goal may be different.
Second: WRITE A SCRIPT. Nope. ASSESS THE RESOURCES AVAILABLE.
— A location.
I told everyone I knew that I intended to make a movie. Did they know of any locations that would let me shoot? Bonus points if they were “cinematic” or unusual.
My local ice rink, where I’d been taking lessons, said “Sure.” I tried out my Osmo Mobile and got great steady footage, but I still haven’t written a compelling story that needs to take place in an ice rink. And casting would be an issue, for me. (See above: available resources.)
The local coffee shop, where I’m a regular, said I could shoot after they close, at 3 pm daily. So I wrote JUST DESSERTS, a short about an assistant demon who’s tasked with “intake” of soon-to-be-tortured souls damned by their own greed. This script was a Semifinalist in the 2021 Killer Shorts competition — but it’s a bit complicated to shoot, so I’m holding off until I have more resources to throw at it. (Although I should say — it’s available.)
A dear friend in another state, whom I hadn’t seen in years, was really excited when I told her my plan. She works part-time at an antique barn, and said: “You have got to see this place.”
She was right. It’s incredible: four stories of stuff carefully arranged and organized. Visually, it’s compelling. It sparked story ideas. And seeing the place when the lights are off and it’s closed to the public — well, that sparked one great idea.
— People.
My friend rounded up her friends — the owner of the Barn, of course. The owner’s daughter, a mutual friend, who is also a costumer. A couple of experienced stage actors were psyched to act in a film for the first time. A talented gaffer, who’s also a joy to work with. A props guy/art director with a ton of enthusiasm and ideas.
This alone is enough to start with: A location, and people to help you. But you probably want to know about…
–MONEY.
Next to yacht racing or going to space, filmmaking is the most expensive hobby on earth. But I had a couple thousand socked away that, with luck, could go toward this project. It hurt to spend it after saving up for so long, but knowing that my goal was to learn, my motto became: “It’s cheaper than film school.” (And it is. It really is.)
Not having money doesn’t have to stop you. Write a story you can afford to shoot.
Zanah Thirus is a microbudget filmmaker (with a great podcast and even a workbook) who’s made a ton of shorts for almost no money. Noam Kroll also works in the microbudget space and has a podcast and a free newsletter. And of course, the KILLER SHORTS BLOG is a great place to find inspiration.
“Write a story you can afford to shoot.”
–every microbudget filmmaker in history
THIRD: WRITE A SCRIPT.
(You could even do it later than this.)
What kind of script? Horror and comedy are both very popular and can be inexpensive to shoot. Harder, but not impossible, are action, sci-fi, fantasy, and period (which I write a lot of). I shot a comedy short in my hometown this past summer. I learned a lot that helped me with my (more expensive) horror short. And, in case you haven’t yet noticed, horror and comedy have a lot in common.
How long should the script be? The shorter, the better. Each minute of screen time adds costs in time, labor, and other expenses. Given these realities, my goals, and available resources, I wrote a horror short to run under ten minutes. Inspired by many handwritten signs in the Barn that read ASK FOR HELP, this became my title and theme in the story. (Especially appropriate subtext: ASK FOR HELP was also the “theme” of my filmmaking journey.) Additionally, my mom used to collect beautiful, expensive dolls. I wrote those props into the story.
Have you ever been “trapped” in a store with an over-eager salesperson? (Who hasn’t?) Wouldn’t you rather be left alone to look around? What if that salesperson had a dark secret that explains why they’re so eager to help you? And what if that dark secret had something to do with the items in their shop? That’s ASK FOR HELP.
BELIEVE IN YOUR STORY, BUT DON’T SHOOT THE FIRST DRAFT. OR THE SECOND. OR THIRD.
Many friends read ASK FOR HELP and gave notes. I asked the actors for feedback too. The script made quarterfinalist in Killer Shorts but advanced no farther. In several other competitions, it didn’t place at all. Since I wrote it to shoot, though, I was already in pre-production and couldn’t be disappointed. That QF placement just affirmed my commitment. I believed in my story — still do — even though some contest readers don’t. Ever read an excellent movie’s script and think “gosh, there’s almost nothing there but white space!” Production brings so much more to a script. So I had no illusions that my script was an Oscar winner, but I was confident that a fuller vision would be evident in the finished film. Just because your script doesn’t resonate on the page with a certain contest reader, doesn’t mean it won’t make a good movie. (But still — get lots of feedback, and listen to it.)
AVOID STUNTS, FALLS, WEAPONS, CARS, BOATS, TRAFFIC, EXPLOSIVES, ANIMALS, VIOLENCE, INTIMACY…
Read a production insurance application (find them online) and you’ll see what’s going to cost extra. Then, don’t put those things in your script. Or if you must, pick one — not four — and make sure it’s absolutely essential to your story, meaning: your story literally cannot be told without it. Be prepared to pay the money and take the time to do it safely. That is the #1 priority. Nobody’s film is worth getting hurt over.
Even without any of these things, I paid for production insurance. Many filmmakers don’t, but I needed to offer protection to my location owners and cast/crew if something went horribly wrong. I wasn’t prepared to leave them in the lurch, risk a lawsuit, or go bankrupt — so I got insurance. (I even paid for it twice, because of COVID.)
SET A SHOOT DATE.
People can’t commit until they know when you need them. Set a deadline (and a backup date). Once you have a shoot date, pre-production is your friend. And you’d better make friends with it because it never really ends.
In this case, the location is 300 miles from me. My co-producer and I visited multiple times and took lots of pictures and videos. We collected and tested and photographed props and costumes and angles. We put all of it in a Google Drive folder to share with the crew.
The Barn is unheated/uninsulated, so we targeted spring or fall dates. Our shoot was scheduled for March 2020, so you can imagine what happened — thanks, COVID. We used that lockdown time: I saved up more money, lined up post-production, put the script through another round of feedback, let the storyboard artist finish what he started, and really generally made sure we had thought of everything. Hot tip: If you can, get an editor and other post-production key personnel involved as soon as possible. Pre-production is not too early. Our super-committed editor, Won Novalis, even used the finished storyboards to make a pre-visualization video — which I never would have thought of asking him for. That pre-vis helped show what shots were missing, so we could adjust the shot list and the schedule. All of this happened during, and even because of, lockdown.
In spring 2021, I re-contacted everyone to ask their availability. Everyone on our cast and crew showed proof of vaccination and agreed to mask indoors, and we set our new date: October 2021.
ASSEMBLE THE TEAM.
A big part of producing is assembling a team. Every shoot needs a dedicated director of photography and a sound recordist. Skimp on these and you don’t have a movie. You can shoot it yourself — some do. But, recognizing my limitations and the number of jobs I was already doing, I hired professionals who had their own gear.
I also took a friend’s advice (Jennifer Dunn): “Get a good 1st A.D. (assistant director), and a script supervisor,” she warned. “Those are the roles everyone thinks they can do without, but they do really crucial work.” If I gave her a nickel for every time I thought on set, “Thank God I listened to Jenn,” I’d be even more broke and her next film would be financed. Listen to Jenn.
I used ProductionHUB in the nearest big city and interviewed several people. That’s how I found the DP, Danny Belinkie of 7L7 Productions, and the 1st A.D. Ryan McCluney. Sound recordists are harder to find than cinematographers, but the DP recommended Helian Zhang. All three were lifesavers. Our professional scriptie fell through near the last minute and I couldn’t get a replacement — but it took four other people to do parts of what she could have done herself. (Jenn was right, again.)
How do you get professional crew to work on a shoot for low pay, with first-time producers and a first-time director? Honesty. “I can’t afford the rate you deserve, but I can pay you a little, and I can feed you.” They asked to see the script; I sent it. I told candidates I wanted a collaborative, not authoritarian, set, where I could learn from them. A few were disdainful or even condescending. (One outright said, “Since you don’t know what you’re doing, just give me your whole budget and I’ll produce and direct it.” That plan might have got my film made (maybe), but it wouldn’t have achieved my goal.) Despite their experience, those people were not the collaborators I wanted.
PRODUCER = CHIEF COOK AND BOTTLE WASHER.
If you’re producing, be prepared to tackle details you may feel are “beneath” you. The truth is: no detail is beneath a producer — certainly not in the low-budget indie world.
One thing I spent a lot of time and money on was craft services — food. If your shoot is longer than 5 hours, you need to feed people. Our shoot was two very long days. You can save a lot of money by cooking/prepping food, but you’ll be stretched thin already. Got a friend who likes to cook or is good at throwing parties? A local supermarket with a catering department? Can you befriend a local sub shop or restaurant — especially if they’ll deliver?
There are other details to take care of. Travel arrangements, paperwork (make sure everyone signs a release!), warm clothes, cold drinks, first aid…. Take care of your people, so they can take care of your movie.
DIRECTING TOO?
I always intended to direct this short. How do you do that? First, I sat down with the script and really visualized each moment, each shot. All screenwriters do this to some extent. But as a director, it’s much more than that. For each shot, you pick your angle, composition, camera movement, lighting, sound effects, props, details of the actors’ appearances as well as their performances… on and on. Film is a language. Each choice means something to the shot, to the scene, to the film as a whole. A good director makes probably a thousand or more decisions before they even get to set. It’s a lot.
The producer brings the boat; the cast and crew bring the oars; the director points to the destination and makes sure everyone’s rowing in the same direction. I wouldn’t produce and direct on the same project unless I had no other choice (as in this case). Next time, I’d rather hire one or the other. They are big jobs!
BUCKLE IN FOR A WILD RIDE.
There are plenty of resources out there to learn about directing and producing your own short. I’ll just say: Horror is a great genre to try first. It’s enormously popular, can be easier than others on a low (or no) budget, has a history of magnificent practitioners to learn from and the potential to really say something meaningful about society and the human condition, and if you do it right — not that it’s easy — it provides a thrill for an audience that few other genres or even art forms can match.
So next time you sit down to write a script, think about what’s available to you to actually shoot it. Don’t be shy about telling everyone, friends and acquaintances, what you’re doing and why. They won’t just keep you accountable: they’ll make your project feel real, and they’ll inspire you. (It should go without saying to ignore run-of-the-mill haters.) Help will come from surprising places. You’ll learn so much from everyone you encounter that you’ll wonder how it can all fit in your brain. (Like Hawkeye says on M*A*S*H: Wear earplugs so it doesn’t leak out.)
THAT’S A WRAP! YAY!
Now get to work on post-production.
There is literally no feeling in the world like wrapping your own film shoot.
But that’s not the end of it. Many films are shot and never finished. I was determined that wouldn’t happen to mine, so I lined up post-production during pre-production. (Which helped in other ways — see above.)
When ASK FOR HELP is finally through post in late winter/early spring 2022, I’ll submit it to festivals. Till then, I’m letting my editor/post-production supervisor work his magic. Because every movie is made three times: The first is when the screenwriter faces a blank page and makes something where there was nothing (done!). The second is when the director/cast/crew shoot the thing (done!). And the third is when the editor assembles the film.
The best part of all of this difficult and time-consuming unpaid work? Every one of the cast and crew said they’d love to work with us again. That kind of commitment and dedication doesn’t just feel good; it shows in the finished work.
Because even if you’re trying to scare the bejeebers out of an audience, the real journey is the friends you make along the way.
Gina DeAngelis on Twitter or GoshDarnMedia.
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