The submissions for DepicT! ’08 are starting to trickle in slowly but surely... If you’re not quite so speedy, though, and are still tossing around ideas but not sure where to start, don’t worry! First of all, you’ve got all summer to go before the deadline on Mon 8 Sept. Also, we’ve got fantastic resources here on the DepicT! website to get your creative juices flowing, from links to pages like the BBC Good Shooting Guide, loads of classic DepicT! films and the ever-popular Filmmaker Notes. Each year we ask the previous competition’s winners to tell us a bit about how they approach short filmmaking and the 90 second format, and we’re delighted that DepicT! ’07 winner Matthew Walker has sent in some tips to add to our archive. Look out for notes from DepicT! ’07 Audience Award winner David Gilbert coming soon too!
Notes from DepicT! '07 winner Matthew Walker:
I made Operator as part of the Animator in Residence scheme at Newport University - incidentally the same scheme on which 2006’s winner Flighty was made. I was originally going to make a film about a lift, then I scrapped that idea and decided I would make a film about Godzilla and then I scrapped that idea and decided to make an idea that I had doodled in my sketchbook while on a plane from Spain (where I hear it mostly rains, although I didn’t notice any). Making Operator was a really good experience, and I really enjoyed making the film with help from the students who all did a really good job. It was made in four weeks although I spent the first two weeks leaving most of what I needed to do until the last two weeks.
There are various ways to make a film of any length and everyone has different methods and tips. I would say there are a few key things you need to make a film:
An idea. An idea is very important. You can try and start to make a film without an idea but at some point you will need to have some form of an idea otherwise how do you decide where to point the camera? You may as well start with the idea, the same way you start a day with the morning, you can skip the morning but you end up regretting it the rest of the day.
Passion. You need to care about what you are making otherwise there is no point unless you are being paid a suitable amount of money to make it worthwhile. It is hard to make something good if you don’t care about making it good. Please note that passion does not necessarily translate in to enjoyment. In my experience the less I have enjoyed making something the better it often turns out to be.
A deadline. Not as important as the previous two but very useful. If you are being paid then a deadline will be provided for you. Competitions (DepicT! being the perfect and appropriate example) also provide suitable deadlines. If however you film is entirely self motivated then you will have to provide your own deadline, otherwise you could end up stretching the production out endlessly until one day you forget you were even making a film or you just get bored and start something new that meets the same fate.
Those are my top tips. Also be prepared to make sacrifices such as friends, family, social life, natural light, healthy diet and sleep.
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