How Not to Make a Short Film, Roberta Marie Munroe
How Not to Make a Short Film, Roberta Marie Munroe
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How Not to Make a Short Film
Secrets from a Sundance Programmer

Author: Roberta Marie Munroe

Narrator: Roberta Marie Munroe

Unabridged: 6 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/06/2015


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephie on July 07, 2020

This is useful, though some of the information in it is now a little dated. Things are moving fast in terms of technology and streaming and I think some of the rules are changing rapidly. The most useful parts to me were the bits about writing and what cliches to avoid. Munroe provides a long list o......more

Goodreads review by Josh on December 10, 2009

A somewhat introductory book that may not help those who have made films that they have submitted to festivals before, but even if you have made short films, I would recommend this book as it reminds of some very true principles. It's a very quick read and tries to help guide you to better story. Unf......more

Goodreads review by Λευτέρης on September 15, 2021

There's some useful stuff in here, but for the 2021 era most of it are a bit outdated.......more

Goodreads review by Marwan on July 27, 2018

Great book, instrumental if you're a first time filmmaker. And if you've done films before this is still quite helpful to understand the entire landscape and pipeline that goes into making a short from the moment you get the idea till you finally go into a festival (or not) and getting distribution.......more

Goodreads review by Ashley...(BookNerd) on December 26, 2018

There’s definitely some helpful tips in this book, but a lot of it is really outdated at this point. For example, it cites MySpace as a viable place to promote your film. I didn’t realize the book was nearly 10 years old when I bought it, and I would recommend buying a more current filmmaking book i......more


Quotes

"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