Making a Feature or Short Film?

Lately I've been asking myself if it's better to continue making shorts or go for features. You might be asking yourself the same question.

The nice thing about shorts is they are much more manageable and doable on smaller budgets and with smaller crews. You can keep quality high and the costs down if only shooting for 2-5 days. But if your ultimate goal is to write and direct feature films, it seems the best (if not only) way forward is to jump up to features – ready or not.

My First Feature Film

I've decided to move ahead with my first feature length movie. I've had a few short films in festivals and markets, but all of these are saturated with countless numbers of great short films. I find it hard to stand-out.

Where to Start?

I have a short film script written (working title 'Final Frame') and I'm now in the process of expanding it into feature length. I think the concept is compelling enough and has the legs to make it a feature. So for now I'm starting from scratch but using the short as a skeleton/framework to build upon.

Once the script is ready (or when it's getting close) I'll start working with the cinematographer and producer to start visualizing the screenplay and find locations with potential.

For this particular story I think we will be up along the Baltic Sea, near Gdańsk, Poland. It'll likely be an English production, but Poland is a great place to shoot.

Next Steps

After the script and initial planning are close to finished, we will also be starting some casting out of Warsaw and getting help from a bunch of friends and crew in the area to help out. It's going to be a micro-budget feature, so all the help we can get will be vital. I'll also be starting up a crowd-funding page to help reach the budget goal.

All of this will come out as we move ahead. Stay tuned!