Comedy films, especially short comedy films are the trend these days because they entertain us and are not too long in comparison to movies of 2-3 hours. But, they are not easy to write and make, In this article, you’ll learn the exact strategy that writers use to write a comedy short film.
Once, people were mad about movies. It was only about entertainment on those days where people used to go for those shows divided in shifts. Theatre was their regular time to spend time with their friends, family and colleagues. There were no mobile phones, Netflix or Amazon primes at that period. All of those days were only about those movies made by filmmakers with insane stories.
People also used to believe those stories as their truth of their life. They were so much into films and shows that most of the people are getting influenced by the actors as they were their role models. That movie industries used to create a psychological impact on people’s mind at that period of time.
But gradually the time has changed. People used to be more focused on their day to day regular activities of life. They were focused about their career and have taken movies for granted. Some of the individuals were interested in taking part of this industry as their career path.
They wanted to involve their whole life in film making which was a passion inside people then and now also. This was and is the only thing may be, which has made a connection of people to the craft of filmmaking.
After that movie era, the world has turned its head towards technological aspects. People were more advanced and curious about technological information and products. Which was the origin of ads. These things really established the business of ad films which was also a starting point for the Television industry.
Television industry and commercial ads were some low budget films which were regulated by authorities and producers for their business purpose as advertisement and traffic engagements. This was the period where filmmaking got into regular business on a low budget.
These short ad films have given many opportunities to those filmmakers who can’t afford the expenses of filmmaking. This was the origin of short films.
There were people who always wanted to live the craft of filmmaking for their whole life. It was a passion for them to make a movie irrespective of the duration and the budget. Their only mission was to show their vision to the audience through the camera and tools.
Gradually the technology also helped them to achieve their dream, which was the life changing opportunity for these small and medium filmmakers. Small handicams, low budget cameras and low budget production houses were established for business purposes. And then finally one day mobile phones also got a camera.
After this one moment, cameras were a common objective for people to show their talent. And internet facilities and platforms were also opportunities and resources as well, to learn and show up their talents. Nowadays hundreds of people are showing their hidden talents through Youtube, Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram and all. They are making short videos for posts and making TikToks by mobile phones.
Somehow there was a period where short films were famous. Nowadays there are lots and lots of youth who wanted to go by their career in filmmaking. That’s why they are investing their time and effort in making short films.
In this article I am going to tell you the essentials of making a short film, if you are a person who is keen on making videos and short stories then it might influence you, but the fact is that you have to go with your hardwork and talent as well to make the dream come true.
- Idea
There must be a basic idea behind every story. If you are making a comedy short film, then you must have a basic idea behind the story. It might take your much time for research and pre production but having a clear cut idea will always let you do your work in an effective manner.
An idea behind a story always attracts people to watch your short film. The idea what you have chosen for the comedy short film must make your script look good, and your short film really engaging. People should understand the idea behind the story, so always try to make it clear and précised during the shoot also.
A complex approach towards the audience might make your short film a bit boring and can also make it a disaster.
- Concept
A concept is the way you move your comedy story on screen. It is a précised manner to go with when you are deciding a concept. Always try to make your concept well defined and it should not be reparative in nature.
Never try to take someone else’s concept in your story. This will ruin the whole fun. People will recognise that you might have gone through somebody else’s fame to make it yours, and this thing can never make you go at the top.
So always make your concepts so strong and good that every viewer should enjoy and laugh at your concept and should also be waiting to watch it again and again.
- Pre-Production
It is a process before the shoot. In this process the whole team meets up to a discussion over various departments and during the beginning of this process the director will take the lead to make it clear for every department what they have to do during the shoot.
It is also a part where the story writing and story screenplay will be made for various purposes. This process is very much essential to make your own schedule also. A schedule will always help you to get things done when you are not trying to ignore even a single piece of content you have written
It is a process to predict the duration of your work, according to which you can make a budget on the mark.
During pre-production all the Hollywood teams and production houses should do all the paperwork first. Before the shoot the whole schedule and budget should be discussed previously. All the paperwork is very much essential for the shoot.
A movie will be only successful when the pre-production process is taken in a perfect manner.
- During the shoot
During the shoot you need to remember several things, following are the things which are very important for you and you should know these things.
- Time and schedule of the shoot.
- Making the crew member do their work in their own department.
- Making a deadline to make your whole work complete.
- Making those actors rehearsal and clear about their role.
- Making the filmmaker comfortable with the camera movement and production design
All the things should be taken into consideration when you are shooting a comedy short film. For a serious film it will be easy to make a retake during the shoot. But giving the same expression with the same timing and already knowing what the other person is going to crack is not an easy job to do.
The director should precisely make every actor comfortable about the role, and also the casting should be done according to that only.
- Post production
It is the process where you have to make your editing and visual effects part. It is also the time for dubbing the short film if necessary.
According to the budget many directors are having different rules and norms for their editing. They have also an experience of making their job done in a pre predicted way.
You must have to take something into consideration that if you are making a comedy short film then you must take care about the timing during the editing. A longer portion of a good act can make people feel bored. But a short portion can also make people laugh if it is hilarious.
Giving some extraordinary laughing moments in your short-film can ignore the mistakes being done in the scripting process. Still providing quality acting is the job of every comedy short-film director.
All of the above things are essentials of making a short film creation process smooth and successful. Doing the right thing at the right moment is the job of every director but still making a comedy short film is not the easiest task for any person.
There is a lot more to explore till date for the experienced directors so using your own creativity and confidence can let you reach your level.