Elements of a Great Short Film
šµ Itās the most wonderful time of the year! š¶
Be thankful Iām typing that, and not actually singing it. Because despite being a chorus kid all through middle school, I have an absolutely abysmal voice for these things.
Seriously, youāre welcome.
But no, it really IS the most wonderful time of the year for me. While Iām not sure exactly when this article will drop, I want to be clear ā¦ Iām not talking about Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even my beloved Green Bay Packers going on a playoff run.
Nope. As I write this, it is Film Pipeline judging season. And man, do I love me some short film judging.
No joke, I look forward to this EVERY year. I mark it in my calendar. Because more than any other contest we here at Pipeline run, this one is by far the most fun for me.
Part of it comes down to the change of pace. You spend all year reading scripts ā¦ features, pilots, heck, even comics now! So when you finally shift gears and let a different part of your brain take the wheel, itās a welcome reprieve. But the other half comes down to the competition. In my opinion, this field for Film Pipeline is far and away the best we've had. The level seems to rise every single year.
I remember the first year I helped judge this contest, and great shorts were few and far between. Nowadays, though? It feels like every film is really good! They all have excellent craftsmanship, awesome visuals, and storylines that make you salivate like Pavlovās dog. It makes our life as judges harder for sure, but this is what we sign up for. We have to somehow sort through all these top-tier submissions and find shorts that linger long after viewing.
Thatās what weāre going to talk about today. What are those little elements that separate āgoodā from āgreatness?ā What stands out to a judgeās eyes and makes us go āwow, this film is a serious contender?ā These are all relevant questions that aspiring filmmakers should be asking themselves.
And over the years, Iāve found commonalities between our finalists. Qualities they all share that distinguish them from the field.
Letās start off with an obvious one:
KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR RUNTIME
While I donāt think we technically have a limit on this for the contest, I can tell you from personal experience that the best of the best generally limit themselves in terms of length. Between 10-20 minutes seems like the sweet spot.
Does that mean if you submit us a 25-minute movie, youāre dead on arrival? Absolutely not ā¦ but itās also rare for anything over 30 minutes to really knock our socks off.
This happens for a few reasons, the first being that attention spans are getting shorter. TikTok, doomscrolling ā¦ itās all chipped away at our ability to focus. Sadly, short film judges are not exempt from this. If you have a longer entry, you have to accept that you are increasing the likelihood that people are going to fall off towards the second half. Itās just a symptom of living in 2026).
The other piece of this is that, oftentimes, itās clear the filmmaker doesnāt really want to make a short. Not in the true sense, anyway. What they clearly dream of is making a feature of this idea, and the movie thatās been submitted is just a condensed version of that. Sadly, these instances stick out like a sore thumb. And rarely, if ever, do they carry the same gravity or effectiveness.
Be mindful of this. If you want to make a short, make a short. Donāt sacrifice quality because you canāt afford to make a full feature.
But also ā¦
YOU NEED TO GRAB OUR ATTENTION EARLY
This is advice I give to screenwriters in our other contests all the time, and it applies just as much here. Plenty of submissions make it difficult to get into them because they start so slowly. Nothing interesting happens until six, eight, or even ten minutes in.
Go back to my first piece of advice above. This is not a recipe for success.
Now does this mean you have to shoe-horn a gunfight into your highly personal melodrama just to get people to hone in? Absolutely not. Literally, the inspiration for this article came as I watched a movie about two twenty-somethings in a relationship. And the thing that got me interested was a joke one character made in the first thirty seconds. I legit laughed out loud and from that moment on, I was hooked. And the movie delivered in a big way. (P.S. It was only eleven minutes long, too, going back to my first point.)
But you know what else this awesome little short Iām referencing did well? It nailed the landing of the most critical element of any creative project ā¦
YOU NEED TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE FEEL SOMETHING
I cannot overstate how important this is. You must, must, MUST move the audience emotionally.
I personally donāt care what the emotion is. Iāve loved submissions this year that made me laugh, cry (Iām not being hyperbolic ā¦ literally some have brought me to tears), or even made my stomach turn over in disgust. I vividly recall a submission from last year that stuck with me so much I watched it like five times.
Emotion is the key to the game. People will forget your plot details in a week or two. But they will hold onto the feeling your film (or script, or novel ā¦ whatever) gave them a lot longer.
Does that mean if youāre making a horror you have to go overboard on blood and gore? No. Thatās not the kind of emotion Iām talking about. Surface level shock value isnāt what sticks in peopleās minds.
Instead, you need to connect a feeling to the audience. Like putting a character in a situation others can relate to. Or letting your protagonist have an emotional reaction on screen for us to see. This is how you make an impact on our psyches.
I know this is a hard concept to grasp for many, so let me list out examples I can recall from past finalists (note: notice how Iām listing films I watched years ago, from memory, and can still tell you how they made me feel. This is the power of emotion in action).
- A child in the throes of grief over her dead sister takes her anger out on a punching bag, until her knuckles bleed and tears stream down her face.
- A young woman who absolutely NEEDS a job has to grit her teeth while a customer at the club where she works gets way too handsy with her.
- An elderly grandmother travels through time to re-experience the happiest moments of her life.
- A lovebird tries to keep it together while staring at inarguable evidence that her boyfriend cheated.
- A soldier stands over the body of his dead brother, before stoically walking back to the rest of his team, their ultimate mission not complete yet.
I could easily list a dozen or so more, but Iām getting very close to my word limit here. So let me wrap up with a bit of craft advice for everyone out there dying to yell āactionā right now ā¦
SOUND IS THE INVISIBLE EDGE
In the olden days of black and white, access to equipment was the main barrier to entry in this industry. Those days are no more.
Today, everyone walks around with a high-quality, 4K camera in their pockets. These little modern miracles are legit good enough to be used in professional shoots (I worked at a TV network for years that had iPhone shots in our shows. And the audience was none the wiser).
But what do everyday people not have in their pockets at all times? Professional audio equipment. And if you want to be the next Martin Scorsese, thatās where you should be investing your dollars.
The difference between a true pro-level microphone and the built-in one in your phone is miles long. They arenāt even in the same stratosphere. And itās instantly recognizable when a film doesnāt have sound gear thatās up to snuff. You can usually call it out within the first ten seconds.
Yes, these things are expensive. The price tag is real ā¦ but equally, so should be your commitment to the craft. Weāve all been there: wanting something a bit out of reach. The edge goes to the ones who treat obstacles like puzzle pieces, not stop signs.
What Iām really saying is: if you want it bad enough, find a way to make it happen.
Anyway, keep these tips in mind the next time youāre planning a shoot.
And as always, Go Pack Go.
ā¦ Wait, thatās not how I end all my articles. Sorry, playoff football is my SECOND favorite time of the year. š
What I meant to say was: Godspeed yāall, and happy filmmaking.
*Feature image by JK_kyoto (Adobe)
