Part 5. Release & Promotion

Part 5: Release & Promotion

You’ve done it! All that hard work and you finally have a film!
But don’t settle down quite yet. You still have plenty of work to do – these are times you wished you had a producer.

Press Kit

Once your final film is exported, finalize your marketing materials. Start by creating a press kit for your film, this will come in handy when submitting your film to festivals, instead of gathering this information for each submission, have one prepared with everything you can offer. A Press Kit usually consists of a poster, a few high resolution screen shots from the film (3 is fine), a short synopsis of the film, a director profile with a short bio including a filmography, and finally a large portrait photo of the director. See these Press Kits for inspiring examples:
The Old Samurai Press Kit & Logan Press Kit

Still shot from short film The Old Samurai

As for your synopsis, the trick is to give an idea of what the movie is about without completely giving away the plot. I’m not that great at this since the one I wrote for my film After The Rain isn’t as punctuate as I wish it would be:

A dramatic short film about a man stranded in his thoughts and struggling with his daily routine, finds himself doubting what he knows to be his reality after a series of strange déjà vu experiences cause an existential crisis.

Luckily I now receive dozens of short films daily with a synopsis attached, so I can fetch out a couple of exemplary ones.

A naive Confederate soldier begins to doubt the justification for killing in war, but when he doesn’t pull the trigger, will lives still be lost?

- In The Grey by Justin Peter

When several jaded filmmakers tire of the hard work needed to make a film, they turn to the part of the process they enjoy the most… auditions. Under the guise of making a film called Throng, they get actors to come entertain them, but things quickly fall apart.

- Throng by Chris R Wilson & Zach Persson

Val has lost control of her life. Those around her deny the reality of the extraordinary experiences she feels powerless against. Realizing she must stand alone, she has only one remaining option – to find a way to fight back.

- 88:88 by Joey Ciccoline

Have A Premiere Event

Try to create a big hype around your film, creating an event for the premiere of your film is a good way to do this. The type of event is at your discretion, usually premieres are exclusive events, where only a certain amount of people are invited and don’t have to pay a cover charge, people will feel special to be invited to an exclusive event.

This is a nice way to thank your all your cast & crew for all the hard work they had put in for this film. Have a nice cocktail with finger foods and a candy table (everyone loves to munch on something while watching a movie), this can all add up to a few bills out of your pocket, so do what’s affordable to you. Lots of local bars have big screens for sports games, shop around and negotiate with the owners, depending the place they would be just happy to get 50 people in their bar on an off night. Bargain to let you use the place free of charge, you bring your own food or cater from them, but people would have to buy their alcohol and drinks from the bar and that’s where he will make his money.
This can be the same event that I spoke of in the previous post, you gather people’s comments and make your final edit afterwards for festival or online release.

Make Your Choice: Festivals or Online?

Your film is done, you have 2 options: Either you get into the film festival run or you just go directly to the Internet. Usually this is a decision taken before the production, but it can happen that the direction changes after the makers have a chance to see the completed film.

Get Into the Film Festivals

If you think your film has a strong chance to make a run at film festivals go for it, there are hundreds, perhaps thousands of film festivals that accept short films, but it can get pretty pricy submitting to each one, usually varying between 20 & 50$ per submission. So tracking the festivals that would best suit your film will be primordial, there are a few websites out there that help you track film festivals such as shortfilmdepot.com & kinoflix.com. But perhaps the best tool is Withoutabox.com, the world’s largest independent film community. You sign up once, post all your details in one place and then submit to all the festivals you want directly from the site. In fact, many festivals require a Withoutabox submission.

If your are not sure if your film will be accepted into festivals, test the waters first. Submit your film to 2 or 3 film festivals, and avoid the bigger names at first like Cannes or Sundance at first. If you see your film is getting picked up, then the investment might be worth it into submitting over several festivals.

How About Getting Your Film Distributed?

Let’s face it, you did not create your short film for distribution, or to make money from it. With so many free and high quality short films out there it is hard to make any considerable profit on shorts.
This being said, signing a contract with a distributor could mean exposure and credibility. You might not even get the cost of your production back due to a percentage allocated to the distributor & iTunes, but having the iTunes logo on your poster does look good on your portfolio.
However it’s a painstaking process for filmmakers, as you do not have control of your film for the duration of the contract. Meaning that for 2 full years (usually) you cannot post your film anywhere online for free, that can be an excruciating long time for a producer or director.

The Web

This is where we come in to say hello! Going straight to web is the choice of many filmmakers, and it’s not necessarily a bad one. Film festivals might get you the attention of several hundreds, maybe thousands of people, and some would argue that it’s a concentrated number of people that you want to watch your film (actors, producers & directors) and their absolutely right. But if your main goal is going viral from the start, the online world can be your best friend! But don’t expect miracles, your film really needs to be awesome for it to go viral.
Even if your going straight online, you still need a plan. Read our YouTube vs Vimeo Article to get an idea of the differences and benefits between the two when posting a completed short film. Your synopsis and keywords will play a tremendous role in the online traffic, so write this with attention using words closely related to your film – and never leave this space empty. Use your best, most exciting still shot for the cover of your film on Vimeo, this is important since it will be your first engagement for the viewer. Once online, start your promotional campaign, spreading the word online through your social media, websites and film forums.
And of course don’t forget to submit your film to Film Shortage!

Besides obvious short film sites like ours or shortoftheweek.com, try to find popular websites that touch your theme and subject. For example, if your film is about gadgets turning on humans and taking over the world, try submitting your film to a site like wired.com or motionographer.com. And finally, try to get your film featured on Vimeo’s Staff Pick, if your film is good enough it should get automatically picked up, but it’s possible that they miss a few so try to submit it there too.

Get the word spread

Use your entourage to its full potential, start by your cast and crew and make them feel and believe that the film belongs to them also, then ask them to use their social medias to spread the words. Then move on and do the same with friends and family. In the first few hours of launch this can be enough to get the ball rolling and skyrocket you into fame – at least if you followed this Awesome Guide!
Best of luck on your films! We really hope this guide helped you achieve awesomeness in your short film, and we would really love to see your results, so don’t forget to submit us your films once your done, and mention that you followed this guide!

Part 4. Post Production: The fun part!

Part 4: Post Production!

Finally my favorite part! After all that hard work you finally get to see something in front of you.
The day after you wrap on set can be an overwhelming one on your mind. So many ideas, so much excitement, where do you start?

Start by reviewing your shots

Make sure you covered everything and got every shot you needed. If you notice anything missing go back out there as soon as possible. After having a quick view of your shots, go back through them and rename all your files (if shot on digital DSLR), and try to keep them numbered with the same numbers on your storyboard, numbering the take last, i.e. sc01-sh02-03 (scene/shot/take). If your take is a definite outtake, or a that you pressed record my mistake for 10 seconds, mark it as -xx, but don’t delete it yet, you never know these might come in handy later.
Now have a 3rd, attentive run, try to bring in the assistant director on this process. Carefully go over each shot and mark down comments for each, try color coding the files, i.e. best=green, good=yellow, not good but some things can be used=orange and completely unusable=red. Again don’t discard any yet, they might come in handy during editing.
You should probably use Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere to edit your film, these can be complex softwares if you don’t know how to use them, but with some time and dedication anyone can learn, at least the basics. If you are not an editor, try finding one that would be willing to help you, editing is a very important process of filmmaking that can change the tone of the movie completely if done wrong, or for better if done right.
However, you should consider using iMovie (or any other basic movie making software) to make a rough draft. Especially in cases where the film needs to go through vigorous special effects, a rough draft will help you, along with sound editors and musicians to get a close enough feeling of the final flow. In my case with ‘After The Rain‘, the rough draft helped greatly with the voice over recording sessions.

Music

Dealing with musicians can be tricky, some musicians want visuals to start composing, and some editors want music to start editing. This could also depend on the type of film you are creating, a film like Kiddo with a soft background sound might not need to be edited to the music, but a upbeat short like Red Riding who depends much on the music for build ups can benefit from editing to beat. In any way, music is a process that you need to think about in pre-production, at this point you should already have it in your hands or its in late production.

Editing

I am not here to give you an editing class, there are plenty of tutorials that can tell you so much more than I can. However my few important tips would be to edit your film in High Definition, the files might be much heavier, but if you want your quality work to be noticed make sure to work with the highest qualities, and then compress the files from there. See this guide as a good example for configurations.

Shot from High Quality short film In The Pines by Zeek Earl & Chris Caldwell

Don’t get attached to all your shots

A lot of directors do the mistake of putting all their shots in the final film, which make the movie usually long and boring. Your making a short, you want your film to be snappy and dynamic, losing someone’s attention for one second could mean losing your viewer. So don’t be afraid to trim the edges of your shots, even though you might like the actor’s smile at the end of the shot, if it means nothing to the plot, remove it. The same thing with entire scenes, if it’s not a necessary element to the story, even if it’s a nice shot, removing can help the flow of your film.

Also don’t be afraid the move the story around, I know you’ve been working around this script for a while, and until now you’ve been convinced that its the perfect story. But things sometimes don’t turn out as you fully imagined them, and the film does not flow as you wished, so it could be best to cut complete scenes out even if they alter the story of the film. When you do this try to step out of your director’s boots and watch it as a spectator. One thing you’ll need to understand is that viewers will not see that deleted scene, therefore will not know that alternate, or “full” story. Your story might be better with that extra scene, but the finished movie might be better without it. In short films sometimes less is more.
All this to say do not get attached to your shots and story, don’t be afraid to cut, chop or move scenes around for a better flow, it might be difficult at first, but your audience will only see the benefits of it.

Keep transitions simple

Keeping your film dynamic means staying away from cheesy star-wipe fades, in fact don’t use any template fades or effects in the software. If you have any effects make sure to create them in After Effects, but don’t over use effects just because you can.

Intro and credits

This is usually a very underestimated part of filmmaking. You have to be careful with this, especially online, since the first thing people will see in your film is the opening titles, and if you lose their attention with bad graphics or sub-average titles you will lose them as viewers.

Title screen from The Killing Joke is a great example of a tightly branded style throughout all medias.

Like I’ve said in pre-production, if you have no experience in graphic design or visual design, find an artist that is willing to help. If you are stuck (if your film is awesome up to now you shouldn’t have trouble finding someone) and finding a designer is not an option, keep things simple! Avoid any typical and overused fonts like Times Roman, Comic Sans, Impact and even Inkburrow, in fact this guide pretty clearly explains why some fonts should not be used. If your gonna do any movements or fades, keep them simple and don’t go searching photoshop or your editing software for cool effects. Keep it subtle, slow movements, no more that 20% zoom, with a simple fade. If that’s too simple, use a blur to give it a bit more life, and you can use a simple overlay of a shot from your movie or anything else to give your font a moving texture.

Title from Here Rests My Home is a perfect example of a simple title with original clean typography

Audio mixing is also of an extreme importance. Capturing good sound is very difficult if your not an expert at it, which means that your audio will probably have lots of background noise. Try to have a sound designer mix the final audio for you, if one is not available follow basic tutorials of your used software on how to remove background noise. Make sure all your voices are at the same level throughout the film, having fluctuations can be very frustrating to viewers, in fact we decline several films a week only because of the audio. So make sure your audio sounds professional, if you don’t know how get some professional help.

When Are You Done?

At some point you have to say “Ok, I’m done!”. Maybe the words a director has the hardest time finding, because you know… we’re all perfectionists! Go with your gut feeling, and your timeline. If there is no deadline for your film why not push it a little to make it even better, but be careful, pushing it too much might get people uninterested. In the end you just need to make sure your flow works well, and everything is the best you can make it with the tools you have. A good idea can be to have a small pre-release screening to a group of friends (preferably a group of movie enthusiasts) and maybe even to a select filmmaking society, show them a password protected version, and listen to their comments, they might see things you haven’t noticed.
Then go back, make any final adjustments and were ready for the big release!

Part 3. Production: Are you ready?

Part 3: Lights, Camera & Action!

So it’s almost Day 1 of production! Are you ready? This part is a bit harder to prepare for since all the preparations should come in the pre production, and every film requires different elements of preparation.
Lets start with some technical parts. Make sure you create a checklist of everything you need, especially if you are the one taking care of all the props. And if your not the one, make sure that the person doing the list doesn’t forget anything. This should also include a mechanical list (camera, lenses, tripod, crane, lights..) anything that you need on the set. For any rentals or pick ups try to have everything in possession the day before, if not possible, go as early in the morning as you can. And don’t forget to organize transportation of all your crew and equipment! This can all be done a day or two before production if you have a vehicle, if you don’t make sure to plan that as well.

Take good care of your actors!

Remember chances are they are doing this on their free time, for fun. If your location is in a difficult spot to get to, make sure you have someone go pick them up, and always offer them the service, even if they have their own car, at least you’ll be sure they’ll be on time. Also don’t forget to give them a ride back after the days is done.
Do not forget to feed your actors and entire crew! This will not only make you look professional as a production team, but will also keep your cast and crew happy. Shooting days are long, and even though you’ll be busy from beginning to end, most of your cast and crew will be on stand-by waiting for hours, so make sure you have a few chairs and snacks to munch on. Sandwiches and pizzas are great for lunch breaks. If you absolutely have no budget for food, make sure to warn everyone to bring their own lunch. Last thing you need is an actor passing out on set!

Back to technicalities

Be organized, have an assistant director next to you at all time with all the time sheets and shooting orders on hand. The assistant should always be one step ahead of you to prepare you for the next shot. Might not sound like a fun job, but this position is one of the most underestimated in the business. It can save you time, patience and money, ultimately making your film look better because your spending more time on the actual film.
Be patient with your shots and actors, especially if their not experienced. Make sure your shot is exactly how you want it, and don’t be pressured by actors on standby looking annoyed or tired while waiting for their scenes, if they are professionals they should know that’s how it is, if their not pros, make sure to tell them during the auditions.

Take Beautiful Shots

This might be coming back to story boarding part in pre-production, but I can’t emphasize it enough: create breathtaking shots! Avoid tripods and static shots, add movements to your shot, even they are subtle, it will ad a touch of life to the scene. Try to invest in a steadicam if you have hand-held shots, this can make all the difference in your film. If you can’t afford one, there are plenty of tutorials on how to make your own steadicam for under 15$ . Another thing you should make sure to include is focal depth, play with the depth of field, movement and depth will envelope your story into a new layer of texture that your viewers will certainly enjoy.

Breathtaking shot from short film “032” The Canadian Affair by Thibaut Duverniex

When shooting a scene always start with the most difficult shot, and work your way down to the easy cuts and closer ups. Don’t be afraid to take extra shots or fill ins even if you know they might not be needed. Once in post production they can be very useful if a scene needs a cut or a better flow.
But the best advice I can probably give you for production is to EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! Yes I bolded that because I want you to see it and remember it! No matter how much you plan, things do go wrong on set, besides the little things like a burnt light or a missing prop big things can happen too, like being kicked out of the location your shooting for not having a permit, or it’s not raining like the forecast said. These things can happen, especially in shorts with less budget, so make sure you have a backup plan, or at least be ready to move instinctively.
A few days before shooting After The Rain we went on out to do test shots. At our main location we got stopped by security guards to stop filming because we were in front of a government building. We lingered around and took a few more hidden test shots and then left. First thing we did after that was looking for a new location that can replace our original choice. On the day of the shoot we set up early at our primary location, we tried to go as quickly as we could of before getting kicked out, and luckily we got all our needed shots, but we were set to move quickly if we needed too. But we weren’t so lucky with other shots when the sun came out for almost an hour and dried up all the rain… We had to improvise with some shots planned for the next day with the actors available not to lose too much time.
Before moving on to another location, try to find time to review your shots on a bigger screen, a film monitor would be great, but if your shooting on DSLR a laptop will do just fine. Make sure you have free space on it, or an external hard drive so you can backup your shots as you go. Running out of memory on your card with a few scenes left is not fun, same goes for the battery.. Have backups!

Get Some Behind The Scenes Shots

Have a photographer on the set, and if possible a second camera to film the process. This is at your discretion, but remember that the more behind the scenes material you have the more people will gain interest in your project. If you don’t have an extra camera or photographer, make a crew member take photos with their smart phone, and maybe some short clips. If you can tweet or Facebook a quick photo of behind the scenes right away, and try to upload the rest of the photos on your blog, Facebook or Tumblr that same night.
Have a great shoot and make sure to utilize everything you prepared in pre-production! See you next week in post!

Part 2.2. Pre-Production: Keep on preparing!

Part 2.2 Pre-Production: Keep on Preparing!

So you got your script written, you made some first drafts of your storyboard, you started looking for your actors and started thinking about your shooting order… Guess what? you still got lots of preparing to do! So take out your headphones, pencils, sharpeners and sheets and let’s get started!

Start Looking For Music

Your film is gonna need music, this is a good point to start looking for a musician that is willing to help. Having an original soundtrack is something that will take your film to the next level. You would be surprised how many musicians out there are looking for opportunities like this to get a chance to create music for something, all you would need is a convincing script and clips of previous work to lure them in. Make sure to get someone that has something to make you hear also, listen to their work and make sure their style matches yours, or your vision. You can find many musicians on any film forum out there. Another popular way is using pre-recorded songs by independent artists, they will most likely be happy your using their song, but make sure to credit them, you can find thousands of artists on sites like jamendo.com, soundclick.com and even the Vimeo Music Store. If you know any other ones please feel free to share.
A good exercise that can be extremely beneficial for your film, or for the one that will be creating your music, is to make a soundtrack playlist to your movie. Find any song that you wish you can use in your film, but obviously don’t have the rights for them. These will give your movie a feeling, and will help anyone else involved to get a sense of direction, especially the actors! [Our actor Franco Campisi listened to our playlist between each shot to get deeper into his character]. Giving your characters a theme song can also be a fun exercise.

Location Scouting

This is where your background imagery of your film will take place, so choose your locations wisely. Spend a few days looking for different options, take pictures and then compare. Think about access and filming difficulties of each location, but more importantly find a visually stunning environment, look at lighting, colors and textures with a great sense of depth. Lots of your film’s feel will come from its environment, so don’t rush through this research process.

Document Your Process

In this social media era promoting your film before its done is a huge bonus and a great way to get people curious about your project. Put up a blog, Tumblr, WordPress or Blogger, anything will work. Create a Facebook page for your film, and start writing about your progress. Document your steps and take pictures to give people a little preview and to show them how fun it is to prepare a film. People love making of’s… the same goes for pre-making of’s! Use Twitter to follow other filmmakers and comment on their projects, they will return the favor by getting interest in yours.

Posters – Give Your Film an Image

Come up with posters as soon as you can, and create several of them as your production moves on. No need for ten of them as people will lose interest, a good number is between 2 and 4. Your first one does not need to be complete, it’s more of a tease and to show people what your film will feel like. You might not even have your actor yet, but you know what your movie is about and the feel you are going for, so being vague with just the title and perhaps a quote or log line would be enough. This can also help in the luring better actors, with your film having more credentials.



Being vague does not mean effortless, if your not a designer, find one! You cannot go through a film without any professional branding, he will come in handy later on in post production (we will touch this subject in the next posts) with the opening titles and end credits. Image is everything, people will see your poster before your film, so make sure you impress them right away!

Budgeting & Scheduling

You should now know everything you need for your film, you have your actors and have an idea of how long your scenes are.
Create a list of all the props you need inside the screen, then go through your shots and prepare a list of mechanical props that will make your scenes work. Gather up your budget and look at your options here if you have gone over budget. Watch Ryan Connolly’s Film Riot webisodes to get some quick great tips on DIY filmmaking, including this episode on Budgeting.
If ready you can start purchasing and reserving your equipment if you know your shooting dates. If you don’t know your dates, call the places to find out their policies of reservations (some might ask for weeks in advance).

Test Shots

Shooting Order + Lenses

This next step is optional, but can be very helpful if you have the time for it.
Go to your locations, grab stand-ins for your actors (one or two will be more than enough) and place your camera shot by shot. Perfect your angles, movements, focus and lenses and write down your final adjustments on your shooting order sheet. Don’t need to captures the scenes perfectly, just record a little clip of the angle, and movement if you have, so you can review them later on a bigger screen to make any final technical changes. Test anything you can, including lighting and sound, so you know on shooting day that you got everything covered.
So be ready, next week we start production!

Part 2.1. Pre-Production: Be ready!

Part 2.1 Pre-Production: Be ready!

A key to a great film is to be prepared. Pre-production, after you already have an awesome script written, can be the most important part of a successful film.  Revise your script several times and optimize it for shooting within your budget and elements. For example in my original script for After The Rain I had a scene with a tow truck, after revising the script I realized that this scene would just add complications to shooting and budget, since it was not so important I decided to remove it.

At this point you can give an approximate budget to your film. You don’t have to go into every single penny, since you wrote the story chances are you already know what you need. Create a rounded estimate, in case there are major over budgetary concerns you can go back to change the script right away. We will come back to a more detailed budget before shooting.

Storyboarding

Create a storyboard for each shot, the more information that you put the better it is for you later, you can see this tutorial to help you create one. This is where you need to think ahead, think creatively and plan each movement carefully, this is what will give your film life. And when you think you are done, go through it again and make each angle and movement better than what it is. create as many versions as you need to! It’s something very time consuming, but it will reward you in the final outcome of your film. You don’t need to be an artist, but try to go a little deeper than stick drawing, if drawing is your last talent, have someone sketch it out for you, but make them follow your directions closely. Don’t have a storyboard template? We have you covered!
Download the free Film Shortage storyboard template here.

Search for actors

Perhaps the most difficult part of pre-production, finding the perfect face for your movie. A little word of advice, use friends and family sparingly! Unless of course they have a STRONG interest in acting or film, a person saying they can act is one thing, but it can be a harsh surprise if you have never been on a set before. Look for actors, post ads online on your social networks like Twitter and Facebook, but also post on sites like Craigslist and Kijiji where there are numerous actors looking for gigs. There are also hundreds of castings sites out there like ExploreTalent.com, and many that focus only in your city and surroundings, you’d be surprised how many actors are willing to act for free just to enrich their portfolio. Make sure your main actors are professional and understand their involvement and commitment in the movie, last thing you need is your main actor calling you on day 2 of shooting and saying “Yea I have plans today sorry can’t make it” or my favorite one: “yea so I didn’t think it was going to be this hard, I don’t feel like doing it anymore”. True story.
Be prepared for the auditions. Avoid having actors come in your parents basement, the level of professionalism and credibility of your film starts here. You need to make it seem like your a studio, or if your not, at least make it seem like your trying. Find little studio or office, ask a friend, or your school, the local theater would probably be glad to help, especially if you let their actors audition (although in my opinion theater actors aren’t the best solution for on screen). Explain to them your film, they probably read your script already, but talk to them in depth about their character and their development. Set up a camera with a spot light or two, and have them recite a few lines from the script. Whatever you do, do NOT DO THIS!

‘Throng’ is the absolute guide to what NOT to do during a casting call, but a must watch for a good laugh!

Shooting Order

Another important part in the pre-production is timing and shooting order. This might feel like a waste of time at first, but trust me this can save you hours, possibly even days of shooting. Grab your script and storyboard, and go through it scene by scene, mark down anything that can be relevant to your shooting, example; location, weather, time of day, even things like beard or hair length. If you don’t think these thing through now, they will haunt you when it’s too late.
Organizing locations can save you many hours of running back and forward, try to shoot all the scenes that are in the same place back to back, same goes for weather. Things like beard or hair length, is often a problem with un-linear script timeline, or a large time gap between scenes.
For shorter or simpler films, you can also add any decor or specific props needed for each screen, like gloves, umbrellas or guns… Mechanical props can also be added when used in specific shots, like cranes, steadycams or dollies. However if you are running a more complex film with tons of equipment and props, this job should be divided through several people and have them create their own shot list with their particular job.
This will be your go-to document on set, so keep clean and clear. We will also come back to this document later on in the pre-production.
So get to work, review your script, start storyboarding, looking for actors and prepare your shooting order, because next week we will tackle music research, documenting your process, budgeting and test shots. Stay tuned!

Part 1. Script Writing: Have a good story to tell

n this age of accessible media it seems like everyone is making short films, just take a look on Vimeo and YouTube, they are crawling with shorts. But this also means that it is littered with thousands of bad ones, so how do you create a film that will stand out from the bunch? I have put together a short guide to help filmmakers push their creativity and professionalism to another level. At first I intended to create a one post guide, hence the name “A Short Guide…”, but I came to realize that it takes more than that to create an awesome short, so I divided it into sections and over the next few weeks I will post articles on hints and tips for each step of a short film production.
We will try to touch every step of the long process, starting with scripting, pre-production, production and post. We will start today where it should all begin, with an idea and a good script!

Step1. Have a good story to tell

Might sound silly, but those thousands of ‘bad’ films out there are usually driven by ‘bad’ stories. Explore originality, people hate tackiness or stories they’ve seen hundreds of times, as soon as they know where the story is going they will move on to another short, or a video of cats.

Another important thing is to stay in realistic conditions, meaning for example, if you are a 13 year old don’t write a script about a man handling 3 guns and killing 20 subordinates on his way to get revenge on his evil brother, if you know you and your friends will do the acting. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve all done these films and it’s a great way to learn, but if your trying to make a real film to get noticed and win awards, stay away from unrealistic storylines.
It’s perhaps the hardest part of filmmaking, because once you have a good idea, motivation will get you through the rest of production. Writing might also not be for everyone, if you think this is your case, make someone with writing experience write a story for you, and then mold it into a script. More and more these days, directors turn to short story writers online to make them into shorts. Some featured shorts on Film Shortage, like “Boot“, “Start the Engine And Reverse” and Film Shortage’s top short of 2012 “The Secret Number” derive all from stories written by independent writers.

The Secret Number by Colin Levy and its fantastic script

Your script will never be perfect at 100%, but be sure about the story, if you have any doubts it means that it can be better, and this is the time to take your time and make changes. Make people read it, besides your mom and girlfriend, people that you trust to be honest with you, but avoid showing 20 people because you will have too many opinions!
Edit:
I recently read an interesting article listing Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling, which were originally tweeted by Pixar’s former Story Artist Emma Coates. Although not all do, most rules can easily be applied to a short film writer, especially this one:

Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

-One of Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling as tweeted by Emma Coates
See the other 21 Rules of Storytelling
So write up your script and see you next week with pre-production!
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