How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer [Paperback]

Roberta Marie Munroe (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 20, 2009

"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

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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Roberta Munroe was born and raised in Toronto. She was the Short Film Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival for 5 years. A filmmaker herself, Roberta's directorial debut, Dani and Alice, has played at over 120 festivals globally and received the PlanetOut Best Drama Award 2006. She is in production on a slate of 4 short films.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401309542
• ISBN-13: 978-1401309541
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,248 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Screenwriting
  • #46 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Direction & Production

More About the Author

Roberta Munroe is an author, writer/director, producer and head of her Los Angeles based film consulting company at www.robertamunroe.com. A former Sundance short film programmer (2002-2006), Roberta's book How Not To Make A Short Film: Secrets From A Sundance Programmer (Hyperion 2009) is available on Amazon.com.

As a writer/director, Roberta was invited into the Fox Searchlight Directors Program (foxsearchlab) and made 2 award winning short films Dani and Alice and Happy Birthday that have played at over 150 film festivals worldwide and gained distribution deals on iTunes, Logo and Wolfe Video. Roberta was commissioned to write, direct & produce two short films for the United Nations (UNFPA) highlighting their youth focused sexual rights initiatives.

She has worked on over 25 short films as the producer, story consultant or consulting producer. Some titles include: Suicide Canaries (SXSW 2010), The Procession (Starring Lily Tomlin & Jesse Tyler Ferguson - Tribeca 2012), The High Level Bridge (Sundance 2011) Debutante Hunters (Audience Award Winner Sundance 2012, Palm Springs 2011) The Thing (Sundance 2012) and My Night With Andrew Cunanan (Melbourne LGBT Film Festival 2012). And she has partnered with the South Carolina Film Commission, producing 6 short films a year.

Speaking engagements and Master Classes have included: Columbia University, Trident Technical College, NYC School of Visual Arts, Tokyo Short Film Festival, Palm Springs ShortFest, Atlantic Film Festival, St. John's Women's Film Festival, SXSW and several others.

You can find Roberta at www.robertamunroe.com or at a local old school bar sipping single malt scotch.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars How not to write a how not to book March 22, 2009

By Rusty Nails

Format:Paperback

This title is at its best when it lives up to its name and talks about how NOT to make a short film. I especially liked the chapters on short film plots we've seen a million times and the list of 50 short film cliches (who knew that opening with a Japanese tea ceremony was a cliche?). The material on what festival programmers are looking for (and not looking for) is also valuable as is the list of festivals at the end.

However, most of the book is actually devoted to "how TO" make a short film citing the author's experience making two short films. Don't expect anything out of the ordinary here. There's some good information spliced into sections on directing, producing, budgeting and marketing. But Munroe's approach to filmmaking is strictly top-down, old-school, hire the best crew you can stuff with an emphasis on production value. The theme here is professionalism, not innovation. This book is a worthwhile read if you can accept it for what it is--a couple of great chapters and a catchy title padded with vanilla material on how to follow the traditional filmmaking process.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Good book/ limited perspective/ stay clear of consulting services marketed with book February 26, 2012

By gme111

Format:Paperback

This book provides some valuable insight on how to make a short film for the film festival circuit (not the latest multi-media outlets or television) if you have access to a plentiful budget (rare). It is based on the author's experience as a programmer for Sundance and the few mediocre (at best) films that she has made on her own. Proceed with caution with the author's "consulting services" that she markets with the book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent guide for any independent filmmaker March 23, 2010

By Guy Reader

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The information in this book is stuff you need to know as a filmmaker. Reading this will help you make better films and feel more secure about the process that goes into making that possible. Your creativity and artistry is something you will have to bring to the table, but if you follow Roberta Munroe's advice you will be a few steps further on the path to success. You will get more value than the cost of this book and you would be a fool not to read it!