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

Roberta Marie Munroe (Author)

Book Description

Publication 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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401309542
• ISBN-13: 978-1401309541
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #149,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A native of Toronto, Canada, Roberta Munroe was Short Film Programmer at The Sundance Film Festival for 5 years and she lives in Los Angeles California with her 2 rescue dogs, Marcello & Rita.

Roberta is President of RMM Film Consulting where she continues to help filmmakers realize their dreams and is presently working on a YA fiction novel.

Roberta's films Dani and Alice and Happy Birthday played at over 120 festivals and won several awards. In 2009, the UNFPA commissioned Roberta to produce/direct 2 films - Maja and Karim & Suha - both received great critical acclaim. Contact Roberta at www.robertamunroe.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 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 

labologie (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer (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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Thought I Knew A Little, November 16, 2010

By 

Tyeastia L. Green (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer (Paperback)

Turns out, the little that I thought I knew, was thrown out the window! I know nothing. But now I can use this book as a guide to making a quality product with as little stress as possible.
It gives you common sense answers to questions everyone has when making a film - regardless if it's short form or not. To anyone who's thinking about making a short film, or even tried shooting a short and failed miserably... this book is for you. And, a plus... a really big plus is it's not a boring text book. It's funny, and gives you real situations and interviews from people who've been where you are and now enjoying what you want - SUCCESS! Thank you Roberta for writing this book. I'm glad that I bought it. Glad that I read it. Now, I just have to apply it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

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

By 

Guy Reader (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How Not to Make a Short Film: Secrets from a Sundance Programmer (Paperback)

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!