5 things I wish someone told me before making my first short film

I've watched hundreds of indie shorts and helped dozens of filmmakers with their projects. Here's what separates the ones that actually get finished from the ones that die on someone's hard drive:

1. Your first film should be under 5 minutes. Not because short is better — because scope kills projects. A 5-minute film forces you to be ruthless with your story.

2. Sound matters more than picture. Audiences will forgive shaky footage. They won't forgive bad audio. Rent a decent lav mic before you upgrade your camera.

3. Write for what you have access to. Don't write a car chase scene if you don't have cars. Constraints breed creativity.

4. Get feedback at the script stage, not after the edit. The cheapest time to fix a story problem is on paper.

5. Ship it. Put it out there. Submit to a festival. Post it online. The worst thing you can do is sit on a finished project because it's "not ready." It'll never feel ready.

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