I've read hundreds of scripts from indie filmmakers. The same five problems show up again and again — and they're all fixable before you ever pick up a camera.

1. Too many locations

Every new location is a new setup day, new permissions, new logistics. If your 15-page short has 12 locations, you don't have a short film — you have a scheduling nightmare. Consolidate. Two characters can have the same conversation in a kitchen instead of a café, a park, and a rooftop.

2. Writing for budget you don't have

Car chases, crowd scenes, period costumes — if you can't afford it, don't write it. The best low-budget films work because of their constraints, not despite them. One room, two actors, real tension. That's a film.

3. Characters who explain instead of act

"I'm scared because my father left when I was young." No one talks like this. Show us the fear through behaviour, through choices, through what they don't say. If your dialogue reads like a therapy transcript, rewrite it.

4. No clear want in the first 5 pages

Your main character needs to want something specific within the first few minutes. Not "happiness" or "freedom" — something concrete. A job. A phone call. Forgiveness from a specific person. Vague desires make for vague films.

5. Endings that trail off

Indie scripts are notorious for just... stopping. Your ending doesn't need to be neat, but it needs to feel intentional. The audience should feel something shift — a decision made, a truth revealed, a door closed.

Fix these five things and your script is already ahead of 90% of what lands on desks.

If you want detailed, filmmaker-level feedback on your script — structure, character, dialogue, and a plan to actually get it made — that's what I do here.