Short Films and the never-ending debate…
There seems to be this on-going debate over whether making short films is good for your career or a waste of time and money. Those who argue the latter would now claim that there are other avenues, such as digital content, that are more worthwhile calling cards for a career.
I’m finding it a rather tiresome debate now. It was an article I read online from Tribeca that made me think “enough already”. There are so many people out there telling people what is the ‘correct’ way to get into film/television production.
I say, to each their own. Everyone is different, so everyone will have a different approach to the film industry.
A short film can be a great calling card for those wanting to get into features, and a web-series can be a great calling card for those wanting to get into television.
You need to decide your own career path. That will ultimately inform you what your best calling card would be. And while you may have a very clear end goal, my advice is to not let tunnel vision blind you for opportunities that pop up along the way.
To put it in a way my mother would appreciate: “you might not want to date that boy, but he may have a friend”. 😉
On a side note… this all makes me think of Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken.