Overview

From 4docs

It is easier to persuade an audience to watch a short film than longer ones. In this sense, a short film can work as a great calling card as it takes a busy industry person less time to watch a five-minute short on DVD or via your site than to sit through your “Sorrow and the Pity”

Festivals are a good place for shorts, as they are easy to programme in compilation slots. So although a short doc is unlikely to earn large sums, it can have a very useful, slow burning life touring the world and pulling interested parties into your orbit, make the most of it as festivals are also a great place to meet future collaborators and funders.

Short films are better placed than features to take advantage of the technological advances that are integrating film-watching into all niches of our lives - check out Online Distribution and Stay up to Date with New Distribution for more info.

There are very few TV channels dedicated to short films. In the UK, the only broadcaster that buys shorts is Shorts TV (SKY 342) - the channel, although it doesn't pay much, is a good way of getting your work seen. They also operate in France and USA (as Shorts HD).