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THE ZONE HORROR GUIDE TO MAKING A GREAT HORROR SHORT
In the cut-throat business of movie making, Zone Horror’s short film competition CUT gives newcomers a chance to develop their film making skills and a platform to showcase the results. Here is a quick guide to help you make the best piece you possibly can.
STORY
The most important rule of any movie is that you need a great story, the more original the better. As you only have 2 minutes don’t go for anything too complicated. All the best CUT entries have been simple ideas with just one plot or theme running through it. If you’re stuck for inspiration why not check the CUT 2008 entries on this site or better still tune into Zone Horror and see what’s happening in the world of horror.
TITLE
Think of something clever, maybe a play on words or something usually unconnected to the horror genre. Some of the best most recent ones for CUT have been the self explanatory Bandages and 90 Seconds which conjure images of mystery and intrigue making people want to view them, whilst the cryptic Less Is More and LV 16 capture the attention of the audience making them curious to view. It’s all about making your movie stand out from the crowd.
PLANNING
Sounds a bit obvious this one but you’d be surprised to learn how many people leave everything till the last minute. Take time out to look at your script and try and create a storyboard. This way you can save time (and possibly money) by planning your shots in advance. All the best directors do it so why shouldn’t you?
MUSIC
Now this is a grey area. You have to be careful with music as nearly every piece available will need you to have a licence to use. If you can’t find any suitable Public Domain music (music that can be used without permission of the writer/composer) why not try writing your own. Hey, it’s good enough for John “Halloween” Carpenter! Music can make or break a dramatic scene. Too loud and it could ruin the tension, too quiet and it could be a waste of effort. Best to listen to the final edit without the headphones on a normal sized TV to make sure you get the balance right.
FILMING
It doesn’t matter what format you shoot your masterpiece on as long as you get what you need down (as they say in this business). Keep a log of what you shoot and the order you do it in. Always label tapes, CD’s and DVD’s if you use more thank one and keep them safe. There’s nothing worse than trawling through a wood looking for an HI-8 tape!
MONEY
As the winner of CUT 2008 Paul Shrimpton proved last year, you don’t need to spend a lot of money to bag the cash prize. Paul spent only £40 on his story of a man tied up in knots after his girlfriend is brutally murdered. By using natural surroundings and buildings as well as friends, he created a bleak and realistic piece that was a huge hit with the CUT judges. Oh, and talking of friends…
FRIENDS
It’s fine to use your friends and family as actors in your entry but do remember it is a bonus if they can act. A dodgy piece of thespian over acting could ruin your short so do be brutally honest with them. Why not give them a behind the camera task to do instead, they could still end up with that all important on screen credit!
EDITING
OK, another obvious one here but one some people tend to forget about. You only have two minutes to tell your story so don’t shoot hours and hours of footage as you’ll be wasting your time, time better spent watching Zone Horror! Only shoot what you can use, if you’ve storyboarded your script this should help. Use only long and protracted shots if you can sustain the tension. And remember jump cuts and fast wipes can become wearing for the viewer, don’t use too many.
FINAL CUT
Don’t spend weeks sitting on your entry send it to us as soon as you can. We get hundreds of shorts every year so don’t delay ENTER TODAY!
WAITING
The worst part of any competition is waiting to find out who the winner is. Please don’t bombard us with mails concerning your entry, if you’ve followed the instructions on how to enter your entry will be with us and we’ll get back to you as soon as humanly possible. We love you for entering and respect every entry as if it were the first so don’t panic.
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