Unit 7 | The Short Film
Introduction
Everything from here through Unit 9 builds toward one cumulative project: an original short film. This unit is entirely pre-production. By the time you pick up a camera, you’ll have a formatted script, a storyboard, a clear purpose statement, a production plan, and every release and budget line you need to shoot without a last-minute scramble.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Format a script to Hollywood industry convention and translate it into a shot-by-shot storyboard
- Write a clear purpose and description statement for a video project
- Build a realistic production plan (call sheet, shooting schedule) for a short film shoot
- Secure the releases, rights, and budget a real production needs before filming begins
Calendar of Events for This Unit
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2/1 | 2/2 | 2/3 | 2/4 | 2/5 |
| F | 7.1 | F | 7.1 | F | 7.2 | F | 7.2 | F | 7.3 |
| 2/1: Cambron Back; 2/4: Report Card grades due, close 4:00pm (MP2) | ||||
| 2/8 | 2/9 | 2/10 | 2/11 | 2/12 |
| F | 7.3 | F | 7.4 | F | 7.4 | S | 7 | PD Day |
| 2/8: Report Card grade verification window closes (MP2); 2/10: Report Cards delivered via Parent Portal, EOD (MP2) | ||||
| 2/15 | 2/16 | 2/17 | 2/18 | 2/19 |
| Presi- dents' Day | S | 7 | S | 7 | S | 7 | S | 7 |
| 2/22 | 2/23 | 2/24 | 2/25 | 2/26 |
| S | 7 | S | 7 | F | 8.1 | F | 8.1 | F | 8.2 |
| 2/24: Interim grades open in Infinite Campus (MP3); 2/24: Grade Correction Deadline (MP2) | ||||
Lessons
- 7.1 – Script Formatting & Storyboarding. Screenplay format, sluglines, shot-by-shot storyboards
- 7.2 – Purpose & Description. Writing a project’s purpose/description statement
- 7.3 – Production Plan. Call sheets, shooting schedules, plan-of-work logs
- 7.4 – Releases, Rights & Budget. Talent/location releases, usage rights, sample budget
- S7 – Short Film. Summative project
Unit Vocabulary
- Slugline
- The all-caps shot heading that opens a scene (INT./EXT., location, time of day). Tells the crew where and when a scene happens before a single word of action or dialogue.
- Parenthetical
- A short direction in parentheses under a character’s name, telling an actor how to deliver a line (whispers), (sarcastic). Used sparingly, overusing them reads as micromanaging the actor.
- Scene Heading
- Another name for a slugline. INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT is a scene heading.
- Two-Column Script
- A script format that splits visuals (left column) from audio/dialogue (right column), common for commercials, music videos, and documentary-style projects instead of standard screenplay format.
- Beat
- A pause or turning point in a scene’s action or dialogue, marked in a script to control pacing and give an actor or editor a place to breathe.
- Storyboard
- A sequence of sketches previsualizing a shot’s framing and camera angle before filming. Doesn’t need to be polished, just clear enough to communicate the plan.
- Shot List
- A written, ordered list of every shot a production needs, often tied to specific timing or story beats.
- Pre-Production
- All the planning work that happens before filming. Scripting, storyboarding, securing rights, scheduling.
- Royalty-Free Music
- Music licensed for a one-time fee (or free) that can be used repeatedly without ongoing royalty payments. A safe choice when a production doesn’t have rights to original music.
- Public Domain
- Creative work no longer (or never) protected by copyright. Free to use without permission or licensing.
- Synchronization Rights
- Legal permission to pair a piece of music with visual media. Required any time you use someone else’s music in a video, even a school project.
- Client Goals
- The outcomes a client wants a video to achieve: informing, persuading, entertaining, or building their brand. Those goals shape every creative decision on the project.
- Target Audience
- The specific group of viewers a video is made for. Understanding who they are shapes a video’s tone, pacing, and content choices.
- Demographics
- Measurable characteristics of a target audience, age, location, education, interests, used to describe and understand who a video is being made for.
- Call Sheet
- A daily production document listing what’s shooting, when, where, and who needs to be there. The single source of truth for everyone on set that day.
- Shooting Schedule
- The order scenes actually get filmed in, grouped by location and actor availability, almost never the same order as the finished story.
- Talent Release
- A signed document giving a production permission to record and use someone’s likeness. Required for every on-camera performer, even a friend doing a favor.
- Location Release
- A signed document giving a production permission to film at a specific place. Required for private property, sometimes required for public spaces depending on what’s being filmed.
- Line Item
- A single row in a budget, one specific expense (gear rental, location fee, catering) tracked separately so a producer can see exactly where money is going.
- Contingency
- Extra budget set aside for the unexpected (a reshoot, a broken prop, a rental that runs long). Industry standard is roughly 10 percent of the total budget.