Is overthinking the real film killer?

I released my new short film Happiest Man Alive on the YouTube channel Monday. If you haven’t seen it, take a look, it’s only 2 min long:​

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The film was written in a mad rush the night before (shout out to Toni for suggesting the unreliable narrator idea — the hat was right in front of me all day and it didn’t click). In fact, calling it a script is being very generous, it was some bullet points outlining a general structure, with the idea that I’d figure out the narration that it would rely on later in post.

This is normally NOT how I want to go into making a film. First off, narration is usually a lazy way to tell a story, and I almost never use it. In this case, since it was entirely about a character’s perspective and unreliable narration, it made sense.

Beyond that, I didn’t have that safety net of a full script. I didn’t have a shot list. I just had a few vague ideas of moments I should try to capture. The only 2 things that gave me the confidence to actually go do it were my confidence in the ending, and my confidence that I’d be able to improvise a few fun moments along the way and then edit it until something was working.

The result is a sub-2-minute film that I was proud enough of to release as a standalone short (I was technically making it to test out some Smallrig gear for another YT video). And despite only shooting for 3-4 hours, these are the comments it is getting:

I’m definitely not posting this to brag. I actually disagree majorly! I’ve made better short films in my humble opinion! But the takeaway here is you never have an excuse to sit on your ass when you WANT to be making films, and you find yourself with some free time. Even if I think it would have benefitted from a little more planning and TLC, it was still good enough to stand on its own and move people.

If I had waited for that extra time, this film wouldn’t have gotten made at all, my schedule was too tight, it was that day or never. And I’m so glad I got over the fear of putting out a crappy film and just went for it.

Here’s a quick breakdown of what went right and what went wrong:

RIGHT

Looseness in the script. I had the general structure from using my Instant Short Film Blueprint process — going straight from the premise to figuring out a strong ending, going back to the beginning, and connecting the dots.

All the details were still blank, but since I had never been to this park before, that was kind of a blessing. Whatever I came across — some ducks in a pond, some beautifully lit leaves, a winding set of steps — I could easily integrate into the story. Much easier than trying to find the perfect places in an unknown location to fit my rigid script.

Playing in the edit. Because I was writing the narration (and script essentially) in post, I could play to one of my strengths — editing. The 2nd shot in the film, of me trudging up the trail, ended up feeling really weak. So cue me shucking and jiving for a half hour in the edit until I found a workaround that still felt intentional — split screening the shot so 2 clones of me appear walking up the trail and the narration reinforces that with the line “Me, myself, and I” as each of my clones appears. There were a few moments like that.

Speed. Because I didn’t have the option to slow down and think through every decision, this film came together stupidly fast. I wish everyone on this newsletter could experience the true kick in the ass that is a sponsor deadline — we’d all be making more films! And I am really starting to believe that overthinking can be the enemy to short film success. Even when I was doing monthly short films on the YouTube channel back in 2015, the ones that we spent the least time on were the most successful. I think if you get jazzed on an idea, just grab that feeling and run with it. Your first reaction is probably going to be the same as your audience’s first reaction.

WRONG

Starting the film I was running on fear. It wasn’t until I was about 2-3 shots in that I let go and started having fun. To be honest, that’s how I still feel with every film I make. You’d think that after 20+ years of doing this it’d be super chill to pop out a little film. Nope! But I hope that encourages you to push past that feeling and shoot the damn thing anyway. The satisfaction on the other side of the fear is well worth it.

Not doing this way more often. I truly believe if I was doing this sort of thing on a more regular basis (monthly or weekly), I’d be way more successful as a filmmaker, and have built a much bigger audience for my films (as opposed to my mixed audience of my educational content and my actual films).

After making this one for $0, writing it around resources I already had, shooting it only 12hrs after coming up with the concept, and spending only 2 days in the edit… I really don’t have an excuse anymore. And unfortunately, neither do you!

Go make a micro short film like this and start building some momentum as a narrative filmmaker. If you want help coming up with a no-budget story that will be strong enough to give you the confidence to go actually do it, check out my Instant Short Film Blueprint. Either way…

Let’s make some movies.

-Kent

PS – The movers came and took all our stuff this week. Here’s what my office looks like now:

Counterintuitively, this 7’x10’ room feels way smaller without my desk and other stuff in it. I’m never going to forget this little room where I built a new career online. Fortunately (maybe a cosmic sign?) my new office already has the same navy colored wall, so the transition shouldn’t be too jarring for you.

I don’t know why I’m talking to you like you’re my kids in the divorce and I’m dragging you to Florida with me. But listen champ, you’ll make new friends down there! Daddy still loves you! Real talk though this was entirely your fault. Try being a better kid in FL maybe??