The SHORT! Guide to Producing

In this book, Charles Merzbacher offers a concise, definitive guide to the essential skills, techniques and logistics of producing short films, focusing on the practical knowledge needed for line producing and overseeing smaller-scale productions. Drawing on insights from real-life production scenarios, veteran filmmaker and instructor Charles Merzbacher takes producers through every stage of the production process, from fundraising, preproduction and planning to the producer's role in postproduction and distribution. Key topics include: - Finding a worthy project; - Schedules and budgets; - Managing the casting process; - Recruiting and managing crew; - Location scouting; - Legal and safety issues; - Running a production; - Negotiating music rights; - And much more! An accompanying website-available at theshortseries.com-offers document templates for contracts, call sheets, budgets and other production forms, as well as sample production documents and short video guides featuring top industry professionals.

Charles Merzbacher serves on the Film & Television faculty at Boston University. During his long career, he has overseen the production of several thousand student films and has delivered workshops and lectures at other institutions at home and abroad. As a filmmaker, Merzbacher has won several awards for his many productions. His feature film, Jane Street, premiered at the British Film Institute, and his short films have been exhibited around the world, including at the Sundance, San Francisco, Seattle and Montreal International Film Festivals.

Introduction - Looking Before Leaping - Be Prepared - Is There an Audience for This Short? - Defining the Producer's Role - The Short Dilemma: Who's in Charge? - Shoebox Redhead: A Textbook Case - Terminology - Production Management Software Chapter 1 - Getting Down to Business - Financing Your Film - Television Distribution - Government Support - The Funding of Student Productions - Private Foundations and Commercial Underwriting - Specialized Markets - Profit Versus Non-Profit - Ownership Versus Sponsorship - Online Fundraising Platforms - Appealing to Friends and Family - Setting Up to Do Business Chapter 2 - Preproduction - Safety First - Clearing Rights to Intellectual Property - Copyright and the Public Domain - Story Rights - Screenplay Rights - An Overview of Preproduction and a Timeline Chapter 3 - Script Breakdown - What Exactly Am I Producing? - Numbering Scenes - Measuring Scenes - Marking Up the Script: Know the Code - Putting the Code into Action Chapter 4 - Breakdown Sheets - Creating Breakdown Sheets - How Many Sheets? - A Sample Sheet - Filling in the Header - Some Tricky Details - Pushing On Chapter 5 - The Schedule - Building the Shooting Schedule - Options for Laying Out the Schedule - What Has Priority? - How Many Days? - Taking a Stab at It - The Arc of the Shoot - The Schedule in Overview Chapter 6 - The Budget - The Secrets of Budgeting - The Architecture of a Budget - Different Kinds of Zeroes - Fringes, Per Diems and Other Budgeting Terms - Negotiating Rates with Vendors - To Buy or To Rent - A Budget Template Chapter 7 - Beyond Budgeting Basics - Revealing Details - How Food Can (and Should) Eat Up Your Budget - Taxes, Mileage and Other Details that Can Break the Bank - A Walking Tour of a Budget - Stunts and Special Effects on a Budget Chapter 8 - The Crew - How Big Is Big Enough? - Understanding Departments and Crew Hierarchy - Payments, Deferrals and Favors - Cutting Deals: From Box Rentals to Favored Nations Chapter 9 - The Cast - The Producer's Role in Casting - The Casting Process - Hiring a Casting Director - Producing Auditions - Casting Professionals and Actors from Other Regions - Working with the Actors' Unions - Using Non-Actors, Friends and Other Special Cases - Casting Crowds - Performer Releases Chapter 10 - Locations - Ask, Don't Steal - Scouting Locations - Negotiating and Securing Locations - Copyright, Trademark and Fair Use - Insurance - A Note about Operating Vehicles and Heavy Machinery Chapter 11 - Production Paperwork - Before You Roll: The Final Details - The Daily Production Schedule - Options for Displaying and Sharing Your Schedule - The Call Sheet and Other Paperwork - Purchase Orders - Working Away from Home Chapter 12 - The Shoot - Once More with Feeling: Safety Matters - Riding the Whirlwind - Conceding, Settling, Hanging Tough and Whittling - How to Manage Crises and Tiffs (and How to Tell Them Apart) - Revising the Schedule During Production - Tracking the Budget Through Production Chapter 13 - Music - Kinds of Film Music - Music Rights - Using Existing Music - Production Music and Music Libraries - Licensing Commercially Released Music - Working with a Composer - Temp Track Love Chapter 14 - Postproduction - The Producer's Role in Postproduction - Pick-Ups - Postproduction Workflow - Fixing It in Post: Color Correction and Other Adjustments - Mixing, Outputting and Archiving - Budgeting for Postproduction Chapter 15 - Promotion and Distribution - The Ladder to Success - Distribution Strategies for the Short Film - Scarcity Versus Ubiquity - The Festival Circuit - The Press Kit and Other Promotional Materials - Deliverables - Online Distribution Conclusion - The Long and the Short of It Appendix A - Script for Shoebox Redhead Appendix B - Budget for Shoebox Redhead Appendix C - Contract Templates - Story Rights Agreement - Screenwriter Agreement - Example of Screenwriter Exhibit A - Work for Hire Agreement for Crew - Performer Agreement for Cast - Location Agreement - Synchronization License for Music - Master Use License for Music - Composer Agreement Appendix D - Further Reading Appendix E - Contributor Bios Appendix F - Glossary of Terms Acknowledgements About the Author Index