Directors

The majority of directors first started out gaining experience and testing ideas of characters and certain shots by creating short films. Once they were established enough short films would then be scrapped and they would move on to feature films hoping for bigger and better things.

Directors such as George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg and Alfred Hitchcock who made shorts in the same decade as Maya Deren. All these well known directors started off by creating short films.

Shane Meadows born in 1972 is a self taught film maker who also started his career by creating short films, there is a major difference between Shane Meadows and the other directors above. The difference is that Shane Meadows once established continued to create shorts along with feature films, where as the other directors focused purely on feature films. Shane continued to test ideas through short films even after creating block buster British film "This is England"

"The Stairwell" by Shane Meadows (Above) is Shane's shortest film, 'The Stairwell', was shot on a mobile phone and is just 39 seconds long. It consists solely of a man and woman, played by Meadows regulars Andrew Shim and Vicky McClure, violently bumping into each other on a stairwell. The concept of the idea is basic as it is part of every day life people accidently bumping into eachother however it is extremely over exaggerated and the camera work helps build up the tension.

Shane has definitely made a name for himself by creating short films, this proves that there is still a market for shorts because they entertain and inspire up and coming directors. Shane's short film work unlike many others has made it to DVD, rarely does any directors work get put to DVD unless it is part of a compilation. Shane broke this boundary as he got approached to produce a DVD of just his short films.

Shane's work influences and inspires young promising directors which drives them into industry to show their talent. He helps people by offering advise and tips some of which include:

• Improvising before the camera is on, allowing actors to feel comfortable.
• Make films what you know about, personal experiences.
• When creating a short film if a mistake is made don't let it get you down as no risk is involved when creating shorts independently.
• Alot of equipment is available allowing anyone to make a short film.

David Lynch is another director who has also contributed to the short film scene by creating over 14 popular short films. His success like Shane Meadows has allowed him to be part of "The Short Films Of David Lynch DVD"

He is widely known for his style and tone for most of his short films, this style is similar to Maya Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon" as David is commonly known for his dream like feel to his films.

"The Alphabet" is the second short film from David Lynch, It was filmed in 1968 and was awarded from the American film institute. It is very creative and unusual, I feel that these elements attracts it audience. I feel that David Lynch has used the alphabet to create his storyline and that the animation slowly unfolding allowing the next letter to come out brings the story together.

Referencing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5wMvyVJYlg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Meadows

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch#Short_films

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmMwKBMse_w