Click the links below to read each Masterclass. Each month, we'll bring you a step-by-step guide to every aspect of short filmmaking.

MASTERCLASS ONE:
WHAT MAKES A GOOD SHORT?

MASTERCLASS TWO:
CAN YOU MAKE A SHORT FOR £100?

MASTERCLASS THREE:
THE SHOOT

MASTERCLASS FOUR:
PROMOTING YOUR SHORT

MASTERCLASS FIVE:
WHAT NEXT?

THE PANEL

For any aspiring filmmaker, short films have always been the first step on the road to success within the movie industry. But how do you go about making one? We've brought together a panel of industry experts to give you the answers.


The Short Film Directors: Ruaridh Webster and Oliver Schofield – Firstlight Pictures
In 1998, Ruaridh directed his first short The Verge, which was selected for the BBC British Short Film Festival. His second short A Car Stopped was self-funded. It screened at The Edinburgh International Film Festival, Raindance Film Festival, BBC and Palm Springs short film festivals, was short listed for the Turner Classic Movie Prize. It was shown on The Shooting Gallery on Channel 4. Oliver is a director of photography and has worked with Ruaridh on two of his three films. In 2004 Firstlight made The Barn, their first low budget feature.

The Producers: Lachlan MacKinnon and Paola Minazzato – Intrepido
Lachlan and Paola formed Intrepido in 2002 to develop and produce theatrical feature films by award-winning-up-and-coming talent. At Intrepido they have produced three award-winning shorts including 'Floating' which was financed by The Film Council and FilmFour for their Cinema Extreme strand, selected for The Best of Brief Encounters on Tour and 'Breaking Out', screened in competition at Cannes 04's Critics Week as well as a host of other top festivals. Next, they'll be exec producing a series of shorts for The Smirnoff Experience Reel Talent Award.
www.intrepido.co.uk

The Sales Agent: Dawn Sharpless – Dazzle Films
After working at The Short Film Agency and Peeping Tom's, an underground film club in London's Soho, Sharpless established her own agency called Dazzle in 2003 aimed at distributing top quality shorts. Currently she licenses over 250 titles internationally on TV, cinema, DVD, airlines, and on the internet. Later this year, Dazzle will be launching their own DVD label and VOD channel on the Transmission Films website.
www.dazzlefilms.co.uk

The Innovators: Shane Walter - Onedotzero.com
Onedotzero promotes cutting edge innovation in all areas of the audio-visual media: music videos, graphic design, games, web design and short film, encouraging cross-fertilization whenever possible. Last year the Onedotzero festival ran for ten days at London's ICA, and to date has toured 60 cities internationally. They also teach in schools and colleges.
www.onedotzero.com