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?

AFTER DARK MASTERCLASS FOUR:
WHAT NEXT?

Dawn Sharpless:

Shorts don't really make money. A short that has won a major prize like a Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival might earn up to 10,000 pounds in total sales before the sales agency commission and cost of sales (recharges) have been deducted. A good short film that has attractive marketable elements in it but does not necessarily have any prizes behind it might earn between 2,000 pounds and 5,000 pounds in total sales. Most shorts earn between 500 and 3,000 pounds in total sales. I take 40% commission and a further 10% for marketing and deliverable costs. A good short will therefore realistically earn a film-maker between 500 and 2,500 pounds. Shorts, in themselves, do not make money but they are effective calling cards which could land a director a contract at an advertising agency that earns them hundreds of thousands over a lifetime.

Onedotzero:
Think carefully about where you want to go as an individual. If you want to make music videos, make some. Find a band, no matter what you think of their music, and make a video for free. Then another for someone else. Build a reel so you can show how you work with music. Also, seek out like minded people who can help you. Shooting People is a brilliant resource for this. Ten years ago we used to get entries from London, Paris, New York and Tokyo, now we get shorts from all kinds of places. If you make a short, it's not just a great personal achievement, you are part of an international community of film makers.

Firstlight:
Once you have made one, make another. Ring up the funders, tell them you are making it and then send it to them when you have. Then tell them you are making another. It's about raising your profile. No one, repeat no one, is going to beat a path to your door and say, please direct my film. You must make it happen for yourself. Go to lots of screenings and festivals, get to know other film makers. Browse the net; chat-rooms contain a lot of rubbish but now and again you come across someone who knows something you don't. Read the trade press. Join BECTU for £2 and get their magazines for free. Only when people keep hearing your name, and seeing your films, might an opportunity arise. And don't get distracted. If you want to get into commercials, you should really shoot a test commercial. Directing commercials is an area of expertise and it takes a long time breaking in. If you are interested in drama and want to make features, concentrate on that.

Intrepido:
If you are talented there has never been a better time to be a short film- maker in the UK. Short films, if distinctive and well crafted, really get you noticed and are essential in making the transition into feature films or television. There are so many more initiatives around (like After Dark) than there were just five years ago. If you are smart and do your own homework it will happen for you. Don't be discouraged. There are so many people out there that sooner or later, you will come across a network of like-minded filmmakers you can grow with.