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Another year has gone by and The Tribeca Film Festival has eluded me once again. I subject myself to a long week of music and films every year at the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival, but I am yet to see more than one film or go to a single panel at Tribeca in the three years that I’ve lived across the Hudson.

One particular panel that interested me this year was titled Beyond YouTube: Understanding the Opportunities for Short Film Today, which was mainly advice for short filmmakers who would like to make a career of it. The panel featured Linda Olszewski from Shorts International, Jen Chen from Ouat Media Distribution, Andy Marks from MATTER , Megan O’Neill from AtomFilms and legendary animator Bill Plympton. Luckily, for me, Tribeca posted a brief overview of the discussion that occurred at the panel on their website.

So, yes, I’ve made a short film and yes, I wanted instant feedback from the world, so I uploaded it to YouTube (and countless other video communities). I’ve gotten positive comments on my film and have been contacted numerous times by people looking to get a copy of my film, but not once did anyone offer to pay for it. According to Olszewski, I may have destroyed my chances at ever screening my film or making a single dime from my work. There is something to be said for wanting as many people to see and enjoy your film as possible as I did, but if you have any intention of making money from your film, YouTube is not the way to go. Let me clarify that. Putting your film up in its entirety on YouTube is not the way to go. I could compare and contrast what is happening in the music industry with the film industry, but I think I’ll save that for another time.

To continue with the panel discussion, Bill Plympton shared his advice on short filmmaking:

- Make your film less than five minutes.
- Create it for less than $1,000 per minute.
- Make it funny.

His second piece of advice certainly wasn’t difficult, but telling a specific narrative in under five minutes can be a challenge sometimes. That’s one of the reasons why I enjoy watching and creating short films. As for making it funny, that is what Plympton knows. And his animation certainly is funny.

Now that I’ve gotten this advice, I’m going to pull down my short film from all of the video sites and put up a condensed version which points people here to contact me if they are interested in seeing the full film. Do I intend on making money from this film? Not necessarily, but at least I’ll know that those who do take the time to contact me are fully interested in seeing my film rather than just stumbling upon it on YouTube. They would be watching a much better version than what you can see online as well, and as an artist that gives me some comfort.

My short film, Diary of a Dead Man, is currently up on YouTube, but it won’t be for long. If you happen to watch the full version, please let me know what you think. But beware, it does not follow Plympton’s third piece of advice.

photo by [f.petrinni]