Are you getting ready to shoot your short film? You might have some really big ideas—several actors, multiple locations, a healthy smattering of VFX shots—and trust me, we’ve all been there in the development stage. It’s better to dream big and scale back to be practical because so many of us have to work with what we have on hand. That means small budgets, DIY sets, and maybe one or two actors. This is where we can really get creative!As we approach SXSW 2025, we’re going to have access to a slate of impressive shorts that should inspire and motivate us to keep at it, and will also serve as examples of what can be done with creativity and grit.Director Bianca Poletti’s Video Barn is definitely one of them. Utilizing a single location (a nostalgic video store) and ‘80s horror conventions, the short creates a world and mythology that feels expansive despite its short runtime. Which is perfect, because this proof-of-concept is a story ripe for feature exploration.Written by Allison Goldfarb, the short features two small-town friends who work in the store together. One of them mysteriously goes missing, and the other finds a strange VHS tape left behind…We chatted with Poletti, whose impressive resume includes work on commercials, music videos, and other shorts, to learn the project’s secrets before SXSW. How did they find that great location? How did this team come together? What if you need to license some very iconic horror movie footage to play in one...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Monday, 10 March