The SHORT! Guide to Producing: The Practical Essentials of Producing Short Films

In this book, Charles Merzbacher offers a concise, definitive guide to the essential skills, techniques and logistics of producing short films, focusing on the practical knowledge needed for line producing and overseeing smaller-scale productions. Drawing on insights from real-life production scenarios, veteran filmmaker and instructor Charles Merzbacher takes producers through every stage of the production process, from fundraising, preproduction and planning to the producer’s role in postproduction and distribution.

Key topics include:

• Finding a worthy project;
• Schedules and budgets;
• Managing the casting process;
• Recruiting and managing crew;
• Location scouting;
• Legal and safety issues;
• Running a production;
• Negotiating music rights;
• And much more!

An accompanying website―available at theshortseries.com―offers document templates for contracts, call sheets, budgets and other production forms, as well as sample production documents and short video guides featuring top industry professionals.

Charles Merzbacher serves on the Film & Television faculty at Boston University. During his long career, he has overseen the production of several thousand student films and has delivered workshops and lectures at other institutions at home and abroad. As a filmmaker, Merzbacher has won several awards for his many productions. His feature film, Jane Street, premiered at the British Film Institute, and his short films have been exhibited around the world, including at the Sundance, San Francisco, Seattle and Montreal International Film Festivals.