I have so much respect and admiration for the late, great Walt Disney. Disney was a passionate, innovative filmmaker/entrepreneur who helped change the world we live in today by persuading a simple vision:

“to make people happy”

Walt Disney was a jack of all trades and master of many. I’d like to explore 3 powerful ways to become a visionary filmmaker like Disney.

1. Stretch Your Brand

“It’s something that will never be finished,” Disney once said of Disneyland. “Something that I can keep developing and adding to.”

Disney used his films as leverage: not only did they allow for the creation of additional products, such as dolls, toys, and games related to the movies but they would also attract visitors to his theme parks. Disneyland quickly became an ideal venue for cross-promotion and Disney was clever in exploiting all the opportunities.

2. Chase Your Dreams

“Somehow I can’t believe there are any heights that can’t be scaled by a man who knows the secret of making dreams come true,” Disney said. “This special secret, it seems to me, can be summarized in four C’s. They are Curiosity, Confidence, Courage, and Constancy and the greatest of these is Confidence.” – Walt Disney

Disney spent three difficult years working on the production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. No full-length animated feature had ever been done before, let alone in full colour and with music. Neither his competitors nor his associates nor even his own wife believed that he could make it a success.

It was Disney’s passion for his project and determination to finish it no matter what that made it such a success.

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” – Walt Disney

Now that I’m 34 years old I’ve come to realize that achieving any level of success in life is very simple.

A) Know exactly what you want. A very clear, specific goal.

B) Persist, hustle and keep moving forward until you’ve reached your objective.

I am currently in production, directing and producing my feature film Bend and Break. However, my journey to get to this point was challenging and like Disney I constantly met people who said…

“it’s not possible to make a feature film in X number of days”

“you need more money to make a feature film”

“you don’t have enough experience yet”

But I never really listened to those people and because of that I am fulling my dream of making a kick-ass feature film that will entertain people all over the world.

3. Use Your Imagination

“I believe in being an innovator,” said Disney. “Tomorrow can be a wonderful age.”

Since its inception, Disney has always been an innovative and imaginative brand. From his animations to his theme parks, Disney was always looking to the future; he was in constant search for creative ways to improve his products and thrust his business forward.

Disney’s contribution to the animation industry is equally significant, creating a name for himself through a series of technological innovations. His use of the multi-plane camera and his ability to use both colour and music effectively in his films made him an important force to be reckoned with in American cinema.

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” - Walt Disney

What did you learn? Leave a comment!

Jane Kelly Kosek is a Los Angeles based independent film producer of character-driven stories that resonate with an audience.  This is her guest blog article. Thank you Jane for sharing your knowledge with us.

Short Film versus Full Feature: What Should You Make?
You want to make a movie but you can’t decide if you should take your money and do a well-funded short or use the cash to make a down and dirty full feature.

It all depends on what you need to get out of the experience. Below are a few things to consider as you decide between short film and full feature.

1)  Do you have a great short script and full-length script to choose from? Whatever you make needs to be based on a strong script. So if one is stronger than the other, go for the better script.

2) Are you trying to show off your creative skills as director or writer? This is a tricky area. Great shorts can get you noticed but there is a ton of competition and length matters. Even if your short is amazing, most festivals prefer programming the 10 mins or shorter films. This is because most shorts are programmed in a block of short films, which means longer shorts need to anchor the shorts programs. Your short better be brilliant in order to get a prime anchor spot.

So if you have a short that can show your brilliance in 10 mins or less then you may want to choose to make a short. Or you may want to decide to go full feature. Or take your chances that your 20 mins short will find its home and get you the attention you want.

3) Are you wanting to make money from it? Everyone wants to make money from their films but if that is your primary goal then you should probably make a full feature. The buyers’ market for short films is small unless you are making one based on a popular topic or person. Shorts can have their own markets for sales if they focus on stories with built-in audiences (this is true for full features as well).

4) How much money do you have? If you only have 2 bucks then you need to make a short film because you can’t make a feature on 2 bucks — unless you have someone donating everything to you. If you have a few thousand dollars then it is possible to squeak out a full feature.

Again this is where things can get tricky. You don’t want to make a full feature that really needs $100k for $5k. The only time it makes sense to do a full feature for $5k is when it is written for that budget and it’s GOOD. I have seen so many films shot in one room that have bored me to tears. Just because you have a script set in one location and you can shoot it super cheap doesn’t mean it will work or should even be attempted — which leads me to number 5.

5) Be realistic. Take the time to seriously evaluate your goals and reasons for deciding to make a short v. a full feature. Don’t make a quick decision based on emotion. Most people want to make full features but if you are at a point in your career that a short makes more sense, i.e. you need more experience, then make a short for the experience. And remember, you need resources to make any movie. Don’t shortchange your full feature when you really only have resources for a short.

6) Timing. Shorts can be created and finished much faster. They can be uploaded to the Web in a jiffy and go viral rather quickly if you have a topic of interest. So timing can play a big factor in your decision for short v. feature.

7) What is the topic best suited for? Some topics may be better as a short than a full feature. Kitties and their antics do very well on YouTube in quick spurts. You definitely don’t want to make a full feature of cats playing. You get my drift. Decide what format is best for your story.

Do you have connections to crew who can commit themselves over the longer timeframe of a feature? Connections to crew are very important. It can be very disruptive to the creation of a film to have crew coming in and out all the time. You need a core group to be part of your crew that will get you through the long haul — at least a producer who can help replace those who can only do short spurts of work. Some stability needs to be in place. Until you have that stability, you should make shorts and build up your connections.

9) Awards. Don’t worry about awards. Make a great short or full feature and awards will become a reality.

10) What is your end goal? Do you want to be known for short films? Then you need to make a short obviously. Do you want to make a great feature and you feel you have enough resources and the experience to make it happen? Then a full feature may be right.

In the end, it comes down to evaluating your resources, goals, quality of projects, and experience. If you are still having trouble figuring it out then you need to do more evaluating. Write down the pros/cons/resources for each and eventually the answer will appear. Trust your instincts. You usually know when you are making the right decision.

For more valuable information about all facets of independent filmmaking, visit Jane’s blog All About Indie Filmmaking Blog.