Workshopping a Short Film Idea with Sam Baron- Part 2

Short Films, Big Questions

A departure from the norm for us here at Short Films, Big Questions…

In this episode, filmmaker Sam Baron helps us workshop two of our short film ideas. He guides us through his process of breaking down an idea, interrogating character motivation, and examining what we can personally bring as filmmakers to the story. The approach Sam takes can be applied to all short films, as well as fiction generally. As such, we feel the episode will be valuable to anyone in the midst of writing a narrative project.

A bit of background about Sam: He is a writer, director and actor. In 2014, he won the coveted Academy's Nicholl Fellowship for his script, The Science of Love, kicking off an impressive career as a screenwriter. He’s written for TV shows including the BBC’s “Chloe” and Netflix’s “Lockwood & Co”, as well as developing his own originals with Sky Comedy, Netflix and the BBC.

Sam has written and directed many short films that have played at festivals worldwide. He has recently completed a trilogy of short films starring Amit Shah and is now busy developing one of these, "The Orgy," as a TV series with Sony Pictures. Sam also teaches on the NFTS short filmmaking course.

You can find links to Sam's trilogy of short films in full below, including his most recent, "Tall Dark and Handsome."

We’d recommend listening to part 1 of our conversation, ‘Making your Short Film Personal with Sam Baron’, to get more insight into his work and process.

Links to Sam’s work:

Tall, Dark and Handsome: https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2024/02/01/tall-dark-and-handsome/

Big Ears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RWeJTVXWqM

The Orgy: https://www.shortoftheweek.com/2021/06/07/the-orgy/

Sam’s speech accepting the Academy's Nicholl Fellowship: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYr3u_SA2Rg

Website: https://www.sambaron.com/

Social Media:

Sam: Instagram and Twitter

Short Films, Big Questions: Instagram

Ieuan: Instagram

Will: Instagram