As part of the My RØDE Reel 2017, pro audio company RØDE Microphones today released a four-episode series "The Power Of The Short," a Q&A format with Australian filmmakers, each with experience in how short films helped form their careers in features and in television.

Hosted by My RØDE Reel ambassador and judge Tim Ross—whose career includes radio DJ, stand-up comedian, author, producer, and star of several TV comedies and documentaries—the series looks at unique filmmakers with a conspicuous pedigree in short films.

Information on how to enter the contest can be found at the bottom of this article. 

Episode 1: The Indie Horror Makers

Brothers Kiah and Tristan Roache-Turner turned their self-funded, shot-on-the-weekends zombie movie Wyrmwood into an international hit in 2015, setting themselves up for a second feature in 2017 and a Wyrmwood TV series in development.

“Make your short film crazy,” advises Tristan, the film's producer. Kiah, the director, agrees, adding that making a short proved a direct line to making a feature. “Our first Wyrmwood short film was a proof-of-concept that got 300,000 hits in the first week.”

Episode 2: The Dramatist

Matilda Brown, writer/star of the Let’s Talk About… series of drama shorts for the Foxtel network and My RØDE Reel 2017 judge, emphasizes the necessity for a decent story.

“You need to be able to tell someone in a sentence or you have a problem,” she said. She also has advice about the edit: “Start with a 10-minute film and chop it down.”

Episode 3: The Comedian

As part of The Bondi Hipsters, Christiaan Van Vuuren has made comedy shorts that have become an online sensation and spawned the Australian ABC TV comedy hit Soul Mates. He said that shooting comedy shorts can be fast and cheap, and can build an audience that translates to other media.

"We set a goal to put out one new video per week for a year," said Van Vuuren. "We wanted to be filmmakers, make TV shows, and be employable as writers and directors."

Episode 4: The Documentarian

Genevieve Bailey, director of multi-award winning documentary feature I Am Eleven (following 11-year-old kids around the world) and several documentary and narrative shorts, tells how shooting short films of her dog as a child got her started. She also revealed how being an independent filmmaker means that “50% of my job is making the film, and 50% is making sure people see the film.”

Enter the Contest

• Over $500,000 worth of prizes to win, including camera equipment
• 25 prize categories this year, including new additions: RØDE TVC, Vlog, and VR
• Submit here today by June 30, 2017

Featured imaged of Matilda Brown, one of the contest's judges, in 'iMom' short film