By Sai Vijendhiran – Inventor of the Screenplay Auditing Process
In recent times, I’ve been approached by students from various film institutes seeking feedback on their screenplays. They’re energetic, imaginative, and deeply passionate about cinema. But passion without structure is like a ship without a compass—it drifts.
And that’s exactly what I found in most of their screenplays.
ЁЯОУ The Common Mistake
Across different institutes and cities, one pattern kept emerging in the scripts I audited:
Some rush to tell the story, cramming too many scenes and skipping emotional beats.Others elaborate endlessly, dragging the idea with excessive dialogue and redundant moments.
But most strikingly, they try to compress a feature-film-worthy idea into a short film runtime.
This creates an imbalance. The screenplay ends up going everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
It lacks clarity. It lacks purpose.
And most importantly—it lacks impact.
ЁЯФН The Audit Outcome
In each audit, I posed a direct question to the young filmmakers:
"Out of all these ideas, which one are you truly trying to explore?"
Sometimes, the script had five different themes, three genres, and ten characters, all fighting for attention in under ten minutes.
A few students responded thoughtfully. They went back, rewrote, and refined.
Others ignored the suggestion, assuming more ideas equal more value.
But filmmaking is not about how many ideas you show. It’s about how deeply you express one.
ЁЯТ╕ The Budget vs Imagination Problem
Another core issue: no budget but sky-high imagination.
Students dream big—which is good—but they forget the practical reality of film production. Without the resources to support their vision, even the best ideas can’t survive from script to screen.
And that’s why many short films, despite noble intentions, fall flat.
ЁЯОп The Lesson
A short film is not a mini feature. It’s a focused expression of one powerful idea.
If you want your audience to feel something in five minutes, clarity is your best friend.
ЁЯЫа️ Final Thought
As someone who audits scripts with both structure and soul in mind, I urge student filmmakers to do two things:
Pick one strong idea.
Make sure every scene, line, and shot serves it.
Your film might be short—but its impact can be lasting.
