Short Film School

The Short Film School is Senaryo Okulu's short-film production layer: a hands-on journey of 6 phases and 18 stages that takes your short from idea to audience. You don't watch a lesson and move on — at every stage you make something concrete for your own project. The school's lessons are currently in Turkish and are being brought into English; every phase already has a guide in English, listed below, and the screenwriting lessons that come before it are open in English today.

How it works

At each stage you read a short lesson and then work on your own project straight away. What you make — the idea, the logline, the script, the shot design, the shooting plan, the shoot log, the edit versions, the screening records — builds up in a single project file. At the end you hold not a course certificate but a film and its whole production file.

The six phases — and the English guide for each

• Writing — from idea to a shooting draft. In English: how to write a short film script, short film ideas, short film script examples.
• Film design — design how the film looks and sounds. In English: camera shots and angles, how to make a storyboard.
• Pre-production — turn the film on paper into a plan you can shoot. In English: how to make a shot list, how to get a film permit.
• The shoot — the day on set: turning the plan into images. In English: how to make a short film, making a short film on your phone.
• Post-production — edit, sound, colour and the final copy. In English: how long is a short film, filmmaking terms.
• Screening and audience — getting your film in front of an audience. In English: how to submit to film festivals.

The 18 stages

• What Is a Short Film? · Idea · Logline · Short Film Structure · Ending
• Writing for Shootability · Reading and Revision
• Director's Vision · Visual and Sound Language · Scene Breakdown · Shot Design
• Shooting Plan · Production Prep
• The Shoot
• Editing · Finishing the Film (sound, colour, final)
• Route to Screening · Project File

Who is it for?

It's designed for people who have never made a film. The idea is to make a real film at a scale you can shoot with what you have, without waiting for a budget, a crew or equipment. If you're experienced you can skip stages: the journey isn't locked, you can come in wherever you like.

What's open in English today

The Short Film School's own lessons and production tools are in Turkish for now. In English you can already follow the screenwriting lessons of the first act — structure, character, scene, dialogue, format — write in Senaryum and build your project in Film Lab. The school applies that same craft to a single film, and it will open in English once its lessons are translated.

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