Problem: Article: Every story has a protagonist and an antagonist to supply conflict and provide tension. If you're unsure of which is which, it's important to give some thought into developing your story so there's a clear sense of who we should care about and why. A protagonist is the character that we're rooting for, the one that we empathize with and feel some kind of emotional connection to. The antagonist is the character, situation, or setting that works against the protagonist, creating drama. An antagonist isn't necessarily a mustache-twirling villain, but can be a tough situation or some other abstraction. In a short film, this will partially be a practical concern and a story concern. Good settings provide tension and drama of their own, but you may not be able to fly to Bermuda to film a beach scene. Find a place to set your story that will complement the story you want to tell, but is also available. Try to work with what you have. If you know you're going to have to film at your parents house, it'd be hard to film a sci-fi epic in the backyard and in the basement. Instead, Try to think of a good domestic story that would work well locally. Think of stories that happen in houses, in the town you might live in. Stories that work with their setting work much better. Stories need conflict to get us to care. What will hook the viewer into becoming invested in your story and in your short film? What does your protagonist want? What's keeping the protagonist from getting it? The answers to those questions supply your source of conflict. Once you've got your original idea in place, start focusing on what it is that creates the conflict in the story and teasing it out as much as possible. Conflict doesn't have to involve a fist fight or a shootout to count as high drama. It needs to involve real conflict between characters and emotional heft. If a boy brings home an alien, what trouble is he likely to encounter? What's the risk in it for him? What hooks us about watching kindergarteners paint? Find the inner story and the outer story. What we watch is the outer story: a character moves around the world and things happen. What makes it compelling is the inner story. How does this change the character? What does it mean for the character? A good short film, or any kind of story, will have both of these elements happening simultaneously. Limit the scope of the story as much as possible. A short film is barebones story telling, a short story, not a novel. That doesn't mean it can't be ambitious and unconventional, but short films need to work with a limited number of elements, characters, and scenes to work properly. Alternatively, it might be fun to force yourself to film a super-long or complicated story as briefly as possible. What would War and Peace look like as a ten minute short? What if all six Star Wars movies happened in 10 minutes with the equipment you've got handy? How would you pull it off? Like any art form, short film is not without its tired ideas and cliched stories. If you've never made one before, you'll be one step ahead of the game if you skip these clunkers. Avoid the following short film cliches: A character is alone, staring into a mirror talking, then commits suicide. Avoid genres which have been overused in short films, such as film noir and the gangster film. Anything involving a hitman. Two characters argue about something, until we discover that it's really one character with multiple personality disorder The movie starts with an alarm buzzing and the protagonist gets out of bed. Making a film of any length is extremely difficult. Try to keep your movie as short as possible, especially when you're first getting started. Filming a really great, tight, dramatic, exciting three minute movie is a serious accomplishment. Try doing that successfully before you tackle a 45 minute gangster masterpiece with a slow-mo shootout. If you're going to make a film, watch some films. Just as you shouldn't Try to write a novel without having studied the form of the novel, it's important to get a sense of how short films work and what it takes to make a good short film before you Try to make one yourself. It's not just a shorter version of a full-length movie: a short film is it's own unique medium with different tricks and techniques. Watch some before you set out to make your own. YouTube and Vimeo are great resources for short films, both bad and good. Check out and see whether or not your town has a short film festivalcommon in some metro areasto see some submissions in person. Music videos are also a great style of short film that you're probably already familiar with. Watch closely the way your favorite music videos are put together and study them closely. Check out Spike Jonze, Hype Williams, and Michel Gondry for modern masters of the form.
Summary: Find a protagonist and the antagonist. Find a great setting. Find a conflict. Keep it simple. Be aware of common short film cliches. Aim to keep your film under 10 minutes of running time. Watch some short films.

In one sentence, describe what the following article is about: In the U.S. you need a license to buy and sell gold in order to be a scrap gold buyer. If you buy and sell without a license you are in violation of your state's laws. First you will need a general business license that you can obtain from your state's Department of Taxation and Finance. They will inform you of the specific license you need to buy and sell gold. If you feel you need to learn the business first to see the potential and expand, then you will not need your own license. To find a company in your local area, do an internet search under "pawn brokers, gold buyers and recyclers." You must keep a written or computerized record of every transaction you make buying and selling gold. The state department of Taxation and Finance will tell you what information you need to include in this record, as it varies by state.
Summary:
Obtain a license. Work with someone who has a license as a Broker/Buyer. Keep good records.