I got to say, from Matt's - "At Least the Devil Is Honest". I'm definitely inspired to crank out some shorts. They are definitely written much faster and are definitely concentrated enough to where you can get a quick message, laugh, idea or feeling across.

I have some friends that have a start-up prodco.. and i'm sure the idea of of no-budget indie shorts definitely appeals to them. I even recall one saying, "i just need something to shoot!" it was at a party, so we did jaggerbombs, but i'm sure he was speaking by ways of a short.

If I'm taking on just the writing role. That one great written scene/short can be exactly what people are attracted to. I can see people reading a quick short before hunkering down for a whole 120 pages of a script (i do it more on the GITS Club).

I say, "nothing hurts and everything helps."

Re: your question, a short film or a feature screenplay, the answer is: both.

I'm a film student in a top program, and while all the directing work we do is short-form, the faculty is constantly impressing on us the importance of writing - feature writing.

Let's say you make a really good short that plays festivals, wins awards, etc. That's great - it will get you meetings. And at the meetings they will ask you: what else do you have? What do you want to do next? And if you don't have at least one (preferably more) features ready to hand them or pitch, then your meetings will most likely go nowhere. There are just too many strong "hired gun" directors around for anyone to count on breaking into the biz without bringing their own material to the table.

well, you do go to a top film school..... And I always start my paragraphs with:
"Since I'm an employee at Mcdonalds...."

Based on my own experiences I would say that short scripts are a great way to get started.

I've sold three shorts and after years of struggling with feature after feature never sold, I can suddenly show up a CV with content.

Short scripts have a few advantages. They are quick to write; so on only are you able to write and sell more, you also learn by your mistakes faster.

They are also a great tool to learn the essence of storytelling. You need to learn to focus, be effective in your writing and find those small differences. In some ways a short script is harder to write than a feature. A short script is very unforgiving.

On the backside is the pay. Short movies are basically made by those with small budgets. (Now, don't feel so sorry for them that you write for free, okay?)