What Is Short Film?
Short film characteristics
- 45 Minutes or Less
- Low Budget
- Amateur
-Experimental
-Niche Audience
- Small cast & Crew
-Local/Cheap Locations
- Short and Sweet/ Attention grabbing
- Less character development (not enough time generally)
-Non-professional/ Semi-professional equipment
- Thought Provoking
-Controversial
-Expression of opinion about social/historical issues
-Parody videos
-Fan made videos
-Music videos
- Little dialogue
-Atmospheric
-Story driven
- Hybrid Genres (dark comedy)
- Twist's and Red Herrings
Feature Length Film Characteristics
- Around 100 minutes
-Big Budget
-Produced by conglomorate companies (i.e. Warner Bros.)
-Professional
-Follows Formulas
-Mainstream (what audiences want/expect)
-Distributed widely
-Mass Audience
-Big cast
-Famous/Popular actors
-Special effects(professional equipment makes things like green screen look realistic)
-More chances for character development
-Professional equipment
-More dialoue
-Generic
-Generally less abstract
-Strict Genres (i.e. thriller, Horror, Comedy)
- Generic, overused 'Hybrid' genres (i.e Romantic comedy, horror comedy
Content
Short films are quite often seen as poetic with a story that is short and attention grabbing. According to Gareth Evans (Director) - best short films are ' crystaline creations of precise, prismatic intensity...less is more'. Short films are an effective realisation of one particular idea, for example, 'through the deception of carefully considered emotion to capture a moment'. Good short films are a refinement of ideas and the distilled essences of their creators imagination.
Form
There is the same variety and diversity for short films as there is for feture length films in terms of content. Short films can be fiction or non-fiction, individual enterprises or colaborative endeavours. The forms and function of short fils should recognised as'multifarious'. Short films are extremely flexible - it can cross the boundaries of all categories in film production as it can manifest in films of quality in forms of propaganda, advertising, documentary, music video, animation and avant garde film.
Vocational?
For a long time, short film has been experimental and innovative. For lots of short film makers, their short films have been a 'passport' into to the vocations associated with feature length productions. Short films are often showcased in showreel portfolio that are considered to be an apprenticeship for professional film making. 'calling card; is a term used to describe those short films that seek to establish the identity of their creators and get them started in the industry. institutes such as the UK Film Counci's various short filminivatives seek to serve this purpose, to support budget film making with dreams of advancing the national cinema industry.
Production
The term 'short film' reffers to all short sequences of moving images - whether shot for exhibition through television, cinema or other media, such as personal computers and mobile phones. In essence, short film is produced by the use of a diverse range of technology rather then shot purely on film stock.