Short Film Research

Short films are defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and sciences is "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". Short films tend to differ from feature films with the narrative structure. Classic Hollywood films tend to have closed endings and feature a linear storyline. However short films tend to have non-linear storylines and an open ending. This is to fit more into the short film, non-linear narratives are used to present the background to the story within the time constraints.

Feature films have to present very typical themes and be easily defined into a genre, this is mostly due to the budget used needing to guarantee an audience to make a return on the investment. Short films often have very limited budgets such as "Attaque De Panico" which had a budget of $300. This therefore allows the themes presented within short films to be very experimental, often tackling taboo issues such as racism, immigration or freedom of speech. short films generally present a 'dystopian' theme, this is to reflect upon society as it is and to question what is happening. The benefit of social realist films is that they have a very gritty look, this adds realism and is one of the cheaper genre films to create.

Short films are generally made by inexperienced directors, this means that the film will often suffer issuses with sound, editing and cinematography. However, some short films are made by experiecned directors such as Neil Blomkamp, who was trying to promote his idea for a film of 'District 9' by making 'Alive in Joburg' to show off the type of film he could make.

The Audience for short films is very limited, fortunately short films are not made specifically to attract a big audience, instead they are used to promote the ability of the director, cast and crew. Short films are used as a way of breaking into the highly competitive film industry.

Short films often require a lot of funding and the distribution is limited due to the financial implications. Short films require funding from institutions, such as the UK film council and funding from The National Lottery. The lack of funding can result in a poor quality film and a very limited distribution of the film. Of course this is not always the case, as shown by "Attaque De Panico" a short Uruguayan film with a $300 budget which went viral becoming a huge success.

Unfortunately the audience for short films is very niche. A few short films are lucky enough to be shown at film festivals, however these tend to be directors with some prestige already obtained. The internet has had a very big impact on the distribution of short films. Short films have mainly been shown through film festivals and small gatherings and to a limited audience. However the internet has allowed for video hosting sites. For the smaller, more independent short films this is essential and their films are often broadcast on youtube. While this is a good way of your video being recognised and shown for free the audience often have to intentionally be looking for the video and it is unlikely people will stumble upon it and watch it.

Short films usually tackle quite controversial issues and therefore the British Board Of Film Classification would give the film a much higher age rating. This can be an issue in terms of distribution of the short film. This may effect what festivals the film can be shown at and if it is lucky enough to be shown on a government owned television channel it will effect the times that it can be shown. Most short films are likely to receive an age rating of 15 as they often tackle taboo subjects and have frequent use of bad language and violence.