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1. Short Film
Overview to Short Film

2. CODES & CONVENTIONS OF SHORT FILM
Short film refers to any film not considered a feature film in terms of
length. Although length is the most obvious characterisation of a short
film, films of this type will share codes and conventions which seperate
them from other forms of video.
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3. Length
A short film will most commonly last between 3 to 20 minutes,
however the length varies greatly and can last as little as a
minute and up to 40. Short film competition Depict! specifically
asks for films lasting 90 seconds, playing on the idea that
feature films will usually last 90 minutes.

4. Storylines
Storylines are generally kept simple and easy to follow and
will be based over a short period of time. The narrative is
usually condensed and there will be limited dialogue. Instead
characters will be developed through images and actions
rather than extended and lengthy dialogue sequences.
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5. Character
Due to the length and simplicity in storyline, a short film will usually
introduce between 1 and 3 main characters as creating back stories and
developing characters is again limited. This is also done in order to keep
the audience engaged and be able to follow the storyline without being
bombarded with information and new people. Short films will usually last
only long enough to connect the audience to few characters and will not
have a developed enough storyline to hold a large cast.

6. Twist
Including a twist is a common
convention in short film although this
is not a general rule and not all short
films will use this format. However, a
twist allows the film maker to tell a
short story in an interesting way and
they are able to do this as the short
storyline gives less clues to the
ending.

7. Creativity
Overall short films allow for much more
creativity and abstraction. They will often be
made up of a number of creative shots and
soundtrack making up an artisitic and
sometimes quirky piece. The director or film
maker are able to use more creative flair
placing their own signature look on the piece
as there is less pressure to make a
profitable film for a large audience.Well
established directors such as Matin
Scorsese, Spike Jones and Tim Burton,
make short film despite their popularity and
success in mainstream for these reasons.

8. Budget
Budgets for short film are usually quite low.
Short films are unlikely to make any money
which effects the amount spent in the making
and they are often made by first time film
makers or experiemntal artists and film
makers with no or little funding. This effects
the overall look of the film creating a more
home made or arty look. There are
exceptions of this however where a film
made on a low budget looks near
professional and others which will have a
large budget to spend on making.

9. Niche Audience
Short films have a lot smaller and niche audience than mainstream
due to the creative nature, length and simple storyline. Although
laregly accessable, many are not aware of short film. This is laregly
due to popularity decreasing through the 30’s onwards, and the
limited access in mainstream forms such as prime time television
and cinema. Short film also varies in genre and style and will
appeal to a much more specific audience.

10. Emotion
Short films are used to convey a strong
emotion to the viewer whether this is
laughter, pleasure, sadness or anger,
sometimes making comments on morals or
society in the process. Short films can be a
lot more powerful in this way as it is easy to
make something appear differently to how it
is or to get the audience thinking about a
particualr topic without having the time to
make up their minds while watching, leaving
them to contemplate after the film has
finished. There will also usually be a stronger
connection to the characters as they are
shown closely throughout, with the creativity
allowing for more humour and pleasure.

11. Online distribution
Unlike mainstream film, short films are laregly accessable for free through the
internet. There are many sites who distribute short films online from
independent to established sites such as the BBC. This is the easiest and
most effective way for short film to reach audiences as they are very rarely
shown at cinemas or on television. DVDs can be brought with selections of
short films on, however, they are most widely accessed over the web. As
short film is based much more on creativity and expression rather than
mainstream and profit, it is much more important for the film maker to reach a
wide audience and distribute films to them for free.

12. Opposition to mainstream
All of these codes and conventions largely make short film in
opposition to mainstream. They hold a very different format
and style to each other and short film will usually try to give
audiences a different outlet of film to the mainstream.