the history of short films

1. The History of the Short Film
Industry

2. What is a short film and brief History?
• A short film is similar to any other film, it has a beginning, middle
and end, however its all fitted into usually under 40 minutes.
• They are usually low budget films by independent directors.
• There are many short films which are made to make people laugh,
however people use it a lot to get a serious message across as
well.
• Short films are usually shown in film festivals and the internet these
days, as they are not as popular as they were before.
• Early films were viewed for the novelty and pleasure of witnessing
the latest technological advancements.
• Films at these times were usually one shot ‘actuality’ or ‘interest’
films, depicting scenes from everyday life.

3. Short films began in the 1910’s in the
United States of America. The films
were animated films or live action. Most
of the films were made to make people
laugh (comedy). In the 1930’s the
popularity of short films started to
decrease, however in 1955 short films
were on the rise again. The rise was
because of Charlie Chaplin, he starting
to make short comedy films again, but
since then short films haven’t really
been that popular. Pixar and Disney
have made a couple of short films in the
recent times, such as; For the Birds,
Geri’s Game and The Lamp.
The history of short films

4. Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1895)
One of the most famous
films of this time in cinema
was the Lumiére Brothers
‘Arrival of a Train at La
Ciotat (1895)’ a single shot
film of a
train moving towards the
camera, causing some
audience members to flee in
terror as the locomotive
hurled towards them on
screen.

5. 1900 - 1910
• Advancements in recording and editing technology allowed
for longer, multi-shot films to be produced. However, these
films were still not long enough to be considered feature
length.
• Some of the most notorious short films of this time period
include Georges Méliès’s A Trip to the Moon (1902) and
Edwin S Porter’s The Great Train Robbery (1903), the latter
considered by many as the first film of the Western genre.
Both were silent films.

6. • After 1910, popularity of films grew
and therefore so did demand. This
resulted in longer, multi-reel films to
be produced and eventually feature
length films were born.
• Despite this new medium of film,
short films continued to be produced
and were often played at theatres
alongside feature lengths.
• One of the most memorable short
films of this period was ‘Un Chien
Andalou’ (1929) a silent surrealist
short film by the Spanish director Luis
Buñuel and artist Salvador Dalí.
1910 - 1940

7. 1939 – 1945
(Propaganda)
• During WWII, short
film increased in
popularity due to
propaganda videos
and war inspired
shorts such as Walt
Disney's ‘Donalds
Decision’
• Whilst this time was a
popular time for British
Cinema, the
government was
extraordinarily keen to
place its messages in
British cinemas

8. Modern Short Films
• A few mainstream short films are
still created to this day. Most
notably, Pixar continues to make
short animation films
• every year.
Most short films today are
independent, however they
• still have a strong presence in
cinema.
Every year, multiple film festivals
are held, showcasing
• and awarding the worlds best
short films.
There are even mainstream
awards dedicated to short
• films, with institutions such as
BAFTA and the Oscars
contributing to this list.
Short films are not that popular
anymore in todays media, however
they are shown and given awards in
festivals, such as the Raindance film
festival. Some people create short
films in order for charity, such as Red
Nose Day and Comic Relief, they
create a series of short films in order
to get people to donate.

9. Examples of Short films

10. ‘A trip to The Moon’
• A Trip to the Moon is a French silent
film directed by Georges Méliès and
released in 1902.
• The film follows a group of
astronomers who travel to the Moon in
a cannon-propelled capsule, they then
explore the Moon's surface, escape
from an underground group of
Selenites and return to Earth with a
captive Selenite.
• It features an ensemble cast of French
theatrical performers, led by Méliès
himself in the main role of Professor
Barbenfouillis, and is filmed in the
overtly theatrical style for which Méliès
became famous.

11. ‘For The Birds’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6g_5aThEv0
• For the Birds is a computer animated
short film that was produced by Pixar
which was released in 2000
alongside Disney Pixar feature film
Monsters, Inc.
• It won the Academy Award for Best
Animated Short Film in 2001.
• In 2012, the short was re-rendered
into 3D, and it was theatrically re-
released alongside the 3D re-
release of Monsters, Inc.
• The short was then released again
in February of 2013.

12. ‘The Present’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96kI8Mp1uOU
• The Present is an animated
short film created and directed
by German animator Jacob
Frey, alongside with Markus
Kranzler that was released in
2014.
• It is based on "Perfeição", a
comic strip by Fabio Coala
and has won awards at
several film festivals.

13. About ‘Vincent’
• Vincent is a stop motion short horror
film written, designed and directed by
Tim Burton and was produced by
Rick Heinrichs in 1982.
• The film is narrated by actor Vincent
Price, a lifelong idol and inspiration
for Burton.
• At approximately six minutes in
length, there is currently no individual
release of the film except for a few
bootleg releases.
• Vincent Price later said that the film
was "the most gratifying thing that
ever happened. It was immortality —
better than a star on Hollywood
Boulevard”.