Short film conventions - A2 Media

1. The Conventions of a Short Film
Jaymelousie Hudspith

2. Characters
Due to the length of a short film there is not
enough time to create a deep backstory or history
for each of the characters. Therefore, in order to
avoid this we limit a short story to two or three
main characters at most and in turn allowing the
audience to create bonds with the few characters.

3. Plot Twist
As a general rule, short films almost always contain
a plot twist to their storyline in order to make the
story more interesting in a short time period, since
they are generally not long enough to create san in
depth plot that interests the audience without a
plot twist of some kind.

4. Budget
Short films predominantly have low budgets, this
can be due to having an independent director
without studio funding; or in small cases they are
an amateur film production.
In order to keep the film budget low they will
typically choose as few locations as possible, and
keeping the cast as few as possible too. In many
cases the actors will work for free to gain publicity
and because it is a passion of theirs.

5. Length
Short films are named due to their unusually short
length, typically lasting a maximum of 35 minutes.
Usually a short film will be approximately 5-10 in
order to live up to their names and not become a
feature length title.

6. Situation
A short film will generally take on a everyday
scenario that most people can relate to, accept they
add a plot twist to turn the story around and to
keep the audience interested.