2. Characters
Short films tend to only have a maximum of three
main characters. This is because the short length of
the film means there is limited time to create deep
backstories and develop narrative so by having less
characters this means the audience can relate to them
more as it is easier to follow.
An example of this is the 1956 short ‘The Red Balloon’.
This film has just two main characters called Pascal
and Little Girl who are enthralled by a magical red
balloon which takes them through a tour of Paris.
3. Low budget
Short films are nearly almost always low
budget, perhaps with the exception of the
Pixar shorts such as Luxo Jr. Most short films
are low budget as they are produced by
independent directors with no funding and
are used as an artistic expression rather than
for commercial success. In addition, directors
use less actors and few locations to keep costs
down. Nowadays YouTube and cheap
recording equipment mean short films can be
produced for even less.
An example of a short that is low
budget is Irish sci-fi ‘Ninety
Seconds’ The film received rave
reviews despite having a limited
budget.
4. Length
the Academy of Motion Picture
Arts and Sciences defines a
short film as "an original
motion picture that has a
running time of 40 minutes or
less, including all credits".
Examples of short film length-
Out of my intention (2008)- 24 mins
Runaway (2010)- 35 mins
The Boxer (2012)- 7 mins
Shooter (2000)- 14 mins
Remembrance (2001)- 19 mins
Busy Bodies (1933)- 19 mins
Shivering Shakespeare (1930)- 20 mins
The defining feature of short films are their length.
This means they have less time to develop a
narrative so are generally more quirky and artistic
than traditional feature films.
5. Twist
Short films nearly always have a twist. This is done
so the short films appear interesting as otherwise the
narrative may be boring and uninteresting due to the
length of the film.
An example of this is the
short film “The Black
Hole” in which a man
finds a piece of paper
with a black hole on
which unbeknownst to
him has magical powers.
6. Situation
Short films tend to take an everyday situation such
as an office (The Black Hole), school or home and flip
it to create an interesting narrative. This takes
something everyone can relate to and makes it
something we can’t relate to which keeps us
interested.
7.
Todorov’s theory of Equilibrium is usually applied
to short films.
Equilibrium- Everything is normal
Disequilibrium- A problem breaks this equilibrium
New Equilibrium- Solved, but everything has
changed.
Todorov
