The document discusses conventions for the structure and elements of short drama films. It notes that short films typically begin with title cards and opening credits to identify the film and production companies. It also summarizes that short dramas commonly use low-key lighting to set a mood, tell stories in a way that leaves questions for the audience, are set in real rather than fantastical worlds, and feature character archetypes like heroes, villains and helpers. The document concludes that short films conventionally end by resolving the main conflict and showing closing credits with production company and staff names.

1. Form Research
Short Film

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3. Beginning
• Chronologically, starting at the beginning of the film, it is very typical
to see the title card of the film as a form of marketing. It links to the
cohesive marketing aspect of the project. This is because of the brand
identity created with the film and this is usually what is seen on
products made by synergetic relationships between companies. Some
credits also role to show some of the actors that are featuring in the
film. This is used because if the audience didn’t already know who
was in the film and was sceptical about watching the film, seeing
some familiar names may entice them to continue watching.
Furthermore, the production companies involved are also always
shown, this is a method of marketing their other products.

4. Form Conventions: Production Companies
• Typically, almost every film regardless of the genre will have a starting
sequence that contains all production companies involved in the making
of the film. The purpose of this is to promote and give recognition to the
companies involved. This aspect of the film gives a genuine feel to it, the
fact that there are companies that have horizontally converged in order
to create this piece of media. This isn’t always the case however, as some
of the time there are media conglomerates that are able to produce the
film without any outside help, also known as vertical convergence. For
our indie project, it is very unlikely that we would be able to produce this
from vertical convergence. For this reason the companies that we show
will be a long list of many different companies specialising in many
different areas of media.

5. Form Conventions: Title Card and Starting Credits
• Following the production companies, conventionally the next thing
that is shown is the title card of the film and the starting credits which
announce the staring characters in the film. In higher budget films,
emphasis is usually put on the more well known actors to keep the
audience gripped. This is still a method used in films with lesser
known actors because it is a chance for the audience to remember
the actors name. Title cards are a huge convention in films but they
are more commonly seen in television programmes because the show
is often reoccurring and it becomes iconic for that show. The same
can be said for films that have prequels and sequels such as Star
Wars, however, this isn’t a convention for dramas or short films so I
think we should try to avoid this.

6. Content
• After the beginning of the film, when the title card and starting
credits have rolled through, the content of the film itself is screened. I
will now explore some of the conventions of the film that makes a
social realistic drama look and feel the way that they do when we
consume them. Some of the things that make the film feel the way
they do are lighting, characters, story and some other

7. Form Conventions: Lighting
• In the majority of other drama short films, they are mostly low key
lighting. The feeling that the consumer gets when seeing this low key
lighting is a dark, hopeless feeling. This feeling can often correspond
and relate to the story of the main protagonist in the film. The
significance of the low key lighting is that it creates a mood before
any of the story has even been revealed. Furthermore, it also
indicates a minimalistic approach because it is suggesting a lack of
hope and a dull feeling. In our short film, we plan on sticking to these
conventions because although it may set a negative mood, it can
complement the story without the audience realising it.

8. Form Conventions: Story
• Typically, there are too main ways around telling a story. The first is to
tell the audience the full story through the portrayal of many different
characters and let the audience decide how they feel about the
events shown. The second way is to tell a very small portion of the
story and allow the audience to either ask questions which make
them want to get more into the community of the film or to fill in the
blanks with what they think may have happened. When done
correctly, both ways are effective but my group and I are going to opt
for the second approach because we have all agreed these are the
type of films that we prefer. Also, in a very short 5 or so minutes it will
be difficult to tell the full story of any character so this is the more
practical approach.

9. Form Conventions: Settings
• There are not really any set conventions for the setting of a drama
short film. In the examples that I have seen, the setting has ranged
from a big city to a theme park. For this reason there are no set
locations. However, social realistic films are always in a real setting, it
is never a fantastical setting. We will definitely follow this form
convention because not only will it be impractical to have to try and
figure out how we will create a fantasy setting for free, it wouldn’t
make sense to the story.

10. Form Conventions: Characters
In order to make a film feel the way it does, regardless of the genre, there are characters that
reappear in every film. This idea was theorised by Vladimir Propp. He suggested that each film
contains these different character types:
• Villain – Fights against the hero.
• Hero – Often the main character.
• Donor – Gives the hero something to aid their quest.
• Princess (reward) – Won when the quest is completed.
• Helper – Stays alongside the hero throughout the quest.
Often, these character types do not have to be an actual characters, for example the princess could
be an object or a feeling, the helper could be an animal of some sort. This is likely the structure we
will follow when creating characters because they generally are the main components of a film.

11. Ending
• At the end of the film, typically the conflict is resolved and then the
credits begin to role. In the credits, all of the people involved in the
production of the film have their names listed. The title card is also
often shown again at this point. Typically, the longer and bigger the
film is, the longer the credits will last in order to showcase each
person’s and company’s name.