Some reasearch into shorty films for A2 Media

1. Short Film Research
By Esme Roberts

2. What is a short film?
• A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a
feature film. Although no consensus exists as to where that
boundary is drawn, 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."

3. Why are they created?
• Short films are often screened at local, national, or
international film festivals and made by independent
filmmakers for non-profit, either with a low budget or no
budget at all. They are usually funded by film grants, non-
profit organizations, sponsor, or personal funds. Short films
are generally used by filmmakers to gain experience and/or
prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films
from private investors, entertainment companies, or film
studios.

4. Codes and Conventions
•Character count kept low, between 2 and 3 characters as length of film
does not allow appropriate time for complex character backstories and
understanding
•Most of the time a twist is featured in the narrative in order to make a
short storyline seemingly more interesting.
•Little/no budget as film makers are often independent and not funded.
Thus, very often, actors work unpaid which also keep the budget down.
•The narrative is often realistic to once again keep the budget down and
make the film easy to relate to.
•Tzvetan Todorov's theory of the 'Equilibrium' is often used.