Short Film

WHAT IS A SHORT FILM?

A short film, in it's simplest terms, is one that's length isn't considered to be that long enough to be a feature film, defined by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as being 'an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less'.  They are characterised by being created by independent film-makers, ranging from being amateur to professional productions - usually funded by film grants or sponsors and known to be low budget.  This therefore allows independent film-makers to gain recognition and prove talent for future films.  

Charlie Chaplin in 'The Tramp'

Short films were popular in the early days of film, specifically comedy shorts, 5-10 minute cartoons and newsreels - short comedies specifically came in series such as Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp Character.  In the very early sound and silent film era, the development and production of short films was very popular amongst all major film productions in the early 1920s.  Cartoon shorts had a longer life after the distribution of films were affected in the 1930s due to the Great Depression.  They were distributed by studios such as Walt Disney, being an implementation of lower-cost  and limited animation techniques, Warner Bros also distributing; but they also declined - Woody Woodpecker and The Pink Panther being the last regular theatrical cartoons.  

In the modern era, animated shorts continue to be distributed, such as shorts by Pixar along it's feature films before screenings. Dreamworks also seem to produce short sequels, with Shorts International and Magnolia Pictures organising an annual release of Academy Award nominated short films in theatres across the US, UK, Canada and Mexico.

BENEFITS/ DIFFICULTIES OF SHORT FILM

• Short films allow the experimentation of artistic methods and condensation of narrative/ plot in order to create an effective product; something that will grasp attention of an audience and tell a story in a small amount of time.  Methods are limited as there is only so much that you can do in the space of 40 minutes - yet this is an even more excuse to constantly have an audience on edge - creating something that will either shock or something with high comical value.  
• There are difficulties in telling a story in a few minutes, it is harder to develop a character and allow an audience to get to know them and their relations within the film.  This is due to perhaps limited time to create effective character and plots.  This applies to very short films - it takes a higher skill to be able to unravel a plot and introduce a character before it even ends.  
• They may fail to demonstrate therefore the sustaining of character arcs; a short film also does not demonstrate the makers ability to an audience the understanding of genre or construction of consistency - especially in dramatic tension/ release.