Conventions Of A Short Film

Conventions of a short film include:

Characters: In short films there is much deeper focus on fewer characters, rather than a wider focus on many character as within a feature film. Practically this is due to the time constraints of the genre, but primarily this is because short films are more focused on emotion and sensation rather than action. Although there is a greater focus on fewer characters, there is always a sense of mysetery and not knowing the full deimension of these character, which keeps the viewer engaged with the action on screen.

Twist: Short films are usually defined by having a dramatic twist, keeping the suspense of the narrative and audience anticipating what will happen. Through this, the genre of a short film becomes more of an active art form rather than passive. The imact of the dramatic twist in intensified by the short length of the film. Furthermore, because of this twist the short film can often be cyclical in structure and begin to repeat itself once more, making the view question where the story actually begins and ends.

Budget: Short films generally have a low budget. This is due to the fact that the directors are independent, and so their primary means of funding is private. The budget usually can be kept small because the general construct of short films only using few actors and locations. However today, the use of a short film for commercial purposes is becoming more popular. Companies invest great amounts of money into their high budget adveritising to communicate their products in the form of a short film, for example "Scarecrow" by Chipotle. Whether the short film is artistic or coorporate, they will have an engageing emotional narrative.

Length: Short movies are generally around five to ten minutes, which makes the narrative more potent. The ratio of drama-time is much more intensified in short films in comparison to feature films. Moreover, on s cultural level, modern society is looking its attention span in this age of instant gratification. The digital revolution spurred this on. Arguably, the short film genre is entertainment responding to the changes in our society.

Situation: Short films usually take a situation that the viewers can relate to and then turn this situation on its head. The twist in the film will usually transform the viewers perception on what they believe to be familar and expose new understandings or meanings that have been lying right beneath their nose (e.g the source of the burger in 'The Ellington Kid'). Distorting the familiar, makes the viewers feel like they can relate to the narrative, and with the twist of this makes the impact greater and more intriguing. The narrative of a short film is a lot less predictable than a feature film.