Codes And Conventions Of Short Films
There are multiple codes and conventions for short films that are constantly followed within the media industry.
Characters are an obvious convention in any type of film and are an extremely important aspect in the terms of narrative. Short films do tend to only have two or three main characters in order to allow the audience to relate to them in a short amount of time. There is therefore no need to create deep back stories as it wont be able to fit in in the time slot. Characters have to have a strong presence in short films in order to make an impression as there are a small amount of them.
Nearly all short films contains twists. These make the short films interesting as without, there wouldn't be any excitement in the short period of time for the audience.
Short films typically have a low budget due to most directors of short films being independent. A way to keep budgets low is by only have a limited amount of locations and using one to two actors. Some actions may work without being paid in order to get the film done, however depending on the overall budget, actors may receive a small amount pay. For my own short film, a low budget will needed to complete it.
Short films are typically 'short' and tend to be only 5 to 10 minutes in length. If they were longer, they would be called a feature length.
Concepts- Short films usually are based around an everyday situations that the audience is able to relate to. For example, the film 'Edge of seventeen' is based around a high school junior. People of the ages 11-18 are able to relate to the situations that occur within the film as they have experienced similar ones throughout their time at high school or through teenage life. Some people may be able to relate to certain aspects more than others, however the overall concept of the film is still aimed at a certain age group who can find comparable situations.
Todorov's theory of equilibrium is applied to multiple short films in the industry. Although it is not a reliable theory for narrative as their are many other theory's, many people tend to edge towards this one within their films. His theory is:
Short films tend to be distributed through film festivals rather than in big cinema's. Many independent films will also be distributed through the internet as a way of getting their film out to a wider audience. A large amount of directors will use YouTube as a form of distribution for their products as YouTube is continuously growing and is an extremely effective way to get their products out to their target audiences.
They tend to have a small and specific audience because of the lengths and plots of short films compared to mainstream films.
Characters are an obvious convention in any type of film and are an extremely important aspect in the terms of narrative. Short films do tend to only have two or three main characters in order to allow the audience to relate to them in a short amount of time. There is therefore no need to create deep back stories as it wont be able to fit in in the time slot. Characters have to have a strong presence in short films in order to make an impression as there are a small amount of them.
Nearly all short films contains twists. These make the short films interesting as without, there wouldn't be any excitement in the short period of time for the audience.
Short films typically have a low budget due to most directors of short films being independent. A way to keep budgets low is by only have a limited amount of locations and using one to two actors. Some actions may work without being paid in order to get the film done, however depending on the overall budget, actors may receive a small amount pay. For my own short film, a low budget will needed to complete it.
Short films are typically 'short' and tend to be only 5 to 10 minutes in length. If they were longer, they would be called a feature length.
Concepts- Short films usually are based around an everyday situations that the audience is able to relate to. For example, the film 'Edge of seventeen' is based around a high school junior. People of the ages 11-18 are able to relate to the situations that occur within the film as they have experienced similar ones throughout their time at high school or through teenage life. Some people may be able to relate to certain aspects more than others, however the overall concept of the film is still aimed at a certain age group who can find comparable situations.
Todorov's theory of equilibrium is applied to multiple short films in the industry. Although it is not a reliable theory for narrative as their are many other theory's, many people tend to edge towards this one within their films. His theory is:
- He believed that narrative starts with an equilibrium
- An action or character disrupts the equilibrium
- A quest to restore the equilibrium begins
- The narrative continues to climax
- Resolution occurs and equilibrium is restored
Many people also follow his theory that narrative has to be in chronological order.
Equilibrium- everything is Normal
Disequalilibrium- a problem occurs
New equilibrium- problem is solved, back to normal, however change is noticeable
recurring themes: voice over/narration are often used in short films to give the audience information easily or quickly.
Short films tend to be distributed through film festivals rather than in big cinema's. Many independent films will also be distributed through the internet as a way of getting their film out to a wider audience. A large amount of directors will use YouTube as a form of distribution for their products as YouTube is continuously growing and is an extremely effective way to get their products out to their target audiences.
They tend to have a small and specific audience because of the lengths and plots of short films compared to mainstream films.
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