Short Film Conventions

SUMMARY

A short film has many characteristics which determines whether the the film is 'short' or a feature. The main one being the length of the film; being if its longer than 30 mintues than its a feature film. Short films have the potential to grab and hold an audience in a short period of time but also giving a true and emotive story.

The short film catogory is becoming more mainstream with big actors joining the casts of many inclduing Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Robert De Niro starring in a 16 minute short called 'The Audition' (2015).

Based on Famous Feature Films

Other major short films include 'Frozen Fever' (2015), 'Fast & Furious: Supercharger' (2015), 'Tangled Ever After' (2012) and 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts' (2014). The convention that connects all these films are that they are based on famous feature films. All these films feature in the top 20 short films according to IMBD which is a massive achievement considering the amount of short films in the world. As a way of getting more profit; conglomerate film companies and distrubutors make these short films to give the audience more of what they love.

Title

A title is also another movie convention and this can tell the audience a lot of things. The font of the title is a major way to connote to the audience which genre the film is in e.g. spongebob squarepants font is bubble writing so it connotes that the film will be fun and the children. Unlike a feature film the title is very qucik as to not take up too much time.

Sound

Sound is a very important convention as it connotes to the audience about what the characters, storyline and genre are about. The characters voices can show the status of them and even if they are good or evil. Soundtracks are used to connect to the audience and gives them something to remember the film by e.g. 'Frozen Fever' includes a new song as a result of the success of 'Let it Go'.

Introducing Characters

Short films introduce characters very quickly as they need the audience to have an instant connection with them as the film is short. This is also done so the audience can establish the characters traits and personality. In 'Trainspotting' this is done really well as in the first 2 minutes of the film they show all of the characters and their names.

Company

The production company is also a convention in short films as it makes them recognisable and give them credit for the film. The production company also connotes to the audience about what the film will be about. For example, 'Dimension Films' mainly make thriller/horror films so the audience will know what they are watching and 'Walt Disney' make children's films which are usually adventure and fantasy films.