Short Film Summer Research
Definition: micro-movies, also known as short films, describe any film that is around 10mins long. The term short film refers to all short sequences of moving images and is an alternative to general feature films. These films generally have an experimental storyline, as they’re the effective realisation of one particular idea.
Expectations of a short film include…
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Small cast
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Niche audience
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Low budget
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Possible cliff hanger
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Amateur directors
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Generally unknown, as they’re rarely screened
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‘Grainy’ quality
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Meaning or moral to the storyline?
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Quick build-ups to establish the plot due to the short length of the film
Short films can be viewed via.
Media texts that are defined as short films include: cartoons, music videos, video diaries, documentaries, advertisements, trailers, avant-garde films etc. Avant-garde refers to people with new and experimental ideas/methods in art, culture or politics; they, along with experimental cinemas, have traditionally taken a strong interest in short films.
Understanding Contemporary Short Films (Summary)
There’s a growing interest in short films at the start of this century. The digital generation are getting their hands on more cheaply available equipment and finding new audiences for their visions through web streaming.
Film production companies aim to make standard feature-length films of 100mins. Mainstream exhibition is structured around two-hour slots so cinemas can maximise the number of screenings they can get on each print they have rented from a movie distributor. This therefore also maximises a cinema’s profits. However, a short film might be needed to make up the minutes in a programme or the approx. two-hour slot.
The main difference between a short film and a feature length film is that short films are 10mins and under, while feature length films are generally 100mins.
Feature length films rely on a large budget to afford professional equipment, which allows for a glossy HD finish, in comparison to a short film’s small budget, cheap equipment and grainy quality.
Along with this, smaller companies produce short films. The UK Film Council’s distribution and exhibition department worked to make non-mainstream films - mainly short films - more widely available to audiences, but the company was abolished in 2010. Film London and BBC Films now offer support and funding for short films, unlike feature length films that are vertically integrated by huge companies such as Time Warner. Companies like this enable feature length films to be widely distributed, therefore allowing for a mass audience; where as short films have a niche audience because they’re rarely screened, leaving them to be not as well known.
‘Depict!’ is an organisation that challenges aspiring filmmakers to produce films within 90 seconds. The contest proves that “micro-movies” can deliver many of the qualities and strengths of longer films, as well as adding some of their own. As far as the content of short films is concerned, there is the same variety and diversity that feature-length films provide, even though the term short film might be applied to any film of less standard.
Many short films are used to compliment the DVD releases of feature-length films and to tempt buyers with the promise of added value. Some are even broadcasted in late-night slots on television.
Short films are flexible in which they cross the boundaries of all categories of film production. Propaganda, advertising, documentary, music video, animation and avant-garde are all areas where the short film has made its mark.
Feature-Length Film Companies:
Short Film Companies:
History of Short Films
The first films, from the earliest days of primitive cinema, were brief, experimental sequences. These short films were silent, apart from the noise generated by the mechanical devices that enabled viewers to see them. Short film was, however, soon eclipsed by the emergence of the dominant mode of film production: the classical realist narrative, feature-length films.
From the 1930’s short film production became a marginalised activity usually operative only within certain restricted budget. During the 60’s there was a more stable market for short films but as the years went on, short films became minority viewing. For instance, many were scheduled into filler and late-night slots.
'The Great Train Robbery' (1903)
The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 American silent short Western film written, produced, and directed by Edwin S. Porter, a former Edison Studios cameraman.
Synopsis: A group of bandits stage a brazen train hold-up, only to find a determined posse hot on their heels.
Running Time: 12mins
'Munro' (1960)
Munro is a 1960 animated short film directed by Gene Deitch, written by Jules Feiffer, and produced by William L. Snyder. The film won an Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1961.
Synopsis: The title character is a rebellious little boy who is accidentally drafted into the United States Army. No matter which adult he tells "I'm only four", they all fail to notice his age.
Running Time: 9mins
The Future of Short Films
Short films are now emerging from the shadows of the past to find new places in the media spotlight. The convergence of media forms has contributed greatly to these new circumstances, as have modern marketing strategies that only apply to niche audiences.
Film festivals (e.g. Brief Encounter Short Film Festival) and retail industry drive to create new product lines to market to consumers; these are a significant role in short films, in order to increase visibility.
Arts Council is a funded organisation that promotes new CGI short films and the use of new technology in film.
New developments like the Digital Shorts launched by the UK Film Council have radically altered the likelihood of securing both funding and distribution for short films. The council pledge £1.5 million to produce 100 films a year and each film has to be less than 10mins.
The availability of cheap equipment has made it easy to shoot a no-budget short film with a basic camera, edit the film at home on a computer-editing package and then present it or distribute it via the web.
Research into Animation Short Films
“Animated films are ones in which individual drawings, paintings or illustrations are photographed frame by frame to create the illusion of movement when the film is shown as a sequence. This film technique is usually for children’s entertainment.”
The first animated film was ‘Humorous Phases of Funny Faces’ in 1906 by newspaper cartoonist J. Stuart Blackton. In the short film, animated hand-drawn scenes appear on a chalkboard, such as a dog jumping through a hoop. The cartoonist's hands are included in the beginning, but are later left out, using stop-motion. Stop-motion is a type of animation whereby the camera is repeatedly stopped and started; giving the animated figures the impression of movement.
Other animation techniques:
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Traditional animation – the process used for most animated films during 20th century where each frame is drawn by hand.
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Computer animation – the creation of moving images using computer technology. It includes 2D and 3D animation figures.
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Mechanical animation - includes that of animatronics (the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic) and chuckimation, where characters/props are thrown from off camera or wiggled around to stimulate talking by unseen hands.
Animation films do however have a high production cost.
Animation Short Film: Earthworm Heart
Synopsis: A cat fishing without a permit gets its just desserts.
Director: Alasdair Brotherston
Country of production: UK
Year of production: 2014
What makes animation different to any other film techniques?
Animation is different as it allows the audience to see their dreams and things they’ve never thought of in action. This genre makes storytelling even more fascinating for all, but mainly children, as it enables a creative and imaginative mind to see these animations as more than what they actually are – drawings, paintings or computerized images.
The main difference between animation and live action films is that animation is a much more uniquely visual medium, in which visuals are very often something the audience have never seen before.
How does the short film fit the ‘animation genre’?
Earthworm Heart fits the animation genre because it uses the traditional animation technique of illustrations (animal animations include: cat, crows, fish and worms) that are put together frame by frame to create the illusion of movement when the short film is shown as a sequence.
This short film has animated the animals in particular, as it has illustrated them with human-like features. The cat is displayed as being drunk on catnip and walking on two legs, as opposed to all fours, while the worms sings from beneath the lake. Along with this, the film has emphasized the theme of death through its animations. This is shown towards the end when the moon illuminates red and the ghost worms from the bottom of the lake rise and form as one bright worm. All these things draw on the animation genre, as they are non-realistic elements brought to life on screen.
By Ashley Fontaine
Other Genres of Short Films
Comedy Short Film: Get Off My Land
Synopsis: A young couple on a countryside walk meet the farmer who owns the land they're walking across.
Director: Douglas Ray
Country of production: UK
Year of production: 2007
Documentary Short Film: The Lady In Number 6
Synopsis: 109 year old, Alice Herz Sommer, the world's oldest pianist and Holocaust survivor shares her story on how to achieve a long and happy life. She discussed the importance of music, laughter and how to have an optimistic outlook on life.
Director: Malcolm Clarke
Country of production: US
Year of production: 2014
Drama (Romantic) Short Film: I Miss You
Synopsis: Love at first sight isn't always what it seems, but it's perfect while it lasts.
Directors: Anton Sheptooha & Nick L'Barrow
Country of production: Austrailia
Year of production: 2014
“Kids all over the world grow up on superheroes, what we, their parents, must remind them, is documentaries tell stories about ‘real superheroes. Superheroes are based on great people, real people, like Alice Herz Sommer.” – Nicholas Reed, Producer
This black comedy short shows what happens when you don't abide by the countryside rules - never cross private land!
Shot in Trent Park, North London.
Production Company - Beyond Tomorrow Films
"Bringing Hollywood to Australia."
Filmmakers: Alex Fitzalan, Joshua Hodgman, Nick L'Barrow and Anton Sheptooha.
This research allowed us to have an insight into the history of short films and what they're all about.