Conventions of a Short Film

Characters

Characters is an Obvious Convention as ‘Short films’ tend to stick to 2 or 3 main characters. Being ‘short’, short films don’t have time to create deep back story or history for the characters, therefore character numbers are kept low in Short Films to allow the viewer to relate to the characters in the small amount of time. For Example, Hirsute is a Short Film staring the same Actor, yet play two different Characters.

Twist

Films nearly always contain a ‘Twist’, the reason for twisting the story-line is to make the short film more interesting as they are so short. Without a Twist in a Short Film the story-line would simply be uninteresting. For Example, The Black Hole is a Short Film About a normal night at the Office, however the twist is about a Black Hole with Unique Powers.

Budget

Short Films typically have a low budget. This is based on the fact that most Short Film Directors are independent without the sufficient backing in terms of funding. They keep their budget down by sticking to one or two locations and only using one or two actors. Having such a short film allows costs to be little to nothing in some departments as some actors will work for free if they really like the story-line For Example, The Black Hole is a Short Film based in an Office with only one Actor/Character; meaning small budget.

Length

Short Films are typically ‘Short’ and usually have a max length of 35 Minutes. They are typically around 5 – 10 Minutes in Length. If these ‘Short Films’ were any longer they wouldn't be classed as ‘Short’; and would be named Feature Length. Examples: Connected – Short Film / 7:30. Films usually take an everyday situation that we can all relate to and then flip it on its head in some way. This allows the viewer to relate to the Short Film, but at the same time intriguing the viewer. For Example, The Black Hole is a Short Film Based in a Normal Office Environment, But Special Powers are revealed by a ‘Black Hole’.

Progression of Time

Due to short films being 'short' the directors will need to speed up the footage in parts of the film which aren't as important, this will then reduce time. Other methods such as split screen, time lapse and cross cutting are all used to reduce time wastage and to keep the short film flowing quickly whilst maintain viewers interest. 

Emotion

Short films are used to convey a strong emotion to the viewer whether this is laughter, pleasure, sadness or anger, sometimes making comments on morals or society in the process. Short films can be a lot more powerful in this way as it is easy to make something appear differently to how it is or to get the audience thinking about a particular topic without having the time to make up their minds while watching, leaving them to contemplate after the film has finished. There will also usually be a stronger connection to the characters as they are shown closely throughout, with the creativity allowing for more humor and pleasure.

Online distribution

Unlike mainstream film, short films are laregly accessable for free through the internet. There are many sites who distribute short films online from independent to established sites such as the BBC. This is the easiest and most effective way for short film to reach audiences as they are very rarely shown at cinemas or on television. DVDs can be brought with selections of short films on, however, they are most widely accessed over the web. As short film is based much more on creativity and expression rather than mainstream and profit, it is much more important for the film maker to reach a wide audience and distribute films to them for free.

Todorov Theory

Equilibrium is typically applied to Short Films.

Equilibrium - Everything is normal

Disequilibrium - A Problem Occurs

New Equilibrium - Problems is solved, Everything is back to normal; however a change is noticeable

Here is a great video which I found on YouTube - Not only does it show great scene with conventions but it also comments and analysis on them.