A short film is any motion picture not long enough to be considered a feature film. There is no official consensus or definition for the length of a “short.” However, any film shorter than 40 minutes usually qualifies as a short film. A short film is any motion picture not long enough to be considered a feature film. The short films I have seen are between 1:30 and 20 minutes long which compared to some others, is quite a lot shorted.
In America, short films were generally termed short subjects from the 1920's into the 1970's when confined to two 35mm reels or less for a film of three or four reels. A few animated shorts continue within mainstream commercial distribution. For instance, Pixar has screened a short along with each of its feature films during its initial theatrical run since 1995.
Majority of short films don’t use dialogue; however some short films use dialogue to explain the story line. Also most short films are animated however there is also lots of short films with real people in it. The links on the right are a mix or animated and real life short films.
When searching for short films, I realised that there is a lot of romantic, animated films. Also, I found that short thriller and horror films were less easy to find also none of the short horror films are animated.
I have realised that all short films convey their meaning very quickly and makes it very obvious. They need to do this as if they don't then there would be no point in making the film. They need to make their story line clear otherwise the audience will be unsure what the film is about and they probably won't enjoy it. The point of the film needs to
I have chosen 2 animated, romantic short films to analyse.
One is called 'In a heartbeat' which is about 2 boys falling in love within a
school environment. It shows the difficulties of homosexuality and that some
people still feel that they can't express their feelings openly because of what
people will think.
The other film is called 'The wishgranter' which is about a little animated figure
bring two people together after they both made a wish into a fountain. It shows
a predicament in the middle of the film which he then resolves with his 'magic'.
The genre for these short films is quite obvious as both use pink or red to
symbolise love. 'In a heart beat' uses a heart which makes it even more obvious.
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This image from 'The wishgranter' is a long shot which includes the fountain; it is important because the fountain is a big feature of this film. It is between them in this shot which implies that it is the thing that brought the two characters together. The characters are positioned either side of the frame in this shot which emphasises the loneliness that they both feel however the space reduces when they are brought together.
The pink 'dust' behind them influences the audience to understand that it is a romantic film. The colour pink emphasises the idea of love.
The fact that the sky is starting to get dark represents their day coming to an end which means that they were running out of time to be brought together. The little animated figure brought them together just in time.
This image from 'In a heartbeat' is also a long shot which is used so
the audience can see the character's body language and the setting.
Their outfits reflects their age as they are wearing school uniform. It also
reflects that they are in a school setting.
The way that they are holding themselves portrays a romantic genre. Also
the use of the heart that he is holding builds on the romantic genre as well
as the use of the colour pink.
The light is shining on them which is significant because is it shows that
their relationship is important and that there is a connection between them.
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Every film has a target audience, whether it's a comedy or a horror film.
The two films I have selected both have very similar target audiences as they are similar films. They both romantic films as well as animated.
This film is about a boy called Sherwin who has a crush on another boy and he is too shy to confess, but his heart is not so reticent​. It explores the anxiety of expressing homosexual feelings in a modern society. The shy, ginger haired boy starts by running away and hiding from the boy he likes who is called Jonathan. He then hides a tree and admires the other boy from far away and he covers his heart to protect himself. His heart then comes out of his chest and pulls him towards his crush. His heart then replaces the apple that the other boy is throwing and catching with his hand; metaphorically 'playing with his heart'. This is how they first meet, the ginger boy tries to grab his heart but instead he takes the other boys hand. Sherwin's heart then moves around his crush until they get a bit tangled up and end up being very close together. He then hides to cover his feelings and not show them in front of other people as we see another student walk past Jonathan. Sherwin's heart is very keen to chase after his crush where as Sherwin is still anxious about how he feels. Eventually his heart follows Jonathan into school without Sherwin. It then cuts to his heart rubbing Jonathan's cheek in their corridor in front of lots of other students. You can see on Sherwin's face that he feels embarrassed and exposed. The other other students reaction to them realising that Sherwin likes Jonathan (shown on the left) they look down on his homosexual feelings. Eventually Jonathan finds Sherman sitting under a tree crying where he then returns half of Sherman's broken heart. It then becomes whole again. Sherman's tears go against societies view of a 'man'. The 'Wish granter' is about a little animated figure bring two people together after they both made a wish into a fountain. It shows a predicament in the middle of the film which he then resolves with his 'magic'. At first it shows the process that the coin undertakes when entering the fountain. After the man threw his coin into the fountain, the little animated figure selected the money button so the man could receive his wish. Another man then gets off of a bus and sees the fountain, in which he grabs a coin out of his pocket and flips it in the air. It then focuses on a lady who is beginning to clear away her flower shop and has a look in her tip jar to see only one coin; she then turns to look at the fountain. It then cuts to a shot of both of them walking toward the fountain on either sides with their coins in their hands. They both throw their coins in at the same time and it then switches to an image of a scanner for the little animated figure, with two hearts either side of the fountain. However when the coins go down the pipes and they get stuck. The little animated figure then has to use his 'magic' to bring them back together even after a few failed attempts.
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Typically short films last between 3 to 20 minutes, however can be as short as a minute or some times up to 40 minutes; it all depends how long the director wants it to be and how quickly their point can come across. Most short films have very simple story lines with minimal amount of characters. It's done so that the audience are able to follow the story line and not get confused about which character plays which role. If there us too many characters or a much too complicated story line, the audience could feel bombarded which could put them off. Some short films include twists in the story line however it is not a necessity. Nether the less, directors still choose to use them as they can help the director create the film in a more interesting and different way. It can help make the ending more surprising. Short films are often used to make the audience feel certain strong emotions through it. Sometimes short films are used to make comments on society and certain morals.
The genre I have chosen is romance because I find that it is something than I can be passionate about. Unlike normal films, there are many blogs and websites dedicated to short films. Since short films are rarely shown in the cinema, the directors try to target online audiences which can be very effective and very easy.
Both of the films I have researched are romance's. However I thought that 'In a heartbeat' was really obvious because of the clear use of a heart from the start. As well as the emotions that everyone who 'falls in love' feels. The pink/red colour of the heart also emphasises romance.
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Cyclical narrative structure: A film that ends in the same place it began.
Linear narrative structure: A film that includes plot, characters, setting, climax and resolution. Presents stories in a logical manner by telling what happens from one point in time to the next without using flashbacks or flash-forwards and then returning to the present.
Episodic narrative structure: A film made up of a series of chapters or stories linked together by the same character, place, or theme but held apart by their individual plot, purpose, and subtext.
Judging from the short films i have watched, many short films have a linear narrative structure. I believe this is because the films are usually really short so this is the most simple way to fit everything in seamlessly. It is probably more favoured because a cyclical or episodic narrative structure would be hard to achieve with such a small amount of time.
Here is my mind map showing that I know and understand the codes and conventions of the romance genre
This extract opens with an over the shoulder shot. The romance genre is immediately identifiable through the high key lighting. High key lighting is a very typical convention of a romance. It creates a happy and bright feeling and helps the audiences connect with the characters.
The music switches for diegetic to non diegetic as it starts playing the music out of his CD player.
The camera is at a high angle when showing him which suggests that she has the power in that situation and that he is vulnerable. He is vulnerable because he is confessing his love to his best friends girlfriend.
The age rating for this film is a 15 which is typical for a romance as its target audience is aimed at teenage/middle aged women. Since most romance films are based around females, it attracts a female audience.
The use of note cards is a very typically romantic gesture. It can come across quite cringy, however it is a good way of displaying the romantic genre.