However, along with film festivals, short films are also distributed through competitions and the internet. 'Sign Language' by Oscar Sharp was the winner of the Virgin shorts competition and so got its recognition through the competition which also helped promote the director. Most directors start of as working on short films to become recognised and then go on to work on feature length films.
Due to the internet, distribution and accessability of short films has become easier. This is due to the fact that the internet is now used by many people to communicate across the world and viral distribution has had a major part in ditributing short films. The growth of the internet distribution issues means that short films are something which need to be 'sought out' by audiences and its normally people with a real interest in film and film makers that watch short films and are interested in them. These people are a lot more aware and accepting of the 'nuances' of short film that make them stand out from feature length film.
Moreover, for many of the short films that I have analysed, the intended audiences have mainly been teenagers. Many of the short films contain a message which analyse contempory issues in society which involve teenagers such as 'Double Take' by Toa Stappard which communicates a message of crime and justice and also 'Sold' by Nadia Attia which is about a teenager who is sitting at home doing nothing and literally wasting his life. This film shows the consequences to teenagers of what could happen if you sit at home wasting your life and not getting a job or a good education and so encourages teenagers to work hard in order to become a successful person in the future. The synopsis is Jon Smith has all but given up on his dreams and aspirations. It's only through a strange shopping channel experience that he finally buys into the notion of happiness. The idea for 'Sold' ( which was Nadia Attia's first narrative film) was born on a lazy afternoon in front of Sky Tv at a friends' house, and was partly inspired by the film 'Napoleon Dynamite' and the director Michel Gondry. It was shot on HDV, and Nadia hired a crew & cast (including Trevor from 'Trev & Simon' fame!) and it was partly shot at Ealing Studios on a set they built from salvaged materials.
What is more, the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) certificates would affect the potential audiences beacuse certain certificates contain certain features and characteristics. For example, an 18 rated film can only be viewed by adults. Nobody younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18-rated VHS, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, UMD or game, or watch a film in the cinema with this rating. Films under this category do not have limitation on the bad language that is used. Hard drugs are generally allowed, and strong violence/sex references along with non-detailed sex activity is also allowed. Therefore for our short film, a certficate of 18 would not be approppriate. Whereas, a film with a certificate of 12 can be viewed by nobody younger than 12. Films in this category may include infrequent drugs, infrequent use of strong language, brief nudity, discreet sexual activity, and moderate violence. So a 12 certificate could be appropriate for our short film as we can target teenagers which is generally the main audience for short films as they contain comtempory issues and will allow us to focus on all teenagers in the modern day society. Furthermore, a 15 can be viewed by nobody younger than 15. Films under this category can contain adult themes, hard drugs, strong words, moderate-strong violence/sex references, and mild non-detailed sex activity. Therefore a 15 may also be appropriate for our short film however, a 15 certificate will not allow the younger teenagers to view the film and will only allow us to focus on the older teenagers.
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