What is the purpose of a short film? How do short films differ from mainstream, full length films?

The main purpose of a short film is to promote, to communicate a message and to experiment. A ‘short film’ was coined in the North American film industry in the early days of the cinema. Whilst it originally referred to films that were approximately 20 to 40 minutes in length, these days, it is more likely to be referring to a film that lasts anything between 2 to 15 minutes. The term is also used interchangeably with the phrase ‘short subject’. Some say European short films tend to depend more on visual art and plot twists. Modern short films often focus on difficult topics which longer, more commercial films usually avoid. Filmmakers benefit from larger freedoms and can take higher risks, but they must rely on festival and art house exhibition to achieve public display. Short filmmaking is also growing in popularity among amateurs and enthusiasts, who are taking advantage of affordable equipment.


Key Progressions in short film as mentioned earlier, due to video cameras and other filmmaking equipment becoming more affordable, the amount of short films made by amateur film makers is increasing. As well as this, video sharing websites such as YouTube are providing easy and above all, free ways for people to showcase their films and reach an audience. This has resulted in short films becoming more popular in recent years and there are many film festivals that are dedicated to showcasing them. An example of how the YouTube has helped an aspiring director is Fede Alvarez and his short film ‘Ataque de Pánico’. He created this film using basic computer software to create C.G.I figure and spent $300. The film was watched by Sam Raimi director of Spiderman, who offered Fede a $30 Million budget to direct a film.




http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8417789.stm This is a good example of how short films posed on social networking sites can help aspiring director break into the industry.
There is even now a digital channel called ShortsTV which broadcasts only short films.
The purpose of promoting a short film is to be able to promote film makers, for example students - or to become ‘up and coming’ (promising continued or future success). Usually, there are awards for best documentary, best animation and the best narrative short. Potential film makers can enter competitions in which they can show off their talents (such as The National Film Challenge or the British Short Screenplay Competition) or they can attend short film festivals, such as The Encounters Short Film Festival to broaden their prospects.











Tim Burton director of films such as, Sweeney Todd (2007) Alice in Wonderland (2010) was a film director who was noticed through his Short films. Today he is an awarding winning director recognised worldwide.

Secondly, it is about communicating a message to the audience. Traditionally, short films try to make a point in a short space of time. However, one cannot expand their understanding of elements of a full Feature film, such as story, character, theme myth and metaphor – this is impossible to expand on in such a short space of time.Short films are sometimes made for educational contexts so that they can be used in schools. Issues which are raised are current affairs and what most affects youth of today’s time; this can range from crime, drug abuse to teenage pregnancy.

Thirdly, short films are used for the purpose of experimenting; an artistic expression, a sort of learning experience without the overhead. Film makers use short films to try new techniques and approaches. Short film aims to serve as a demonstration of the filmmaker’s abilities. It has the express purpose of convincing financiers and funding bodies of the filmmaker’s worthiness of trust to make a longer project. A good short film should wave a red flag in the air saying “this is what I can do in 10 minutes of screen time and no money, just imagine what I could do with 100 minutes and a ton of cash!”. James Cameron created a short film of his hit film ‘The Avatar’ before making it into a feature film. Furthermore, already established film directors also make short films. Many use them as a starting ground to test out ideas and see how a story might look on screen in the future. An example would be Neil Blomkamp’s ‘Alive in Joburg’. This film was the precurser for the film length film ‘Distract 9’. It is available on YouTube and one can read about its background on Wikipedia; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_in_Joburg





In addition this film mixes the purposes of promotion and experimentation.