Codes & Conventions of a Short Film

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits"

Short films can be professional or amateur productions. Most of them are around 10mintues long, however the time frame does vary. Short films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals e.g: Cannes, Sundance etc. Short films are often made by independent filmmakers for non profit, either with a low budget, no budget at all. Short films are usually funded by film grants, non profit organizations, sponsor, or out of pocket funds. These films are used by indie filmmakers to prove their talent in order to gain funding for future films from private investors, entertainment companies, or film studios. They are usually made as stepping stones for new film makers.

They usually contain:

• Small number of characters - Predominately 2 -3 characters; of which one of them is the main. Due to the film being short there is not enough time to create a back story for the characters. Therefore character numbers are small to allow the viewer a small amount of time to relate to the characters.
• The ‘twist’ – short films nearly always have a ‘twist’ to the storyline. This twist is used to make the film more interesting due to its short time frame.
• Music – music is used as an emotional catalyst that often heightens the emotions that the viewer and/or the actor are feeling at the time in relation to what is playing on screen. It creates the atmosphere for the scene.