Short Films: In The Making A2 MEDIA STUDIES – KIRSTY CARDCOURSEWORK PORTFOLIO – RESEARCH TASK

CONDUCT SOME ONLINE RESEARCH ABOUT THE CONVENTIONS OF SHORT FILM.

Characters Short films tend to stick to 2/3 main characters. Short films don’t have time to create a deep back story with the

characters so the number is kept to a minimum so that they can relate to the characters in a short space of time.

Ruby Rose’s short film “Break Free” is about gender fluidity and she is the only character in it as she transforms herself from a woman into a man.

Twist

Twisting a storyline makes the story more interesting as they are so short.

Love Is All You Need is a short film with a twist on homophobic values to establish what it would be like if being homosexual was the norm and heterophobia existed.

Budget

Short films typically have a low budget. They keep their budget down by using fewer locations and

actors.

Length

They are typically 5 to 10 minutes long. Short films can be a maximum of 35 minutes in length as if they

were any longer they would be classed as a full feature film.

Situation (Plot/Narrative Content)

Short films tend to stick to an every day situation that we can all relate to but add a twist in some way. This allows the viewer to relate and be drawn into the film.

Todorov’s Narrative theory can be applied to the narrative of a short film.

Auto diegetic Narrator Usually in short films there is a narrator and it tends to be a inner

monologue from the main character. At the end of Lick The Star the narrator who was the bully in the

narrative reveals the moral of the story. “Everything changes. Nothing changes. The tables turn. And life

goes on.” – this is basically a statement about suicide caused by rumours which is telling the audience that rumours pass to someone else over time in a never ending cycle.

Music

Short films have a reliance on the soundtrack as it is a key element for evoking a powerful emotive response.

The powerful discordant music in Identity builds the tension in the audience and the mystery surrounding the main protagonist as she becomes closer to becoming who she is.