Codes and conventions of a short film

Kirsty Hardy

Candidate number: 5078

Linear narrative

• I have noticed that most short films have a simple linear narrative with a beginning, middle and end. This is because they are so short that if they had disjointed narrative, it wouldn’t make sense and confuse the audience.

• This is the same narrative I will have to make it understandable for the audience.

Main Characters

• Due to the film being so short the story is only able to focus a maximum of 3 characters. This is to ensure that the audience know the character/s well enough to understand them.

• I will have One Main character, with some interaction with 1-2 characters, which don’t play a major part to keep the audience focused on the main story.

Event

• Like most linear narratives there is often an event/situation that takes place soon after we are introduced to the film. This needs to be solved/corrected which tells the story. This makes the film interesting and like a story.

• I will be presenting this situation after the main character is locked into the room

Small budget

• A small budget usually means that films normally take place in only a few locations to keep the plot simple and reduce expenditure, as well as using inexpensive props and few actors.

• I will be working on a minimum budget as I can not afford to find the perfect locations and actors.

Time length

• The average length of a ‘short’ can vary between 5-10 minutes, this is because the storyline is short enough to make it short.

• I hope for my short film to be approximately 5 minutes including credits.

Every day situations, flipped on the head

• As the storyline needs to be simple and short, the setting often revolves around something that we know happens every day: (shopping/working/school). This is so that we are familiar with the situation and doesn’t need time to explain.

• I will base my story in a school and in a house to keep scenes familiar.