SHORT FILM

CONVENTIONS

• Meanings/ morals are usually used as a convention in short films. This gives the film more depth and purpose. For example, in Lovefield, the director uses tension building music, a stereotypical type of music in horror films, to give the effect that the farmer was a bad person, or had done something wrong. But in fact he was helping the lady who was in labour. This films message is to not judge, as you can easily get the ‘wrong end of stick’.

• Soundtracks/ ambient sounds/ sound effects are also used to set the scene in short films, just as they are in feature length films. By using sound the audience is engaged into the entire film experience, as this allows two of the possible 5 senses to be manipulated, vision and hearing. In ‘2am’ the score is very bizarre and strange, which fits with the story, and suites the character ‘the smiling man’. This suggests to the audience that the idea of the film is that it is abnormal. When things all start to go wrong and the younger male starts to run, the music's’ pace is quickened and makes the audience feel much more uneasy.

• Sound effects are also used in this film to create a sense of realism. This is in the form of footsteps are heard from the smiling man in the form of steps and also scrapes, which I believe makes the mood a little more sinister.

• In ‘Right Place’ it uses the clatter of the cutlery and the crockery to also relay a sense of realism, and the persistent taps of objects slotting into place exaggerates the extent of his obsession.

• Ambient Sounds are used in ‘Awake’ to relay the sense of realism in his memory of the beach. The ambient sound of the sea washing up against the shore, creates the world of the beach for the audience.

• Clichés are used in all forms of films to suggest the genre of the work presented. Using a cliché is a convenient way to quickly establish a certain tone of a film. For example in Lovefield the director used the cliché of the creaky sign and the crow to symbolise something horrible is about to happen. The crow itself symbolises death, so instantly, when we see the farmer looking shifty in the field, we already have the idea of death in our minds, so we instantly think that he is a bad person. The tattoo on his arm, of a skull also tends to symbolise death, so this all leads towards a negative portrayal of the farmer.

• Quick Build ups are used to quickly establish the plot. Because of the short length of the film, the narration need to flow at a fast pace.

• In The Gift the quick build up is used by a short series of the shots the set the scene for the rest of the film. The first shot is showing a gift, so the obvious conclusion is that he will be delivering the gift.

• The second shot is of his attire/costume, which is the stereotypical dress sense in Russia, or another cold country.

• And the next shot explains that he is in a futuristic period, as the armour worn by these two characters is not typical for the present day.

• Using this series of shots the audience already knows the plot of the story.

• The plot of a short story can be as realistic or as imaginative as you’d like. Therefore the idea for your ending can be whatever you’d like. But a common ending that many people use is a Cliff hanger, which keeps the audience guessing. For example She Said, She Said, which has the plot of a lesbian couple who have recently split up, arguing over who has what. It ends with both girls wanting each other to have a dress. Under the table they both begin to ‘play footsie’ with a smile on each girls face. This suggests that they still have feelings for each other. The film ends here with the audience wondering if they ever do get back together and what they do with the dress.

• The beauty of a short film is that dialogue is not always needed. Narration helps to tell the story. In Right Place, no dialogue is used, just ambient sound and a variety of shots to allow the story to flow fluently. Instead of dialogue narration is used at the end of the film to explain his inner thoughts, his outlook on life and his perspective upon the current situation, this leads onto the ending of the film where he explains that he is happy with his place because this allows him to do what he feels comfortable with. Putting things into their rightful places.

• The idea of Sharing an experience/memory in a short film can be shown through narration and clever camera work. In the short film ‘Late Bloomer’ the main character is looking back on his childhood, when he was learning about sex. We learn this as an older sounding male is used to do the narration and is explaining his feelings in that situation. As he explains his and his classmates actions we also see this physically from the actors. Through this we experience and also understand his inner most thoughts.

Our board we used to write the

conventions on in our lesson.