Short film Research

Definitions

Too short to be a feature film (40 minutes or less according to Academy of Motion picture Arts and Sciences)

Often low budget, non-profit by independent film-makers wanting to prove their skill.

History

Since 1920’s – common due to limited technology

Animated cartoons became short subjects.

New inventions provided more feature length films, providing little purpose for short films.

Short film is now a medium for students, independent film-makers and for speciality.

Today

Nowadays, shorts are most common as cartoons (CBBC animation: Leon the Lion etc.)

Disney and Pixar sometimes use shorts as an extra with their film to accompany their animated feature such as For the Birds (Monsters Inc), and Geri’s Game (A Bug’s Life) which are likely used to experiment with animation like ‘The Lamp’ to test lighting.

Festivals and events

There are also many awards and short film festivals carried out by companies such as BBC which help to promote budding directors to go on and do feature films.

Other uses where short film appear are at events such as Red Nose day and Comic Relief where a series of short entertaining clips are used to encourage people to donate for the charity they are starring in. For Example:David Tennant and Catherine Tate in a Classroom