From the article is seems that short films were first released to inform and show people reality for instance during the second world war short films reflected what actually happened on the battlefield. They have also shown a element of art within short films, they were first shown at fairgrounds where art and culture is reflected through everything. I think short films are a good tool to put across social situations and make people aware as well as developing how to shown this in the film through artistic skills.
For instance the article talks about Salvador Dalí – whose eyeball-slicing Un Chien Andalou (1929) film would have shocked the audience and scared them as they hadn't seen anything like that before and that is the point of short films
Task B: Who is the target audience for a short film?
Short films are usually shown at film festivals and this will be the main target for the audience, due to the films being shown at festivals the target audience will be students trying to get into the industry and people already in the industry. From lessons we concluded that the main audience was for art house interested audience, I believe this is down to the fact that they are interested so make the effort to found out what short films are being showing and where, whereas mainstream audience don't need to make an effort to find out there interest in films are given to them through adverts all around us.
From the Internet I found this article http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/21/DD5KST9SF.DTL it explains how the target audience of short films have changed due to new media technologies, the short film was first shown at house parties and in classrooms, but when it was released on iTunes it received a huge audience. It appears that short films are becoming more popular and people are interested what the craze is about.
I have found this idea common that short film industry has the ability to expand plus expanding the target audience to a more mainstream audience, people want new ideas to films mainstream has been done but short films can provide the demand for new ideas.
http://articles.boston.com/2010-09-07/ae/29300788_1_filmmakers-shorts-international-carter-pilcher
Task C: How are short films distributed?
The London short film festival shows cutting edge UK independent films
this is a clip made by the guardian to explain what you can expect to see at the London Short Film Festival http://vimeo.com/33349099
Sundance Film Festival is an American film festival that feature a range of short films as well as animation, documentation and worldwide films. The short films that are featured can range from animation and documentaries the category's they include are endless. Films that have featured in the Sundance Film Festival are:
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| Aquadettes |
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| Barbie Blues |
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| Animation Spotlight |
Aesthetica short film festival is a worldwide film competition but it is help in the UK, it launched last year in November for its first film festival. The company is known for being involved in culture and contemporary art.
From all the short films I have watched and researched I have noticed that the most popular genre is drama, I think this is down to the fact that the directors of these film do not have the budget to make an action or thriller that would be substitutional. Due to the budget its easier to make a drama as they are realistic so for this reason we have chosen our genre to be a drama. Most the films we have watched range from 10-30mins long as we have a limit of 6 minutes we will have to arrange and plan our story to work consecutively as well as it making sense. Most the films we have watched have a beginning middle and end but they aren't as clear cut as Hollywood films the beginning is normally the start of the film but the character is in the middle of a problem and normally the end of the film their problem still isn't resolved as it reflects true life and our problems aren't always resolved straight away. For instance in 'Jade' it open with her swimming then it cuts to her sitting on a toilet looking at a positive pregnancy test we are introduced to her problem but it never gets resolved we do not know who the father is or what she decides to do with the baby we are just introduced to her life and two possible father figures.
Task D: How to write a good short film script
From the book Get Your Short Film Funded, Made and Seen, The Chapter Define Your Idea the best way to write a good short film script is to keep it simple this idea has been put across greatly throughout this chapter. The have emphasised on the fact that the shorts film that do the best are simple. This will help us when writing our script as we will be able to keep in mind that we need to keep it simple.
Another helpful tip when writing a short film script is that it is better to use one character in one location and the narrative is either about 3 days or in the same day, I am glad I have read this as these two tips go with our ideas for the short film we will be making. For instance we wanted the story to revolve around a young boy at school and how he copes at school, we also want to have our story happen all in one day.
Task E: Independent Research
New Boy 2007 directed by Steph Green
Steph Green displays through this film that although you may be an outsider at first it only takes a small event to ensure you bond with someone and I believe this is her preferred reading. By using children as the main characters and the reason for the story it highlights the vulnerability that outsiders can feel once faced with insiders.
Steph Green uses a juxtaposition to show how Joseph's life in Ireland is completely different to his old life but in some sense its still as hard. The reflection between his dad being shot and Joseph becoming the target of a bursting milk bottle shows how similar different worlds really are. The gun shot for his dad was used as the milk bottle hit the wall and exploded, equating Joseph with his dad.
The narrative ends happily which is quite unusual for short films as they are usually hard hitting and dramatic, but this film has an element of drama and humour is reflected through the relationship between the teacher and the students. The 3 boys develop a bond as they are victim to the teacher's anger, whereas Joseph was once the enemy. This film has a successful narrative and it manages to convey real meaning, emotion and understanding in under 8 minutes and leaves you with a new understanding of being an outsider. I feel films like this are something that I would like to create.
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