Task 2 - History/Background of Short Films

1.  In the 1910’s, short films started being made in the United States of America. They were most likely comedy as this is what made people laugh through the and post war. However, the 1930’s saw the popularity of the short film decrease. Charlie Chaplin saw the short films in 1955 rise again. Since then, Disney and other big names such as Pixar have tried making short films such as ‘For the Birds’ but the short films genre haven’t been that popular. Nowadays, its left to independent companies to produce and distribute them as it is unknown to how popular they might become.
   There are many conventions of a short film. In one, they tend to stick to 2 or 3 main characters. This is because the film wouldn’t have time to give everyone a backstory. It would also give the audience time to relate to the characters. Typically, in a short film, the producers and distributers have a low budget. So, big name actors and very rare in short films. Some films even have just actor in them to keep costs low. Locations are also kept at a minimum. Obviously, a short film is short, normally a max length of 35 minutes, Any film longer than that would be classed as a ‘Feature Film’. Most short films are 5- 10 minutes. From short films, I have looked at in the past to ones I am looking at now, they sometimes have a plot twist. This is to keep the storyline interesting.