Codes and Conventions of a Short Film

Although we are doing a music video we thought it would be a good idea to research the codes and conventions of a short film as this will help us develop an understanding of what methods of filming we would use and what type of storyline would suit the song. This is because every music video needs a set storyline much like a short film. To get an understanding of the short film genre, we decided to look at the structure and conventions that originate in a short film.

The storyline behind most short films consists of a cohesive narrative and a format that makes the film easy to understand in a short space of time. Most short stories, like music videos, base around a main character that follows a journey to come to a conclusion. Because of the short amount of time that a short film has, the storyline normally contains of one plot line. Short story’s try to create a shocking or dramatic ending which stuns the audience so that they remember it in the future. The main idea of a short film is to keep the storyline simple. This seems strange but it is extememly hard to make a successful short film that is to complex because the audience will be confused and may not know what it is about.

The mise en scene and location are important when trying to make the short film successful. Directors of short films try to make locations stereotyped as this helps the audience quickly understand what the character and storyline is like instantly as there isn’t a lot of time available. This also connects to the character being stereotyped. In many media films the character is stereotyped to a certain extent but in short films the director exaggerates the stereotype to get the point quickly to the audience.

The distribution of short films are very different to the distribution of feature length films. One reason for this is the length of the film itself. Short films normally last for around 5 to 10 minutes, whereas feature length films would last around 90 to 180 minutes. This is important when distributing short films because most people would not go to a cinema and pay money to watch a 5 minute short film. The normal place where short films are advertised and distributed are for educational purposes, film clubs, television and festivals. Apart from these methods, short films can be shown on online streaming sites such as YouTube.