Technological Advances

Due to the fact that a vast majority of short films are produced and distributed by small and independent companies with much smaller budgets than those in, for example, Hollywood, recent technological advances have had a great and positive impact on the industry. The existence of cheaper, yet still high-quality cameras such as the Canon 6D means that short films won’t require a large budget to cover expenses of cameras. The Canon 6D was even used to film Black Swan and an episode of House.

Filming, editing and exhibition can all now be done digitally thanks to a shift away from non-linear editing methods, and Avatar leading to all cinemas finally going digital in 2009. This now means that filmmakers working on lower budgets, so primarily those working on short films, can now spend less but get the same results at Hollywood. Also, as The Guardian summarised in an article published in March 2017, audience’s tastes are changing and now they want more freedom to consume films how they want- such as downloading and streaming online. Sites such as YouTube, Short of the Week and Vimeo provide this for audiences and short films can exhibit their films essentially for free (or for a small fee on Short of the Week, but there’s a chance it could be recognised by a well-known director, production company etc), meaning it’s not much easier for them to get their films out into the world.

From the late 1990s-2005 the internet was invented, and more and more people all around the world began having home internet access. This enabled distributors to use the internet to target their audience, especially helping short films as their distribution companies don’t quite have the necessary high budgets in order to distribute in cinemas and posters globally.

Research Institutional Information and Legal Restraints

With short films it's typically small, independent companies or Universities (as they're commonly projects for bachelors or masters degrees) who fund the production of the film. A lot of producers may start a gofundme page to help build up their budget too. 
In Britain, the British Film Institute (BFI) will put money towards a certain number of films each year, although these are typically feature length films. The BFI is a charity governed by a Royal Charter. They award Lottery funding to film production, distribution, education, audience development and market intelligence and research. 

Occasionally large American companies will fund a short film, but typically this only happens if the film is a spin-off from one of their larger films/franchises. An example of this is a short film called Frozen Fever, a spin-off from an extremely popular Frozen. This was produced by Walt Disney and was shown in cinemas before films that brought in a similar target audience. Walt Disney are releasing another short later this year called Olaf's Frozen Adventure. These short films are used to keep their franchise still relevant. 

Some production companies that are well known for producing short films include Camelot Films. Camelot films is an award-winning Production Company based in Central London. They've won 20 awards and have worked with Oscar and BAFTA winning talent.

The regulatory body regulating short films is called the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC). It works as an independent, self-financing and not-for-profit media content regulator, and operates transparent, consistent and trusted co-regulatory and self-regulatory classification and labelling systems in the UK. The ratings are U, PG, 12A/12, 15, 18 and R18. All classification decisions are based on the BBFC’s published and regularly updated Guidelines. The Guidelines are the product of extensive public consultation, research and the accumulated experience of the BBFC over many years. They reflect current views on film, DVD and video game regulation.

In terms of legal restraints, copyright is a major issue you need to be aware of. This means being aware of any brands involved in your video, this can be something as small as a branded cereal box in the corner of one of your shots. Typically this is something the producers will research and sort out, whether this includes looking on the site, emailing the company or having to avoid showing the brand.

Research into History/Background of Short Films

The first films were presented to the public in 1894 through Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope and these, along with the projected films that succeeded them, were all short. As the 20th century began, improvements were made in recording and editing technology which allowed longer films to be made. Higher demand for longer films eventually resulted in feature length films being created, and they were regarded as more respectable than short films- they had the ability to include a more complex narrative and therefore attract a larger and richer audience. However, short films were not completely disregarded. They especially came into use during World War II, primarily for the purpose of propaganda. Throughout the 1950s-60s, the documentary theme and informative nature short films continued to follow played a large role in their demise- audiences were bored. Their removal from cinema programmes was very financially motivated, and by the 1980’s even short cartoons stopped being shown at the start of children’s films. Although short films were struggling with mainstream and commercial cinema, their content was (and still is) still greatly appreciated by visual artists, now commonly on websites such as short of the week or at film festivals.
Conventions associated with short film include a small number of characters, as there isn't enough time to create an in-depth character with a detailed back story. Keeping the numbers low enables short films to have characters that the audience can still relate to and/or connect with. Due to a smaller time frame in which to fit in an interesting and memorable storyline, they nearly always contain a plot twist. When brainstorming for our own film, we found it difficult to create a "purpose" for the film to have, and a twist is an easy and effective method of resolving that particular issue. Short films are also typically low budget as most of their production companies are independent. One way to help keep spending low is limit things such as props, locations and actors. Occasionally small film shoots can convince an actor to work for free if they really like the storyline, as it doesn't take up much time and can be added to their own showreel, or just be a favour for a friend (evidence towards networking being a filmmaker's best friend). Short films have a max length of around 35 minutes before being classified as a feature length, but most are around 5-10 minutes. The narrative of a majority of short films are similar- taking place in a situation a mass audience will encounter everyday and adding their own spin on it. This enables the audience to relate to the situation and feel a part of the short film, but at the same time remaining interesting. This is why the drama genre is a common theme amongst short films, as it can be made on a lower budget and easily keeps the audience interested.

The early years of film consisted primarily of pantomime styled melodrama in silent films- it was an extraordinarily popular genre as it didn't necessarily require a large budget. The 1950s saw a rise in well-known dramatic actors such as Marilyn Monroe and these films focused on character relationships and development. During the 1960s more politically driven dramas such as Judgement at Nuremberg (1961) were being made. 1970 saw the introduction of some more modern dramatic directors such as Francis Ford (The Godfather 1972) and Sylvester Stallone (Rocky 1976, Rocky II 1979). Sport dramas and intensely realistic war films. In the 1980s dramatic films put more of an emphasis on highly emotional themes such as racism. 1990 saw the release of Goodfellas (1990), a highly regarded crime drama. Dramas also began to include themes such as hope and comedy, so as to bring in a larger audience. From then until the present day, there's a high demand for drama films and a majority of short films will use that genre. 

Intro to Brief

I chose the short film brief for my A2 Media coursework as film is the platform that interests me the most, and I am hoping to study Film at degree level.

I am hoping to achieve a high quality final product, and to learn even more about filmmaking in the process. I hope for the film to be good enough so I can use it in my portfolio.