The Most Prominent Short Films in History - Case Study Example

Name Course Lecturer Date Short Films What is a short film? A short film is generally a film that is about 20 to 40 minutes in length. The short film category has n today’s age of film making become a genre of its own, and although there is no standard length of time stipulated, it is defined by the American Motion Picture Academy as any film that is less than 40 minutes. Short films are usually documentaries which explore controversial or politically sensitive subjects. In today’s world, social and environmental themes have become common for short film makers. The proliferation of short films has been as a result of the availability of camera and editing technology which is today more affordable and thus more accessible to short film makers. In addition, the internet has enabled marketing of short films to become easier and even more effective that theater releases in certain cases. The term short film has been used since the early days of cinema, to refer to all possible forms of film. In the beginning when cinema was introduced to the public as moving images, all films were short. It was an interesting phenomenon for the audience back then, who were able to view short scenes of circus performers or people filmed doing anyone of the daily activities pertinent to their lifestyle back then. The length of the films was an issue as much as was the novelty of seeing the latest technological breakthroughs of the time. However, as these technologies continued to advance in the 20th century, so did the length of the films (Davies 2010). In 1894, the first short film ever made was released to the public through the kinetoscope invented by Thomas Edison. However, this was a limited view because the device was for individual viewing, and later was succeeded by projected films but all were one-shot depictions of various themes such as celebrities, current affairs and travelogues among others. One of the most prominent short films in history is the Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, released in 1895 by the Lumiere brothers. It showed residents as they fled in terror following the sound of the locomotive as it approached. The format of short films was in line with major entertainment productions at the time, such as magic lantern shows and variety acts which were held in music halls and fairgrounds. The nature of these shows was short, and thus short films were also designed to fit into the norm at the time. The early 1900s saw a lot of technological advancements in recording and editing so that film makers were able to make longer versions of the short films. One prominent version of a longer short film from the time was A Trip to the Moon released in 1902 by George Melies. However, the trend continued to change so that by 1910, the film industry gained a lot of competition and film makers begun to make longer films (Davies 2010). Short films continued to be made alongside the long feature films but they ceased to be the prominent form of films produced for the audience. However, this trend changed during the Second World War, when governments especially the British government started using short films as their tool for spreading propaganda. Many of the films showed British army men in the war, and they became highly popular although the film world was concerned that the government films were getting in the way of longer feature films that were largely American. The concern was based on the fact that the longer films showed technological advancement of the time, and diverting attention to the short films was contradicting this fact (Davies 2010). Charlie Chaplin perhaps remains one of the most popular film stars whose career started with comic short films. He created different characters that thrilled his audience on the screen albeit for a short time, but he no doubt became one of the most potent short films characters of all time (Robinson 1997 p.840). Although his films were mimes, they combined aspects of pathos, excellent acting and commentary on social issues (Robinson 1997). Chaplin’s success enabled him to establish his own studio by 1918. There are other famous actors that started their careers in short films such as Buster Keaton. The mode of films they did at the beginning entailed short films that were screened before the main feature film began. This version of short films also became quite popular so that many genres were born out of this trend including animation and non-fiction short films. The production companies, thus, established outlets whose main work was to produce short films that would accompany their feature films, although smaller companies also maximized on the opportunity and made short films exclusively. This trend started in America in 1910 and spread to Britain by around 1913. By the 1930s, the short film had died almost completely especially when television became a prime feature in many homes. The audiences of films shrunk due to the television and theaters as well as television producers adjusted by having to show few feature films as many times as possible. Besides, high production costs meant that short films were no longer a viable means of running theatre and the producers abandoned them completely. It was in the 1980s when short films began to be defined by the length of time. In addition, short films are viewed as non-commercial and producers use them to express their views on various issues including politics, environmental issues and social issues. Types of short films Short films can be classified in various ways, the most popular way being thematically. In most short film festivals, the regular categories include narrative short films, documentary short films, and animated short films. The first category may often feature films that are either based on real time situations that are non-fiction or fiction stories. Documentary films often consist of films produced about situations in today’s world such as terrorism or even people’s ways of doing various things. Other categories used in short films festivals often include drama and music video. Besides the short film festivals held around the world from where they are showcased, the internet has become a prominent platform for airing all manner of short films. YouTube is especially one of the most watched short film platforms, and it has garnered a large audience. This has been attributed to people’s interest in bite-sized pieces of information which only take a short time to watch and which can be both entertaining and educative (Davies 2010). Besides, the internet offers a platform for short film makers who cannot afford to distribute their films on DVD. Thus, even though the commercial aspects of these films has waned, they are here to stay and available in multimedia forms. Techniques used in short films Short films, although seemingly easy to create, can be quite challenging for the simple reason that unlike long films, the producer has to ensure the film incorporates all aspects of their story or information. These films used a similar structure and techniques as longer films but the turning point and other aspects such as rising and falling are quicker. The turning point represents the point at which the direction of the story turns suddenly. In a short film, these turning points have to be put at even intervals within the 40 or so minutes that the film runs. Another most important technique for short films is the fact that its entire exposition should be two to four inches of the script page, distributed throughout the script. This means that short film makers are careful not to include lengthy speeches to avoid problems with exposition. Short films just like long ones begin with a script, on which the producer writes his ideas. They incorporate all aspects of the idea as it comes to mind guided by aspects of the theme of the short film such as drama or comedy. The producer incorporates more aspects of whatever genre their film is about (WikiHow 2010). Writing a treatment is the next technique used for short films, which involves summarizing the film and outlining its goal and purpose. During this process, the producer must ensure that the script has all components and each section is fully described. The priority scenes are then highlighted and character motivations developed. Owing to the nature of the film length, short films must be conclusive besides making sense and questions that often guide this process are who?, what?, why?, where?, when?, how?. Once the producer has answered these questions sufficiently, storyboarding of individual scenes follows before shooting begins (WikiHow 2010). Finally, editing is an equally important aspect of short films because all the necessary information must be included in a comprehensible manner within the film. Editing involves techniques such as cutting pieces of the footage together as well as including music and speech within the video. Today, editing techniques are diverse and easy as well through the computer which would explain why it is easy for many people to make all manner of short films. Famous short films and filmmakers Many famous film makers today began their careers by making short films such as Tim Burton made a short film at the age of 23 titled Vincent in 1982 which run for 6 minutes. The film was about a young boy who dreams of becoming the horror legend Vincent Prince. Although this was not his first short film, it propelled him to become a successful feature film director of the Beetle Juice. One of the Oscar Award winning directors today is Martin Scorcese, who also begun his career as a short film producer. His short film of 1963 What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This? also propelled him forward in the film making industry (Filmsshort.com n.d.). As already noted above, the internet has become a good platform for short filmmakers to air their views and garner hundreds of thousands of viewers. This was true for the UK short film titled Peter and Ben, directed by Pinny Grylls. The film depicts the life of Peter who became a recluse 30 years ago, and developed an out of the ordinary friendship with the sheep named Ben (Fox 2010). Another UK short film that garnered huge viewing on the internet is the 2008 The Black Hole by Phil Sansom and Olly Williams. The film was a one man short, who makes a potentially lucrative discovery one evening at the office photocopier (Fox 2010). Ten Minutes is another short film that ranked highly in Europe, shot in 2002. The film was directed by Ahmed Imamovic, about a Japanese tourist during the Bosnian war. In the animated short film category, Kiwi has been one of the popular films, created in 2006 by Doni Permedi. It carries the story of a bird which also dislikes its country of origin, shows that even the biggest of dreams can be realized. Please is also popular with the European audience, and it is a 2004 film by Saadiya Binti as-Senee. It is about a father and son sitting on a bench talking when suddenly a sparrow lands across then bearing a message from Allah (Fox 2010). Overall, short films have run full circle beginning from the time of Thomas Edison’s kinetoscope and with online viewing through computers both of which give it a personalized experience. Besides, the fact that short films are today available in multimedia forms could be easily related to the different kinds of presentation formats that were available in the beginning of the short film genre. Although short films have moved away from being commercial, they have become more sophisticated in their production and viewing and they continue to have a wide and ready audience. The advancement in technologies has created this wide audience because there is an availability of a large amount of information especially through the internet, which has created a sense of urgency in the audience to digest multiple bits of information at the same time. Short films fit perfectly into this format, allowing their audience to watch short satisfactory films either to be entertained or educated. Reference List Davies R. 2010. The long history of short films. The Telegraph. Available from: .[11 December 2012]. Filmshort.com n.d. Shorts by famous directors. Available from: .[11 December 2012]. Fox, K. 2010. The best short films on the web. The Guardian. Available from: .[11 December 2012]. Robinson, D 1997. Charlie Chaplin biography The Oxford History Of World Cinema, Oxford, London. Stephens, D. 2007. Short film A brief critical history. Helium. Available from: .[11 December 2012] WikiHow 2012. How to make a short documentary film (Best techniques). Available from: .[11 December 2012]. Read More