I thought it would be a good idea to create a list of the typical codes and conventions that you would find in a short film to help me when I get started on my transitional piece, which is to create a 1 minute short film before starting my main piece of work. Here is a list of the conventions that I would need to follow to create a successful short film:
1) Characters
Usually the director sticks to 2 or 3 main characters. Being relatively short in length, short films don't have time to create a deep back story or history of the characters involved, therefore character numbers are kept low to allow the audience to relate to the characters in the small amount of time. When I looked at slinky a short film there was only 2 characters.
2) A Twist
Usually short films contain a twist to make the story line is more interesting and have a new dimension to the short clip, If it did not have a twist then it would be rather boring and have no story line so people will not be interesting.
3) A low budget
Directors normally have a low budget as they are independent so they do not have a lot of money to work with. They keep the budget low by having only a couple of actors and sticking to the same location. Having such a short film allows costs to be little to nothing as some actors will work for free if they like the story line.
4) Length
Short films are typically 'short' they have a maximum of 40 minutes if it is longer then it would be a feature length film. Stereotypically they are normally 5-10 minutes long with my final task having a maximum of 5 minutes.
5) Everyday situations
It is easier for the audience to relate to the story if they are about everyday situations, however there is normally a twist with in it.
Some other codes and conventions that you might see:
- being filmed on a handheld steady cam
- manmade sound
- natural lighting
- special costumes
- simple cuts
- voice overs
- simple title
- not a lot of dialogue
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