Research: What's a short film?

Branching into A2 Media is undoubtedly a big step up, thrusting me into deeper waters and leaving me sluggishly wading through the mess that is my unchallenged mind (because of course, the holidays provided a breather, academically not burning the cog-work of my brain). So here I am, having been given the brief and deciding what I am to do with the year. I can either choose to spend my time producing a trailer, or to go with a short film. I've chosen the latter.

So...what is a short film?

Fundamentally the greatest difference between a full-length feature film and a short film is the timing. A short film will last no more than an hour and can be as short as 3 minutes. In my case, the course requires me to make my movie in 5 minutes. As for the form and structure of the narrative, you have to compress the story into a limited space of time and there is obviously an inability to make a really in-depth movie. However, the structure is relatively similar. The intro will begin on a low, introducing the audience to the characters and eventually mid-way through the film, it will reach a climax before the problem is resolved at the end. The slight difference with some short films however, and particularly those that do last around 5 minutes, is that the films end on a disconcerting note, much like when you watch a horror movie and you think it's over, until suddenly you see the reflection of a paranormal being which raises more questions than those answered. In contrast to full-length feature films, short films don't have to begin with the titles and in some cases, the title and credits don't come until the end of the film. It's clear that essentially, short films have different conventions to full-length feature films.

In relation to distribution, short films are usually used to determine the success of a future, full-length feature film. Take Warp Film's Tyrannosaur for example; the success off the back of short film, Dog Altogether, helped the company establish that creating Tyrannosaur would enable them to raise substantial profit rather than resulting in the film being a flop (and causing a considerable loss of capital). In other cases short films are distributed for the same purpose as feature films: to entertain the audience. Critically, short films are just as important as any ancillary product because they are promoting the work of a film company.