Short Film is Dead? Long Live the Short Film!
I came across this post, written by Mike Jones, Lecturer in Screen Studies at the Australian Film Television and Radio School that quite persuasively argues against short film as a learning experience and as a calling card for new filmmakers. I recommend that you check it out but I’ll summarise the main points here.
- “The relevance of short film structures, patterns and conventions to feature and long-form drama are tenuous at best.”
- “A short film doesn’t demonstrate you understand audiences and genre and know how to attract an audience.”
Mike finishes by pointing at webisodes as the solution.
I disagree.
Not with the web series point necessarily but with the idea that short film is simply about experience and calling cards. Short films are a medium in and of themselves. The very first movies were short films from which sprang the structures, patterns and conventions that created the grammar of long-form visual drama. The point of similarity between the two is action. Novels have thought and feeling, theatre has dialogue and film has action.
Regardless of length, the story is told through action however large or small that action may be. If you can’t tell the story in 10 minutes, how can you tell the story in 90 – 120 minutes? It’s no easy task but the underlying principles of concise yet descriptive writing and visual direction is the same. Of course the short film is shorter and sharper, but the task of creating a truly great short film is tough… as it should be. To be a learning experience.
The difference between feature and short is depth. A short cannot turn over every narrative stone, every subtle nuance of theme and mood. It can only shock, surprise and inspire you. Yet to choose those best moments and make those right choices the short filmmaker must still look at every ‘angle’ (pun intended).
Mike makes this point himself “A short film doesn’t prove you know how to develop story over time or construct consistent dramatic tension and release.” Yet in his enthusiasm for the point he misses it. Short film is a step, a learning experience towards developing story over time and learning about dramatic tension and release so consistency can be achieved.
If length is such an issue… why are feature films getting shorter?
Moving on to genre and audience… in order to get short films in front of the people who will want to see them, the filmmaker has to work hard … to find out what is out there, to find what (if any generic slot) the film will get in to. If the short film isn’t getting in front of the right audience at least 50% of the time I’m sorry but the filmmaker isn’t trying hard enough. I would guess that all the success stories you hear about filmmakers getting a big break from their short film is because they learnt this fact through 10, 20 or 100 previous short films gathering dust on their shelves.
Its not like the feature film market is any easier… if Slumdog Millionaire nearly didn’t get in front of its audience, what chance does the mico-movie have? It is a hard learning curve. You have to be good!
Just my tuppence worth 
DT
Other posts by David T Guest
While love may be a strong word… I love you David!
Thank you for responding to this post with verve and the truth.
Long Live The Short Film!
Roberta Munroe
Author, How Not To Make A Short Film: Secrets From A Sundance Programmer
Thanks so much for your thoughts on my post, DT. You raise very valid points. But you seem to have misinterpreted the point of my argument.
To be clear I wasnt at all suggesting “that short film is simply about experience and calling cards.” The short film has many uses and purposes and is a worthy format on its own, always will be. But, My deliberately provocative argument is simply that if the short is Intended as a Calling Card or Learning Experience for an emerging filmmaker, it is not very good at either and that potentially the Webisode series is a better Calling Card and Learning Experience.
Cheers
Mike
Thanks for the love Roberta!
And thanks to you Mike for a provocative post. Whilst I enjoy the short film format as both a filmmaker and from an audience point of view, my post was a direct response to yours. I do believe that the short film is a great learning experience.
I have worked with people who come directly to features and those who have worked on shorts. I’d have to say they are both equally lost in the size, scope and depth of moving through the phases of production and distribution but the short filmmakers have an edge in terms of a frame of reference and are more ready to step up.
The webisode is an excellent format but the commitment of funds and time is a little more complex for some who are just starting out.
Thanks for the response!
Hello Short Film community far and wide!
Great post DT and good work in stirring up the discussion. The short film is indeed a medium all unto itself and one that, done well, can show a glimmer of future feature film talent – or talent for cinematic storytelling regardless of the medium. Shorts films are relatively easy to get in the can and post out of pocket by a new filmmaker wishing to prove their worth. On the other hand, I’ve seen some recent shorts that have left me gape mouthed with their visuals, a far cry from the self-produced indie shorts from a few years back.
The reason, and I think the sole reason, they keep getting relegated to ‘calling card’ and ‘training’ status is that no smart distributor/studio has yet figured out how to make money by marrying shorts with features. Because no one is yet buying a house from making short films, they keep getting called ‘practice’. You’d think with the deluge of short film festivals on the market and an industry craving downloadable entertainment chunks, you’d see someone put shorts back into theatres along with features.
He or she who first pulls the trigger on that idea will change how we perceive short films, until then they’ll remain practice (though, if some of these films I’m seeing are just practice, then we’ve got a very advanced class!)
I failed to recognize Pixar, who has been successfully marrying short films with features since the beginning.
Studios of live action features might benefit from the plethora of amazing short films by following Pixar’s model.
Just saying.
I know exactly what you mean. Although the post was really about the practical benefits of filmmakers honing their craft and experimenting I have been noodling on a post regarding the medium of short film itself. I too have been bowled over by the creative uses of filmmakers workig within the short form and how striking and impactful they can be as self contained stories.
With attention spans dropping and the continuing growth of both internet distribution and platforms on which to view content, short film is definitely the future.
Either as individual stories or episodic webisodes audiences do seem to be crying out for short film.
Hmmm…