Matthew Leigh G324 Advanced Portfolio

A short film is best described simply as a film too short to be considered a feature film. While this is vague, so are the specifics of what a short film has to be. A short can last anywhere from two minutes to forty-five minutes, and can contain absolutely anything in terms of genre, narrative, themes etc.

In the early days of film (before 1920) longer films were rare, probably due to technological constraints, and so what would be today construed as a 'short' were all movies consisted of. However, after 1920 films began to run for longer, and 'feature' films were born. During these early days of feature films, the films would often be preceded by a short animated cartoon, much in the same way 'Pixar' show a short film before each of their animated feature films in the modern day.

Short comedies were also popular in early cinema, with the Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy films being prime examples of these. It is not until relatively recently that films became true artistic devices, with as much diversity and freedom as any other art form. But that is indeed what short films have become. As they tend to be low cost and much easier to make than feature length films, short films have become a means of self expression for many, as the creators don't need to have much commercial appeal, since they aren't having to justify massive budgets with ticket sales. For a while this meant that short films were hard to come by outside of dedicated festivals, but now with sites such as 'Youtube', digital distribution has increased the circulation of shorts, and has inspired many more people, professionals and amateurs alike, to express themselves through the medium of film shorts.