In order to understand the
conventions of short films I set out to analyse several films of different
genre. I took ones from a narrative aspect a, a documentary aspect and ones
that have been created for pure visual affect and no real story. One convention
that is predominant in a lot of short films spanning all genres is that lack of
spoken word. Therefor in my short film I have removed all verbal dialogue and instead
focused on telling a story purely by the picture and sounds focused on and
created in the day to day life of that main character. This is a key feature in
short films as it allows a director to demonstrate their ability in creating
something that is interesting to an audience purely using artistic and cinematography
skills, something I believe I have been able to accomplish. 
Another yet seemingly obvious
convention of the short film is that of characters. Short films tend to stick
to one or two main characters as they are considered too short to develop any
further characters deeply. I have obeyed this convention but reformed it
slightly. Although I only have one main actor with a supporting female
character, I used them to create two seemingly identical main characters living
in different worlds. This presented me with the task of having to create two
different backstories for the same person. However as typical with short films due
to the lack of screen time the need to develop their backstory is insignificant
and the characters present life and actions are predominantly focused on.
When creating a short film one
thing that is by far near crucial is the inclusion of a twist. This can be
anything bizarre or out of the ordinary that captures a viewer’s full attention
as with being so short it is important they do it quick and make it memorable.
I decided to do this in mine by creating the parallel universes which
interchange almost unnoticeably, I then was able to build on this by attempting
to build a poetic twist in which wealth equated to loneliness and happiness
equates to a care free non materialistic lifestyle.
Like the majority of short
films mine was independently created and therefor had little to no budget. For
this reason most short films have very few locations and minimal special
effects. For this purpose the majority of it is filmed in the same household
with mise en scene altered between the two worlds allowing me to create a budget
able yet clear difference between the two worlds. I also constructed a storyline
which used few unobtainable props and focused on a realistic yet hyper reality
which did not need any form of big budget special effects or stunts.
A key convention to the short
film in itself is the short part. Maximum length for a short film is 35 minutes
and typically they span between 5 and 10, any longer and they would be
considered feature length. This time constraint can be challenging as you are
required to build a setting, tell a story and give a conclusion all in this
short space of time. I conformed to the typical time creating mine in the 6
minute mark. I felt this was an appropriate amount of time for me to tell my
story to its best yet also keep an audience interested and entertained.
Another way in which short
films capture an audience is through the situation they create, they will tend
to tell of a realistic and relatable situation which is then flipped on its
head allowing the audience to connect with the characters yet still be
intrigued about what is going to happen next. By depicting a typical daily
routine I have created a setting in which an audience can share their
understanding of, yet by adding the factor of parallel worlds I have created a
supernatural reality which can be used to keep my audience entertained and
curious as to find out how it will result.
When creating my magazine
article there are much clearer conventions than that of my short film. This is
down to the fact that it is still image rather than moving and does not require
the medium of sound as well as picture. One way in which a magazine can be used
is for escapism therefor it was important to create an article and world in
which the reader can get lost in.
I introduced a fact file into
my article as conventionally magazines are intended to inform a reader of a
certain topic, in this instance about the short film ‘Parallel’ and it’s
leading actor Max Dowling. Whilst the article itself is full of information
about both readers tend to skim through a magazine sometimes looking for a
shorter piece of text to interpret. Therefor this small fact box is a great
tool for getting a reader into the article and ideally getting them to pursue
it more. It also tells of more intimate facts than the main article creating a
bond between Max and the reader making them feel involved and significant.
The use of pull quotes and
large close up images is also intended to draw a reader into the article and
get them interested in the story at hand. This is the predominant purpose of a
magazine after all and ideally will get readers interested in seeing ‘Parallel’
as the main purpose of the article is to promote this new short film and its
release.
Opposed to feature length film
posters I became aware that with short film ones they tend to be a lot more
simplistic, for this reason I have focused on one single powerful image paired
with the title and main actor’s name. A release date is made unnecessary as the
film be shown at film festivals rather than at the local cinema and has a more
specified audience.
I have also included all the
typical information you would see at the bottom of a film poster using the same
stylised font and format in order to create a realistic and professional
poster. The lack of information given is deliberate in order to peak an
audiences interest getting them to research and find out more about the film, as
the audience I intend to target will be interested in doing such things. This
is down to the idea that they view cinema as more an artistic form than just
purely entertainment. 
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