what is a short film

1. WHAT IS A
SHORT
FILM?
SOPHIE PURCHON

2. A SHORT FILM IS…
A short film is a film which is not long enough to be considered a
feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is
drawn, the term featurette originally applied to a film longer than a
short subject, but shorter than a standard feature film.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short
film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40
minutes or less, including all credits".

3. THE DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN A SHORT
FILM AND A FEATURE
FILM

4. LENGTH OF TIME
The obvious difference between a feature length film and a short
film is the length of time it is on for, a short film is usually around
5-15 minutes whereas a feature length film is on for an estimate of
2hours.
The main reason for this is because they both have different
purposes, a short film is meant to be quick and get straight to the
point, to show a message to the viewers, thus they are more likely
to include stronger morels and meanings behind them compared
to feature films.

5. BUDGET
Short films have a much smaller budget to feature length films,
this is because the short film companies or independent film
makers are not well known therefore not as much or no producers
and distributers want to get involved.
There is also a much bigger cast in feature films so they need to
pay all their wages and if they are some of the best actors they
will have to pay them a lot more whereas the actors in short films
either get paid very little or not at all, this helps the directors
spend more of their budget on the production of their film and
getting it well-known.

6. QUALITY
Another big difference is the quality of the film when they are
finished. As the budget is smaller in short films it is quite obvious
that the quality is not going to be as good as feature films. The
outcome of feature films are glossy whereas short films are more
grainy, this is also down to the budget as feature film makers can
afford higher quality equipment which is best suited for the job,
however short film makers usually have to deal with what they
have got and spend little as possible on equipment.

7. DISTRIBUTION
How the film is distributed is a lot different between the two types of
films, feature films have their own film distributer, who would
determine the marketing strategy for the film, the media by which a
film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing, and who may set
the release date and other matters. The feature film also has the
choice to be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie
theatre or television, or on DVD-Video or Blu-ray Disc, video-on-
demand, download, and television programs, depending how good
they are they will be widely distributed. Short films, however, have a
smaller budget therefore they are unable to distribute their film to
bigger companies. There biggest way of distributing their film is film
festivals such as the Raindance and Sundance however they need to
be at a high standard for it to be shown. Also the internet is the
biggest source which people rely on to find information and
entertainment, this is a great way for short film makers to show their
film.

8. GENRE
The genres of both feature films and short films are quite similar, however, short
films tend to challenge the conventions more as the budget is smaller they don’t
need to worry about wasting money on making a bad short film, whereas a great
deal of people and companies rely on the makers of feature films to make a lot of
money. The most common genres are:
• Romance
• Comedy
• Fantasy
• Drama
• Animation
• Horror
• Documentary
• Action/Adventure
• Film noir
• Epics/Historical

9. AUDIENCE
The audience for both feature films and short films is obviously
completely different, it is clear feature films have a mass audience
and short films have a niche audience. This is because short film
audiences are usually people who watch short films on a regular
basis and are short film fans.