The Purpose Of Short Films

Educational

One purpose of short films is for the purpose of education, these films are sent to schools for teachers to use as a resource to teach their students. Many of the films we have seen, show contemporary themes and issues that can be debated by students. An example of this is in Gravity by Colin Hutton. A short story following, three boys power play with a gun. Gravity is a short film that deals with gun violence, and how actions and responsibility are often very disconnected. The film covers the issue of gun crime, and anti social behaviour, two issues that are heavily discussed in today’s media. The maker of the film was Colin Hutton, after researching a interview with him, his influence for the film came from a bank robbery near where he lived were he witnesses a shoot out and half a mile away a woman got shot by a stray random bullet. This shows that from his own experience he has educated many others through his film.One reason for these short films being educational is down to the length. Due to the short length of the films it allows the teachers to use the videos in the class and then be able to discuss the issues all in a short space of time.

Promotional

Short movies have become a business card for new student filmmakers. They're cheap, easy and fast to make (compared to features) and are easier to get into film festivals. There are sites out there that buy short films allowing the makers to actually make some money. Many directors started making short films as a starting point an example is the famous Steven Spielberg. As an intern and guest of Universal Studios, Spielberg made his first short film for theatrical release, the 24 minute film Amblin' in 1968. From here he became a director for universal making him the youngest director ever to be signed for a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio. His career was started and ignited from his collection of short films.

Experimental

Another purpose of the film is for the director’s purpose. The short films can allow the directors to experiment with technicalities that they wouldn’t be able to do in a full feature film, this is down to the commitment levels .The short films allow directors, to experiment with sounds, narrative, cinematography and different editing techniques. If they are successful at varies festivals then the director can use the technique in future films.

Short films vs. Feature Films

Feature films main purpose is for bringing in mass audience and therefore leading to a greater income. The primary purpose of any commercial film is to make money. Some filmmakers spends thousands of pound to produce a film, the ideal scenario would be to make up the thousands of pounds spent and then make a profit. A Secondary reason is to entertain. The directors want the audience to be entertained by there film, this then keeps the audience coming back and to recoup the money invested in the film.

In comparison to short films, the budget is the main difference. Short films simply cannot bring in mass audiences to make large sums of money. This is due to the low attraction. The short films mainly get aired at film festivals and are rarely on television. The main people that view the films consist of people that are heavily involved in the film industry or are interested in independent films