Conventions of Short Films - Characters
I have already watched several short films and while the genre and tone of each film can vary wildly due to the differences in application of certain devices, there are some core concepts that control how short films are structured and how they flow. As well as this, there are some conventions that are applied to the characters, settings and themes of these films, and often these differences are noticeable when looking at more conventional, feature length films.
Firstly, I am going to look at characters. Often in short films, characters are not really developed aside from what is important to the plot of the film. In the case of Clown Face, the characters are not developed past the issue that they are discussing, namely their family issues.
"CLOWN FACE" - SHORT FILM (2017) from Jason Jeffrey on Vimeo.
The characters here just about brush over what their names are; as a matter of fact, the father's name is actually never said, and not much detail is revealed about the rest of their lives, apart from the odd comment that Laurie was on a date, and that she was "trying something new" by not having mirrors. The character development is minimal, just enough to keep the story going, however it doesn't impact the story by overburdening the viewer with unnecessary and cumbersome character details.
In the case of full feature films, the characters have about 90-120 minutes to explain themselves and their backstory, and gives the audience a good amount of time to learn the traits of each character, as well as building an opinion of them as events unfold. Short films do not have this luxury. It is a limitation, however I believe the short time span really allows the use of more creative storytelling methodology. Sometimes, the characters are not explained at all and are simply used as a catalyst to tell the story, such as in Incident By A Bank. This short film is a meticulous recreation of a failed bank robbery by two men, but it also includes a lot of other extra characters which are bystanders and witnesses to the incident.
INCIDENT BY A BANK from New Europe Film Sales on Vimeo.
The characters here are never really developed. The most information we get is from two bystanders who just so happen to point out that two men look like they're going to rob the bank. They are merely there to further the story. There is no focus on any particular characters, although one could argue that the story is focused on the robbers, however they rarely speak and do not develop their character beyond the fact that they are clearly new at the bank robbing business.
One thing to remember and keep in mind for our film, after analysing a couple of the short films I have watched, is to make sure that we don't go overboard with the character development and bog down the film with an excessive amount of detail. Any exposition should be concise and only included if it is required to explain or further part of the story to ensure that our film doesn't run on too long, as well as to make sure that the film flows well.
Firstly, I am going to look at characters. Often in short films, characters are not really developed aside from what is important to the plot of the film. In the case of Clown Face, the characters are not developed past the issue that they are discussing, namely their family issues.
"CLOWN FACE" - SHORT FILM (2017) from Jason Jeffrey on Vimeo.
The characters here just about brush over what their names are; as a matter of fact, the father's name is actually never said, and not much detail is revealed about the rest of their lives, apart from the odd comment that Laurie was on a date, and that she was "trying something new" by not having mirrors. The character development is minimal, just enough to keep the story going, however it doesn't impact the story by overburdening the viewer with unnecessary and cumbersome character details.
In the case of full feature films, the characters have about 90-120 minutes to explain themselves and their backstory, and gives the audience a good amount of time to learn the traits of each character, as well as building an opinion of them as events unfold. Short films do not have this luxury. It is a limitation, however I believe the short time span really allows the use of more creative storytelling methodology. Sometimes, the characters are not explained at all and are simply used as a catalyst to tell the story, such as in Incident By A Bank. This short film is a meticulous recreation of a failed bank robbery by two men, but it also includes a lot of other extra characters which are bystanders and witnesses to the incident.
INCIDENT BY A BANK from New Europe Film Sales on Vimeo.
The characters here are never really developed. The most information we get is from two bystanders who just so happen to point out that two men look like they're going to rob the bank. They are merely there to further the story. There is no focus on any particular characters, although one could argue that the story is focused on the robbers, however they rarely speak and do not develop their character beyond the fact that they are clearly new at the bank robbing business.
One thing to remember and keep in mind for our film, after analysing a couple of the short films I have watched, is to make sure that we don't go overboard with the character development and bog down the film with an excessive amount of detail. Any exposition should be concise and only included if it is required to explain or further part of the story to ensure that our film doesn't run on too long, as well as to make sure that the film flows well.
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