Commonly, we see a linear narrative seen in short film, this is due to time constraints in many cases,and it is often easier to show a plot in a simple flowing narrative. Examples of this include Oscar Sharp's "Sign Language", in which a snapshot of the life of a street sign holder is portrayed through linear narrative, with elipsis of time, fitting an extended period of time into a short film, a technique often used due to obvious time constraints. "Sign Language" also incorporates circular elements into the narrative, with recurring images seen at the beggining and end of the film, this is also seen in Colin Hutton's "Gravity", where we see the image of a boy on the swings shown at the beggining and end. Short films also utilize more unconventional narrative structures, due to their experimental nature. This is best demonstrated in "Double Take" which uses two narrative points of view, linking at the climax.
Themes vary in short film as much as they do in feature length cinema. Due to the time constraints, these themes are explored in more concise ways. We see elements of social realism and crime shown in both "Double Take" by Toa Stappard, as well as in "Gravity", films like this show important issues in society, particularly "Gravity", which is used in schools to educate young people on gun crime. We also see more light hearted themes, such as elements of romantic comedy, seen in Nadia Attia's "Sold", which also leaves a deeper meaning, illustrating consumerism. Short films often lack narrative resolutions, due to time constraints, meaning audiences have different expectations when watching short films, in terms of the conclusion, which is often open ended.
Areas such as mise en scene, editing, cinematography and sound also vary in short film, however, they are often impaired by budget restraints. We often see a lack of score, simplistic and often open sets as seen in "Sign Language", and basic editing and effects as seen in the 'shopping channel' look in "Sold". Many films compensate for this by utilizing stylistic techniques, for example "Double Take" uses kenetic camerawork from a DV camera, a cheap technique used effectively to show the movement and create a sense of stalking from the cameraman who is later revealed to be a vigilante attacker. On the other hand, some short films do not face this problem, we see CGI and high production values used in Fede Alvarez' "Ataque de Panico!", showing how short film is often used experimentally, to show off new techniques, and to show promote a director or producer.
Titles also share similar conventions in short film as they do in feature length cinema, for example "Double Take" shows the full credits at the end of the film, keeping the viewer's attention on the action itself, also seen in "Sold" where the title of the film is seen before it begins. "Sign Language" adds an epilogue in played during the ending credits, giving a sort of "happily ever after" tone to the end of the film.
No comments:
Post a Comment