What is a Short Film and what is the purpose of it?
An official definition of a short film is that it is any motion picture not long enough to be considered a 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”.
The purpose of modern short films is that they often focus on difficult topics which longer, more commercial films usually avoid. Short Films have several roles they fulfil in the media; which can be categorised in to both Functional and Symbolic purposes.
- Functional Purposes – Short Films provide an outlet for creative expression.
- Symbolic Purposes – Short Films are used to convey a strong emotion to the audience.
Analysis of “Lonely”
The use of captions made the short film feel more involving and immersive for the audience because they need to read and focus on the visuals of the video. Dark lighting was used to create a dark atmosphere that relates to the topic of the short film which is about the concept of loneliness. The use of the flashing rainbow lights brought colour to the short film, the flashing colours represented the last remaining of happiness the person was feeling or the happy moments ‘flashing before his eyes’. A lot of props where used to represent the concept of loneliness such as pills, a gun and pictures of past happiness. The purpose of the short film was not only to showcase what loneliness feels like, but the short film promotes wanting a change to stop people feeling lonely.
Analysis of “Racism is Real”
The use of the split screen was very effect in terms of showing how different 2 sides are, the short film used the drama technique of cross-cutting in a literal way. The showcasing of facts on the screen legitimised the concept of the the short film, bringing the purpose of the short film to reality. The editing of using props as message boards to show other facts about the theme of the short film was very effective, this made sure to not lose the attention of the person who is watching the video. The use of the the different coloured characters (black and white) highlight the fact that the two characters are different, from their chances of getting a job to how much extra the other person has to pay when purchasing luxurious things. The use of the literal cross-cutting enforced those facts that were being shown. The purpose of the short film was to teach about how racism is a real thing that happens, and we need to acknowledge it so we are educated about it.
Analysis of “ANTI-RACIST”
The use of the captions/subtitles made sure so that the audience is focused on the dialogue being said; making sure that the audience gets the narrative of the video very clearly. There was the use of suspense in terms of wanting to know how the introverted character is related in anyway to the family, this was enforced by the introverted character not saying anything and keeping minimum eye contact with the other characters. The way the introverted character was in terms of his body language and facial expressions were all symptoms of being a reserved person, this relates to the emotions of one of our characters and how they feel like they are alone in the world. The purpose of the short film is to showcase how assumptions and stereotypes are pushing people away from each other, making people be more cautious of other people, essentially dividing us. The short film shows how we need to stop assuming things of other people by not judging the book by it’s cover and being open to everything and everyone.
EKN Productions 