Post 16: Why make a short film? Who is the target audience?

Task A: Why make a short film?

I thought it would be beneficial to find out why people make short films, I came across various articles that helped me understand their reasoning. 

Here is a link to the first article I researched:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/filmnetwork/filmmaking/guide/introduction/why-make-a-short

The article starts by explaining why you could be making a short film; experience, a show-reel, partnerships, Kudos, Testing an idea out, Money. It then proceeded to explain the places the film could be seen; your front room, a show-reel, the internet, television, the cinema (though this is incredibly hard), festivals. It explains that when making a short film and where you want it to go will determine what you shoot on, the equipment you use, budgets, crew numbers and potential markets. Clear objectives are necessary. I think this article has been useful as it has provided me with an insight to the main reasoning behind making a short film as well as where short films are likely to go. I believe this could help my group and I as this informs us where the short film is usually seen and what factors you need to consider to create an interesting and attention grabbing short film for certain audiences.

Here is a link to the second article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/film-life/7593291/The-long-history-of-short-films.html

The article above starts by giving the history of short film, it explains how in the early 1900's it was normal for them to be short. It went on to explain how much the technology of today has developed since then and because of this so have the films, it was commented on that watching a short film was less favourable then a longer film and the audience seemed to enjoy it more. The article then proceeds to explain how music videos provided short film makers with the opportunity to make music videos. With technology constantly changing it allows easier access to short films and for more people to produce their own for the world to see through the internet. I believe this article was helpful as it provided me with the history of short films and how they have developed since 1900's. I believe this article is beneficial to my group and I as we are now aware that short films are popular with certain audiences and they can be accessed easier and faster then before.

Task B: Who is the audience for a short film?

To receive a greater understanding of the audiences who watch and enjoy short film I have decided to research into them with more depth to hopefully gain a better understanding. 

Here is the link to the slide show I found helpful: http://www.slideshare.net/gracew41/target-audience-3310758

The slideshow provided useful information beginning by explaining that the short film industry's audience is quite specific compared to that of mainstream audiences of full length films.It explained that the demographics of people who watch short films will do so in order to find a possible actor or crew member that they can invest in for years to come. People in this category could also be amateur film makers looking for inspiration and guidance from short films that already exist. The slideshow proceeded to explain how the psycho-graphics could be divided into three various audiences categories, these are; Succeeder's - people who like to think they're powerful and in control, Aspirer's - people who work for bigger and better things, and individualists - people who are different from the crowd. I believe this article to be beneficial to my group and I as we are now aware that short films are popular with certain audiences and what type of category they fall into, whilst deciding the audience for our short film.

I then proceeded to research into watch distribution methods were available for short films and how this effects the potential target audience film makers are aiming for. I discovered that one of the main ways to get short films seen is through the internet, websites such as shortoftheweek and youtube were popular choices. Yet some film makers are still following the tradition route and rely on film festivals for ways of distribution, with the hopes of someone with a powerful influence or budget will see and like it and wish to make it more accessible for a larger audience. 

Distribution can determine the size and diversification of the audience who have access to short films and whatever route a film maker decides to take in order to get their film out there effects their audience.The internet gives access for virtually the entire world to view a certain short film, however if it only features on websites such as shortoftheweek only people with a particular interest in short films will see it as people who don't enjoy short films would never visit the website. Youtube on the other hand has a wider audience which could effect the demographic of the audience, yet all together because the internet is global the short film without the right information or advertising could go completely unnoticed. Film festivals would also attract an audience of people who enjoyed and appreciated short films, they also give film makers more of a chance to make connections with people from the industry and could potentially create a following of fans. Therefore film festivals are important to film makers as they can help the advertisement of short films and help them grow in popularity. 

Short film festivals are a popular source of distribution, the top short film festivals in the UK include; Raindance Film Festival (Oscar qualifying), London Short Film festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Manchester International Film Festival, Encounters International Short Film Festival (Oscar qualifying) and Leeds International film festival. Their are various categories films can be entered for that suit all genres of short film. The BFI London Film Festival categories are; The Sutherland Trophy - most original, Best film, Best British Newcomer Award and BFI fellowships. With short film festivals providing film makers the chance to win awards and be recognised for their talent it means their is a greater chance of them building the right connection with the media industry and possibly being recognised by audiences making the distribution of their short films greater and easier. 

Shorts International
http://www.shortsinternational.com/
One major film festival is Shorts International known for being the world's leading short film company with the biggest short film catalogue as it shows all the short films which have recently been released. The films are shown across America, Asia, Europe and anywhere else that has a cinema. They hold an Annual Shorts Award every year to recognise the contributions of film makers to the short film industry. 


London Short Film Festival
http://shortfilms.org.uk/
Another major film festival is the 10 year old London Short Film Festival which allows it's countries short film makers to showcase their short films to a wide audience. The amount of people attending the festival has increased greatly in the last decade all going to watch some of over 220 films that the countries amateur film makers have to offer.

The film festivals mentioned above are only two out of the many that take place every year showcasing the most recent short films for audiences who enjoy and appreciate the art of short films. I believe that a potential target audience would be successor's who are interested in finding fresh young talented film makers and people who enjoy short films.

Task C: How are short films distributed? 

There are many genres of short films; Romance, Comedy, Drama, Horror, Animation and many more, however according to this website http://www.imdb.com/search/title?title_type=short the most popular genre of film would be Animation as that genre appears the largest amount of times on the top 50 most popular short films. The most popular animations are; Tangled Ever After (2012) , Ice Age a Mammoth Christmas (2011) , and The lorax (1972).

                                       

Unfortunately my group and I do not have the access to the equipment needed to create an animated short film, this effects us as our short film may lose out on audience's due to our short film not being an animation. However through more research I discovered the second most popular genre of short films was drama. This was great news as my group's short film will be classed as a drama due to the realistic story line of sexual grooming. This effects my thoughts on the script as I need to make sure we have a strong script that fits in with the genre of drama, making sure not to fall into the genres of comedy or romance instead. It also influences my thoughts on the script as I will need to make sure that there is a strong plot line that is powerful enough to grab the audiences attention and have empathy for the situation the characters have gotten themselves into. 

Through the research I have carried out and from the short films I have watched I have noticed that the length of a short film can be anything from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. But it depends upon the purpose of the film as well as who is producing it. Many film festivals will put a time limit on the length of short films, I have noticed the more successful short films are anything from 15-20 minutes, probably due to it being long enough for a plot line to have depth however short enough to maintain the audience's interest. After conducting my research I estimate that my group and I will produce a film around 5-10 minutes longs, I believe this is long enough to produce a clear storyline to the audience however include questions to keep them interested. Due to us producing a short film we must be careful not to prolong it or add unnecessary information as this could lead to our film being dull for audiences

I also questioned how a short film is usually structured, through the information from this website ; http://www.cgdirector.com/learn-how-successful-short-films-structure-their-story/ I was able to find out information on the three act structure. Almost all films are based on a storytelling technique that was first introduced by Aristotles (The Three Act Structure). A plot must have, Aristotle says, a beginning, a middle, and an end, and the events of the plot must causally relate to one another as being either necessary or probable. This effects the audience as by having a short film structure inspired by the three act structure they automatically have a clear understanding of what to expect in the sense of; beginning - rough idea of location, main characters and basic plot, middle - a problem has surfaced and the characters try to solve it, end - a conclusion on the problem. However with a short film the intention is to produce an ending that is left in the audience's minds for them to think about and question the film or sometimes their own lives. Hopefully my group and I have the ability to produce a clear structure that our audience will be able to understand so that they find our short film more interesting and gripping, I also hope we are able to have an effect on them with our final cliff hanger leaving them questioning those around them.