Conventions of Short Films

Short Films

The main aim of a short film is to effectively impact the audience in a small period of time. In relation to horror films, they generally want to create tension and fear.

The literary theorist Todorov created The Narrative Theory. It is essentially the idea that most story's all follow the same pattern, and states there are 5 steps to achieve this;

1. Equilibrium - the beginning of the story shows the characters content, with everything as it should be.
2. Disruption - this part of the story is where something or event happens to upset the equilibrium of the characters.
3. Recognition (of disruption) - this is where the characters realise that there is a problem. It is not always clear to them at first, as in most horror films, the audience is aware of a threat before the characters.
4. Attempt to repair - this is an attempt to fix the problem and restore the damage done.
5. Return or restoration of new equilibrium - this is essentially where the story ends happily or the problem is resolved.

An example can be used to explain The Narrative Theory clearer, here it is the feature length film 'Cabin in the Woods';

1. The characters are seen packing for a holiday in the woods, and they then reach the cabin - everything seems to be normal.
2. 

   They then find the cellar in the cabin, this is where the disruption begins and are attacked by the zombie family.
3. 

   They then attempt to escape - this is where they are aware that their lives are in danger.
4. 

   Once they escape, this is when there is the attempt to stop the rest of the monsters escaping.
5. 

   The new equilibrium is reached when the last two characters decide to end the world rather than save it - and so the problem is somewhat resolved.

Ideally, short films need to have a narrative enigma - this is where there are questions put to the audience, and may or not end up being resolved. This is because there is only a small frame of time in the film, and should really end up having a conclusion. This however is not imperative, and some of the best shorts are the ones that end on a cliff hanger - and this is particularly effective when it is of the horror genre.

Conventions of short horror films

Due to short films being what they are - short, there are typical conventions that most of them use, these are as follows;

• Characters - due to the short space of time, there is a limited number of characters that can be used. this is because there is not enough time to build up a back story for each character, and to go into detail about their live. Consequently, most films stick to having only 2 or 3 as so not to confuse the audience by constantly introducing new ones.
• Build tension quickly - this has to be done quickly because of the lack of time. Most films will have the tension building relatively early, some many even have it from the very beginning. This is also done because in order for the disruption to happen effectively and then resolved, there needs to be enough time for the tension to be created to evoke fear.
• Simple narrative - this links to the idea of time once again. The film cannot afford to create a confusing and questionable plot line, otherwise it would end up being too hard to follow and therefore not be effective.
• Sound/camerawork overemphasised - this  needs to be done in order to make the film more interesting. If it just uses basic camerawork then the audience may find it boring and will not feel any fear.
• A twist - this is a prominent convention in most horror films, not just shorts. However they are more effective in short ones because they create tension/fear in a short space of time and leave the audience in either shock, horror or questioning things.

Other conventions include;

• the film has to be 40 minutes or less
• usually have a low budget
• niche audience
• online distribution
• creativity
• convey emotion (character connection)
• less dialogue
• one location
• fast paced
• may be a small part of a larger story (some shorts have been developed into feature - length, e.g. 'Lights Out' 2016) 

 

How will this influence my film?

I will obviously be using many conventions in my film, as it has certain requirements - for example it needs to be a specific time in order to be considered a short film. Consequently, my film will last, at most, 5 minutes. In hindsight, this is not very long compared to some of the shorts I have watched, and so the storyline will need to follow the pattern of the Narrative Theory relatively quickly. However, as I don't have an idea of what to shoot yet - 5 minutes still seems daunting. Although, due to the horror genre being so manipulative and malleable - it lends itself to short films, so there is no need to create such a backstory. Therefore, ideally my film will have a small cast with a simple narrative, and because of this I plan to use a range of different camera techniques and sound effects to create tension and fear. Additional conventions I can use will be a low budget (as I do not have endless amounts to spend), few locations and to make it relatively fast paced.