The Art of Short Films.

 

This Essay will look at how you compress everything needed for a successful film into such a small amount of time. I will also look at the techniques used to keep short films exciting. I am writing this as preparation for the making and researching my short film “FORSAKEN”  which is about a boy/young man who wakes up to find he is alone, everyone has gone, disappeared or evacuated for some unknown reason. The reason for this is never revealed.

 

One might think a short film is simpler and easier to make than a full length film however I am not so sure. Of course they take less time and have a smaller budget but actually you have to put more time and imagination into the creative side. I believe they are actually harder to do well than full length films because the work and time needed to capture the audience’s attention quickly and creatively is a far greater challenge. A simple, effective and powerful message that can be portrayed in such a short time is an incredible challenge.

 

With a normal length film you have over an hour to get the meaning or the message of the film across and to develop the characters and story. In a short film you have to get it across in a matter of seconds or minutes. This is my main fear making “FORSAKEN” because I really want to make sure I can capture the emptiness effect. I want to keep the film quite mysterious but to still get across the characters feelings and emotions, in an exciting story within the short time limit.

 

The next step to a successful short film is the simple storyline that does everything needed within the time frame. Some of the best film storylines are actually very personalised by their directors. It is the telling of a story through the perceptions of its’ creator making it truly representative of the artist's outlook on life. Often there is just one central character and the film is seen from their perspective.  There isn’t time to develop more characters. In my previous work I have always told the story from my own point of view and for my film “FORSAKEN” I will be trying to capture an experience and outlook which I have always wondered about, ie waking up completely alone.  This idea has recently suddenly become easier to imagine because of the Corona virus, empty abandoned areas are becoming a reality.

 

I have looked at three different types of short films.  My own is going to be even shorter. The first short film I researched was The Red Balloon (Albert Lamorisse 1956 36 mins).

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I had to research The Red Balloon as it is still considered one of the best short films ever made and was very original. Such a simple but clever story takes you on a journey following the experience of a young boy and his balloon in Paris in the 1950s. The fact it is such a simple idea but can still show such a connection between two characters (the boy and his balloon) is why it works so well. It also gives a really good impression of ordinary daily life of a child in 1956 Paris.  I particularly admired this short film as it once again proves that short films can be so effective while staying so simple. This is why in my short film “FORSAKEN” getting that simplicity is the most important to me. The natural dull grey colours in The Red Balloon contrast massively with the bright red balloon and give a colour grading effect without the use of technology.  This effect is used frequently today by the digital technique of colour grading for example in Money Heist or Handmaid’s tail or The Joker which all stick within a colour theme and use strong red to contrast. In “FORSAKEN” I intend to make the general colour theme very muted colours but the main actor will stand out subtly due to his pyjama bottoms and the red lining on his hood.

 

 

From watching and researching The Red Balloon I got more of an understanding of how to capture such connections and emotions with character and allow the story to develop in that time. In short films you have less time for the character development so the smaller cast is usually the most effective.  In “FORESAKEN” I am using just one character.

The lack of time to develop the story means it can work well to end with uncertainly leaving it for the viewer to decide themselves how it will end.

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The second second short film I researched is I’m Here (Spike Jones 2010 35 mins). 

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This is a short sci-fi film drama.  The story again is quite simple: A library assistant called Sheldon who has a very boring and ordinary life falls in love with a woman who makes him see life differently.  The story ends tragically the Sheldon has to literally give up his own life for her to survive.  

 

The characters are actually robots but the look of the film makes them seem almost natural.  This is done by using real actors wearing robot costumes. The robots have heads like old computers and it is interesting how although you cannot see facial expressions, their emotions come across. Some expressions are created through using animation on the faces.

 

 

The way that Sheldon’s life is portrayed is clever.  They make him look really lonely and sad by way his flat looks and the muted colours.  When he falls in love and him and his girlfriend start having fun together, there is lots of colour used.  The soundtrack is also important and contributes to the atmosphere changing from sad to happy. I admire the way story and emotions come through even though this is a sci-fi story. I want to manage this is “FORSAKEN” too. 

 

The third film I have researched is The Phone Call  (Mat Kirkby 2013 21 mins)

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This is a short film set in London about a volunteer at a crisis centre who receives a phone call from a man who has taken an overdose.  He won’t let the character Heather who takes the phone call, call an ambulance.  The story focuses on the connection between the two main characters one who we see and the other who we only meet as a voice on the other end of the call.  The drama focuses on the growing tension and Heather’s growing distress and frustration at not being able to prevent his suicide.  The end of the film focuses on the effect that this one phone call has had on her life and her realisation that life is short.

The filming is very simple, the first shot is Heather at her desk but as the tension increases the camera gets closer and closer.  The tension is also added to by focusing on Heather’s watch and a clock so make us focus on the fact that time is running out. The film is a great example of how involved with the characters you can get in a short time.  The story stays in your mind afterwards and makes you think about your priorities.  In my film “FORSAKEN” I hope to make people think about what it would be like to be in the main character’s situation, well after they have finished watching the film.

 

From looking at these three films it has given me a better understanding of how to compact everything needed into a short amount of time to make a really effective film. In my short film and any future films I make, I would like to use many of the techniques I have noticed.  I can see that despite and even because of their limitations, Short Films can be expressive and magnificent works of art, and I am excited to be making one myself.

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