Introduction to Short Films

In our second lesson we were introduced to short films in order to decide whether it is short films or a trailer we wanted to base our coursework around.

In the induction to short films, we found out how short films are structured. The first day being;

Todorov's Narrative theory.

Equilibrium - Disequilibrium - New Equilibrium

This describing how short films always have a beginning middle and end.

We then talked about the mode of address, we did this by watching a few short films and discussing them with the rest of the class. The mode of address is how the audience is addressed within the film, this could be through, direct address such as dialogue and eye contact or through a voice over.

Enigma is also an important feature of a short film, this is a narrative device that teases the audience by presenting a puzzle to be solved.

The action code is the narrative device by which a resolution is produced through action, this can be useful when making a short film as it builds up tension for the audience.

Linear narrative can be used in a short film as a basic plot where there is no flashbacks or digression, however you could also use parallel action by which the narrative has two scenes happening as the same time with jump cuts between them both, this makes the plot more interesting for the audience, however may appeal more to an older audience as it could mean it is hard to follow. Another narrative device we talked about was anit-narrative which is when the text seeks to disrupt the narrative flow in order to achieve a particular effect, for example, repetition of images.