RESEARCH: SHORT FILM AT THE SMALLS FILM FESTIVAL

SHORT FILM AT THE SMALLS FILM FESTIVAL

The Smalls Film Festival website has been championing independent filmmaking and creative people for over a decade, making it an essential destination for filmmakers from across the globe. It has a wide range of fresh talent and Academy Award winners, which allows a strong community of film makers to come together once a year for an unforgettable week in the short film industry.

The website provides a section called "Bite Size video" which shows the Small Film Festival 2019 Bite Size shortlist. The Bite Size category is reserved for band-commissioned, short form video created specifically for social media platforms. These videos are entered into the competition which have the chance to win an award for best short film videos.

The Small Film Festival shows how film makers usually produce adverts or music videos before they film their short films. They usually go down this route as it introduces them to the industry before going straight in with the short films. An example of this is the television advert for Comic Relief  'Wise Words'. This advert shows how an old man is left responsible when looking after this baby as his wife laves the house, it is such a raw and eye-opening video as they use such realistic lighting and sound. The advert is very relatable due to the camera work, the camera follows the man up close to show his bond with the child and also both of their facial expressions. This encourages the audience to fully engage with the storyline.

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE QUESTIONAIRE

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE 

I designed and distributed an individual audience questionnaire to investigate our target audience's preferences. The audience questionnaires is tailored to our own film production work.

I made my Audience Questionnaire in Google Forms, I chose to use this platform because it was so easy to use and it allows lots of different answer types which suited both qualitative and quantitive data. When the questionnaire is completed it gathers up all the responses in just one place which is really accessible and easy to understand. This is good for me as I can easily compare the results and find out all the information that I need. 

RESEARCH: AUDIENCE QUESTIONNAIRE RESPONCES 

The responses from my audience questionnaire shows me that 50% of the people who completed this questionnaire watch short films online, on platforms like YouTube and Netflix. The responses also tell me that reviews are the biggest influence when it comes to deciding wether or not to watch a Short Film. These responses are really helpful for us as they can give us an insight on what people prefer to watch, how to watch them and lots more, this can help us create the perfect Short Film.

RESEARCH: SCOOP.IT COLLATION

Scoop.It - Short Film

I have created a Scoop.it account so I can do some further research which will help increase my knowledge on Short Films. The scoop.it's that I have found provides great examples of the best award winning Short Films and also the background of how directors became well known because of Short Films.

WHAT IS A SHORT FILM?

What is a Short Film?

A short film is any motion picture not long enough to be considered a full feature length 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".

How long should a Short Film be?

 A short film can be anything from fifteen seconds to forty five minutes in length. If you make your short film script as short as possible because the shorter it is the more engaging the film will be. When having a long short film, it will bore the audience as well as it will eat up a longer slot and festivals love to play as many shorts as possible. However, if too short the film might end up looking amateurish. You need a good medium to get the perfect outcome of a short film. 


What makes a Short Film effective?

There are no definite rules to create an effective Short Film as audiences love a variety of different types of short films. When making a short film stand out, it is very difficult to create a unique piece. However, there is a correlation in all successful films and these are:

- An original Idea
- High production skills and values
- Keeping to the traditional timing
- A strong beginning to entice the audience
- Avoid repetition 
- Including new techniques ans styles


Where are Short Films watched?

Short Films can be watched over different types of platforms, for example, BFI Film Festivals. This is a huge event where film lovers come and watched the best picked short films. The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1953 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with cooperation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shorts from approximately 50 countries.