Codes and Conventions of a Short Film

A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening. Short films have certain codes and conventions in regards to:

• Narrative structure

• Themes

• Style and genre

• Sound, editing, cinematography, mise en scene

• Titles

Narrative structure

The Narrative structure of short films vary however they are usually linear narratives as there is not enough time to show a non linear narrative with good effect. At best Short films will have aspects of nonlinear narratives like flashbacks, an example of this is in the short film, “Veronique” by Patrick Bergh where at the end of the film the main character had a flashback of the first time he had met the girl of his dreams , who he had named Veronique. This works effectively as it realistic to have a flashback of the first time you met the girl of your dreams; it also is a short flashback which lasts for only a few seconds so we get the general idea of what is happening.  Another narrative that is used a lot in short films in a circular narrative, which is where a narrative that has certain plot points is repeated, usually at the end of the film. An example of a circular narrative is in the short film “Sold” by Nadia Attia, at the beginning of the film a women knocks on a man’s door asking him for a ladle but the man tells her that he doesn’t have a ladle, but at the end of the movie he ends up buying a ladle on a bidding channel by accident. This technique is very effective as it gives the film a meaning. Short films usually have a restricted narrative, which is where the story is filmed from the point of view of only one character making it so that we know only as much as him or her. This is much better for a short film because there isn’t enough time to show the story from too many views.

By Amilcar Johnson