Kelsey Wink

CONVENTIONS OF A SHORT FILM

The majority of Short Films stick to around 3 main characters. Due to the film being short, it cannot build up a background of each character and therefore the characters are kept minimum allowing the viewer to relate to them.

CHARACTERS

The Todorov theory is used in many films and almost all short fi lms-

Equilibrium – everything is ‘as it should be’ at the start of the text.

Disruption – something happens to spoil the balance.

Thwarted Attempts/Realisation – characters try to restore the balance, but fail.

Struggle and Resolution – eventually characters succeed in restoring the balance.

New Equilibrium – a new order is created, sometimes a return to stage 1.

STRUCTURE- TODOROV

A short film generally follows a basic structure relating to an everyday life situation, however has some form of twist. This is effective as it keeps the viewers intrigued but also allows them to relate to the position.

SITUATION

Almost every short film contains a ‘twist’. This is extremely effective in a stinger as without this the film would be boring and pointless.

ABSTRACT-TWIST

The normal length of a short film is normally up to 35 minutes, however, focusing my work around Stingers they are typically only 5-10 minutes. Being this short it is vital to not spend all the time building up a character profile as the disequilibrium is important to making the stinger abstract.

LENGTH