Purpose of Short Films

When dealing with short films there are three main reason in which are they are produced. These include promotion, education and experimental reasons. Taking a closer insight into different types of short films, we bear witness to these similar purpose that they all share.

Promotion:

This can be considered as the main reason in which short films are produced. Little known directors and film makers are desperately wanting their work be shared in the film industry Short films are usually screened at films festivals or film competitions, however due to the growth of the internet YouTube, Four on Demand and the BBC has become widely popular. Therefore those who win these competitions gather the necessary awareness needed to become more popular amongst audiences. However audiences are able to be located globally over the internet and so this makes it easier and much more successful to share shorts with others to attract more viewers. YouTube has an establish audience making it easier for directors such as Fede Alvarez to gain large audiences quickly.

For example new director Fede Alvarez the producer of 'Ataque de Pánico' it is evident to see how successful this has become. The budget of the film was very coming in at $300. the mainstay of his film came from animated works on the computer, however it became a hit and went viral. In the space of 48 hours over a hundred thousand people had seen this film Furthermore due to the success of his film Alvarez was offered the chance to work on a $300 million feature film. This indicates the success of short films and can be a start up in the film industry, an attractive prospect for amateur film makers.

Education:

Short films mainly deal with contemporary issues, and some include elements of controversial themes. Therefore these films are found beneficial to use in schools for mainly citizenship classes, though they can also be found useful in english and media studies classes. Short films are found to tackle social issues that are found in current society, these then provoke thought and discussion surrounding moral and ethnic issues. For this reason, they are useful to use in classes for educational purposes.

If we take the example of 'Cherries' by Tom Harper it deals with the contemporary issues of young deliquant youths mixing in with the focus of Britain's current war state. It produces a dystopian film concerning the national service and the way it deals with the youths. Although it has given a large £16,000 budget it still manages to bring across the message and raise the issue surrounding the youth problem. Therefore this short film could be ideal to use in such citizenship classes to get young people thinking about the problem and a possible outcome that could occur.