Short Films vs Feature Films - How to Make a Short Films?

Table of Contents

Is there a significant difference between producing short films vs feature films? Or are short movies simply feature films that have been cut in half? Yes, there are significant differences between feature films and short films.

Short movies aren’t just condensed versions of features. Since you often have less than 20 minutes to explain everything to the audience, the framework fundamentally alters.

Feature films and short films frequently receive completely different treatment. Looking at the world of film festivals makes this the clearest: there are many festivals that are expressly focused on short films, and the categories are nearly always split in film festivals. After all, short films are the focus of The Film Fund (under 15 minutes in length).

Let me explain the distinctions between a feature and a short film so you can make an educated choice.

What is the Difference between Short Films and Feature Length Films?

Duration

As of now, there is no prevailing norm. While the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in India considers any film longer than 72 minutes to be “feature length,” the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the US defines “feature length” as being over 40 minutes.

For feature films, the majority of film festivals demand a minimum runtime of 40 or 60 minutes. The minimum running time for short films may even be measured in seconds.

There is absolutely no set maximum runtime for feature films. Indians are accustomed to seeing three-hour movies. Even today, the majority of Indians still view a 90-minute film as being short. However, 90 minutes is the typical duration of a feature anyplace outside of India.

It is preferable to keep your movie at around 90 minutes if you are aiming for festivals. Compared to a two- or three-hour movie, it is simpler for them to program. This is not to argue that these movies can’t succeed at film festivals. But unless you are an established film director, that is typically what is advised.

Screenplay

A three-act dramatic structure is typical for a feature film script. The first act will consist of the first 30 pages, the second act of the next 60 pages, and the third act of the last 30 pages, roughly. These page counts are rough estimates, but they serve as a fair general guideline.

The duration of a short film is the key distinction between the two. A short film screenplay, as its name might imply, is much shorter than a feature script and often ranges in length from one to thirty pages. Again, these are only approximations, but anything more than 30 pages is considered to be a TV movie or a short feature.

Budgeting

The budget is the primary distinction between short and feature-length movies. A budget for a 10–30 minute movie won’t even come close to that of a 90–120 minute feature. The price of a movie, the price of the equipment, and the price of the costumes and props will all be significantly reduced.

There have been several successful films with incredibly low budgets in an era where a $60 million budget for a full-length feature picture is regarded as low-budget. The following are a few of the most remarkable low-budget successes:

The Blair Witch Project, is a movie with a $60,000 budget that made $249 million overall.
Deep Throat, a movie that cost $22,500 to make, reportedly made about $600 million at the box office.
With a $320,000 budget, Halloween made about $47 million at the box office.
Despite having a $1 million budget, Rocky made nearly $117 million at the box office.

As you can see, a lot of feature-length movies have been made on a shoestring budget and have gone on to be enormous successes. What about short movies, though?

The unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of short films fail to generate any revenue at all. Therefore, it is safe to shoot on a budget without having high hopes for financial rewards.

Many short films are not made with the intention of making money. Others underwent full-length feature film adaptations and went on to have great success. Therefore, even though your short film might not generate a profit right away, it might do so in the long run.

Consider looking into crowdfunding if money worries are on your mind. One of the most popular ways for independent film producers to raise money for their projects is through crowdfunding. The most popular crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter, has assisted many aspiring filmmakers and producers in raising money for their films.

>>>Read more:

Return

Features can earn money by being released online, winning at film festivals, playing in theaters, on airplanes, on TV, radio, on DVD, Blu-ray, selling music, or in a variety of other ways. We utilize such methods to pay for and watch feature films. While purchasing a short film is a rare occurrence.

Should you produce a feature or short film?

The greatest method to start building a reputation for yourself and getting noticed at film festivals is through short films. There is a common misconception that the majority of short films are produced due to financial constraints. While this is often true, there are many other variables that can also contribute to the creation of a short film.

In light of this, having a diverse portfolio is helpful but not necessary. It usually just takes one short film to see if you have what it takes. To help further their careers, many aspiring producers and directors make short films for this reason.

Short films are simpler to upload to YouTube and subsequently disseminate online, even outside of the festival circuit. A short film they’ve never heard of is much more likely to be watched by casual social media users or YouTube scrollers than a feature film.

Keep in mind that short films can be just as artistically valuable as features.

Many well-known filmmakers who are now recognized for their feature films began their careers by helming short movies. What’s a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?, Martin Scorcese’s debut film, ran for nine minutes. “Saturday Night Life,” Ava DuVernay’s debut feature, ran for 12 minutes. “Lick the Star,” Sofia Coppola’s debut feature, ran for 14 minutes.

Short films are a fantastic method to hone your skills and discover where you can make improvements.

Some folks simply adore short movies. The majority of individuals enjoy two-hour films, although many people also enjoy watching shorter films. Millions of people watch 30-minute TV specials during prime time for a reason.

Short Film Structure

Remember that most short films have a three-act structure if you’re wondering how to construct one.

Act 1 is the first act. The major goal of the first act is to capture the audience’s interest and begin the plot.
The middle of the story, or Act 2, expands on the main theme. Whatever main plot you described in your logline will take place mostly in Act 2. The majority of your short video will be devoted to this action.
The narrative comes to a close in Act 3. Act 3 might have a declining action and resolution or it might conclude in the middle of the climax.

Tips to make a short film

Captivate Your Audience

Some people simply adore short films, as was previously noted in this article. The producer of every movie must think about the audience he is targeting when making the movie. Nobody makes a movie without taking the target audience into account since that is what will determine whether the movie is a hit or another flop.

Action movies that have lengthy conversations between elderly characters will not be as successful as those that reduce talking to a minimum and emphasize action. On the other hand, if your short video is a romance or drama, lengthy dialogue may be necessary for the viewer to get “feels” (emotions) from the film.

The majority of short films are uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or both, and the typical YouTuber is between the ages of 14 and 17. You should consider what kind of users will most likely be watching your material if you intend to monetize one of these video-sharing platforms.

Have a Central Question

If your short film is made up of amusing bits that don’t go anywhere, the entertainment value isn’t very important because the whole thing isn’t tied together. The question that drives the plot’s action must be present.

Examining whether you can create a logline for your short film is one technique to determine if it has a solid plot. A logline is a condensed description of a screenplay that you can use to sell your movie.

The major conflict, the protagonist, their aim, and the triggering event are all included in the logline. Something is amiss if you can’t condense your short film into a logline. Your short film either lacks something or is overly elaborate.

Many short films seek to provide the major subject with an underlying theme in addition to the central question. A topic is more general and all-encompassing; it could be related to technology, friendship, love, or many other things. It deepens the meaning of your movie. A deeper topic is less crucial if your short video is funny.

Keep It Simple

You don’t really have that much time to tell your narrative, of course. You must therefore make your storyline straightforward. You don’t have the resources or the time to make your movie in the style of Christopher Nolan.

Your short film should only focus on one main idea, which brings us to the following point: develop a primary question.

Shooting Technique

Short films frequently struggle with budgeting, thus it’s preferable to keep expenses as minimal as possible. One illustration is lighting. When feasible, shoot in natural light to avoid needing to invest in costly lighting equipment. These are some suggestions for photographing in natural light.

One element that shouldn’t be ignored is audio. Although you can record audio using the built-in microphones on the cameras you are using, the audio may be of poor quality and have a lot of background noise.

At the very least, you should spend money on lavalier mics if you want your short film to be taken seriously. In order to capture sounds clearly and with less background noise, “lav mics” are also employed during the production of feature films.

Depending on the performers you are working with, the technological difficulties, the poor lighting, and other factors, you might need to shoot extra takes. Robert Rodriguez was the director of the 1992 movie El Mariachi, which had a $7,000 budget. It was filmed in a single take due of this. The movie became a great hit and launched Rodriguez’s directing career.

Do it again if you can afford it. The opportunity to enhance a take can significantly alter the outcome. To ensure that you get it properly the first time, practice as much as you can before the shooting if second takes are not an option. Comparatively speaking, a single scene in a full-length feature film often requires roughly 100 takes.

Make Efficient Use of Time

According to Raindance Film Festival, short films should adhere to the maxim “less is more.”

Make sure you don’t waste any time on superfluous aspects when you’re writing your short film. Examining your dialogue in great detail is one method to achieve this.

If your characters are repeating themselves if dialogue can be replaced with actions that tell the audience the same thing, if the dialogue doesn’t reveal anything about your characters, or if the dialogue has no connection to the main question, these are some things you should try to cut from your dialogue.

There are, of course, exceptions to this rule. If a conversation line is incredibly funny and insightful but doesn’t really advance the plot, feel free to leave it in. But these are the kinds of inquiries you need to be making of your discourse. There shouldn’t be any filler; each component of your short film should contribute to the overall story.

Removing entire scenes from your short film is an even more audacious, but frequently necessary, decision. Examine each of your scenes carefully and ask yourself the following questions: What is the scene’s goal, does it address the main issue, and does it advance the plot?

With scenes, there is less room for interpretation than there is with dialogue. It’s a problem if an entire scene in your short film lacks a clear goal, doesn’t answer the main topic, or doesn’t truly move the story along. The scene must be removed, no matter how terrible it might be.

Typically, scenes last between one and three minutes (one to three pages in your screenplay). You can get away with incorporating a few quick sequences that last under a minute in a short film. This implies that you might only have roughly 15 scenes in a 15-minute movie. Therefore, every scene must be extremely vital and must build on those that came before.

Getting in and out of each scene at different times can help scenes flow together more quickly and effectively. The reader will be able to piece everything together quite effectively if your writing is clear because they have a stronger imagination than you might believe.

Make Good Use of Characters and Locations

If a scene devotes too much screen time to supporting characters, you should decide whether to preserve it or rewrite it. Make sure the characters in your movies are relatable to the public before you release them. Because there isn’t much time in a short film, you should limit the number of characters.

Giving characters that won’t even make an appearance until much later in the action too much screen time just helps to confuse the audience with too many characters. Having as few characters as feasible is a good idea. Numerous short films only feature one or two characters.

There is no requirement that you have just one primary protagonist. Two or three characters may split the role. For instance, a passionate pair or a dynamic combo can both play the lead roles in your movie. Consider carefully whether having multiple protagonists is actually required for your movie if you do. One protagonist in each story is always a good bet.

Locations follow a similar logic. Your audience will be more likely to be able to follow the story if you use fewer locations. Keep in mind that many short movies only feature one room. Utilize what you have, including perhaps your own home as a studio.

End Your Short Film Strong

Your short film absolutely must have a striking finale. A punchline or a plot twist at the conclusion is a fairly popular strategy for doing this. Your tale will have a major impact on how this plays out. One tactic you could use is to imagine yourself as a casual spectator. Ask: What conclusion does he or she anticipate for this tale? then challenge that anticipation.

Additionally, feature films are more likely to wrap everything up neatly at the conclusion. The audience is watching the movie for two hours, therefore they usually want to see it conclude happily (unless this ambiguous ending is done particularly well).

Short films can get away with cliffhanger endings more easily because they don’t require such a big financial commitment. In fact, it’s kind of expected that not everything will get fixed.

Basically, short films frequently conclude at (or immediately after) the story’s climax, whereas feature films are more likely to have a fully developed falling action and denouement.

Conclusion

So, have you already know what is the difference between short films vs feature films? We all have to start somewhere. You might need to make a short film in order to establish yourself as a capable producer. Your short film could result in bigger projects and higher budgets if the proper people watch it, and it might even pave the way for a multi-million dollar box office smash!

–

Animost – Vietnam 3D Animation Studio

https://animost.com

hello@animost.com