Applying Narrative Theory to Short Films

Lonely Planet

LONELY PLANET - Award-Winning Short Film from Alex Burunova on Vimeo.



Summary
A nomadic travel writer believes that love always has an expiration date, until a charismatic Spaniard challenges her to live- and love- in the moment.

Aristotle's Unities
Lonely Planet conforms to the theory presented by Aristotle. It takes place primarily in Barcelona, over a period of months (we only see the key points from these months), and moves towards the logical conclusion (Julia does not leave Pau, as originally inferred). In my opinion, I feel as though this theory is open to interpretation, and although I believe that Lonely Planet conforms to these codes, some may suggest that the short film does not end on a 'logical conclusion'.

Freytag's Dramatic Structure

Codes, Conventions and Patterns

Genres

There are many components, codes and conventions of short films which depend on genre.

Sci Fi- Uncanny Valley

Sci-fi short films can have larger budgets than short films would normally have, sometimes using CGI.

This short film takes on the form of a documentary, and follows the conventional pattern regarding characters- there is only three.

This particular short film challenges Todorov's theory of equilibrium- the idea is presented, and an issue follows, however, the issue is not solved. Therefore, the film ends on a cliffhanger.

In Uncanny Valley, there is both dialogue and voiceover.


Romance- Lonely Planet


Lonely Planet is a short film about a nomad writer who doesn't believe in long term relationships. Lasting 22 minutes, it is longer than a conventional short film.

There are only two main characters, however the film does go against conventions, in that there is dialogue throughout.

The film follows the conventional idea-issue-resolution pattern which is common. The story ends with the main character asking her partner to go for coffee, instead of leaving him. This kind of twist is common, and encourages the audience to form their own opinions.


Comedy- Fully Formed Adults

This short lasts about 9 minutes, conforming to the conventional lengths of this type of film.  However, there are plans to make this short into a series of short films. This means that the film challenges the theory of equilibrium as there are more episodes to follow.

There is dialogue throughout the film, and although this is not conventional, it is necessary to portray the comedic nature of the piece. There is one main character with two supporting characters.

Fully Formed Adults uses overdubbing in some cases, both for music, and  in the case of dialogue, to correct dialogue mistakes.


Fantasy- Penelope in the Treehouse

Penelope in the Treehouse is a fantasy short film about a girl whose step father and step siblings move into her hand her mother's house. It deals with the emotions she feels and how she comes to deal with the change. It lasts 14 minutes.

The short is almost exclusively uses voice over to narrate the story, with one or two pieces of dialogue. This is conventional in short films. The short film conforms to Torodov's theory of equilibrium.

The short film uses both stop motion animation and live action to convey the story, and so we assume that it had a higher budget than short films normally do.


Horror- Pig Child

This horror short is about a scientist giving birth to a child which has both human and pig DNA through IVF. It is only 10 minutes long and has two central characters.

There is some dialogue throughout this film, however most of the emotion and mood is conveyed through movement, miss en scene and facial expression.

As this is a horror short, it does not resolve, but ends on an issue. This leaves the audience to form their own opinion after it finishes

Codes, Conventions and Patterns in Short Films

Summary

Generally, short films tend to be no more than 10 minutes in length. They are normally low budget and do not feature very many characters. The most popular types of short films are live action and animation. There is no specific mood that would be conventional to short films, as many different genres of short films are made, although often short films are seen to be appealing, as their audience can relate to them. Usually, short films have a twist mid-way, which is then resolved by the end of the film. They are normally not released in cinemas or on TV, and tend to be independently directed for use in film festivals, or, in some cases (such as pixar) are created to precede a movie.

Length

Short films can last anywhere from 3 to 20 minutes, however commonly only last 10 to 15 minutes. Generally, the purpose of a short film is to present an idea (usually fictional), counterpresent a problem or issue, and then end by resolving the issue (see Todorov's theory of equilibrium). Since this is the case, it is important to keep short films short, so as the audience can follow the storyline.

Storylines

Storylines are kept brief in this type of film. It is common for short films to have little or no dialogue, and perhaps a voiceover or subtitles, as the dialogue tends to be condensed. Image is particularly important in short films, since the dialogue cannot fully present a character. Therefore we rely on the actions, presentations, mise en scene etc to fully get to know the characters.

Characters

Short films usually only present 1-3 main characters, so as not to bombard the audience with information. Furthermore, the more characters introduced, the more time spent on introductions, back stories etc, and so to keep this to a minimum, as well as not confusing the audience, short films tend to only have a few characters. Usually, the audience will only have time to connect to a few characters.

Budget

Since short films are unlikely to make any money upon release, usually they are low budget. Short films are commonly made by amateur film makers for private or festival use, so usually it is expected that they will have a 'home-made' feel- therefore making this a convention within short films.

Mood

Short films are useful in conveying intense, fast paced emotions and moods, and can be more poignant than movies generally. In many cases, short films convey messages with more strength than other media outlets. As short films don't tend to last long, the audience are left to contemplate their opinions and thoughts after the film has finished, rather than during the film itself, meaning that often, short films resonate with their audiences.