What makes a Short Film different from a Feature Film?
Functionally, a short film screenplay looks identical to a feature screenplay, using the same formatting styles as a feature film but simply shortened.
A short film's length is the most significant difference between the two. As its name might suggest, a short film screenplay is a lot briefer than a feature screenplay, usually clocking in anywhere between 1 and 30 pages. Again, these are rough estimates, but going beyond 30 pages means venturing into the realm of a TV movie or a short feature film.
A short film screenplay has a lot less time to tell its story, so every single moment needs to be essential. Unfortunately, there's rarely time for a deep and complex character arc between an ensemble cast. Instead, a short film usually fixes a single idea and dedicates all its time to it. So, for example, where a feature screenplay could feasibly depict an entire war, a short film screenplay could probably only depict a single battle or a moment from a single battle.
Short film screenplays don't have as much time to get depth, but they are much more achievable and easy to get made. Fewer scenes need to be filmed so that a small budget can go a much longer way. Another difference between short films and feature films is that short films are rarely shown in theaters, but they can be widely distributed on the internet.
Short films aren’t just compressed feature films. The structure fundamentally changes, as you have usually under 20 minutes to convey to the audience everything that they must understand.
A short film's length is the most significant difference between the two. As its name might suggest, a short film screenplay is a lot briefer than a feature screenplay, usually clocking in anywhere between 1 and 30 pages. Again, these are rough estimates, but going beyond 30 pages means venturing into the realm of a TV movie or a short feature film.
A short film screenplay has a lot less time to tell its story, so every single moment needs to be essential. Unfortunately, there's rarely time for a deep and complex character arc between an ensemble cast. Instead, a short film usually fixes a single idea and dedicates all its time to it. So, for example, where a feature screenplay could feasibly depict an entire war, a short film screenplay could probably only depict a single battle or a moment from a single battle.
Short film screenplays don't have as much time to get depth, but they are much more achievable and easy to get made. Fewer scenes need to be filmed so that a small budget can go a much longer way. Another difference between short films and feature films is that short films are rarely shown in theaters, but they can be widely distributed on the internet.
Some Short Films
Here's a humorous Western style dig at Westerns. The concept is that of a narrator voice over that the actors can actually hear and answer. The know-it-all voice meddles with the actors and actually fills up the backstory. It is not there to help but to create trouble.
This M.Dudok short animated film should be useful for anyone trying to explore how to storyboard the script. It has no dialogue but it tells a story in images and different shots. Imagine your story in images instead of script and how it will be shot.
This film is a sarcastic comment on today's society with a good sense of humour. It covers the span of a week.
This is a short film: Just talking heads in one location on a park bench.
Forget about the CGI but it shows how to build a short story: A box with an Xbox in a sitting room and a door to a garden.
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